James Duffy Legendary Detroit Art Collector passes

[Lowell]

James Duffy was a remarkable character in the Detroit art scene of the 70's and 80's whose patronage was a big factor in the emergence of the Cass Corridor art scene. He spent his money on Detroit artists and by his collection, influence and connections did much to make it prominent and validated.

The attached DIA Press Release / obit will provide many of the activities of this remarkable man.
Attachment 3756

[Django]

I know I had met him but cant place his face. I certainly didnt know THAT^ much about him, wish I had.

[Ravine]

My father, for quite a few years, was Mr. Duffy's Office Manager, and held his boss in high esteem.
He was a very generous man. The "Christmas Bonus" he gave my father, about forty years ago, would be a helluva nice one even in today's dollars.
I still have the gift he sent to me when I graduated from high school.
Don't believe me? The phone number to the place was VInewood 1-8600.

[Farrer]

Thanks for posting and including the obit. It filled in some blanks for me. I'd heard interesting stories of him and the warehouse filled with art and of his driving around in a Rolls, or somesuchthing. Very interesting person, and generous.

As an aside, there's a documentary film about Wagstaff that I saw late at night [[fuzzy) that covers his colorful life including his curatorship in Detroit.

[1KielsonDrive]

My father, for quite a few years, was Mr. Duffy's Office Manager, and held his boss in high esteem.
He was a very generous man. The "Christmas Bonus" he gave my father, about forty years ago, would be a helluva nice one even in today's dollars.
I still have the gift he sent to me when I graduated from high school.
Don't believe me? The phone number to the place was VInewood 1-8600.

So Ravine, I probably knew your dad at some point because Duffy's business and employees often interacted with the business I worked for. I was in Duffy's warehouse on many occasions and I drove by it last week on Angel's Night Patrol. He also collected work of an artist I still collect. At one time he had the largest collection of that artist. I trumped him. Mr. Duffy was a true eccentric - but also a nice person. Yeah, he had some Rolls or Bentley [[I can't tell one from the other) stories, including bumping in to quite few things, which I'm quite sure resulted in Mr. Duffy being required to hire a driver. I last spoke to him a couple of years ago. I'd acquired 'Up From The Streets. Detroit Art From The Duffy Warehouse Collection", a WSU Press book, edited by Jeffrey Abt. My intention was to have him autograph it. I just looked. No autograph. I must've been too busy BS'ing with him. Ask your library to get a copy through ILL, or buy one. It's a good book. I'm sure it's been discussed at length here at DY.

[Ravine]

Well, 1KD, that's interesting. My Dad retired in the mid-70's; I'm not sure how long he had worked at Mr. Duffy's place, but I'm going to guess that it was about ten years. My Dad was three years older than Mr. D., and my Dad was kind of a country boy, in the sense that he was born, and grew up, in northern Michigan.
I mention that because Dad didn't quite "get" Mr. Duffy's avid zeal for modern art. This guy mentioned in the obit which Lowell attached-- Robert Sestok-- seemed to be a favorite of Mr. D.'s, and I gathered that he was often around the warehouse. My Dad, not "getting" the artwork at all, seemed to think that the entire relationship was kind of comical, but I know that he had considerable respect for Jim Duffy.
The only other people, from Duffy's, who I remember are a man named Alfred Jackson [[I do not know what his role was,) and a woman, one my Dad called "Mrs. C.," who, like Dad, worked in the office part of the warehouse. She lived in St. Clair Shores, I believe.
That's probably more sharing than you were interested in, but I don't know how close to the operation you were, so I figured, what the hell.
R.I.P., Mr. [["Jim") Duffy. You were very good to my father.

[1KielsonDrive]

Thanks for sharing Ravine. It's all good. I love the interaction because it reminds me of the 'old days'. I was around Duffy's when your dad was around - the early 70's to early 80's, though it's unlikely I'd remember him personally. Yes, Duffy's relationships with artists seemed somewhat peculiar - he being very wealthy and from the Pointes and his friends being starving artists from the Cass Corridor. But that's what made the relationships so important. Duffy had money and love for art and they had little money and love for making art. He not only helped them by supporting them financially, he helped them gain recognition. The result was international notoriety of the Cass Corridor as a breeding ground for artists who went on to 'fame' in the broader art world. As I said before, Mr. Duffy was quite eccentric and became more so as he aged. Don't think I mean eccentric to be bad, but rather as a 'character'. I've always loved characters. That whole stretch of West Jefferson Avenue through Delray past Fort Wayne produced many great characters from Duffy to Dave Usher [[MPC Environmental and jazz) to Hal and Chick Ferriss [[tug boaters) to the Bellas [[Gypsy musicians) and on. My heart still rests there.