There’s a lot salespeople can learn from art dealers. After all, they have one of the toughest sales jobs imaginable. They must sell something that has zero intrinsic value for eye-watering sums of money.
Joseph Duveen may be the most legendary art dealer in history. Between 1900 and 1940, Duveen sold paintings and sculptures with no practical value for millions of dollars to America’s wealthiest titans. He was an art dealer to John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Mellon, Henry Clay Frick, and William Randolph Hearst, and was responsible for assembling the three collections—Widener, Mellon, and Kress—that comprise the bulk of the National Gallery of Art in Washington. His secret was mastering the psychology of selling the impossible. Here’s what made Duveen a master, and how his techniques are still relevant in sales today.
The Scarcity Manufacturing Playbook
Most salespeople wait for scarcity to happen naturally. Duveen created it. He boosted the value of paintings by making them scarce — he bought entire collections and stored them to get them off the market and increase prices. He understood that when something becomes harder to get, its perceived value skyrockets. He sometimes bought works that he believed were beneath his collectors (including then-contemporary pieces by the likes of Monet) for the express purpose of burying them in his gallery’s basement.
The Intelligence Network Strategy
While his competitors were making cold calls, Duveen was building an intelligence operation that would make the CIA jealous. He was more than happy to pay off the butlers and chauffeurs who worked for those in possession of paintings he wanted to acquire, as well as the ones who worked for potential buyers. He did this in order to find out which owners would consider selling, and which collectors were in the market to buy.
His masterstroke came with Andrew Mellon, the steel magnate whose collection would later become the National Gallery. Duveen secretly began paying several of Mellon’s staff for information on Mellon’s tastes, ambitions, and habits, as well as his travel plans, then set up accidental meetings, showing up where he knew Mellon would be. The plan worked, as Mellon was impressed by Duveen’s taste, and soon became his most lucrative client.
Attachment Psychology
During the Great Depression when he was trying to sell to John D. Rockefeller Jr., instead of pushing for an immediate decision, Duveen applied a psychological tactic. He let Rockefeller Jr. temporarily house the pieces (for free), giving him the chance to grow attached to the art over a year before deciding to purchase.
After living with the pieces for months, Duveen set a firm deadline for the purchase option, using it as a psychological tool to compel Rockefeller to make a decision. The pain of potentially losing access to the artwork was greater than the pain of parting with his money, allowing Duveen to close the deal.
The Value Reframing Revolution
When they started talking about prices, Duveen always started by talking about values. Values that, as it happened, he himself had created. He taught his clients that art was priceless, and when you pay for the infinite with the finite, you are indeed getting a bargain. Remarkably, his clients felt better when they paid a lot. It gave them the assurance of acquiring rarity. Duveen understood that for the ultra-wealthy, high price was actually a feature.
Another built in feature of Duveen’s business was that his purchases and sales were newsworthy, providing free advertising and reinforcing the exclusivity and desirability of his art pieces. Every major transaction became a marketing event that attracted more high-end buyers.
The Duveen Legacy Lives On
The lesson extends far beyond art—human psychology operates the same way at every level. All of the greatest dealers make you feel, whatever the price, that you are getting a bargain. Their gift is for understanding the art—but no less so the customer.
Duveen’s most famous observation remains as relevant today as it was a century ago: “Europe has a great deal of art, and America has a great deal of money.” He spotted the market inefficiency and built an empire around connecting supply with demand.
Duveen proved that the highest levels of sales success come from understanding psychology, not just product features. Whether you’re selling software, consulting services, or industrial equipment, the principles remain the same: create scarcity, understand your buyer completely, let them experience ownership before purchase, reframe price as value, and make every sale a statement.
