New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-12-18
FASHION AND ART, OR SPOTS ON THE sun:
FLOWER
From The Lon6on .SpeetaLor.


When it grow 10 be the fashion TO be psthetic,
one of the first results TO make folks afraid Of
showing any ignorance OF artistic matters. Every
one pretended to be judge and bought pictures. II
at all on his or her judgment, One result Of this
has been very pTejudical 10 the carsc OF the real
artists in England "A cause that we have very much
nj heart 1t happened that the painters, or rather
the adyentureIs for some of them could not PANT
M all who were most audaclguS, most talkatlye,
ana most fashionable, succeeded 1T obtaining Prices
for their pictures utterly out Oh all proportion 20
tber merit And from he fact OF tho Art world be-
ing invaded by the fashionable world there grew
M little cliques Of influential people, each of whom
0TouDed themselves round special artist praised bis
paiptng, sang his praises and bought blS pictures.
Critics who lack the mott elementary knowledge
of painting painters who are ignorant of what used
10 he considered the very grammar OF art, poets
whose verses only murnered softly over after
noon tee-tables, seulptors VINO never modelled
brr1shye have but 20 look round rs, and sec il OF
these seated in the high places Of Art, and reapng
the hqryest that should wait only the genuine work.
ers whom they have forced out Of the field. AZ
Wilkie Collins said in one OF his novels, LOOK
round you in high places. and everywhere you SEQ
In fact lust as NJ. Nude can and does practically
force thousands Of Teadors 70 peIuse Some mdlfer
ert novel of the season. so can fashionabe OF
Guasi-fas hicnable journal make any palhfer, rect,
sculutor or aesthetic notorious simply by repeating
Lis name, week after week, IN IFS paragraphs. And
Gs there are a certain number OF ioiSS who Wll 90
snytbing 20 he in tho fashion. it follows that no
sooner is anv given individuals name brought pTon-
inently before them than they ock to hi studio os
study with pockets as fu as theIr hetds anu hearf
arc empty Meanwhile, the true artist sts at nome.
eating his heart out, and trying vainly for .
eharco of getting hls work seen; In ms matter,
wa are not writing of what we hear or what We
fancy bat of what We know and the great majority
of artists know the fact only too Wei. One will
occur 10 al our readers minds at the present timo, In
which the genius and tho work belonged Ia one Ar
tiat. while tho praise and the pay were given TO his
employer, who was 80 poor spirit that he neg;
ected 10 nav the artist whose work he had usurped
the miserable Ten per cent which had promised him.
We need not mention names OF other instances,
though halfa-lozcu at least might be given VII srs
fashionable Art impOstors have filed their pockets
at the public expense ara EalIiao a repu'a1'on'
We have noticed some Of the good effects OF the
ortfstc craze-hs is of the bad effects, that tho
more retiring the more honest and the more hard
working an artist is in London, at the present day,
the less likely no is to be able to sell his pictures.
So long rs he cutivates the fashionable world, 90
Iong as he atteTs and dimes certain set of iournal
ists-so long III Short he neglcctS his business az
an artist and forgets his dignity As man-so long
he viii be likely TO succeed, Let HIM dare To %
faithful to his work and careless OF his fortune ana
he will find out TO his bitter cost, with how httle
wisdom or justice Fashion at present governs inc
tic