The Portland daily press., 1867-05-08
THE PRESS.
An Art Pilgrimage.
WINDHAM, May 10, 1867.



To the Editor ofthe Press: lA 'N'' w ' ''
SIR: saw in the Portland papers few days
since, that large collection of pictures by the
old masters and celebrated modern painters
was to be sold at vendue ON the 9Th; and as we
are not very busy just now, father having ie'
out his farm, 1 concluded I'd take trip 10 Tue
city and see this show. I've always peeh
good deal interested in pictures, and tins year
,ya,a had an artist from New York up here |
who has told rs consid. rabe about Art, and |
turned ont TO be a very entertaining kind of |
cha, hefore his brain was turned) and knows |
"a much rs most folks, though he was raised in |
the city. Father has lived in the country all
his life, and he says this artist knows twice as
much about the woods as he does Idon't send
YOU his name, because, before he pas crazu, he
said he hated to see it in print. When pro-
posed to gotO Portland to see these pictures,
he said he should like to 60 too as he hadn't
seen any works of that kind-beautiful gems
of art, the papers said-for a long time, and he
thought it might do him good saw him
wink when he said this, but he very often
winks, as he is apt to overworl1 his eyes; and
didn't think he was chatting about the pictures.
don't go to the city very often on wheels In
the summer season we're generally too hard at
work to waste much time that way. Tins
time had to take the cropeared horse ines
slower than cold rnolasses) and borrow Major
Perxins's wagon. and patch up the team har-
ness and I tell YOU we had a tedious time of
it. It's full twelve miles into town, and the
last eleven of the way we had to work our pass
age by the sweat of our brows When we
reached the city the horse was as frosh az ever,
but we were pretty nearly exhausted. We
thought of going into Coles to get lunch, as
we couldn't find an eating but my
friend, the painter-man, said we'd better 60
and see the pictures first, and then perhaps we
shouldn't want any. 1t turned out just as he
said; we didn't want either turnovers or pic
lures. ''i'N 'i's. ,-'-
There was quite a crowd at the place of ven
due, and everybody seemed to be much inter-
ested gazing at the frames and reading the cat
alogues. Now, Mr., Editor, did you see those
pictures? 1t isn't possible. If you had, you
couldn't have put such praises of them in your
paper Those pictures looked as if they were
the pick of the poorest daubs from the walls of
all the cheap eating-houses in the country
There are thirty-one schoolma'ams in the town
of Windham that can't paint worse pictures
than any of those large ones at the vendue.-
And yet 1 suppose those pictures were sold
when the vendue came off. The people SEEM
ed to be admiring them. They seemed to be
innocent enough folks. Pictures marked in
the catalogue like the following attracted most
attention: ..t........,.
46). Chimborazo by Moonshine; lsaL 81 .u.lnf
Alex. Won Humboldt.
A20 Intar;or. g. lp .y-- d fl] ii's .",llI III ~
Fetheringehstifenhiffe nhoffengo ffenschuoff-
enhausengarten. a-niIu lG3 d iidI
And I suppose they finally bought them. The
last-named of these, though, L know to be
really an old picture, as saw it more than ten
years agoin BARRIERS shop in Saccarappa, and
the barber said he wouldn't take rs cents for
it. Are there no painters or frame makers in
Portl2nd, that people must buy these misera-
BILE shams for the sake of the frames? And do
the newspapers care SO little for the interests
of the people that they will call this trumpery
beautiful, and induce men who imagine they
can't indge for themselves to load their walls
with things which in six months they will wish
at the bottom of the sea? All that had the
least show of merit in the whole collection
were few small figure pictures which seemed
to be copied with tolerable care. It's wonder
where all this trash came from. Perhaps
it's the refuse of vendues in New York and
Boston. If SO, they must have awful poor pic
lures there. But my chief object in writing
these few lines is not to express the indignant
sympathy of the people of Windham for the
poor Portlanders-they almost deserve to be
gulled if they will buy such pictures as those
but to claim damages for a serious injury
Al
me.
There was a picture on the right side as we
went in, representing great waterfall, with
steamboat going cheerfully over the brink to
destruction. A little higher up stream was
seen raft, also doomed. Though tho raft was
farther from the spectator, the men thereon
were three times as large as the tiny figures in
the steamer, all huddled in the bows eager to
share the fun of a watery grave. This picture
was truly marvel, in perspective, chiaroscuro
this, my friend says, is the proper term for Of
fects of light and shaded, color, breadth, tone,
handling, and everything you ever heard men
tinnnd in connection with picture. Before
this fatal gem" my friend paused and laughed
as if he wauld burst. When he hod seen this
he would look at no other, and I could not en-
tice him away. The wretched man soon be-
came quite purple, and finally fell upon the
floor in fit. Heaven knows how 1 got him
home. can just remember fastening the old I,
horses head to the tail of an ox-team, and drag
ging YEARLY out to Windham with my I'M
happy burden. No sooner would he recoy-
er from one of these spells than he would re-
lapse again in spasms of laughter; and as he is
still totally unfit to continue his work, I feelit
my duty to forward you the enclosed little bill,
to which would invite your early attention.: o
Portland newspapers to j.. P DIR. 3a
Nurse hire ..,....r....,..... 5U
t'di 10
One days work d. P.) %
Buttons (of the coat of the artist. .......tO ~
lime OF The ariiti, including probable a ~ s'fn
duration of his frenzy. ..,.,,......e 900 90 ai
stm1s and paper .......,..,..........-.G
Total. ...-.-yt ~ -u4g saoo9 Of