Duveen Brothers
Encyclopedia
The Duveen Brothers, Joseph Joel Duveen (1843-1908) and Henry J. Duveen (1855-1918), were notable art dealers in London, Paris, and New York from the late nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth century. They brought to America high quality old master paintings and decorative arts from the great private collections in Europe. Under the guidance of Joseph Duveen (1869-1939) and assisted by art experts, most notably Bernard Berenson
, the Duveen Brothers monopolized the American art market for five decades. They helped to form the art collections of many extremely wealthy Americans and a number of these collections became the nuclei of American museums such as the Frick Collection
, the Huntington Art Collections and the National Gallery of Art
.
, Holland for Hull
, England. They specialized in selling delftware
from their native Holland and later branched out to include Chinese porcelain, tapestries, furniture, and old master paintings. Starting by selling antique furniture in London, Joseph realised in about 1880 that Edward Guinness
, one of his better clients, was spending much more on art at nearby Agnew's
, and decided to concentrate on that market.
The Duveens opened a London office in 1879; a New York office followed in 1886. In 1897 the firm closed a temporary shop located on the rue de la Paix in Paris. By this time Duveen Brothers was purchasing important paintings, including acquisitions from the Mulgrave Castle sale of 1890 and the Messrs. Murrieta sale of April 1892. Joseph Duveen eventually commissioned a grander store in Paris in the style of the Petit Trianon designed by French architect René Sergent
at 20 Place Vendôme
, later referred to as the "Little Palace" which was opened in 1907.
. The 720 Fifth Avenue building was sadly demolished in 1951. Joseph transformed the Duveen show rooms, avoiding commercial show windows but displaying art with dramatic lighting in lavish surroundings: "it was all stage-managed for the very rich," recalled the dealer in antique furniture John Partridge. He made grand gestures to persuade prospective clients, as, for example, when he had an elaborate plaster model of Senator Clark's Fifth Avenue mansion constructed (at the cost of $20,000) to entice the Senator to hire Duveen Brothers to furnish it.
While in New York Joseph made a number of bold purchases in Europe on behalf of Duveen Brothers. In 1906 he acquired three large collections: the Rodolfe Kann collection, the Maurice Kann collection (both in Paris), and the Hainauer collection (in Berlin). In 1927 he bought the Robert H. Benson collection of 114 Italian paintings in England and three years later he purchased the Dreyfus collection of Italian paintings and sculpture in Paris. Joseph sold selections from the Dreyfus collection to Andrew Mellon and Samuel H. Kress
; these items formed the core of the National Gallery collections in Washington, D.C. As late as 1939, the year of his death, Joseph was still selling paintings and sculpture from these purchases.
As president of Duveen Brothers, Joseph developed with a number of clients extremely close ties that went beyond influencing their art-buying habits. He arranged travel plans for his important clients, designed their table settings, and stored their preferred cigars in the Duveen Brothers' vaults. Joseph Duveen was actively involved in numerous art organizations and served as a trustee for the National Gallery, London; the Wallace Collection
; and the Imperial Gallery of Art, London. He was a member of the Council of the British School at Rome
and of the National Art Collections Fund
. Joseph founded the British Artists Exhibitions Organization for the encouragement of lesser-known British artists. He provided for additions to and extensions of London museums, such as the Tate Gallery
(a new building of several galleries for modern foreign art, works by John Singer Sargent
, and modern foreign sculpture), the National Gallery (a new gallery), the National Portrait Gallery (a new building of several galleries), University of London
, and the British Museum
(a new wing to house the Elgin marbles
and Nereid statues). In 1930 he wrote Thirty Years of British Art.
The Duveen Brothers' business began to decline after Joseph's death in 1939, at which time Armand Lowengard (Joseph Duveen's nephew) and Edward Fowles became joint owners of the firm. When Lowengard died in 1943, Edward Fowles assumed the presidency of Duveen Brothers. The Nazi occupation of France forced Duveen Brothers to evacuate Paris. The London office at 4 Grafton Street closed shortly thereafter. After the war Duveen Brothers had a number of notable clients, such as Henry Ford II
and Robert Lehman
, but the business never regained its former vibrancy. In 1964 Edward Fowles sold Duveen Brothers to Norton Simon
, including the East 79th Street mansion and all remaining stock (excluding the business records).
, where they were housed until 1996. In 1969 the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute purchased the Duveen library of books, periodicals, exhibition catalogues, and sales catalogues, along with a portion of the Duveen Brothers business records that was interfiled with the library and remains at the Clark. In 1996 the Metropolitan Museum of Art donated the Duveen archive to the Research Library at the Getty Research Institute
.
as one of the "Fathers of Philately".
Bernard Berenson
Bernard Berenson was an American art historian specializing in the Renaissance. He was a major figure in pioneering art attribution and therefore establishing the market for paintings by the "Old Masters".-Personal life:...
