Durand-Ruel hoped to win the favor of Dr. Barnes, who had the potential to purchase many other paintings from them. The firm asked if they could act on his behalf to purchase the Cézanne still life.
In this letter, Dr. Barnes tells Durand-Ruel not to let Vollard discover that they know of the existence of the Cézanne still life. Because Dr. Barnes is the only other person who knew that Vollard had the painting, it would be obvious that Durand-Ruel were acting as agent for Dr. Barnes.
