Thoughts: John Quinn's 1913 Tariff Battle - Transforming the American Art Landscape

Thoughts: Tobias Czudej04.08.2025

When we examine pivotal moments that shaped the development of modern art in America, John Quinn's successful battle against art tariffs in 1913 stands as a transformative achievement. This decisive legislative victory—overturning the Payne-Aldrich Tariff Act's 15 percent duty on contemporary art imports—restructured the American art landscape and established the groundwork for New York's eventual emergence as a global art center.

Quinn, a New York lawyer with Irish roots, recognized something elemental about art that many of his contemporaries missed: creative expression requires cross-pollination to thrive. His testimony before Congress remains remarkably prescient. "The exclusive study and reproduction of the methods of the past, of the ideals and styles of the past, is the government of the living by the dead," he argued. "Art is subject to the eternal law of change."[1] In these words, Quinn articulated a vision of cultural exchange that transcended the protectionist economics of his era.

What makes Quinn's advocacy extraordinary was its timing and impact. As legal counsel for the 1913 Armory Show, Quinn orchestrated a coordinated approach: helping introduce Americans to European modernism through the landmark exhibition while simultaneously dismantling the financial barriers that would have prevented its continued influence.[2] From this dual platform, he fundamentally altered America's cultural trajectory.

Between 1911 and his untimely death in 1924, Quinn assembled a remarkable collection of approximately 2,500 works by more than 150 artists.[3] His acquisitions—Brancusi, Picasso, Matisse, and others—demonstrated his commitment to modernism not just in principle but in practice. Quinn was building one of the most significant collections of avant-garde European art in America, enabled in part by the very tariff policies he had helped to change.

Quinn's victory created the foundation for New York's emergence as a global art capital by ensuring that artistic ideas could flow freely across borders. His successful advocacy for untaxed contemporary art established a principle that continues to inform cultural policy today: that art requires unimpeded circulation to foster innovation and cultural development.

The irony of Quinn's legacy is that his own will directed that his collection be liquidated after his death, resulting in the dispersal of these important works—many returning to Europe. This loss, however, would have profound consequences for American art. The deaths of Quinn in 1924 and artist Arthur B. Davies in 1928, along with the subsequent scattering of their significant collections, alarmed several prominent art patrons. In direct response, Lillie P. Bliss, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, and Mary Quinn Sullivan were spurred to establish the Museum of Modern Art in 1929, creating a permanent institution to ensure modern masterpieces would remain accessible to the American public.

The Harmonized Tariff Schedule still maintains duty-free status for original artworks today,[5] a direct descendant of Quinn's advocacy. His efforts to remove barriers to artistic exchange had lasting effects that extended far beyond his lifetime. By understanding that the vitality of cultural ecosystems depends on freedom of movement for creative works, Quinn helped establish a legislative framework that would allow American art and culture to flourish through exposure to international influences.

Quinn's foresight in recognizing the importance of unfettered artistic exchange, combined with his practical skills as a lawyer and advocate, made him one of the most consequential figures in the development of modern art in America. While his collection may have dispersed, his legacy lives on in the institutional and policy structures that continue to shape America's relationship with global art movements.

Tobias Czudej

Sources:
[1] Quinn, John. "A Plea for Untaxed Contemporary Art; Memorandum in Regard to the Art Provisions of the Pending Tariff Bill." New York: Association of American Painters & Sculptors, Inc., June 1913.
[2] Zilczer, Judith. "The Noble Buyer: John Quinn, Patron of the Avant-Garde." Washington, D.C.: The Smithsonian Institution Press, 1978.
[3] "John Quinn." The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Leonard A. Lauder Research Center for Modern Art. https://www.metmuseum.org/research-centers/leonard-a-lauder-research-center/research-resources/modern-art-index-project/quinn
[4] "The three women who founded New York's MoMA, the great museum of modern art." Finestre sull'Arte. https://www.finestresullarte.info/en/works-and-artists/the-three-women-who-founded-new-york-s-moma-the-great-museum-of-modern-art
[5] Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, Chapter 97: Works of art, collectors' pieces and antiques.

Image: Quinn, John. "A Plea for Untaxed Contemporary Art; Memorandum in Regard to the Art Provisions of the Pending Tariff Bill." New York: Association of American Painters & Sculptors, Inc., June 1913.