The British collector Christian Levett retired 7 years ago at the age of 46, from his role as an investment manager to focus entirely on his true passion for art. Since his early twenties, Levett has assembled an impressive and diverse collection of antiquities, Old Masters, modern and contemporary artworks, including the world’s largest collection of female Abstract Expressionist art. In his childhood, he started collecting 18th and 19th-century English coins and World War I campaign medals at the age of seven. In his mid-twenties after success in the finance sector, he rediscovered his love of collecting. Over the past decades, Levett moved towards the wider art market and began building an important collection of 20th and 21st century art. This includes, amongst others, post-war American art, Zero movement art and African contemporary art.

In the last few years, he has built a significant collection of works by female artists, particularly from the 1940s-1960s abstract expressionist movement. This is now displayed in his home in Florence, an Italian palazzo transformed into an inspiring gallery in its own right, where he welcomes museum patrons and university groups, including Harvard, Stanford, and New York University, the Palazzo Strozzi, the Bargello Museum, the Wallace Collectionand the Tate. A keen philanthropist, Levett has sponsored over 30 exhibitions at museums such as The British Museum, The Royal Academy, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Tate, and has lent Works from his collection to countless cultural institutions around the globe.

In June 2024 he opened the FAMM (Femmes Artistes Musee Mougins) a comprehensive showcase of the depth and breadth of female artistic achievement. Located in the heart of the medieval hilltop village of Mougins, in the South of France. The Christian Levett collection currently contains over 500 spectacular artworks many of the most revered female artists of the last 160 years. FAMM will display a rotating selection of 100 works, the museum not only enhances France’s rich cultural tapestry but also sets a precedent for how female artists are valued globally.

Tell us about the history and concept of your collection.

The Levett Collection, from which the artworks displayed at FAMM are sourced, has been carefully and passionately assembled over the last 30-years. My collecting strategy has always been guided by a deep appreciation for exceptional artistry regardless of the artist's gender. Initially, my collection did not focus particularly on female artists—it included a diverse array of works from various historical epochs and styles. However, in recent years, as I delved deeper into modern and contemporary art, I was drawn to the vibrant and often underappreciated works by female artists. As I began acquiring more works by women, and developing a globally important collection, this has now giving me the platform and opportunity to be an advocate for women’s natural, and rightful, place in art history. Each piece was selected based on its artistic merit and the unique perspective it brought to the collection, with a strong emphasis on diversity and inclusion across different cultures, periods, and artistic movements. The sculptures represent 10-15 % of collection as well as emerging female artists artworks.

How has collecting changed your approach to art?

The project of FAMM emerged from a realization and a desire to address a significant gap in the art world—specifically, the underrepresentation and undervaluation of female artists. My journey in the arts began with collecting classical artworks, antiquities, and old masters. However, over time, my focus shifted towards modern and contemporary art. During this transition, I noticed a stark disparity in the market value and availability of artworks by male versus female artists. It became apparent that I could assemble a museum-quality collection of works by female artists at a fraction of the difficulty and cost associated with acquiring comparable works by their male counterparts.

It is dynamic in terms of reasearch and the market, the nature of female artist movement is fascinating. You can make discoveries about female artists, it is very excited area to research, there is a cultural side as well as social. The fact that there is more demand than supply make prices move dynamically as well.

Why do you collect?

I do it for passion, its is exciting and I enjoyed so much, I turn my hobby into a job, I changed my lifestyle, my day to day activities, I got a new direction in my life. It is a lot more fun and healthy than sitting in front of a computer fourteen hours per day. I buy artworks with great provenance and history. I feel that I am buying an asset. I do research myself, it is very important to have a good eye to see a high quality artwork with great composition. When there is a good oportunity and the artwork is rare, I feel that is the right moment to buy. I look carefully where I spend my money. I buy from auction houses, independent dealers, art fairs, and galleries.

What is your biggest hope for the future of art and collecting?

The most important is that people comes to the FAMM museum, I want them that leave the museum feeeling education and an exhilarating experience. The building is full of masterpices, it is the second female museum in the world and the first one in Europe. A global movement to rectify historical gender imbalances in the art world, collaborating with other institutions for exhibitions, participating in international dialogues, publishing female-art related books, and contributing to a more inclusive understanding of art history.

What has been the most challenging work of art in your collection, either for yourself or the public?

A controversial artwork that I bought was “I even dream about You” by emergent artist Jess Allen that depicted a lady lying in a sofa on the wall the shadow of a man looking through the window, it is a threatening picture. You dont know what she is thinking about him. Some people love it, when You first look at it is quite disturbing and scary picture, but the real meaning was completely the opposite. The true story is that it was her lovely husband. The painting does not make any controversy but make people think, it is a matter of interpretation, the idea is that the painting creates an emotion. There are a couple of pieces that I bought I was very lucky to get them, one case happened last year, I visited a gallery in London by accident that does not have any interesting artworks on the window, anyway I walked in, I was surprised, they have “Montagne” a 1961 blue abstract painting by Marie Raymond (Yves Klein´s mother) I recognized because I helped curated an abstract show at Whitechapel and it was there. It was miracle because I wanted that picture and was available for sale, it took me a while to get the picture, it was a unique and extraordinary situation, it was fate. Another example was “Prophecy” by Lee Krasner painted just before Jackson Pollock death, the painting was on auction I made an offer and I am very proud to have one of the Americas most important pictures in my collection. Probably the most important female artwork produced in the 20th century.