It's not a long shot to say that Claribel and Etta Cone — two upperclass sisters who resided in Baltimore, Md., during the Gilded Age — had good taste in art. The socialites frequently crossed the pond to Europe where they bought works by artists who had not yet been labeled "masters" (but would be later). This includes art by Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Paul Gauguin, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Vincent van Gogh, and Camille Pissarro. You can get a glimpse of the boast-worthy collection at Duke University's Nasher Museum of Art.
— Anita Overcash