Much like Barbra Streisand began collecting specific styles of antique furnishings when she got her big break on Broadway, she also did the same with artwork. As she revealed during an interview with The New York Times, in 1964, after her "Funny Girl" debut on Broadway, she meticulously saved enough dough "from her $2,500-a-week salary to buy a small [Henri] Matisse." This, she confirms, was her "first major purchase."
Over the years, the legendary A-lister has collected a vast amount of artwork from influential painters, including 1885's "Peasant Woman With Child on her Lap" by Vincent Van Gogh, which she "[loaned] to a museum." It pays off to be a collector of the luxurious arts, too, as her gems sell for a pretty penny once she feels it's time to move on. As she revealed to The New York Times, she purchased a Gustav Klimt piece in 1969 for $17,000, selling it "years later for $650,000." Similarly, according to Reuters, Streisand was also selling a Kees van Dongen painting worth $200,000 at an auction in 2009.
Interestingly, it looks like the singer may use paintings as the centerpieces for her interior design inspirations, too. As Streisand explained in "My Passion for Design," one "rare oil portrait" she bought by Paul César Helleu was actually purchased before she began designing her Malibu home, always knowing she wanted to do the room it sits in "in that blue, with brown wood."
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