Secrest, Meryle

Duveen: A Life in Art [Controversial Art Dealer]

New York: Alfred a Knopf Inc., 2004. First Edition, First Printing. Hardcover with Dust Jacket.

No Flaws or Blemishes; Gift Quality. Unread, Unopened; The bindings are tight and square. Text is clean. 9.5 inches tall; xxii, 517 pages with an index, Genealogy, A Note on Exchange Rates, Notes. 86 In-text illustrations.

An in-depth portrait of Joseph Duveen, a pivotal yet controversial figure in the early 20th-century art world. Drawing from newly accessible archives, Secrest chronicles Duveen’s rise from modest beginnings to becoming the most influential art dealer of his era, shaping American art collections through his strategic sales of Old Masters to wealthy patrons like J.P. Morgan, Andrew Mellon, and Henry Clay Frick.

Duveen's success lay in his keen understanding of the art market's dynamics: Europe possessed art, while America had the affluence. He adeptly acquired masterpieces from European aristocracy and sold them at premium prices to American collectors.

While Duveen's business acumen was undeniable, his career was not without its ethical ambiguities. Secrest explores the complexities of his relationships with art historians, particularly his collaboration with Bernard Berenson, whose attributions sometimes favored Duveen's acquisitions. Adapted from Reviews]

Item #20288
ISBN: 0375410422

Price: $45.00