The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1879-07-24

until after General Wayne's victory
over the savages of the Northwest in
August, 1894 94-[Marrietta Register.
MIR. BARKER's PICTURE.
Your charge against Mr.. Barker,
the artist here said the Magistrate, 'is
assault and battery, believer
Yes, SIR
.And your name is-'
sPottsl 1 am art critic of the Weekly
Spy
tState your case.'
Il called at Mr.. Barker's studio upon
bis invitation to see his great picture,
just finished, of George Washington
cutting down the cherry tree with his
hatchet.' Mr.. Barker was cxpecting 10
sell it to Congress for fifty thou sand
dollars. He arked me what thought
of it, and after had pointed out his
mistake in making the handle of the
hatchet twice as thick as the tree, and
in turning the head. of the hatchet
around so that George was cutting the
tree down with the hammer end, l
asked him why he foreshortened
Georges leg so as to make it look a. II
his left foot was upon the mountain
on the other side of the river. Y
did Mr.. Barker take it kindly z
asked the justice. d,
well, he looked little glum that's
all. And then when asked him why
he put a guinea pig up in the tree, and
why he painted the guinea pig with
horns, he said it was not guinea pig,
but COW, and that it was not In the
tree but in the background. Then /
said that il had been painting George
Washington l should not have given
him the complexion of sslmon brick
I should not have given him two
thumbs on each hand and 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 said no,
1 wouldn't; and l wouldn't have
painted oak-leaves on q cherry tree,
and wouldn't have left the spectator
in doubt as to whether. the figure off
by the woods was factory chimney
or steamboat, or George Washing
toms father taking q smoke
(which was it7' asked the Magis.
trate.
Il don't know. Nobody will ever
know. So Barker asked me what I'd
advise him to do. And told him 1
thought his best chance was to aban-
don the Washington idea and to FIX the
thing up somehow to represent the
Boy who stood on the Burning Deck
[ told him he might paint the grass
red to represent the flames, and daub |
over the trees SOS it would look like
the mast, and pull Georges foot to
this side of the river SOS it would rest
somewhere on the burning deck, and
maybe he might reconstruct that fac
tory chimney or whatever it was, and
make it the Captain, while he could
arrange the guinea pig to do for the
Captains dog
did he agree7'
sHe said the idea didn't strike him.
So then I suggested that he might turn
it into Columbus discovering America.
Let Grarge stand for Columbus, and
the tree be turned into a native, .and
the hatchet be made to answer for q
dag, while the mountain In the back
ground would answer for the rolling
billows of the ocean. He said he'd be
hanged if it should. So l mentioned
that it might, perhaps, pass for the OK
ecution of Mary, Queen of Scots. Put
George in black for the headsman, bend
oyer the tree and put frock on It for
Mary, let the hatchet stand, and work
in the guinea pig and the factory
as mourners. But Barker
,aid there would be somebody, worse
hurt than Mary, Queen of Scots. ifyIj
Kept on Il,
Didn't like it, heyr
Il s'pose not. And said that while
did not want to force my advice up
IN him, would say, If my opinion
vas asked, that the best hope of that s
picture would be to make it arepre- l
entation of the Deluge. Build in an
Irk around George, put a shirt on him
md call him N Noah, crowd in other an
malls with the guinea pig, let the fac
ory chimney do for Mount Ararat,
nd the tree for the stovepipe PROJECT {
ny from the roof of the ark. just as
had got the words out of my mouth !
Barker knocked me clean through the
,icture. Ny head tore ont Washing
on's near leg, and my right foot car
led away about four miles of the riv- {
r. We had it over and oyer on the
loor for while, and finally Baker
whipped. am going to take the law '
n him in the interest of Justice and =
Ugh art a.. M
So Barker was bound over, and Mr.. i
'otts went down to the Office Of the =
py to write up his 'critieism.9[ Max
kde.er, In the New York Weekly. q