, 1889-04-30
OLD PICTURE ALEs.
Masterpieces Sold for Chrome Prices-Re-
mInIscences of Art Auctions.

Masterpieces Sold for Chrome Prices-Re-
mInIscences Of Art Auctions.
Long before the duke of Durcal's col
lection of paintings had been taken from
the ancestral walls to be brought across
the Atlantic, New York was noted as a
picture buying town, and manysof tho
auction sales of rare and antique" paint
ings of fifty years ego were quite rs far
cical as those of today. Excellent pic
lures were brought from tho other side
by chance frequently, but the critical eye
of art lovers of that time was too practi-
cal to nllow any undue indulgence where
more than a trifling sum was asked for n
work even Of unusual merit.
It's nothing new in New York that
the works of old masters should go
begging for q price even near their
value" said an old artist, as he proceeded
to tell a story of some peculiar auction
sales of years ago, several prominent
actors in which may be familiar to old
New Workers of today.
In the early forties an understood, dark
browed, keen eyed art dealer, Levy by
name, opened a small asction room for
the sale of paintings on Broadway, neal
Cortlandt street. There he sold at auc-
ton every Saturday night old paintings,
many of which bore the names of world
renowned artists Of past generations.
Paintings of all kinds, many merely old
scrolls of canvas and some framed, were
knocked down ut prices that would not
stagger n dealer in chromos nowadays.
One day n traveller, whose funds had
run short, called on Levy and offered
him twelve panel portraits of the CAESARS
for an old song. AS Levy never told
what he paid, nobody eve knew, but
certain it is that he bought them at n
low figure, and on the following Satur-
day night placed them in n row oil the
wall and asked the assembled critics,
consisting mostly of neighboring shop
keepers, what nm l offered for the
whole Cesar family by RaphaelY'
Mr.. Levy couldn't sell them very ca
silly, but finally n bid of five shillings
apiece bought the collection.
a year or two later Brett, n London
picture dealer of some note, whose spe-
cinlty was collecting the lost works of
great masters for private collections of
the nobility, came to New York on n
hunt for the Caesars. After n long search
he found them in n small restaurant on
Nassau street. He offered the proprie-
tors $50 for the lot. The offer was nc
cepted promptly, but two of the por-
traits were missing. Inquiry developed
the fact that the thrifty re%staurateur had
used them to kindlo n fire during n
heavy snow storm when it was difficult
TO get wood.
The ten portraits accompanied Brett
on his voyage back to London, and were
handed over TO n delighted purchaser for
$4,000. Pierre Flandin, the old time
dry goods prince, was at that time an
art dealer, as were also Paff and Beau
mont. At n sale in the auction room of
the latter a work by Durand was sold for
$3.50. and for days the sale was the talk
of the town.
One of tho largest collectors of pic
lures Mt hat time was Human Reed, n
successful merchant who lived in Green
witch street. Mr.. Reeds gallery con-
sisted almost entirely of works by Ameri-
can artists. Many well known people at
that time were visitors Mt his gallery.
These pictures are now in the possession
of tho Historical society, Mt Second ave
rue and Tenth street.
About 1910 Ernstpusch, n German i'm
porter Of pictures, brought over tho
greatest collection of pictures ever i'm
ported at ono time. In all there were
1000, mostly by German artists, but
among them tho works of Spanish, Ital-
inn and French artists. Levy sold nearly
the entire collection ut auction Mt prices
of from l shilling to 500.
The last really large auction sale of
-s,t,,rz, ,,r,, A.. ,1--r A. D.lart C-.stl.
collection about twenty-five or thirty
years ago. Tho Smith collection was
mercilessly nssailed on all sides and the
prices realized, with n few exceptions,
were r~idiculously low. Ono picture by
Van Dyke, however, brought a very
good price. New York Commercial Adj
vertiser.