Mary Wakefield Mary Wakefield

The man who rescued Caravaggio

Mary Wakefield meets Sir Denis Mahon, the historian and collector who rediscovered a lost century of Italian art

issue 29 January 2005

Sir Denis Mahon arrived at The Spectator 40 minutes before he was due to be interviewed. While I scuffed around in search of tape recorders and sensible questions, Britain’s most distinguished collector and historian of Italian art sat in the editor’s office, waiting. Every now and then I looked at him through the door jamb.

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