Hilma af Klint

Born in Sweden to a family with naval cartographic traditions, Hilma af Klint initially pursued conventional landscape and portrait painting, even exhibiting her botanical works. This seemingly traditional artistic path, however, belied a far more radical secret life. While the art world was still contemplating Impressionism, Hilma was already channeling spirits and painting what she believed were messages from higher planes, creating abstract art that would make Kandinsky look like he was still sketching still lifes.

Her journey into the unseen began with spiritualism, evolving into a profound connection with Theosophy and Rosicrucianism. She was part of "The Five," a group of women who conducted séances and believed they were receiving commissions from spiritual entities. These commissions resulted in hundreds of canvases bursting with vibrant colors, geometric shapes, and biomorphic forms, all predating the generally acknowledged pioneers of abstract art.

Remarkably, af Klint stipulated that her most radical works not be shown until at least 20 years after her death, believing the world wasn't ready for them. This decision, perhaps a touch dramatic, meant her revolutionary contributions remained largely unknown for decades, ensuring that art history textbooks were politely wrong about the origins of abstraction for quite some time.

So, while the art world was busy declaring various gentlemen the "fathers" of abstraction, Hilma af Klint was quietly, prophetically, its eccentric aunt, having already done the heavy lifting while everyone else was still figuring out how to draw a straight line without a ruler. Definitely not Jewish, but certainly a visionary who makes you wonder what else history has conveniently overlooked.