The Portland daily press., 1882-02-08
Portland and Art.

The water color exhibition which opened in
New York ON Friday is already financial sue
cess About so pictures have been sold for
5000 and 20 etehings for 5000. The largest
prices obtained were $1,000 for water color
drawing called "Pride's Bridge" by A. F.
Bellows, and $1,000 for a figure picture, the
"Two Sisters by E. A. Abbey.
The islands in our bay, and the country
around Portland, have been favorite etching
grounds for few artists, for several years
past, and in the last two water color exhibi-
tons in New York, some of, if not the princi-
pal works shown were from subjects found in
our near our city.
Whatever Portland's future may be as a
commercial or manufacturing centre, she has
now, lying at her feet, rare source of wealth
in her unparalleled natural advantages for be-
coming the watering place of the Atlantic sea-
board. She needs but the touch of the magic
wand of fashion, to send upon her shores, cot
tages and hotels as superb as any at Long
Branch or Newport, and could the tide of
fashionable summer travel once be turned this
way we should enter upon a season OF prosper
itY hardly dreamed of by any one.
The beauties of Casco Bay. have been sung SO
often, that to reiterate them would only be
wearisome. Everybody who comes here and
stays any time, goes away with the same feel
ing of admiration that those who have always
lived here hold and it is specially pleasant
to us when discriminating artists like A. +.
Bellows, and the two Smillies, whose lives
are devoted to the study of the beautiful in ma
ture, give expression to their enthusiasm in
unqualified praise of the scenery they find in
this vicinity.
Mr.. Bellows, whose picture is above referred
to, said to the writer, while making the sketch
for it, "The Pre4umpscot is one of the most
beautiful rivers ever saw, far ahead OF the
Housatonic famous among artists for its love-
liness) and to many of the famous English
rivers on which I have sketched,'' and Mr..
James d. Smillie, after travelling about al
one summer in search Of sketching grounds,
said to gentleman in this city, "There is no
place like your Portland harbor after all, for
good sketching."
There is hardly more effective way of ad-
vertising the natural attractions of places, than
through the pictures by artists who make them
their sketching grounds. North Conway, N.
H., Mt. Desert, Me-, and other resorts along
shore, Or among the mountains, received their
first impetus through the artists who visited
them in search of subjects, long before their
humble inhabitants ever knew there was such
a thing as summer tourist" Though Port
land does not hold an analogous place, as an
undis'oy cred country, she is altogether too far
behind in the race, as popular resort, when
her natural advantages are taken into eonsid-
GRAFTON. Travellers pass through here (as
freight does to Boston, to Mt. Desert, or to the
mountains, a few stopping over for a day or
two perhaps, but the bulk go on to some OBJ
jective point other than Portland, which ought
not to be the case.
Now would it MT be good idea for the new
ly fiedged ''Socety of Art" to hold a summer
exhibition of pictures at their rooms, inviting
the artists throughout the country to con-
tribute? If travellers knew that among other
attractions, they could find here during the
summer months, good exhibition of pictures.
they would at least be more likely to remain
here than they are now. A summer exhibi-
ton would be novelty, and we think would
"take' And if with each invitation to the
artists to contribute was enclosed an invitation
for him to make tho rooms of the society his
professional home should he come this way, it
might perhaps indnce him to come, which
would be to our mutual advantage