, the Duveen Brothers monopolized the American art market for five decades. They helped to form the art collections of many extremely wealthy Americans and a number of these collections became the nuclei of American museums such as the Frick Collection
Frick Collection
The Frick Collection is an art museum located in Manhattan, New York City, United States.- History :It is housed in the former Henry Clay Frick House, which was designed by Thomas Hastings and constructed in 1913-1914. John Russell Pope altered and enlarged the building in the early 1930s to adapt...
, the Huntington Art Collections and the National Gallery of Art
National Gallery of Art
The National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden is a national art museum, located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, in Washington, DC...
.
Early days
The Duveen Brothers business began when Joseph and Henry, left their home in MeppelMeppel
Meppel is a municipality and a city in the northeast of the Netherlands, in the south-west of the province Drenthe.It developed in the 16th century as a transport and distribution inland harbour for turf...
, Holland for Hull
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
, England. They specialized in selling delftware
Delftware
Delftware, or Delft pottery, denotes blue and white pottery made in and around Delft in the Netherlands and the tin-glazed pottery made in the Netherlands from the 16th century....
from their native Holland and later branched out to include Chinese porcelain, tapestries, furniture, and old master paintings. Starting by selling antique furniture in London, Joseph realised in about 1880 that Edward Guinness
Edward Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh
Edward Cecil Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh, KP, GCVO, FRS was an Irish philanthropist and businessman.-Public life:...
, one of his better clients, was spending much more on art at nearby Agnew's
Sir William Agnew, 1st Baronet
Sir William Agnew, 1st Baronet was an English politician and art dealer.-Career:Agnew was a Liberal Member of Parliament, first for South East Lancashire between 1880 and 1885 and later for Stretford from 1885 to 1886...
, and decided to concentrate on that market.
The Duveens opened a London office in 1879; a New York office followed in 1886. In 1897 the firm closed a temporary shop located on the rue de la Paix in Paris. By this time Duveen Brothers was purchasing important paintings, including acquisitions from the Mulgrave Castle sale of 1890 and the Messrs. Murrieta sale of April 1892. Joseph Duveen eventually commissioned a grander store in Paris in the style of the Petit Trianon designed by French architect René Sergent
René Sergent
René Sergent was a noted French architect.-Biography:Sergent was trained at the École spéciale d'architecture, where he concentrated on French architecture of the 18th century but also studied British contemporaries such as Robert Adam, then entered the architectural office of Ernest Sanson where...
at 20 Place Vendôme
Place Vendôme
Place Vendôme is a square in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France, located to the north of the Tuileries Gardens and east of the Église de la Madeleine. It is the starting point of the Rue de la Paix. Its regular architecture by Jules Hardouin-Mansart and pedimented screens canted across the...
, later referred to as the "Little Palace" which was opened in 1907.
New York
Shortly after Henry J. Duveen arrived in New York to head the office there, his brother Joseph Joel sent his son Joseph junior (later Sir Joseph Duveen, Bt., and in 1933 Lord Duveen of Millbank, also known simply as Joe or just Duveen) to assist his uncle Henry. By the 1880s Henry had developed a clientele of American millionaires whose wealth in those years was without precedent among private individuals. Joseph became more active in the management of the New York house, took over its operations in 1907, and served as president of the firm between 1909 and 1939. One of the first changes Joseph Duveen made was to move the New York house in 1912 to a more highly visible location on Fifth Avenue and 56th Street, where he erected a reproduction of Jacques-Ange Gabriel's palatial buildings on the Place de la ConcordePlace de la Concorde
The Place de la Concorde in area, it is the largest square in the French capital. It is located in the city's eighth arrondissement, at the eastern end of the Champs-Élysées.- History :...
. The 720 Fifth Avenue building was sadly demolished in 1951. Joseph transformed the Duveen show rooms, avoiding commercial show windows but displaying art with dramatic lighting in lavish surroundings: "it was all stage-managed for the very rich," recalled the dealer in antique furniture John Partridge. He made grand gestures to persuade prospective clients, as, for example, when he had an elaborate plaster model of Senator Clark's Fifth Avenue mansion constructed (at the cost of $20,000) to entice the Senator to hire Duveen Brothers to furnish it.
While in New York Joseph made a number of bold purchases in Europe on behalf of Duveen Brothers. In 1906 he acquired three large collections: the Rodolfe Kann collection, the Maurice Kann collection (both in Paris), and the Hainauer collection (in Berlin). In 1927 he bought the Robert H. Benson collection of 114 Italian paintings in England and three years later he purchased the Dreyfus collection of Italian paintings and sculpture in Paris. Joseph sold selections from the Dreyfus collection to Andrew Mellon and Samuel H. Kress
Samuel H. Kress
Samuel Henry Kress was a businessman and philanthropist, founder of the S. H. Kress & Co. five and ten cent store chain. With his fortune, Kress amassed one of the most significant collections of Italian Renaissance and European artwork assembled in the 20th century...
