In this monologue, the speaker presents Joseph Duveen as the most influential art dealer ever, describing how he recognized the surge of American wealth during the Industrial Revolution and capitalized on it by importing European masterpieces for wealthy U.S. collectors such as Rockefeller and J.P. Morgan. Duveen’s aggressive sales tactics created a booming market, but he soon faced a practical problem: his clients lacked enough wall space to display their growing collections. To solve this, Duveen persuaded patrons to fund public museums, most notably convincing Andrew Mellon to establish the National Gallery in Washington. By linking the patrons’ desire for immortality with the creation of a grand museum, Duveen secured even larger sales, cementing his role as a market‑shaper and cultural architect.
