Rogues Gallery
Fascinating talk at Charleston Farmhouse as part of the Charleston Festival by Philip Hook from Sotheby’s talking about the role of dealers in art. He admitted himself that despite the title of the talk and his book that not all dealers have been rogues. He talked about how dealers can influence taste either by trading and creating a demand or by championing particular artists and establishing them. He talked about how Joseph Duveen has influenced the art in American galleries as he bought from impoverished European aristocrats and sold to American moguls who later bequeathed them to the galleries. He was known for using “below stairs intelligence” ie bribing the servants to get information on the families involved. He quoted Paul Durand- Ruel as an example of a dealer who championed artists and a style. He spotted that the new Impressionist work was not getting into the Saloons and selling so he acted for the artists and organised shows of their work. As ever wi...