Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1860-02-08

DoylSh mlSchlet, they declded tnaI Ine rlch-
ly dressed lady would make fine target
and, in spite of their sisters remonstran-
ces. they commenced throwing their balls
at her. Lily. in great distress at the men,
aced destruction of her work, complained
to her mother; and instead of being repri-
manded for defacing the wall, was told to
90 on with her sketch, while the boys were
reproved, and forbidden to enter her room.
Encouraged by the praise she received,
Lily worked on diligently. She drew a
colonnade behind her fgures, then added
other groups, representing persons enjoying
themselves at place of fashionable amuse-
ment The background was landscape
of hill and valley. rock and sea. This
picture being much admired, she went on
covering the walls of her room from floor
to ceiling with the creations of her roman
tic Imagination. Columns and statues,
fountains and grottOes, appeared in her
scenes Of luxury and magniGeence; and her
landscapes were as charming as the forms
with which she enlivened them. In every
panel was a distinct picture. All her
leisure hours. after milking the COWS and
hoeing the corn, were devoted to this
amusement. 1t was true of her. as Hal
le:k says it was doubtful of his Wyoming
maiden, that she worked in the field with
Shakspeare's volume in her bosom bOrnc;'
with Sismondi also, and volumes of histo-
ry from her fathers splendid library.
/ The farmers in the ncighborhOOd, and
the ladies and gentlemen of Marietta, came
to see the curious sketches both on the
walls and canvas of which they had heard.
Saturday afternoons were appointed for the
reception of visitors. The fame of Lily's
attempts began to spread rapidly. and she
was mentioned with praise in several news
paper notices. At her father persuasion,
sic tried to study perspective and anato-
my, but it was more agreeable to her i'm
petuOus nature to sketch from her own
glowing fancy, than to pore over the dry
bones and plates of different parts of the
human frame. In coloring also, she would
trust to her intuitive perception rather
than to regular course of study. Her
fIther procured her muslin for her expert
ments, and, after covering many yards. she
became fully aware of her own Deficiencies,
which she resolved to conquer. Her un-
willingness to be taught arose from the
self-relianee of an independent character,
and not from an inflated idea of her own
requirements.
Her parents became more and more So
licitous to give her all the advantages they
could procure; and letter from 4 wealthy
gentleman of Cincinnati, describing the Op-
portunities that would be offered for stuly-
ing in that city, determined them to leave
the farm and remove thither.
Miss Martins pictures were exhibited in
Cin-innati, and attracted the attention of
connoisseurs. They were large, as her fig
ures of liEe-size best enlisted her own sym
pathies. Her battle with the world now
commenced in earnest. The jealousy ofri- |
val artists was awakened by the certainty
that a rising genius had come among them.
Flippant critics pleased others and their
own vanity by decrying her predictions
But she continued to paint and sometimes I
had good fortune in disposing of her pie
lures, practicing her art with undiminished
industry and enthusiasm, even while dis
couraged by the want of patronage.
On one occasion she was in company
with Lord Morpeth. Addressing him as
Mr.. MOrpeth, she was reminded apart by
her father that she ought to say my lord.
No, indeed replied the young lady; 4
never saw a man 1 would call my lord
yet
Miss Martin was married in Cincinnati
to Mr.. Spencer. When surrounded by the
cares of young family she continued to
pint, but her style changed. At first her
pictures had been poetical and semi-allegO-
rical. She liked to embody some sugges-
tive idea, or whole history, in a group,
as in several of her scenes from Shakespeare.
Her Water Spritc,' respecting the escape
of Spring from Winter, is of this class
After she became mother, her taste was
more for bits of domestic life. and she
found matter-of-fact pictures more saleable
than her most cherished ideals
After living some seven years in Cinciu-
natl, Mrs. Spencer returned with her fam
lily to New York, stopping year in COlum-
bus, Ohio, where she painted portraits and
fancy pieces. In New Yoik she visited
the Academy for the purpose of improving
herself by drawing after the antique, often
going in the evening, as her labors and
cares absorbed her during the day, aud sit
ting among the male art-students. One,
who noticed the quiet moless-lookins girl !
1t work, undertook to point out the best :
models, but soon discovered he was trying
10 teach his superior. She was made :
member of the Academy Her May 4
Queen and Choose Between were much !
praised in the Art Union Exhibition. The
Jolly WashcrwOman,' sold by that insti- 9
tuition, became celebrated. twas painted
inpromptu from scene in the artists own
kitchen. A connOisSeur was so much
pleased with one of her pictures that he in- '