New-York tribune., 1875-05-15
ART SALE IN ENGLAND.
THE MANLEY HALL COLLECTION.

FROM THE REGULAR CORRESPONDENT OF THE rRrBUNE1
LONDON, April 25.-A really great picture sale at
Chrsties is always interesting. 1t is sometimes even
dramatic, and such that of the Manley Hall
Gallery which took place yesterday and to-day.
There has been nothing to compare with 1t since the
Bicknen & elliott sales, put aside the water
color sales belonging to q different branch / am
saying that better pictures that collections of
greater art-vaue have not been sold. But the great
test in an auction sale seems to be the amount of
money obtained and that is the standard by which
the Manley Hall auction is pronounced the greatest
of recent times. On Friday, 90 pctures-with few
exceptions modern and the great majority English
produced E32, 100; on Saturday, 81 pictures pro-
duced fe5 593 The total for 139 pictures is f97 7s3
an average Of over E6OO for each picture. Yet
the collection a whole was not one which a man
needed to have been very proud of possessing Mr..
Nendel a prosperous oOtton-splnncr, or some
thing Of that kind, in Manchester. He had a fine
place and pleased himself by filling it with and
costly works of art of many different Sorts OF late
years pictures have been much the fashion In Man.
chester. and Mr.. Sam Mendel complied with the
general expectation of his wealthy fellow-citizens
by forming-as the phrase gces-a picture gallery.
He would daresay, confess readily enough that he
neither knew nor cared very much about pictures
for their own sake. 1t was impossible to go through
ms collection il hung Messrs. Christies walls
and regard il as that of man who had bought on
his own Judgment, or with distinct knowl-
edge of what he liked; or, still less who
had slowly and lovingly gathered together
such pictures he found precious
to him, and bought because he could not help buy
ing. There were few pictures by without
fixed reputation, and those were pretentious, not
artistic OF poetic The greater number were by ar
fists who could write r. A. after their names, who
had the not less valuable certificate of popularity
and high price. They were mostly-to borrow
phrase from literatuTe-workS by standard authors
and some of them a kind to warrant you In parody
ing Charles Lambs well-known remark, and to say,
were you a hasty man. that YOU could like any pic
ture not painted by Royal Academician. The next
picture you turned to would make you repent of
your dictum; in fact sweeping remarks IN art
perilOus rs anywhere else.
You there the pictures you had seen during
late years on the walls of the Royal Academy, and
which critics cOnnOisseurs, dealers, and the pubic
generally had agreed to consider the pictures OF the
year. The sale of Friday included considerable
number of fine pictures by continental artists.
Putting these aside there are but IA which were not
done by Academicians and of the ii were the
work of men whose fame needs no Academy label
by Bennington, W. Muller, ?. Nasmyth, and r. VIII
SON. The foreign pictures were, with single excep-
ton, by painters whose fame in England has long
been established and whose works bring higher
prices here than anywhere in the world In to-
day's sale the proportion of non-academicians was
greater, but the rule holds. Who cares whether
Linnell or Peter Graham belongs to the Academy
OF notf Their pictures would not fetch
penny more, if they did. The whole col
Iection in word seems to have been bought
under the advice of dealer by n man to whom
money was no object or rather TO whom high price
WAS a criterion of merit. 1t contained magnificent
pictures but as a collection 1t was not hne. AS well
call library fine which had been formed on the
well known principle OF big books to NIL the bottom
shelves and little books at top, with plenty OF gid
ing on the backs. Who believes that all the reputa-
tions of to-day are going to ve' Or that the enor
nous sums now paid for the works of certain living
artists represent their permanent value There
were pictures which sold to-day for hundreds of
pounds which it is hard believe will fetch. fifty
years hence, as many hundreds of shiilings. The
dealers who have an interest in exaggeratlng
their prices to-day will die, and other dealers Will
sncceed them whose interest will lie in exaggeratlng
the prices of other painters should the pubic con-
tinue as eredulOus and money as plenty as now.
Mr. Mendel, however has sold while the fashion IS
the same as when he bought, and he was happy
enough to own some pictures by men whose fame Is
no more likely to decay than that of Titan or Cor
reppio The auctioneer, Mr.. Woods, opened Fridays
sale by an announcement that every picture WOuIu
be sold absolutely without reserve. 1t was not a
very risky thing to do for it certain beforehand
that though here and there picture might be sacrl
feed the average prices would be very high. 1t Is
ALWAYS so in a great sale. To such an extent do
priees depend on circumstances that the amateur OF
moderate means may lay down rule for himself
never TO buy at the sale of famous collection In
Mr. Mende's not less than 81 pictures brought over
$1,000 apiece. The first of them was I. X. Leshe'5
Scene from Henry WILL 23x24 inches, winch, at us
last appearance under the hammer, went for $50
guineas and now sold for 1900. l may as well
remark here that the bidding at large picture auc-
fion in London is usually done III guineas much to
the advantage of the seller, it simply adds per
cent to the amount stated in pounds. 1t Is con-
venent for the American reader who has only to
multiply guineas by get at very nearly the exact
sum in dollars-real dollars of course. large pic
ture by David Roberts architectural, as usual,
Church of the Holy Nativity, 44x55 in formerly in
Louis Philippes possession and sold at Chrsties in
1853 for E4S3 now went for e1,417. The Interior
of Seville Cathedral 5Ox42 in, sold at the same
time for s315 was now thought worth 1,s00 glineas
w Collins's more OF less celebrated Skitte Players
was not reckoned very cheap in 1856 at FL 207 nor
too dear in 1875 at f2415. Two Constables, one OF
them fine. went at 600 and 160 guneas. His is
"a greater name than have mentioned
vet but the examples of him were not
his greatest. Two BOningtons went at
$50 and 46O guineas, the latter 1lx24 inches a
large p Nasmyth. a view in the Village OF Stapen-
hill 3Ox4s inches, was sold for 1,4OO guineas. Two
w. Mullers went for less than half that price,
though one was-in picture dealers slang-more i'm
portant than the Nasmyth. But though size is an
element in udging of price 1t miseads as often as II
helps in speaking of pictures to one who has not
seen them great name and so many square feet