New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1875-04-10

PICTURES AND PICTURE-DEALERS.

M NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. GALLERIES IN LONDON
RELATIONS BETWEEN ARTISTS AND DEALERS
frRoM THE REGULAR CORRESPONDENT OF THE rRiSUNh']
LONDON March ia London picture-dea'er mas
hit upon means Of advertising himself and ms PIC
lures which, if not novel in conception, n mover IN
the way II is carried out. 1t has long been the
fashion here to charge you shilling for looking at
the pictures Won want to buy. II it be public gal
lery, nobody would object but 1t is little strong
when a private dealer fines you in that sum for the
privilege of deciding which of his collection he shall
persuade you to transfer to your own There are AT
least five instances of this practice at tins moment
in London. In some cases you pay sixpence extra
for catalogue. In the exhibition to which am
referring that of LinnelPs works, the catalogue is
given YOU gratis. 1t woald be better worth the six
pence than any know, partly because 1t is nice
bit of printing, mainly as an example of the nights
70 which the pcture-dealng mind can exat its par
ticular trade. Linnell is beyond doubt one of the
first living English landscape painters great as a
colorist in other respects less great His paintings
fetch large prices perhaps too large, sometimes for
il appears that Mr.. White had good number OF
them on hand unsOld. But do not suppose this ex-
hbition of them was intended to promote the sale
Of them No motive so vulgar as that agitated their
owner. For his own satisfaction and pleasure, he
tells us in the preface to his catalogue he has long
desired to see collected together iii one gallery
sufficient NUMBER OF the WOrkS Oh SIcde ldhu-
scape Painter" to enable him the dealer to discover
the Impression they would create as whole. And
he continues: Isolated pictures had impressed me
varously and already knew how they bore COM
parson with others; wished to see how the artist
would bear comparison with himself Out of my
own resources have been enabled to carry out my
own WISH and in opening my Gallery to the public L
shall be satisfied if this Exhibition affords to others
half the pleasure ii has given to me-"
Since the DAYS when Goldsmiths critic pronounced
tina, the picture might have been better if the
artist had taken pains, there has been nothing
TO surpass the originality of this reason for putting
pictures before theipubic. There are in all IL Lin
nells thus collected together in one gallery" Itmay
safely be said of them that the impression they Gre
ate as a whole is less than the impression any one of
them would create by itself. Lnnells power is
marred by mannersIn and in these-an but one or
two painted within three years-the mannerism de-
generates into monOtOny. One no more vans whole
gallery of Lnnells than whole dinner of sweets.
This our ingenious vendor of Linnes seems to have
felt for he has hung on the same walls some 60 other
potuTes-aso for sale, but not added TO SELL
of course They added, he tells us In his grand
way " to give additional interest TO this Exhibition
and break the continuous line of landscape" what
follows Is a happy specimen of the puff indirect:
at was extremely difficult, however, to find works
oil sutflclcnt power ana qullity 10
ordeal to which they subjected. 1t will be seen
whether have succeeded in making a happy selec-
ton from the limited at my own disposal"
The happy selection includes or less important
works by Calderon Henrietta Brown, Petite, Marcus
Stone Poole Frere Stanfeld, Cooke, Goodall, Corot,
Boughton, and other less known men. BOughton's
Failing Leaves" is his latest work, very tenderly
painted and fine in color The Lnnels range lnprice
from 900 10 1900 guneas apiece, one bit of canvas
four inches square excepted which the enthusiast OF
limited resources may make his own at the nominal
sum of 300.
Besides this, there are at present Messrs. Agnew's
exhibition of water-coors; Mr.. Brookss old masters,
placed in what he chooses 10 ehrsten "PalaeOtech-
mic" Gallery the British Gallery also of old masters
English and other in Pail Mall, the new British
Gallery in Old Bond-St., called because composed
chiefly of Belgian pictures; the Dor6 Gallery, the
Walton Gallery, and many others; all worth visit.
The Winter exhibitions of the two watercOor socie-
ties are closed. Sketches and studies made up the
main part of them. The Dudley is still open; inter-
esting enough, but with little remarkable work
almost nothing TO show the presence of that I'M
known genius which the Dudley is expected to bring
forward. 1t is the off season for exhibitions,
numerous as they are. N0t till after Easter
do the most important ones open-the Royal
Academy; the Society and the Institute of
works for the year; the Society of French Artists
and so on. Even the great dealers shops are COM
paratvely empty. They all tell you-especialy
those who import foreign pictures-that in two or
three weeks time they shall have abundance Of
treasures think that as rule foreign pictures
Dutch Belgian and French for which chiefly there
is a market in England-sell at higher prices than
they fetch at home Any rising man is soon known,
and rises fast in value. heard dealer lats,y com
planning about young artist wh2a b had discov-
.srse. 49,. ,H N whose tataF5 he had faith But the
trouble is" h6 said, with pathos, he found out bis
own value almost as soon as / did, and now he
makes pay him nearly as much for his pictures
as can sell them for" said thought it did seem
hard that the man who merely painted the picture
should get more of the pay than the man who |
sold it,
Dealing in pictures has been reduced, I may say,
TO something very like q science. il is odd by what
devices the middleman makes himself necessary
and sometimes odious-to the two persons whom he
stands between. He hunts up the struggling artist
who has talent and not too much genius, and makes
a contract with him at a fixed price for all the pic
lures he shall paint during certain number of
years He hunts clients with equal industry. He
knows bow to create notorety for his protege, and
before the term is half the artist finds his pic
lures selling for five times the money he gets for
painting them. If an artist is independent, his
fame established, th9 dealers method is different.
He may make it for the artists interest to paint for
himself only; paying him sometimes fixed sum
and half the difference between that and what the
purchaser gives. Very famous men tic themselves
up in this way II you wanted a FOrtuny in For
tuny's lifetime you could not get it from Fortuny.
IL you went TO his studio he would refuse to sell
you picture, and if you were persistent
H. onlo fa<rtr