, 1886-04-14
PRICES OF PAINTINGS.
AHARo MATTER ToFK a FINANCIAL
EQUIVALENT FOR PLEASURE.

A r ARD MATTER TO FIX a FINANCIAL
EQUIVALENT FOR PLEASURE.
Eighteen thousand Dollar. seems a DIs
Price for Mr.. M~orEan's Little Peach
Blow yass-How The Cost Might Do Jas-
nasdrrfeHss Of Dealers G-U.Xf
The dispersal Of the great collections
mntie by the late Mrs. Morgan, and com
prlaing pictures. silyerware. porcelain,
bTfc1a-trac. etohings. blolss and Oriental
oddities, IL tho talk OF an the studios at
at present. and exhibits the phases OF a
nine days wonder. People ask II Jules
Brct6n's Comm u~nicants' wAs really
worth over $1,000, and II the little peach
blow WISE had nn actual value OF $4,000.
Wen. they must have possessed those
values TO their buyers, | suppose, or they
would not have been bought. Forty thou
sand dollars worth OF cnjoyiment 10 a rich
man IL no more h a so worth to u poor
mnn; indeed, I question II It be often as
much, and IL is a hard matter TO fix a
financial equivalent for pleasure-especi-
nlly The higher pleasures that are con-
ferred by poetry, music and art.
sEEAls A RECKLESS USE OF CASH.
Much has been said and some things
have been written about the actual crimi-
nality Of paying $4,000 for the little
peach h,ow WISE in Mrs. Morgan's collec-
ton IL docs seem a reckless use OF cash
to put IN the value of n hrst-class city
house aud lot into a little piece OF Chinese
pottery. rl People ARE prone to observe
at suck times. What a shameful waste OF
money. when so many people are in rags
and sunering from hunger" That is true,
I'm ~ tn. lpxara ~ fbaaa htrh- trfrnH lyIn-
ties forbore their purchase, do the philan-
tAropists imagine for a moment that the
money they did not spend in that way
would be given TO the ragged and the
hungry Not o bit Of it. The rich are
usually siingy and selfish. There arc not
dozen rich mon IN this big city OF Brook
Ign who. are otherwise. TIN more they
get the more they want. The more is con
cededf to their tastes and appetites tho
more they demand.
Even Il they did bestow their charities
on tho poor it would not abolish poverty.
The conditions that admit OF excessive
riches aud excessive want are 70 blame,
and not the facts OF wealth and poverty.
II you wish to know why Sls,O0O can be
spent for n little bottle whose maker got
about s. for It and thought himself well
paiG, inquire of John Swintcn and Henry
George. II anything so precious IS bought
at such a price it would seem just to place
it In a public museum where l,S00,0o0 PEG
pie could obtain from II a cents worth of
enjoyment each, and thereby justify its
cost.
To many people n painting is a thing OF
as definite "a value as a ton OF coal or n tub
Of butter. I confess that l never saw a
picture that / thought was worth over
$1,000. aud, II the matter was thoroughly
cnnvnssed, | think It would appear that
not half "a dozen pictures were ever painted
for more than THAT sum Whatever they
have brought more than this has accrued
to tho beneflt Of spectators and dealers.
If had Sif,100 that 1 was willing to give
for an example OF Jules Breton l would
spend less than $1,000 Of that money in a
trip to France, and. going to NJ. Breton.
would hand him 10000 and say, "Paint
for n the master work OF your life"
which haven't a doubt NJ. Breton would
try 10 TO. Then I would put s23,cOo in the
bank, or buy other pictures with IL.
FRONTS o p THE PICTURE DEALERS.
a story was relnted the other evening by
"A gentleman who is in a position to know
whereof he speaks. He was in Paris at
the. opening Of the Salon, and In wander
ing through the vast gallery he encoun-
tered Mr.. s, a well-known New York
dealer. looking critically ut n picture
culled -The Helping Hand.~ He said;
You ought to buy that, s." The dealer
answered, Perhaps / Will Before the
exhibition closed Mr.. 5. did buy It, and
paid 800 for it. He brought it 10 New
York and sold It Immediately to Mr..
George l.. Seney for $4,000, When Mr.
Sciiey heard what the picture had cost
originally he waxed wroth and asked MIR
SIS representative If that wasn't a pretty
stiff price he had paid for a 1900 picture.
The representative sent a message to Mr..
$. AMI received this answer: Give Mr..
Senoy our check for $4,000, and tell him
that hereafter the price OF the picture will
be s25.OOo.r Mir. Seney kept the work, and
It brought about $1,000 at the sale of his
collection.
A speculative American saw a picture
IN q shop In Paris that he liked pretty
well and asked the price. II was Sl5O
lie went TO his hotel to sleep on It, and in
the morning returned to the shop to see If
he could beat the proprietor down 70 500.
a man never disputes n charge Of 80 cents
a pound for o-leomargnrine, but he seems
10 tlink it a duty that he owcs to society
never TO pay more thar half price for u
picture, ifhe can avoid II. To his surprise
and regret. somebody had bought the
picture while he was thinking o It,
on returning TO New York he visited the
%well-known shop Of Mr.. A. and, behold
there was the picture. "What do you ask
for thatfT he inquired. The dealer said IN
a confidential tone w can AFFORD to
mike thu pretty low for you, Mr.. b., and
wen sell it to you for 81 500 And profit
Of 800 per cent. is not deemed ~eNtravagant
by many OF the dealers.-"C. NJ. 81 in
Brooklyn Eagle.