In February 1929, Sir Joseph Duveen (who last winter became at last Lord Duveen) was in a tight spot. After eight years of preparation, Mme Andree Hahn of Paris and Kansas City sued him for $500,000. claiming that he had prevented her from selling a Leonardo da Vinci painting to the Kansas City Art Institute for $250,000. when he pronounced it only a graceless copy of the Louvre's La Belle Fenonnière.*
Twenty-one days of trial, 590,000 words of testimony and 14 hours of deliberation by the jury ended in a deadlock. Neither side was able...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
