Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-03-08
FORTUNES FOR PAINTINGS
1855, 300 REALIZED FOR MRS.
MORGAN'~ COLLECTION.

Mary Jane Morgan, the exceedingly
wealthy and somewhat eccentric lacy oil
this city died, she left behind her col
lection OF valuable paintings, bronzes'
bric-a -brac and works OF art finer than
any other in this country, and surpassed
by but few private collections IN the
world. Mrs. Morgan's executor ordered
the whole collection OF paintings to be
disposed of by auction and the sale took
place last Wednesday night IN CHECKER
ing Hall, and attracted an immense
crowd. In the audience were the princl-
pal picture dealers Of this city and the
| larger cities OF this country, many promi-
nent society men and women and nearly
every artist Of any prominence in the
/ city. While the majority OF the paintings
/ probably brought less than the enormous
! " hign figures paid for hem, IL Is proba-
I Die that after the entire sale has ended II
| will be found that the total amount Will be
/ within 10 or 10 per cent OF the supposed
| original purchase price. For the nrst
/ time in the history of this country, al
/ though common enOu n in EGrOpe, an IL
/ Illustrated catalogue was prepared from
/ Photographic reproductions and also from
/ etchings by Well-knOWn artists for the
/ benefit of subscribers. This catalogue
was a work Of art in itself and it Is said
cost $25 a copy. Among the pictures sold
were some by the celebrated French
artists Meissonier. Rousseau. aud Millet.
/ The gem Of the evening was "A MeissOnier
entitled I'm the Library,' an interior
/ scene. The bidding started at $4,000,
ami by RAPID strides soon reached the eX-
/ cellenJ price Of $l6,525, at which it was
/ taken by Mr.. Charles Crocker, the Pacific
! slope millionaire. This picture was II
/ bv Is inches IN size and sold at the rate of
| 400 per square inch. Almost every
/ painting was started tor at least $500 and
| AS the bidding ran up into
| the thousands young men on
/ limited salaries turned pale, and pretty
| girls puzzled their brains trying to figure
/ out how many caramels and sleigh rides
/ that would pay for. Wednesday night
\ eighty paintings were disposed of and az
| gregated a net sum of $l7l, 200. Eighty
more were sold Thursday night and
| brought S226, 17J, and eighty more FRI
| day night tor $4o1, 1925; SSS5,3OO was
realized from the sale besides
/ the money realized from the entrance fees
while the pictures were on exhibition in
the American art galleries, which it is
said will amount to the neat sum Of
$4,000.
$40 600 FOR 1.-THE COMMUNICANTs."
AuG DAGluAG uO5NluEu W NC BiaINtl Ou
record as bringing the biggest price tor
any modern painting ever sold at public
auction was The Communicates" by
Jules Breton. The audience held its
breath with suspense. The feeling was
apparent that it would fetch big price.
| Twenty thousand dollars was Offe ed; it
was quickly followed by a bid of $685. 600;
when it reached $25, 900 there was a storm
of applause. Avery bid $4,000, Rookie
! t,I n.
/ the right Of the centre aisle two gentle
men actively competed for the picture,
I The figures rolled up. They leaped from
$35, 900 to $40 600, and climbed up to $45,-
! 600. After long pause the gayel fell,
and MIR. Donald Smith. President OF the
Bank of Montreal, became its owner at
! $4,000. 1t was bought for him by Mr..
Walter Watson, of this city.
The prices were truly remarkable. The
/ buyers had got the bit in their teeth and
ran away with the record. They will be
! quoted abroad as fabulous. Truly they
came very near being SO.
MR.. AsTOR's WATER COLOR IDEA.
I William Waldorf Aston, whose first
novel was lately published. has since had
| "A pathetic story told in a picture. His
conception was that by pOrtraying a girl
! singing TO her own accompaniment on a
| narp, while an aged man and woman sen.
timentally clasped hands as they listened.
| the spectator would see clearly and forci.
bly, that an old song OF love had carried
the old couple back to the DAYS OF their
youthful cOurtship. Mr.. AstoT, therefore
commissioned l.. A. Abbey, the well
known artist, to paint The Old S0ng'' ia
water colOrs. The price was to be 81, 600
But when the work was done it was not
purchased by Mr.. AstOr. One report cur
rent in art circles 10 that he did not wan
it, while another saws that he couldn'
nave it. The former is based on faults o
the picture, which is now in the Watel
Color Society exhibition. The singer il
) a girl wAo, measured by correct perspec
, tive, is not less than seven feet tall. Sh,
/ could not possibly operate the pedal q
, the instrument in the manner shown. Tn,
floor OF the room is an inclined plane
, These points do not strike an uneducate,
eye, but are apparent TO an expert. IL q
: said that Mr.. Aston diseerned them an
! deemed them fatal. On the other ham
the picture is beautiful, and none IN th
: collection gets more general praise. Tn
I declaration is that it was not meant 10
AstOr any more than for any other buyer
and that it is sold TO the Harpers, VIII
will publish an engraving of il.
THE LATEST sNOBBBRY.
It strange, yet true, that many ladie
q
: Park, because their visiting cards wOul
4 have to bear numbers 800 TO 500 Yves
such-and-such "A street, which would ind
cate that they lived outside OF Tn
fashionable district. 1t is too absurd fo
anything. The fact 10 that the first hOus
: from the park on the side streets is nun
bered 800. A petition signed BY ia
: owners Of more than 5000 lots and %
q houses will in few days he presented I
! the Board OF Aldermen asking for a reaC
! justment OF the numbers so that N
/. houses adjacent TO the park may be nun
3 bered l and ? and so on, as on the Fit
I, avenue side. Among the slgners are job
: Jacob Aston, grandson Of the mise
Frederick II. COssitt; Amos r. Emo. fatht
OF John G. Emo, the defaulter, nice Of
gentleman. and the last TO put on airs on
would have thought; Charles +. HOhma
o Jr., George Bliss, and a dozen other wei
known men. Sucn a set OF snobs as u
, petition would indicate, IL is difficult
believe could afford 10 breathe c0mmC
< air, but they do.
u PAY TEMPLETON MARRIED.
;, Tickle Fay Templeton is married aga
d 1t is only lew weeks since she was d
o vorced from Billy West. the minstre
. The separation was said 10 be the on
o come of Mas rempleton's desire TO retul
10 the stage, despite the protestations
~ her husband and ants-nuptlal prOmis
' that she would desert the foolights TO
i ever. Immediately after her divorce 81