Meet the Donor who Revealed her Identity After Anonymously Giving Millions to Female Artists
Remember her name. After anonymously giving $5.5 million to other female artists over the last 22 years, Susan Unterberg, the benefactor behind that effort, has revealed her identity through a The New York Times piece.
The article tells the story of the identity of this photographer and how as a benefactor she has wanted to support underrecognized female artists over age 40 through the grant program called Anonymous Was a Woman:
The donor behind the prize wanted to remain unknown. But now she is stepping out from behind the curtain: Susan Unterberg, herself a once underrecognized female artist over 40. In a recent interview at her Upper East Side home, she said she has decided to come forward so that she can more openly argue on behalf of women who are artists, demonstrate the importance of women supporting women and try to inspire other philanthropists.
The grant program, a Grantmakers in the Arts member, pays tribute to female artists in history who signed their paintings “Anonymous” so that their work would be taken seriously, explains the article that lays out why this benefactor is coming forward.
“I’m eager for the grant to become better known,” she said. “Women have been anonymous for far too long,” she told the Times.