The 48 Laws Of Power

I02 LAW 14

OBSERVANCEOFTHELAW

Joseph

Duveenwas

undoubtedly

the

greatest

artdealerofhistime—from

1904 to194-0healmost

single—handedlyrnonopolized

America’smillion-

aire

art-collecting

market.Butone

prizeplum

eludedhim:theindustrialist

AndrewMellon.Beforehe

died,

DuveenwasdeterminedtomakeMellon

aclient.

Duveen’sfriendssaidthiswasan

impossible

dreani.Mellonwasa

stiff,

taciturnman.Thestorieshehadheardaboutthe

congenial,

talkativeDu-

veenrubbedhimthe

wrongway—-he

hadmadeitclearhehadnodesireto

meettheman.YetDuveentoldhis

doubting

friends,

“Not

only

willMellon

buy

frommebuthewill

buyonly

fromme.”Forseveral

years

hetracked

his

prey,learning

theman’s

habits,tastes,

phobias.

Todo

this,

he

secretly

put

severalofMellon’sstaffonhisown

payroll,worming

valuableinforma-

tionoutofthem.

By

thetimehemovedinto

action,

heknewMellonabout

aswellasMellon’swifedid.

In 1921

Mellonwas

visiting

London,

and

staying

ina

palatial

suiteon

thethird floorof

Claridge’s

Hotel.Duveenbookedhimselfintothesuite

just

below

Mellon’s,

onthesecondfloor.Hehad

arranged

forhisvaletto

befriendMellon’s

valet,

andonthefateful

day

hehadchosentomakehis

move,

Mellon’svalettoldDuveen’s

valet,

whotold

Duveen,

that

hehad

justhelped

Mellononwithhis

overcoat,

andthattheindustrialistwasmak-

ing

his

way

downthecorridorto

ring

forthelift.

Duveen’svalet

hurriedlyhelped

Duveenwithhisownovercoat.Sec»

onds

later,

Duveenenteredthe

lift,

andloand

behold,

therewasMellon.

“Howdo

you

do,

Mr.Mellon?”said

Duveen,

introducing

himself.“Iamon

myway

totheNational

Gallery

tolookatsome

pictures.”

How

uncanny-

thatwas

precisely

whereMellonwasheaded.AndsoDuveenwasableto

accompany

his

prey

totheonelocationthatwouldensurehissuccess.He

knewMellon’stasteinsideand

out,

andwhilethetwomenwandered

through

the

museum,

hedazzledthe

magnate

withhis

knowledge.

Once

againquiteuncannily,they

seemedto

have

remarkably

similar

tastes.

Mellonwas

pleasantly

surprised:

ThiswasnottheDuveenhehadex-

pected.

Themanwas

charming

and

agreeable,

and

clearly

had

exquisite

taste.When

they

returnedtoNew

York,

MellonvisitedDuveen’sexclusive

gallery

andfellinlovewiththecollection.

Everything,surprisinglyenough,

seemedtobe

precisely

thekindofworkhewantedtocollect.Fortherest

ofhislifehewasDuveen’sbestandmost

generous

client.

Interpretation

Amanasambitiousand

competitive

as

Joseph

Duveenleft

nothing

to

chance.

What’s

the

point

of

winging

ig

of

justhopingyoumay

beable

to

charmthisorthatclient?It’slike

shooting

ducksblindfolded.Arm

yourself

withalittle

knowledge

and

your

aim

improves.

Mellonwasthemost

spectacular

ofDuveen’s

catches,

buthe

spied

on

many

amillionaire.

Bysecretlyputting

membersofhisclients’household

staffsonhisown

payroll,

hewould

gain

constantaccesstovaluableinfor-