Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-06-22
PORTRAITS FOR THE BANNERS.
Painted at the Rate of a Dozen Day
by the Use of Stencils.

Painted at the Rate of a Dozen a Day
by the Use of stencils.
In the region near Park Row. where
every structure is five stories high unless
it is six, says the New York San, painters
are at work, with hardly any time for
meals, on portraits for campaign clubs.
In an attic, which looked very much like
an ordinary house painters workshop,
although longer, was found a chief
painter, who wore an old straw hat, an
abominable pair Of oveTalls, and a little
white apron. A politician who preceded
the reporter was inquiring about the state
of the portraits he had ordered.
"They are not yet done," the painter
said. "Of course we could have had
them finished before this time il we had
devoted our sole attention TO them, and
finished them Immediately. But we wish
to complete our sketches so that we can
turn them out rapidly, and if yours were
done first we should have to charge you
more for them. Here is the first draft
So saying, he led the way to one corner
of the room, where twenty or thirty por-
traits of Blaine and Logan had been
begun. Each was colossal in siae, the
face being more TAan four Feet IN length,
but bore scarcely any resemblance to the
human countenance., Each one was a Sc
ries OF long dark stripes, and ne conjec-
ture could be ha2aFded as to whom they
represented.
"These are steacils,'' the painter ex-
planned. ''Whea the news arrived that
Blaine was to lead the cohorts l took
down his portrait, which we had obtained
for this purpose, and went carefully to
work making portrait from that, of our
standard size, such as you see here. 1
paid attention to the drawing, bat not so
much to the e0loring. When it was suffi-
ciently completed to make sure that / had
caught the likeness, made stencil of it,
cutting out the places where the dark
lines should be, but making sure to leave
enough canvas to hold the stencil to-
gether. This is the original" said he,
showing likeness with large holes cut
in it, "and there are the copies. After
they dry we place them on a gigan-
tic easel, with a partly completed
portrait directly before it and upon
it. The portrait is arranged in cOlors. If
you notice it, you will see that there are
from twelve to fifteen colors or tints en-
pl0yed, and that the spots on each vary
in size from half a dollar to twice the size
OF your hand. If the limits of each color
could be marked on each canvas, properly
numbered, and the pots of paint CORE
spondingly numbered, a man who had no
eye for color and had never handled a
brush in his life could do the necessary
Here," pointing to an assistant who was
at the easel, and who was punching an awl
through the canvas" is the first step. He
is marking out the boundaries. The awl
goes through both canvases, and when the
upper one is taken away the limits of
each particular patch of color can be
plainly seen. The original is not yet COM
pleted, but when it is it will have figures
in each portion. Each Of these will indi-
cate a nqFtInnlar 10 for
one may represent the color of the NOUS
tache and of part of the hair. By the
! aid of these artificial remembrances we
can perform our work with a speed which
| seems marvellous. l and another man
| can make dozen in day by this plan.
| 1t is true they are very far from being
works of art, but they are likenesses, and
at the distance from which they are sur
| veyed the minor imperfections are not
nOticed.'
"Have you been long in this liner" the
/ reporter inquired.
''Since Greeley's campaign. There was
great demand at that time for portraits
of him and Gen. Grant, and / was en-
! ploYed by banner men to do the work for
them, doing at the same time some on my
/ own account. Both candidates had faces
| easy to paint and to preserve a sort of
| ikeness-GreeleY from his infantile look.
his spectacles, and the thin fringe of hair
| around his face, and Grant from his full
beard. Hayes face for a banner was not
very different from Grants, although not
so savage, but Tilden's was difficult. To
make it a good likeness much pains had
to be taken, and that meant loss of time.
Garfield and Hancock were easy. The
former had bald spot on his forehead
and prominent nose, and Hancock big
moustache. Logan has the same, but OF
another shape. Blaine is going to be
more difficult. Some of the portraits pub
lished by the lithographers give him as
sinister countenance as a man could
well have and live." -
'Did you use the stencil and other nae
chanical aid when you beganT "a
''Not at all. painted them igces&nt
ly, and gained great swiftness. sFhel art
certain characteristic featurR % ID
mans face which ,if yosA El
you need not NiAa ~
the the rest, ,a ,,tds 1ore &c g q, S4IsEaaAr
that instead ofsDenais ESl 4 n
days on Grant 8r
or.-"t demand site ~
] not only our 80 = 80 80
others, are haTs1 s.slsSa1I &be
time. l have uAdefstSo liat one firm
made $4,000 out. Of tIes1ast campaign,
Just IN this line. The~art is very muck
IKE that OF the scene painter, and there
is constant call for work of which por-
trait and landscape painting forms part
! The meeting of the Army of the Potomac
was windfall to some one. understand
that the triumphal arch which stood at the
head of Montague street cost the commit
tee $4OO, independent of their other ex-
/ penses."