Joseph Duveen Elgin Marbles
It was this joseph duveen who donated the duveen gallery to the national gallery to house the elgin marbles.
Joseph duveen elgin marbles. He had initially come for the official opening of the elgin marbles at the british museum but under the weight of the controversy surrounding their overzealous cleaning the ceremony had been canceled. Amongst other things he built the duveen gallery of the british museum to house the elgin marbles and a major extension to the tate gallery. Should they have lain in a gallery named after him. The elgin marbles have lain in the british museum s duveen galleries since 1962.
The gallery is of the same dimensions as the parthenon building sir joseph duveen insisted on that as a condition of his gift of 1m. In may 1939 duveen was in london. The duveen gallery s display of the parthenon marbles is a disgrace see both chris hitchens s book and mary beard s. Early one morning in the bed of his favorite room at claridge s duveen died of a cerebral hemorrhage.
2 comments dear kitty. The duveens were controversial for a number of reasons. 11 07 07 at 8 56 pm. For instance for employing bernard berenson the famous american born art expert to authenticate the italian paintings they were selling with berenson secretly receiving a 10 per.
Acting under the erroneous belief that the marbles were originally bright white under the orders of joseph duveen the marbles were cleaned with copper tools and caustics causing serious damage and altering the marbles colouring. Having paid for a new gallery at the british museum to house them duveen decided the marbles weren t pristine enough to fit his fantasy of greek sculpture so he locked the doors and brought in teams of workmen armed with carborundum brushes to scrape off the. For his services to british art for the duveen wing at the tate gallery in london and for funding the addition of a gallery to the british museum to house the elgin marbles he was knighted in 1919 made a baronet in 1926 and raised to the peerage in 1933. The elgin marbles are of course in the british museum but so also is the rosetta stone one of the sculptures.
This article was most recently revised and updated by amy tikkanen corrections manager. For his philanthropy he was knighted in 1919 created a baronet of millbank in the city of westminster in 1927 and raised to the peerage as baron duveen of millbank in the city of westminster on 3. Joseph duveen nearly defaced the elgin marbles.