Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1879-06-19
Mr.. Barkers Picture.

"Your charge against Mr.. Barker, the
artist here" said the Magistrate, lis as
sault and battery, believer
eyes, sir"
"And your name is-'
"Potts! am art critic of the Weekly
Spy" =:
II called at Mr.. Bankers studio upon
his invitation to see his great picture, just
finished, of George Washington cutting
down the cherry tree with his hatchet'
Mr.. Barker was expecting to sell it to
Congress for fifty thousand dollars. He
asked me what thought Of it, and after
I had pointed out his mistake in making
the handle of the Ratchet twice as thick
as the tree, and in turning the head of
the Ratchet around so that George was
cutting the tree down with the hammer
end, 1 asked him why he foreshortened
Georges leg so as to make it look as if
his left foot was upon the mountain on
the other side of the river.
odd Mr.. Barker take it kindly?"
asked the justice.
"Well, he looked a little glum; that's
all. And then when T asked him why he
put guinea pig up in the tree, and why
he painted the guinea pig with horns, he
said that it was not "a guinea pig, but a
COW, and that it was not in the tree, but
in the background. Then 1 said that i
| had been painting George Washington
l should not have given him the COM
plexion of salmon brick; 1 should not
have given him two thumbs on each
hand; and I should have tried not to slew
his right eye around so that he could see
around the, back Of his head to his left
ear. And Barker said, .@Oh; wouldn't
you?' Sarcastic, Your Honor. And I said
no, I wouldn't; and l wouldn't have
painted oak-leaves on cherry tree, and
I wouldn't have left the spectator in
doubt as to whether the figure off by the
woods was factory chimney or a steam
boat, or George Washington's father TAX
ing smoke" 49,:
(Which was it?' asked the Magis-
trate.
II don't know. Nobody will ever know.
So Barker asked me what I'd advise him
toEdo: And 1 told him thought his best
chance was to abandon the Washington
idea and to fix the thing up somehow to
represent the Boy who stood on the Burn
ing Deck I told him he might paint
the grass FED to represent the flames, and
daub over the trees SO 8 it would look like
the mast, and pull Georges foot to this
side of the river SOS itwould rest some
where on the burning deck, and ma ybe
he might reconstruct that fractory chin
ney or whatever it was, and make it the
Captain, while he could arrange the
guinea pig to do for the Captains dog"
ibid he agreeS'
"He said the idea didn't strike him.
So then I suggested that he might turn
it into Columbus discovering America.
Let George stand for Columbus, and the
tree be turned into native, and the
Ratchet made to answer for flag, while
the mountain in the back ground would
answer for the rolling pillows Of the ocean.
He said he'd be hanged if it should.
So I mentioned II that, it z might,
perhaps, pass for the >. execution
Of Mary, Queen of Scots !. Put George in
black for the headsman, bend over the
tree and put q frock on il for Mary, let
the natchet stand, and work in the guinea
pig and the factory chimney as mourners.
But Barker said that there would be
somebody worse hurt than Mary, Queen
Of Scots, if kept on" So $40 go.
'sDidn'tike It, hey2,a lad s3fw -.~ge
81 s'pose not. And I said that while I
did not want to force my. advice upon
him, I'would say, if my opinion was
asked, that the best hope Of that picture
would be to make it representation OF
the Deluge. Build In an ark, around
George, put shirt ON him and call him
Noah, crowd in other animals with the
guinea pig, let the facto;y chimney do for