HELSINKI.- The Anna Sinebrychoff – Ahead of Her Time exhibition and publication introduce the revered matriarch of the Sinebrychoff brewing family. In the context of the 19th century, Anna Sinebrychoff wielded unprecedented power at the head of a large company. Besides that, she did important charity work and supported culture and art. Anna was aware of her own influence, as evidenced by the six portraits she commissioned of herself, which are now on display together for the first time in this exhibition.

Anna Sinebrychoff (1830–1904) was an exception in Finland at the end of the 19th century, when the world of business was a place for men. After the death of her husband Paul Sinebrychoff (1799–1883), she ran one of Finland’s most successful companies, the Sinebrychoff Brewery. Anna single-mindedly managed both the family and the family business, bequeathing a sizable legacy to her children.

The Sinebrychoff Art Museum occupies the family’s house on Bulevardi, where Anna Sinebrychoff lived for more than 50 years. Her life is closely tied to the history of the Museum. The Anna Sinebrychoff – Ahead of Her Time exhibition and publication are based on research that has uncovered new, more detailed and accurate information about the life of this exceptional woman.

“Anna deserves recognition. In recent decades, influential women in history have been in the spotlight, and Anna definitely belongs among them. She is one of the very few women in the 19th century who, after the death of her husband, took over management of a company’s operations,” says Museum Director Kirsi Eskelinen.

Besides running the business, Anna was active in many areas of society, such as charity work, associations and societies, supporting culture, gardening, and the Orthodox congregation. The exhibition and book give a comprehensive overview of Anna Sinebrychoff’s life and work in Helsinki from the 1850s onwards, placing her at the centre of the social and economic changes of her time.

The exhibition features an exceptionally fine series of portraits of Anna. The most famous Finnish portrait painter of the 19th century, Albert Edelfelt (1854–1905), made four large portraits of her, which are now being shown together for the first time. In the 1890s, Anna commissioned two more portraits of herself from the artist Gunnar Berndtson (1854–1895), which are now on public display for the first time. The exhibition has been curated by Chief Curator, Ira Westergård, PhD.

From educated girl to member of the cultural elite and a position of power

Anna Jefimovna Tichanoff was born in Turku in 1830. She received a bourgeois girl’s education and moved to Helsinki at the age of 17 to work for the Russian merchant Paul Sinebrychoff, who was looking for a housekeeper. In 1850, Paul and Anna were married. Paul was a well-known, successful merchant 30 years older than she was. For Anna, marriage meant stepping into a completely new role.

They had four children: Maria (1852), Anna (1854), Nicolas (1856) and Paul (1859). In the 1860s, after the birth of her fourth child, Anna Sinebrychoff expanded her own sphere of activity outside the home and family. At that time, women had ever-better opportunities to participate actively in the advancement of society. She was a member of the women’s network and active in the Red Cross, the Sewing Society, and more, and was involved in founding the Finnish Horticultural Association.

Anna was known for her exceptionally wide-ranging charity work, which became her life’s mission. She focused on the century’s major social problems, such as combatting poverty, promoting the nation’s educational ideals, and supporting national cultural projects.

“In Anna’s case charity work also involved contradictions. The production, sale and consumption of alcohol brought prosperity to the family. Yet, at the same time, poverty, drunkenness and other social ills were evident in the districts around workers’ homes,” says exhibition curator Ira Westergård.

The urban residence on Bulevardi stood on the same plot of land as the brewery and was at the heart of Anna’s life. All day-to-day business matters were dealt with in Anna and Paul Sinebrychoff’s house. The doors to the inner circle of the elite opened fully in 1863, when Paul was granted the title of Commercial Counsellor. Dances and concerts were held in their Bulevardi home. Its windows overlooked the family’s garden and greenhouses. This was one of the biggest gardens in Helsinki at the time, and the Sinebrychoff (“Koff”) Park still delights city residents on that same spot.

Anna Sinebrychoff was widowed at the age of 52. Right after her husband’s death, she submitted an official notification to the local register office saying that she intended to carry on his business operations. She became a majority shareholder in the Sinebrychoff’s family business. Anna’s son, Paul Junior, was Managing Director when the family business was made into a limited company in 1888. Anna became Chair of the Board and remained in that position until her death.

The patron of the arts expanded her wealth and supported art

Anna inherited a large fortune from her husband and, for the rest of her life, determinedly added to it. Her wealth grew significantly and Anna continued to support culture and art, in addition to her charity work.

Anna and Paul Sinebrychoff belonged to the early group of art collectors in the 1860s and 1870s, when the Finnish artworld was only just emerging. Paul was a member of the Finnish Art Society and the couple bought artworks from young Finnish artists. Anna acquired art independently for her home and, on becoming a widow, commissioned a total of four portraits of herself from Albert Edelfelt, the first one a little before the artis´s international breakthrough.

“At that time, Anna stood out as the only woman among the art collectors and patrons of the arts. She was a pioneer in business, in supporting art, and in charity work,” says Chief Curator Ira Westergård.

The exhibition and publication offer insights into Anna Sinebrychoff’s life and work. The Sinebrychoff Art Museum occupies the brewery family’s urban home on Bulevardi. The furniture in the House Museum’s Empire Room has remained unchanged and has been preserved as a reminder of Anna Sinebrychoff’s time as mistress of the house.

Exhibition curator: Ira Westergård