THE APPRAISER CALLS: Encounters with Aristocracy

“When I first began my career [as an art appraiser in the ‘70s], America became enthralled with “Upstairs/Downstairs.” Now, forty years later, new versions of the same story lines have recaptured our fascination. While these have been pure fiction, what follows are true vignettes of Old Money life from my years among the rich and quietly famous. And I can assure my readers the real Biddles, DuPonts, and Rockefellers exhibited all the grandeur, falderal—and occasional witlessness—of their ma...