John Dean

“As [William] Valentiner noted in his uncompleted memoirs Remembering Artists, [Diego] Rivera’s [ Detroit Industry ] murals rooted the Detroit Institute of Arts to the many-faceted jewel of its central court because of the harmonious, fertile relationship between "the industrialist" and "the artist." Rivera remarked to Valentiner how especially struck he was that "Edsel had none of the characteristics of the exploiting capitalist, that he had the simplicity and directness of a workman in his won factories and was like one of the best of them." Their relationship was like the murals themselves, a superb expression of pluralism, toleration, and empathy for the other, and of a cosmopolitan sense of all the Americas, not just of the United States of America or Detroit alone.”

“Books were also a lifesaver when he came back to live in the valley, occupying his evenings during the long winter months when night came early and the wild gales howled and shrieked outside.”

“And this is where he comes. The place where he finds peace. The place where his demons cease their chatter. The place where he is at one with his world. At least for a few snatched hours.”