Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-06-16
A NATTER OF TASTE.
Some Pertinent Remarks on the Art
of Buying Good Pictures.
THE WILES OF THE AUCTIONEER
Should be Carefully Avoided by Purchasers
Who Are Not
EXPERT IN DETECTING FORGERIES
WRITTEN FOE THE DISPATCH

WRITTEN FOR THE DIsPArcH.l
In my previous communication I stated
that the getting together a collection of
works OF art was venture. By this 1
meant that, however abundant a man. s
means might be, he ran two risks-the first
from himself, the second from others. On
entering upon any undertaking the pre-
liminary question which a man of common
sense puts to himself is, ''Do I know any
thing about this matter ?" IT he concludes
that he does not, and is still intent upon
prosecuting the affair, he asks himself SIS
there any thoroughly competent and trust
worthy person whose services can secure ?''
Should this question be decided in the mega
tive, he either abandons his design entirely or
waits until such services are available.
| Now, in the large majority Of cases these are
precisely the Two questions which people who
| enter for the first time on the venture of
| picture buying do not ask themselves.
The vanity inherent in human nature is of
| diverse kinds and of various degrees of ten
| acity.
The twin species Of wishing to appear to
know what we do not, and Of hugging our own
opinion, are the very last to wither in the cru
cible OF severe philosophical training.
Few, indeed, are the persons who have en-
4 Joyed even what is to-day. by strong figure of
| speech, termed an education, who will tolerate
| the insinuation that they are
DEFECTIVE IN MATTERS OF TASTE.
They will concede, with the utmost suavity,
that they are ignorant Of Chinese or Sanscrit;
the Pandects and Goddess of Justinian are an
unexplored realm to themi that qualitative
analysis is mystery as yet unfolded to their
minds; but venture to tell them that their
| taste halts, and they are up in arms. And, yet,
should they be catechized on the canons of
taste in one or the other branch of art, it
would be found that their knowledge was ex-
| actly commensurate with that possessed by
them in any one OF the subjects just men-
| toned.
This vanity constitutes the first danger of
which l spoke above. Had everybody who
buys pictures the sense to ask himself the
question which l put just now into the mouth
Of my hypothetical man, and the courage to
answer 1t honestly, the danger alluded to would
be averted. They would then cast about for
some one of knowledge and probity, trust in
him and spare themselves the pain and humilia-
tion which not unfrequently come later to
those who have trusted to their unframed
Judgment, or what might more aptly be termed
total Lack Of judgment.
For such pain and humiliation are more fire.
quent than is usually imagined. 1t is not very
long ago since welLknown financial magnate
living in New York paid $4,000 for picture
alleged to be by Corot. He was a thorough
believer in the value Of his own opinion, The
picture was sold, with many others. at public
auction. The experienced dealers in the place
were astounded. and well they might be. Not
many weeks ago saw several pictures, the
property of q rich New Yorker, which had
been placed in the hands of a firm here to be
cleaned, Graded, etc. Among them were few
alleged examples Of the
CELEBRATED BARBIzoN SCHOOL.
In answer to my inquiry as to wheth-
or the owner believed them to be genu-
inc, was informed that he most undoubt-
edly did. The pictures bore the names of great
painters, and there was not a single genuine
one among them,
Here, then, were tive cases in which the va
riety Of their opinions, unbacked by judgment
or knowledge, had cost two men many thou
sands OF dollars, and in the case of the first
mentioned had made him ridiculous to boot in
presence of the most experienced dealers in
the country. If they had had sense enough to
consult some real connoisseur, dealer or other
they would not have been betrayed into pur-
chases which made them a laughing stock.
The number Of people thus victimized is very
large, and the majority of them are '.fieecedo
at auctions. 1t will be noticed that it is the
UNIFORM practice of auctioueerS when selling
works of art to state at the beginning of the
catalogue, among the conditions of sale, that
they will not be responsible for any error of
description. So that If one happened to have
paid $4,000 for a supposed Diaz or Rousseau
(Which was worth less than nothing as being q
fraud), and could and actually did establish
the forgery OF the signature and the fraudu-
lent character of the work the next day he
would have no redress As general rule,
therefore, auctions are excellent places for the
inexperienced to avoid. If you must buy at
auction, and there are now and again auctions
OF genuine pictures, engage the services of
some dealer of first-class repute pay him his
commission and make your mind easy.
But there is another class of persons who get
victimiZed- They belong to the army of Eu-
ropean tourists, who, in every city of note on
the continent, trust to their own germane
acuteness, and go around to the brocauteurs
and secondhand picture dealers looking for
bargains. Bless their innocent hearts
PERHAPS THEY DON'T GET BARGAINS,
that's all Wherever they see little art shop
in an out-of-the-wayp place-the more out.of-the-
way the better they like it-they are eager to
penetrate its hidden recesses. for there is the
hunting ground where they may find treas
ure.
They inquire timidly of the very polite old
gentleman who receives them whether he
hasn't, for instan ce. small Dupre. They are
very, very scarce indeed. But he does happen |
to have just one. A gentleman has been trying |
to get it for the last two weeks. But there is
slight difference between the would-be buyer |
and the seller of trifing 1000 francs. Won't |
he let them see 1t? Certainly! Picture pro- !
duced with much ceremony. Pricef Well, he |
doesn't expect to get so fine an example for |
many long year. The picture, of course, is a |
fraud, and he has dozen more of them. He |
gets ten times as much for it as the poor, hun
cry devil that painted 1t, and the gem is duly |
forwarded to New York. The same steamer
may carry five or six copies of the self-same /
thing by the self-same hand. The collection of |
picture bearing great names are brought to-
gether in due course of time find their way to |
the auction rooms, and the race of dupes, vic |
tins Of the variety before described, Is perpet-
mated.
This nefarious business had, > few years ago,
reached such proportions that the French Gov
ernment, in the interests of legitimate art
thought it necessary to enact very severe
MEASURES AGAINST THE FoRGERs
of other artists names. But enacting laws and
detecting forgers are two very different things.
The same practices are no doubt still con-
tinued. Greedy men will generally take an un-
certain risk for q certain and large profit.
So, If your picture-buying is in Europe, don't
go looking for bargains in back streets, and
unless you are good Judge. or accompanied
by one, don't buy at all; but make the acquaint-
ance at home of some nonorably-known, long
tried and soldly. established firm of dealers.
had, they can get it. If not they can order 1t,
because representatives Of such houses visit ali |
the art capitals of Europe two or three times
year. There are several such houses in New
ork. William Schaus, for instance, is one
that may be cited for the known possession of
such qualities. And. of course, there are others
also.
Begin well. Never buy q picture merely be-
cause it is cheap. To anyone desirous of FORM
ing good collection, however small, poor
picture is dear at any price. Rather be the
possessor of 10 frst-rate works than of 100 in
different ones. Milett's Angelus shows what
kind of an investment a work by a great artist
itary one. But have trespassed too long on
your spacel CoLoNNA.
ART NOTES AND COMMENTS