horace mann school's publication for gender issues

An Interview With Wendy Cromwell
Interview Conducted by Sinclaire Marber
horace mann arts
Wendy Cromwell, Horace Mann Class
of 1982, is the President of Cromwell Art,
LLC, a private advisory firm that specializes
in 20th and 21st century art. Having served
previously as a Vice President of Sotheby’s,
New York, and as the director of Lehman
Brother’s art collection, Ms. Cromwell is
a veteran of the corporate art industry.
Ms. Cromwell also has a long history of
involvement in various museums and nonprofit
organizations, such as ArtTable, Inc.,
the largest professional organization for
women in the arts. In an interview with
Folio 51, she reflects upon her experiences as
a woman at HM and later in the art industry.
SM: Did you take art history classes in
high school If so, did you notice a gender
imbalance in the classroom
WC: I took AP Art History at HM. It was
a great class, taught by Don Yates. Unlike
other classes, which were taught by HM oldtimers,
Don’s classroom was progressive.
It was discussion based, and I never felt
any gender bias. Don was undeniably cool
compared to the older generation of staff -
he was openly gay, for starters, which was
not the norm in 1981. At the end of the year
he invited us to his loft in the West Village.
I had never ventured to 11th avenue during
the day, let alone at night - a different scene
in those days. I was treated like an equal, and
I discovered that I was meant for art history
thanks to that class.
SM: Do you remember there being a
gender bias towards males when you were a
student at Horace Mann If so, did you look
at this as something to overcome and did
your ability to overcome this affect your later
career If not, was it an adjustment entering
a field populated with many high-powered
men
WC: I only encountered gender bias in
a few classes taught by a handful of older
teachers, holdovers from the days when
HM was an all boys school. In general, boys
were more outspoken in the classroom, and
those types of teachers tended to call on just
the boys. Maybe it was a self-perpetuating
problem - if I had been more aggressive
about speaking up, it wouldn’t have been
a problem. I was lucky to have a female
teacher, Dr. Liana, for AP English senior
year. She was a graduate of Smith, an all
women’s college, and she was instrumental
in helping me to choose that school over
Middlebury.
I owe much to Smith. I found my voice
there, as a student. And I found my career
there, through the vast network of female
professionals. I must say that Smith was a
welcome relief from the male dominated
HM environment. For the first time, I
consistently participated in class discussions.
I remember feeling freed from the stuffy
HM environment - it wasn’t just some of
the teachers, it was also my peers - there
was a culture of elitism within my HM class,
mostly from the top male students, that
repulsed me.
At Smith, it was assumed that we would
become achievers or leaders in some way.
There was no pressure: it was simply in the
culture. Without men in the classroom,
there were no obstacles, no distractions, we
were surrounded by positive reinforcement
and amazing opportunities. I was lucky to
have access to a strong professional network
of Smith grads in the arts. Sophomore year,
I got an internship at Leo Castelli gallery -
the Director was a Smith alum. To be in
the center of where it was all happening in
1984 was an incredible opportunity, one I
still treasure. The art world didn’t seem male
dominated then. Sure Leo was the king, but
Ileana Sonnabend was upstairs running her
gallery, Paula Cooper was doing the same
and Mary Boone was competing head to
head with Leo. I don’t see the art world as
dominated by powerful men, even though
my teachers at the Institute [of Fine Arts,
where Cromwell earned a masters degree]
were Kirk Varnedoe and Bill Rubin - the
most powerful men in the art world, both at
MoMA at the time (now deceased).
SM: After working at Sotheby’s and other
significant art related jobs, what prompted
you to go into business for yourself
WC: When I started at Sotheby’s, I was
interviewed by the CEO, Dede Brooks. She
asked me what I wanted to be in 10 years
time- I said “you.” This response came
naturally to me - it had nothing to do with
Horace Mann, and everything to do with
Smith. Later, she was caught up in the
price fixing scandal between Christie’s and
Sotheby’s. I actually felt betrayed and let
down by her behavior - women have to hold
themselves to a higher standard because
they are such easy targets as corporate CEO’s
(compared to the bad behavior of so many
men who led us into our current depressed
economic circumstances). Sotheby’s
definitely suffers from a male-dominated
leadership that is not kind to women,
although women populate the ranks at every
level of the company. I had always worked
there as a means to an end - I knew from my
days at Lehman Bros that I wanted to be an
art advisor. Sotheby’s opened many doors
for me. I learned how markets were made
and became well versed in art from 1945 to
the present. After nine years at Sotheby’s, it
was time to start my own business.
WC: One last thing. I come from a
line of strong, independent women. My
grandmother, who was born in Hungary,
wanted to be a Dr. from the time she was
10 years old. Jews were not allowed to enter
University in Hungary, She left home at the
age of 19 to attend medical college in Berlin.
My mother was born in Berlin. When my
grandmother emigrated to the US, she
passed another round of medical exams to
become a U.S. Dr. She practiced pediatric
medicine at NY Hospital for nearly 30 years.
My mother has a PhD in modern European
history from Columbia. She attended
Hunter College High School and worked on
Wall Street for over 25 years. She sent me to
HM as a single parent. At the age of 70, she
realized her life long dream of turning her
PhD dissertation into a published biography;
her book can be found in all the major
libraries. I guess of all the people you could
have asked about gender bias at HM, I would
have been the least likely to be affected by it
- I am fortunate to have been surrounded by
such great female role models.
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