The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1879-04-01
UP- TOWN SKETCHES.
An Alderman Among hi. Pictures.

rOdu or nOfSo car. on tHc uUHhS VI
shallow. Dutch looking river. stands n large.
gloomy iron foundry. To the rear ~ IT, hidden
from the river. is to be found a wcll-slzed. old
fashioned house with an unprctentons little
garden around it. The appearance Of the house
tells the visitor that il has stood there for good
many moro years than he can remember. and
that Notwithstanding the homcy exterior 1t
has always managed TO give its inmates all the
comfort they wanted
by and by that horrid railroad will begin to
rush right under my nose" the old house seems
to say while you look ut III " the boss will prob
ably get disturbed with the noise and will rentme
out for lager beer saloon or some place Of that
kind and remove his home to u more fashion
able neighborhood. They are all like that. Yet
have faithfully served as long as l could, his
father first. himself since. And the older grew
tho more oncrous became my duties. II you
step inside yon will sec that have now to take
care OF treasures not often found in the custody
Of poor old country chap like myself"
Upon entering door the paint OF which has
boon partially scratched of by deerhounds and
other pct animals ignorant Of tho use Of tho
bell you are not unlikely to meet in the hall
room the proprietor Of the house himself II he
happens to be in. which is seldom the case.
His substantial figure and jovial countenance
are familiar to every old New Yorker Those
who never have seen him can look at his por-
trait printed short timo ago in the Graphic
The likeness was somewhat embcished: yet it
was a good likeness Notwithstanding.
The Alderman is not exactly handsome
man. lie is what is called representative
looking" man. n man Of commanding coun-
tenance. lie Is not over 90 weighs about 22j
pounds has strawberry blond hair wears
n heavy moustnche and goatee. and is consid-
erably ccck-eyed. This last natural defect no
does not try In the least to conceal. rs do SO
many silly persons for whom nature has not
symmetrically provided in some line or other.
On the contrary. the Alderman likes TO discuss
the practical meaning OF this PECULIARLY.
Had it not been for my cock -eycdnesss and
my strawberry blond hair" heard him argue
once. would have been one OF tho handsom-
est men in New York. At the same time cock
cyedness is not all one way. True that John
Kelly turned me out Of Tammany Hall for look
ing crookedly at him. But. on the other hand.
cock-eyedncss Is sometimes OF great advantage
to me- Take for Instance picture buying. |
always look with one eye at the picture. while
watch the dealer with the other. can thus ut
once find out when the beggar tries to put lob
on mo"
The Alderman became known as picture
collector only "A few years ago. though Il number
OF old amnteurish works adjoining the walls OF
the minor rooms OF his house indicate that art
has been cultivated IN the family for a long time.
Il began 10 buy pictutes some twelve or
fifteen years ago" said the Alderman as we
walked around his parlors and dining room
adorned with some hundred choice specimens
OF both American and European art Here is
a little pair for which paid $500. and for which
no sensible man would give me $40 now" he
laughngly remarked pointing to two dogs
h.. .aas l. Al.
ing beside the cupboard. They are the first
pictures l ever bought. and keep them as a
reminiscence Of the kind OF notions which l
then had on the subject Of art"
The cnndor with which he speaks OF the de-
vclopment Of his artistic taste is charming.
There is not the slightest trace OF conceit In
him. He frankly ayows that few years ago he
did not know anything about pictures that he
was buying them right and left like IA fool that
he has been time and time again imposed upon.
and that 1t ia only within the last few years
that he has come to know what modern art
really is and what ar; collecting means.
All the Knoedlers. Schauses and Averys put
together can no longer talk me into buying an
inch OF painted canvas in which cannot clearly
perceive two points: absolute artistic excellence
and conformity with my individual conception
Of beauty" said he with the satisfied grin OF
man who knows that he is not likely 10 Ice fooled
any longer. And il must be admitted that the
lovlal Alderman In no way eXaggeratcs the
progress he has made rs picture collector.
Not more than half dozen years ago he would
not look at works Of European celebrities He
boasted then Of even not knowing the names OF
most Of them. Patriotism in art was his great
point. and Eastman j ohnson and j. G. Brown his
ideals. He valued then "Bootblack" or
Boys Shooting Marbles" higher than all the
Niberts and the Meissoniers in creation.
To-day all this is changed. His collection has
been purified and considerably reduced in size.
All the trash he had bought out Of patriotism
has been sold ou:. going probably to new collec-
tors. who Will follow his progress in their turn.
He still keeps several American canvases but
such only rs have real merit. They bear tho
signatures ~ W, Hart David Johnson. Casilear.
and Of one or two other well known artists. As
a matter Of course. his old favoritcs Eastman
Johnson and J. q. Brown. are also represented
and unusually well represented.
The great beauty Of this work Of publication
is that it has been effected moh proprio. with
out the suggestion or assistance OF any profess
sionEl adviser. Tho rapidity with which this
iron-iounding Alderman graspcd the secrets
oi the science Of art collecting is surprising
Nowadays he buys his pictures entirely on his
own judgment and hangs them himself. too;
and this can be said OF but few OF our collectors.
In young country like this the magnitude Of
n collection is OF no value whatever gallery
Of say three hundred pictures. Of which only
twenty five can be called really fine or grrnt
works. would be practically less valuable for
educational and artistic purposes than II it con-
taned only these twenty-five pictures. Too much
desultory looking at miscellaneous pictures Is
as injurious as too much desutory miscella-
noous reading The Louvre the Ermltage. the
Dresden Gallery, the Museo OF Madrid. have all
considerable amount OF rubbish within their
walls. Yet all this rubbish has Il historical
technical, or some other value TO nations that
have cultivated art since tho days when the
Greeks and the Romans impaired to them its
first rudimcnts. But tho case Of n young people
is quite different one. II its artistic progress
is 10 be made fast and sure, the national mind
and eye must not be encumbered with medic
crc. unartistic. ana useless images. impress
sons. and ideas 1t is nonsense 10 say that il Is
the natural course for man to rise from tho
enjoyment OF a chrome or domestic water
color 10 the appreciation OF n Raphael or Il
Rnhcns. Tho vast majority Of human beings
are unable 10 move mn inch beyond thoir first