The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1880-04-23
Mr.. Barker's Picture,

"Your charge against Mr.. Barker,
the artist here" said the magistrate, sis
assault and battery, believer" eyes,
sir" "And your name is" srPotts
| am art critic of the Weekly Spy"
estate your case" "I called at Mr..
Barker's studio upon his invitation to
see his great picture, just finished, OF
| George Washington cutting down the
| cherry-tree with his hatchet.' Mr.. Bar
ker was expecting to sell it TO Congress
for fifty thousand dollars. He asked
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 cut
ting the tree down with the hammer
end, | asked him why he forcshortened
Georges leg so as to make it look as if
his left foot was upon the mountain on
the other side of the river" "Did Mr..
Barker take it kindly?" asked the JUS
tice. "Well, he looked little gluin-
that's all. And then when l asked him
why he put a 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 COW; and that 1t was not in
the tree, but in the background. Then
| said that, if | had been painting
George Washington, should not have
given him the complexion of salmon
brick, l should not have given him two
thumbs on each hand, and | should
have tried not TO .slue his right eve
around so that he could see around the
back part of his head to his left ear !:
and Barker said, 'Oh, wouldn't Won p
Sarcastic, your honor. And | said.
NO, wouldn't;' and | wouldn't have
painted oak-leaves on a cherry-tree ::
and wouldn't have left the spectator
in doubt as to whether the figure of by
the woods was factory chimney, or a
steamboat, or George Washington's
father taking smoke" (Which was
itr' asked the magistrate. az don't
know. Nobody will ever know. So
Barker asked me what I'd advise him
TO do. And | told him thought his
best chance was to abandon the Wash.
ington idea, and to fix the thing up
somehow to represent The Boy who
stood on the Burning deck.' Itoid him
he might paint the grass red to repre-
sent the flames, and daub over the
trees SOS it would look like 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 factory chimney. or
whatever it was, and make it the cap
tain, while he could arrange the guinea
pig to do for the captains dog" "Did
he agree" ole said the idea didn't
strike him. So then suggested that he
might turn it into Columbus discover
ing America. Let George stand for
Columbus, and the tree be turned into
a native, and the hatchet made to an.
swer for flag, while the mountain in
the background would answer for the
rolling billows of the ocean. lie said
he'd be hanged if il should. So men.
| toned that it might perhaps pass fol
the execution of Mary Queen of Scots
Put George in black for me, the heads
man, bend over the tree and put 6
frock on it for Mary, let the hatche
stand, and work in the guinea-pig ant
the factory chimney as mourners. JUS
as had got the words out of my mouth
Barker knocked me clean through the
picture. My head tore out Washing.
toms near leg, and my right foot car.
ried away about four miles of the river
We had it over and over on the flooi
for while, and finally Barker whip
ped. l am going to take the law Of
him in the interests of Justice and high
art" So Barker was bound over, and
Mr.. Potts went down to the Office of the
Spy to write up his crticism.-lMaz
Adeler.