Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1888-11-09

4
skillfnl laying on of colors, or designs
on metal through incision or corrosion.
What o lesson in morals was presented
by Hogarth, the painter, in his two pic
lures. "trhe Rake's Progress" and THE
Misers Feast" and by Thomas Coles
engravings of the Voyage of Human
Life" and the Course of Empire" and
by Turner'S Slave Ship" God in art!
Christ in art. Patriarchs, prophets and
| apostles in art! Angels in art! Heaven
in art!
The world and the church ought to
come to the higher appreciation of the
divine mission of pictures. yet the au-
thors of them have generally been
left to semi starvation. West, the great
painter, toiled i'll unappreciation till,
being a great skater. while on the ice he
formed the acquaintance of Gen. Howe,
ing to admire West as skater, they
gradually came to appreciate as much
that which he accomplished by his hand
as by his heel Poussin. the mighty
painter, was pursued and had nothing
with which to defend himself against
the mob but the artists portfolio, which
he held over his head to keep of the
stones hurled at him. The pictures of
Richard Wilson, of England, were sold
for fabulous sums of money after his
death, but the living painter was glad to
get for his "Alcyone' q piece of Stilton
cheese. From 1910 to 1913 there were
1900 pictures willfully destroyed. In
the reign of Queen Elizabeth it was the
their time in knocking pictures to pieces.
In the reign of Charles the First it was
ordered by Parliament that all the pic
lures of Christ be burnt. Painters were
SO badly treated and Inundated in tho
beginning of the Eighteenth century
that they were lowered clear down out
of the sublimity of their art. and obliged
to give minute accounts of what they
did with their colors, AS a painters bill
which came to publication in Scotland
in 1907 indicated. The painter had been
touching up some old pictures in the
church, and he sends in this itemized
bill to the vestry: TO filling up chink
i'll the Red Sea and repairing the dam
ages to Pharaoh's hosts" to II new pair
of hands for Daniel in the lions den.
and new set of teeth for the lioness;"
ito repairing ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS beard:"
on presenting the apple to Adam;' to
making bride for the Good Samari-
tan's horse, and mending one Of his
legs" ito putting Il new handle on
Moses basket and fitting bullrushes. and
adding more fuel to the fire in Nebu-
chadneZZars furnace" So painters
We're Inundated clear down below the
majesty of their art The oldest picture
in England, portrait of Chaucer,
though now of great value. was picked
out of q lumber garret. Great We're the
trials of Quentin Matseys. who toiled on
from blacksmith anvil till as a painter
he won wide recognition. The first mis-
sionaries to Mexico made the fatal mis-
take of destroying pictures, for the loss
of which art and religion must ever la
ment. But why go SO far back when in
this year of our Lord 1855. and within
twelve years of the Twentieth century,
to be painter, except i'll rare eXcep-
Poorly fed, poorly clad, poorly housed.
because poorly appreciated! When
hear a man is a painter, have two feel
ings: one of admiration for the great
ness of his soul. and the other of COM
miseration for the needs of his body.
But SO it has been in all departments
of noble work. Some of the mightiest
have been hardly bestead. Oliver Gold
smith had such big patch on his coat
over his left breast that when he went
anywhere he kept his hat in his hand
closely pressed over the patch. The
world renowned Bishop Asbury had q
salary of SG4 a year. Painters are not
the only ones who have endured the
lack appreciation. Let men of wealth
take under their patronage the suffering
men of art. They lift no complaint
they make no strike for higher wages
But with u keenness of nervous or
ganization which almost always char.
| "a
more than any one but God can realize
There needs to be concerted effort fol
the suffering artists of America. no.
sentimental discourse about what we ow.
to artists, but contracts that will give
them livelihood: for am in full sym
pathy with the Christian farmer, who
was very busy gathering his fall apples
and some one asked him to pray for
poor family, the father of which hal
broken his leg; and the busy farme
said: Il cannot stop now to pray, bu
you can go down into the cellar and ge
some corned beef and butter and egg
and potatoes; that is all can do now.
Artists may wish for cur prayers, bu
they also want practical help from men
who can give them work. 70,
have heard scores of sermons for al
other kinds of suffering men and women
but I think this is the first sermon eve
preached that made a plea for the suffer
ing men and women of American art
Their work is more true to nature ant
life than any of the masterpieces tina
have become immortal on the other sid,
of the sea, but it is the fashion o
Americans to mention foreign artists
and to know little OF nothing about on
own Copley, and Allston, and Inman
and Greenough, and kensett Let tn
affiuent fling out of their windows ant
into the back yard valueless daubs OF
canvas. and call in these splendid bu
unrewarded men and tell them to adorl
your walls. not only with that whicl
shall please the taste, but enlarge til
mind, and improve the morals, and saw
the souls of those who gaze upon them
Brooklyn, and all other American
cities. need great galleries of art, no
only open annually for few days OIL
exhibition, but which shall stand opel
all the year round. and from early morn
ing until 10 o'clock at night, and free t
all who would come and go. What
preparation for the wear and tear of tn
day five minutes look in the mornin
at some picture that will open doc
into some larger realm than that il
which our population daily dredge! o
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