The huge global art market born on English Street

Joseph Duveen and

The

business

The total value of transactions in the art market worldwide was US $67.8 billion in 2022. For many, this huge and influential global market was born on english Street in hull.

Joseph Duveen (1869-1939), the man who would go on to completely change America’s relationship with art, was born above his parents’ antique shop in 1869.

Duveen’s clients included Mellon, Frick, hearst and Morgan. If you weren’t a client, chances are you were a nobody.

Joseph’s Father, Joel Joseph Duveen, moved from the Netherlands to the port of hull in his early twenties. There, he began his business by travelling back to the Netherlands to source Dutch teacups, saucers, and Delftware, reselling them on his return to england. From teaware, he moved to Medieval tapestries.

By 1879, they traded the shop in hull for a shop in London. Within a few years, Joseph’s father had become the “most sought-after decorator” in London.

Duveen’s well known observation that “europe had lots of art and America lots of money” was the wellspring of his art dealings. Joseph positioned himself as the go-to person on all things art and decoration for mega-millionaire clientele: Altman, Frick, Gardener, huntington, Morgan and others.

And in europe, he built a network of personal valets to the landed gentry families as a means to track where the paintings and a willingness to sell could be found. Duveen knew where the heirlooms, paintings and sculptures were and it was his skill to connect them with mega rich American buyers.

Joseph’s Uncle henry, who had opened the Duveen’s first store in New York back in 1879, was made an appraiser of US Customs on imported works of art. Suddenly, Duveen’s competition found their works being appraised at higher prices than Duveen’s – a clear tax advantage.

Then, in 1912, he engaged the great Bernard Berenson, to be his personal authenticator for all works from that era

Of

art – by Rob Bell

– at the time, an authentication from Berenson could significantly increase the value of a painting.

With the First World War on the horizon, Duveen officially moved from London to New York City. From that new base, he would quickly become the biggest art dealer the world had ever seen. The American economy boomed during the war years and the mega rich had money to spend.

Duveen was fond of saying, “when you pay high for the priceless, you’re getting it cheap”, and was able to shape the tastes of American buyers.

But there were problems. Lord Crawford said: “Duveen lectured and harangued us, and talked the most hopeless nonsense about cleaning old works of art. I suppose he has destroyed more old masters by overcleaning than anybody else in the world, and now he told us that all old marbles should be thoroughly cleaned – so thoroughly that he would dip them into acid. Fancy – we listened patiently to these boastful follies …” he created a brilliant network of architects, interior decorators, art restorers as well as the cruise ship crews and personal valets – all to make sure he had the ideas on how to fill wall space, the inside information to know where he could find the art to fill the space and the knowledge of where he could meet the buyers face to face. Deck hands would position his deckchair next to the right person on Atlantic cruise ships; valets would set up Duveen to be in a hotel lift at the right moment. Duveen’s charm would do the rest. he acted like a friend but he had been a spy to tip the odds in his favour.

Pentelic marble naturally acquires honey colour when exposed to air, but Joe mistakenly believed they should be white. Duveen was responsible for using Plenderleith’s method of medicinal softsoap and ammonia, and also steel-wool and scraping. Ouch!

But perhaps his best move was to grow the art market at the precise time when rising income tax and the decline of big houses meant taxation stood in the way of spending and smaller houses meant less wall to fill.

Duveen’s strategy was to focus clients on immortality and the creation of public galleries named after the ones with the money.

The Frick Collection stands on 5th Avenue, New York. Internationally recognised as a premier museum and research centre, the Frick is known for its distinguished Old Master paintings and outstanding examples of European sculpture and decorative arts. Truly great works of art that the mighty Lord Duveen would have been proud to trade for the Elgin Marbles.

The collection originated with Henry Clay Frick (1849–1919), who bequeathed his home, paintings, sculptures, and decorative arts to the public for their enjoyment. And Frick was one of Duveen’s clients.

Perhaps the best testimony to Duveen’s legacy is the fact that some of the Great Masters were known as Duveens; which was enough to raise the profile of the piece – and its value.

For Duveen, it was easy to sell for tens of thousands, but the real skill was in selling for hundreds of thousands.

For decades, the art market in Europe and the Americas danced to a Duveen tune.