; these items formed the core of the National Gallery collections in Washington, D.C. As late as 1939, the year of his death, Joseph was still selling paintings and sculpture from these purchases.
As president of Duveen Brothers, Joseph developed with a number of clients extremely close ties that went beyond influencing their art-buying habits. He arranged travel plans for his important clients, designed their table settings, and stored their preferred cigars in the Duveen Brothers' vaults. Joseph Duveen was actively involved in numerous art organizations and served as a trustee for the National Gallery, London; the Wallace Collection
Wallace Collection
The Wallace Collection is a museum in London, with a world-famous range of fine and decorative arts from the 15th to the 19th centuries with large holdings of French 18th-century paintings, furniture, arms & armour, porcelain and Old Master paintings arranged into 25 galleries.It was established in...
; and the Imperial Gallery of Art, London. He was a member of the Council of the British School at Rome
British School at Rome
The British School at Rome was established in 1901 and granted a Royal Charter in 1912 as an educational institute in the fields of archaeology, literature, music, and history of Rome and Italy of every period, and for the study of the fine arts and architecture...
and of the National Art Collections Fund
National Art Collections Fund
The Art Fund is an independent membership-based British charity, which raises funds to aid the acquisition of artworks for the nation. It gives grants and acts as a channel for many gifts and bequests, as well as lobbying on behalf of museums and galleries and their users...
. Joseph founded the British Artists Exhibitions Organization for the encouragement of lesser-known British artists. He provided for additions to and extensions of London museums, such as the Tate Gallery
Tate Gallery
The Tate is an institution that houses the United Kingdom's national collection of British Art, and International Modern and Contemporary Art...
(a new building of several galleries for modern foreign art, works by John Singer Sargent
John Singer Sargent
John Singer Sargent was an American artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian era luxury. During his career, he created roughly 900 oil paintings and more than 2,000 watercolors, as well as countless sketches and charcoal drawings...
, and modern foreign sculpture), the National Gallery (a new gallery), the National Portrait Gallery (a new building of several galleries), University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
, and the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
(a new wing to house the Elgin marbles
Elgin Marbles
The Parthenon Marbles, forming a part of the collection known as the Elgin Marbles , are a collection of classical Greek marble sculptures , inscriptions and architectural members that originally were part of the Parthenon and other buildings on the Acropolis of Athens...
and Nereid statues). In 1930 he wrote Thirty Years of British Art.
The Duveen Brothers' business began to decline after Joseph's death in 1939, at which time Armand Lowengard (Joseph Duveen's nephew) and Edward Fowles became joint owners of the firm. When Lowengard died in 1943, Edward Fowles assumed the presidency of Duveen Brothers. The Nazi occupation of France forced Duveen Brothers to evacuate Paris. The London office at 4 Grafton Street closed shortly thereafter. After the war Duveen Brothers had a number of notable clients, such as Henry Ford II
Henry Ford II
Henry Ford II , commonly known as "HF2" and "Hank the Deuce", was the son of Edsel Ford and grandson of Henry Ford...
and Robert Lehman
Robert Lehman
Robert Lehman was an American banker, head of Lehman Brothers for decades and a notable race-horse owner, and important art-collector and philanthropist.-Biography:...
, but the business never regained its former vibrancy. In 1964 Edward Fowles sold Duveen Brothers to Norton Simon
Norton Simon
Norton Winfred Simon , in the United States was a millionaire industrialist and philanthropist based in California. A significant art collector, he is the namesake of the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, California.-Early life:...
, including the East 79th Street mansion and all remaining stock (excluding the business records).
Records
Edward Fowles served as a consultant to the Norton Simon Foundation and, in 1968, donated his papers and the Duveen Brothers business records to the Metropolitan Museum of ArtMetropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
, where they were housed until 1996. In 1969 the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute purchased the Duveen library of books, periodicals, exhibition catalogues, and sales catalogues, along with a portion of the Duveen Brothers business records that was interfiled with the library and remains at the Clark. In 1996 the Metropolitan Museum of Art donated the Duveen archive to the Research Library at the Getty Research Institute
Getty Research Institute
The Getty Research Institute , located at the Getty Center in Los Angeles, California, is "dedicated to furthering knowledge and advancing understanding of the visual arts". A program of the J...
.
Philately
Henry Duveen was an important philatelist who in 1921 was entered on the Roll of Distinguished PhilatelistsRoll of Distinguished Philatelists
The Roll of Distinguished Philatelists is a philatelic award of international scale, created by the Philatelic Congress of Great Britain in 1921...
as one of the "Fathers of Philately".