Delaware tribune. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1867-1877, 1870-01-06


of tue late Thomas Thompson, Esq, man
noted for his great wealth and many eccen-
trlcilies.
The sale will commence at the Art Gale
ries of the Auctioneers, Nos. Sl7 and sl9
Broadway, on the 7th of February, and will
be continued day and evening from day TO
day and week to week, until the entire COL
lection is disposed of. Catalogues of the sale
can be obtained by inclosing 20 cents 10 the
Auclloneers.
The New York Herald of Dec 10th says:
1t will be remembered that Mr.. Thompson
died in New York in the spring of the
present year, and the singular beg tests made
in his will were but another instance of the
peculiariiies which marked the man through
life.
lie was lover of The fine arts from his
youth, and ut the time of the burning of the
fremont Temple, in toston, in March, 1852,
he lost by the conilagration fine-art collec-
tion which had cost him upwards of Sg2, 900,
and this be it remembered, was at u time
when money was gold and everything was
cheap.
This misfortune for q time discouraged
him, but he could not overcome his tastes and
habits. In hall a dozen years his new colec-
tion was greater than the one he had lost
Occupying an entire building, consisting of
more than dozen large rooms the pic
lures not only covered the walls but were
positively kept in piles, SO that ii may prob
ably be truthiuily said that no one except the
owner ever saw the entire collection, or any
thing app oaching the whole of it.
Some old citizens of Boston, presidents Of
banks and insurance companies where Mr.
thompson did business, and some artists and
literary men, were occasionally invited to
pass az afternoon or often an entire day
among these treasures, and were unanimous
In the expression that they could not begin
70 look at them all. Portraits Of citizens and
friends, notable personagts, copies of the
old masters, and many undoubted originals,
the best specimens Of the English, French,
Italian, Dutch,a in fact every school, have
place III this remarkable collection. There
Was no artist OF picture. dealer who did mol
at times have transactions with this man
me poor artist found him an aDprecialive
anu KINDLY critic, and received liberal
price his object then was TO aid the artist
and advance the cause OF art. The proles
| sional dealer found him Il different man en-
tirely. No one quicker detected a cheat or
demanded more Tor his money, but ms il wa,
always known that with him market could
De found at some price,and the pay was cash
W hahti, he was customer not TO be ne
glected. This vast collection contains many
paintings bought for few hundred dollars
winch had been previously sold for as many
thousands; there are also many for which
MIR. Thompson paid several thousand dollars
pupn. that an 4.
greatly more. No collection known is so
rich in rare and original pictures.
AS some men are misers OF money. this
eccentric person was Il miser with his pict-
ures; he loved them as his life, and he kept
them jealousy To himself. Probably moi n
hundred persons have ever seen them, and
an apple ,tiun to him for that purpose was
almost invariably met with polite but stud.
led evasion Of compliance with the re-
quest.
Nearly len years ago, MIR. Thomson hnd
misunderstanding with the assessors of Bos
ION, and conceiving himself to have been
Injured by their action, resolved to leave the
city OF his birth, never again to return to il.
rms resolve hes udiously Kept and although
siding Tor several years in the immediate
vicinity, and being II large real estate owner
Ia Tue city, he never revisited il, ceased 10
communicate with his former friends who
resided there, and appiieally banished from
MS thoughts the fact of It's existence From
the day he left the city he ceased to bny
pictures. The artist lost II good friend and
picture vendors missed their best customer
The entire collection was slowed away. and
nom tfatday this has been sccurelyglardcd
from every eye until the past month. Mr.. i
Harvey Young, the well-known porlraii-
painter, and director of the Fine Arts Exhi-
nltlon OF the Boston Athenaeim, was en-
ploYed by order of the eyecutriX TO examine
and catalogue the collection
Mr. Young is probably The only living
man who has seen all these pictures. They
are stored in most nnpromisn. street. and
III building which no one would suspect
% being such repository. Mr. Youn. us :
serls that although in his youth he had some
knowledge Of them, and had himself con-
ribu'ed one or Two Efforts, yet when he en-
tered the building and found such immense
piles closely packed one against another
tier after tier, and floor above floor, he was
aghast, and although dcyoting to the work
all the spare time which the demands of his
profession allowed, and having all The assis
lance he required, yet weeks were needed
before anything like a list could be prepnr, Il
Bierst.dt, who knew Mr. Thompson wen
ana Of whose own paintings there are some
dozen or more, expresses an opinion that a
similar collection cannot now be nut 10
selher for half a million dollars M simple
hal is sufficiently large TO exhibit them,
Some idea may be conveyed by the fact that
when they were removed to their present
testing place the actual cost OF the carriage
was abou, $500, and in making arrangement
to reMlove The collectien ioNew York, not less
Than ten freight cars will be required, even il
N ~ md IL ttt,ttI t...xyt
any supeIiluois room
Upon the catalogue made by Mr.. Youna
are found signed pictures Of ali schools. nn
ny unqueslioned originals by such artists as
SIR Charles Easilakr. Thomas Lawrence.
Sir Joshua Reynolds, Sir Peter Lcly, God
frey hneller, Allan Ramsay, George Nor
land Gainesbornugh, Philips, llogarih, AIea-
dows, Ely, Turner, Nasmyih, Ru.spey.
Opic, Copley, Stewart. Newton, ara .sit,1
iald, Of The English school, and .ss,sFsss.r.
Lambinet De Buie, Mgnard, Baron, ~ III
l4abey. DE- oreux, OF the French. Itaf,ap.
Dutch, and German. are represented by Schi.
doni, Guerclno, Tcners, Seebach, Paul
Znccarell, tandyke, Van Ostade, Diaz,
Boucher, Van Mas, and many others equally
wei known, whose names have been made
famous, and original pictures from whose
hands have become rare There are large
''u'hoSi W S'p'ts hHN Dli1ludlS Dl Int most
artists of the fifteenth, sixteenth.
and seventeenth centuries. such rs Titian.
Rembrandt, Ruhens and Others. MANY nor
traits of the beauties of American society
are buried beneath the weight of supcriu.
cumbent pictures, and will be brought to the
AIR and sunshine once more.
American artists are largely represented.
and many Of the early works of men now
famous may be found here, some of them
giving the early promise Of genius now at
rs zenith The names Of Sully, Inman.
lsierstadl, Durand, Brown, Peale, Hart
Birch, Doughty, and nearly every one who |
was known ten years ugo may be found
argely represented on Tie catalogue. The
very last picture added to the collection was |
he Sleeping Beauty by Wight, Of Bos-
on. 1t was purchased by Mr.. Thompson
'etorc it was finished, for the sum of S3, |
200, the artist retaining the right Of exhbi- |
ion for a certain time. After being on view |
y the rooms of Messrs. Williams s. Everett. |
he well known art dealers, il was finally ,
passed over TO the business agent of the al |
ent purchaser. who sever saw il in its fin.
shed state, and since which time the beau |
iful "Guineth" has had supplementary /
eep of near half u score of wears.
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