James Pearson Duffy, Grosse Pointe

Businessman donated millions for the arts

Pipefitting and valve company owner was an early backer of Cass Corridor art movement

Michael H. Hodges / Detroit News Arts Writer

Grosse Pointe -- When James Pearson Duffy died this week, Detroit lost a significant champion of local artists and a patron who gave millions to the Detroit Institute of Arts.

Mr. Duffy, who lived in Grosse Pointe, was 86 when he died Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2009.

"Among people in the art community, his name will be remembered for years to come," said Annmarie Erickson, DIA executive vice president for administration and planning.

Erickson declined to put a figure on his donations to the DIA apart from saying they were "multimillion-dollar gifts." Duffy also gave the museum more than 1,500 artworks.

And while Mr. Duffy graduated from Georgetown University, he made large gifts to Wayne State University. Among them was $4.5 million toward an endowment for the art and art history department, which was named for him last April.

Mr. Duffy's wealth came from the family pipefitting and valve business, Edward W. Duffy & Co., which he took over in 1960. In no time, he began filling up the company's Detroit headquarters and warehouse on West Jefferson Avenue with commissioned works.

He was one of the earliest and most enthusiastic supporters of the 1970s Cass Corridor arts movement, and collected numerous works by sculptor Robert Sestok and painter Gordon Newton in particular.

Gilbert Silverman, also a significant local collector of contemporary art, recalled that he and Mr. Duffy often found themselves in friendly competition for Cass Corridor works.

"The only times I was able to get a couple good pictures was when I beat him to the Willis Gallery" where Corridor artists mostly showed, Silverman said.

Mr. Duffy's funeral was held Friday at the Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Detroit.

mhodges@detnews.com (313) 222-6021