Alessandra Necci retraces the life of art patron Ileana Sonnabend, whose collection is the centrepiece of the Sonnabend Collection Mantova, the new contemporary art museum that will open on 29 November 2025, in the Palazzo della Ragione

There are lives marked by nomadism, by a “gypsy soul”. Which many think of as just a need for movement and new experiences. But the gypsy soul ‒ in its best form ‒ is something more structured: on the one hand, it thrives on independence, unconventionality, and substantial autonomy; on the other, it must anchor itself somewhere to avoid wandering aimlessly. Those who have it never stay where others think they should. They are cosmopolitan, citizens of the world, curious about everything and at ease everywhere. And the risk of being too scattered ‒which they do indeed run ‒ can be balanced by discipline, self-centring, and pragmatism.
This was the case for Ileana Sonnabend, a gallery owner, patron, and art dealer born in Bucharest and later naturalized American. Her surname at birth ‒ 25 October 1914 ‒ was Schapira. Her father, Mihai, was a very wealthy industrialist, and her family was Jewish. Her mother, Marianne, was Austrian, a circumstance that had a significant influence on her. As Antonio Homen would recall, “The important place for the family was Vienna… Ileana used to say that her interest in art was born from being left for entire days at the museum in Vienna while her mother and sister went shopping”.
Little Miss Schapira had a sheltered and happy childhood and adolescence (Bucharest, in the early twentieth century, was a vibrant and culturally stimulating city). At a certain point, though, her nomadic spirit emerged. “I couldn’t wait to get married”, she said. “I met Leo. He was different from the others. He wanted to move. He was leaving soon, and since I wanted to leave Romania at all costs, I married him”. Leo Castelli was a wealthy Italian art collector and dealer, later called “the most important gallery owner of the twentieth century”. His surname at birth was Krausz, but he later took his mother’s last name due to anti-Semitism and the racial laws. His close ties to Italy were shared by Ileana, who often spent holidays with her family in Venice and Naples as a child.
The two married in October 1933, then moved to Paris and opened an art gallery. But times were quite tough. The city was invaded by the Germans, so in 1941 the couple moved to New York. It was there, during those years, that so-called Action painting was born, which Leo was a key figure in. The Castellis began to amass a collection of important works of art and, in 1957, opened a gallery. We’re talking Neo-Dada, Pop Art, Roy Lichtenstein, Jasper Johns, Andy Warhol, and many others. “L’air du temps” was really blowing.
Then Ileana fell in love with the literary figure Michael Sonnabend and, after divorcing, married him. In 1962, the Sonnabends founded the eponymous gallery in Paris, showcasing not only American artists but also Italians like Schifano and Pistoletto. Italy was always a draw for Ileana, as demonstrated by her collaboration with the Incontri Internazionale d’Arte for the Contemporanea exhibition, commissioned by art patron Graziella Buontempo in the underground space of Villa Borghese. In 1970, Sonnabend travelled to New York, and moved back shortly thereafter. Naturally, she established a branch of the gallery, which became an international reference point for European and American art of the time. Visionary and pragmatic, she remained a great talent scout (in 1986, with Neo-Geo, she put Jeff Koons in the spotlight). It was 2007 when the brilliant “hunter” of genius ‒ “loving hunter”, as Bonito Oliva called her ‒ passed away.

Alesssandra Necci

https://www.sonnabendmantova.it/

BIO
Alessandra Necci was born in Rome, where she graduated in Law from La Sapienza University. She specialised in Political Science in Paris. She is a lawyer. She worked for many years in Italian institutions. She has written many successful historical biographies, particularly on great female figures. She edits the weekly column Le Donne nella Storia e nel Mito (Women in History and Mythology) for Il Messaggero in Rome. She teaches Economic History at Luiss University in Rome. She is currently director of the Gallerie Estensi in Modena and Sassuolo.