Henry J. Duveen

Henry Joseph Duveen (26 October 1854^[1] – 15 January 1919) was a British art dealer who co-founded the firm of Duveen Brothers with his brother, Joseph.

Henry J. Duveen
Born	(1854-10-26)26 October 1854 Meppel, Netherlands
Died	15 January 1919(1919-01-15) (aged 64)
Nationality	British
Occupation	Art dealer

Duveen was born in Meppel, Netherlands, the son of Eva (van Minden) and Joseph Henoch Duveen, who were both from Dutch Jewish families.^[2]

After his brother's death from Bright's disease in 1908, his nephew, the future Lord Duveen, worked alongside his uncle. He was also an eminent philatelist who was one of the Fathers of Philately named on the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists in 1921.^{[citation needed]}

Art dealing

Henry Duveen went to New York to establish a gallery there in the 1870s whilst his brother, Joel Joseph, founded galleries in London and Paris. One of Henry's first clients was the department store owner Benjamin Altman who until his death in 1913 purchased a large collection of Oriental porcelain from him, as well as many Rembrandts, Italian Renaissance masterpieces, and old rugs etc.

Philately

The "Miss Rose" cover of British Guiana, c. 1850. Discovered 1896.^[3]

The Hawaiian Missionary 2c and 13c stamps on piece once owned by Duveen.^[4]

Duveen owned some of the great rarities of philately, including the "Miss Rose" cover franked with a pair of British Guiana "cotton reels"^[5] and more than one Post Office Mauritius.^[6] He restricted himself to issues before 1896 and, at its height, his collection took up sixty-nine Stanley Gibbons Oriel albums.^[7] Duveen's son, Sir Geoffrey Edgar Duveen (1883–1975), inherited his general stamp collection.^[8]

References

1. Bierman, Stanley M. The World's Greatest Stamp Collectors. New York: Frederick Fell Publishers Inc., 1981, p. 90; ISBN 0811903478
2. Secrest, Meryle (November 2005). Duveen: A Life in Art. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226744155.
3. British Guiana’s Cottonreels, L.N. Williams, davidfeldman.com, 21 May 2012. Retrieved 9 April 2014. Archived here.
4. Siegel Auctions
5. Bierman, 1981, p. 92.
6. Duveen, Henry (1854–1919) Helen Morgan, Blue Mauritius, 2009. Retrieved 9 April 2014. Archived here.
7. Bierman, 1981, p. 92.
8. Who Was Who in British Philately Archived 2012-07-21 at archive.today, Association of British Philatelic Societies, 2014. Retrieved 7 April 2014.

Further reading

• Phillips, Charles J. (1922) The Duveen Collection of Rare Old Postage Stamps: A Brief Description of Some of the Rarities of this Famous Collection. New York: Charles J. Phillips.

External links

• Duveen Brothers at The Frick Collection
• Duveen Brothers records at the Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, Accession No. 960015. The records provide a detailed view of the Duveen Brothers business activities in London, Paris, and New York.
• Duveen Brothers stock documentation from the dealer's library at the Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, Accession No. 2007.D.1. The collection document the Duveen Brothers' cataloging, research, exhibition work, and publication of works of art and collections.