Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-04-14

river. which rises in the Wind River
Mountains, and the snow-capped range is
visible in the distance. This great pasture
land was few years back the favorite haunt
of the buffalo, and the storied domain where
the Indian with his wild horses of Arabian
stock-derived by inheritance from those
strayed or captured along the Spanish
| American border-made his home and
hunting ground. Here he hunted the
buffalo and occasionally-as Bierstadt has
depicted in his paintingAwas himself
hunted in turn.
To the right clouds of dust indicate the
masses of animals coming down the hill
Sides in the rush for drink of the water of
the river. Beyond we see the table-lands,
or mesa. In the background the Rocky
Mountains fade away into the blue ether.
Millions of buffaloes cover the vast expanse
of this view. A few elk, or wapiti, are
visible near the river bank, and on the left
the antelope are Fastening away. The
skulking CO vote, also, is seen in the near
LETT hand corner, and the familiar prairie
dog looks out of his burrow, wondering
| what it all means. A wonderfully spirited
| figure of an Indian on horseback, the man
and animal seeming one, like a red half
clothed centaur, is the central object of at
traction. An angry monster bison, with
head lowered under the horses belly, is
! goring him upward. The horse is reared
back on his launches snorting and quiver-
ing with fear, while his savage rider grasp
| ing his flowing name with one hand with
demoniac energy drives the long, heavy
! sharp-headed spear, which is grasped firmly
in the right hand, again snd again into the
Monarch of the Plains" flank
Oh, glorious work! and glorious Bierstadt
who could produce such grand example of
| Americas talent-genius
And yet small mob of contemplate,
brainless art mongrels possessed or obtained
influence enough with General Hawkins
and the other members of his idiotic COM
mittee TO have this great painting rejected
as unworthy of a place among a crop of
miserable daubs sent to represent "Ameri-
can art"-God save the mark-at the Paris
exhibition. 1 could have in a month gath
| cred nobler and more representative col
lection than these official humbugs and
w-nothings-about-art at least managed,
after apparently almost superhuman efforts,
to scrape together. L should not have left
out Bierstadt, either or had to play sneak
! thief to secure a picture of George Inness',
or have sent of a collection of representa-
tive American pictures without a canvas of
Winclow, Homer, or Thomas or Edward
Moran.
And now this same mob of mediocre daub-
ers and secondhand geniuses has got its
polite fingers into the centennial celebra-
tion pie. Pronunciamentos are issued by it
directing us how to decorate the city for
this memorial occasion. The circular that
have received is the most preposterous
farrago of rubbish that was ever put out.
But of course Bierstadt's picture goes into
the art galleries of the Paris Exposition,
the little mob of American painters (sic)
notwithstanding. As an artist decorated
BY the French Government, whatsoever
picture Bierstadt might chose to send to the
exhibition would be admitted. And ven
ture to prophesy that it will be hung in a
conspicuous place and how the French will
laugh at the "pot boilers" of the would-be
the daubs done by the lick-spittles of
'Bunion" Cox and "wheedlem'' Chase
that I have looked at lately would make
COW ''guffah."
The latest wrinkle in "give aways'' is
'Robert Elsmere," the much talked and
written about clerical child of Mrs. Wards
brain. This was the legend which stared
me in the face from card on one of the
counters of great New York dry goods and
| all other kind of goods emporium: "'Robert
Elsmere' with engraving of Mrs. Ward
| Robert Elsmere,' the Battle of Religion
| Criticism by the Right Hon. William E.
! Gladstone. The book given free with every
cake of Tarheel Soap.,'
Was ever such prize offered upon the
bargain counter before? Literature, religion
and soap-reason, godliness and cleanliness,
! all to be had In combination for trif1e of
25 cents. Think of it, o, Mrs. ToodlesI
A house decoration which is bound to
supersede paper hangings for the walls is
| panied tapestries, even among our only
moderately well-to-do people. I dropped
into the American Art School, in Twenty
| third street. on Monday, and spent a very
delightful hour. 1 was shown some splen-
| did specimens of painted tapestries, closely
resembling the old Flemish work One
piece in particular was a superb example of
| coloring that will last for ages. It repre-
sented stream with boat floating upon it.
In the boat were youth and maiden in loves
dalliance. A cupid at the prov steered them
on, mayhap to the land of eternal love and
flowers. But it was not the scene so much
as the workmanship that appealed to me.
| The actions of the figures, the vivid richness
of the background and the solid brilliancy
of technique were wonderful.
1 understand shere will soon be some of
| this work on exhibition in Pittsburg It is
work that will wash, never fade and is, in
| fact, lasting. The method of preparing the
paint for applying to the canvas so that it
cannot be scraped off or washed out is a
secret known only to the principals and
workers of the American art school,
Three leading picture auctioneers of this
city offer an interesting study in their dif-
! ferent manners of work. Mr.. Kirby, who
sells for the American Art Association, is a
] slender gentleman of the medium height,
with beard, glasses and the air ofa college
professor. He sells standing, talks in a
matter-ot-fact way, throwing in dry witt
cism or shrewd suggestion here and there
and raps his sales down with the head of an
! ivory gavel which he has treasured for
years and which, it is hinted, he considers
in the nature OF lucky bone or amulet.
Mr.. Somerville, who does the crying for
the Fifth Avenue Art Galleries, is a short,
elderly man with forid face, and fierce
mustache and imperial. He might pass
either for an artist or French cavalry Off
Ger on half pay. He, too, works on his feet.
His style is familiar. He chats with his
audience, gives them advice, cracks joke
now and then, and makes very dramatic ap-
peals, with voice and gesture, when they
bid too gingerly. Mr.. Draper, Fifth ave-
nue. auction rooms, sells from high-legged
armchair in which he sits at ease, talking
off business in a constant current of jests,
humorisms and flashes of wit, and with a
sharp eve to business all the time. He is
the picture of a well-fed and jovial club
man telling story to a knot of cronies in a
lazy corner of the club parlor.
/ A rrrao4 daal of &ruolr SC now Iii