St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-06-25
He Promises Minneapolis the
Finest Exhibit Ever Seen
in This City.
Difficulties Which Stood in
the Way Of What He
Had to Do.
Some Of the Paintings Which
Will Be Shown at the Ex-
position.


ton this year. He promises that the
art department will eclipse any exhibit
ever seen in the Northwest, both in
size and in the excellence of the
work exhibited. The room for
merly occupied by the casts will be
this year given up to paintings,
Wilde the casts will be advantageously
distributed throughout the building
and cases of valuable paintings are
already in Minneapolis, they having
come on from Europe with Mr.. Smith.
Others will be coming right along for
the next three weeks. 1t is expected
that the paintings will all be in place
for at least three days before the open
ing of the exposition, and those three
days will be devoted to the inspection
of these art treasures by Minneapolis
people who have put down their names a
purchasers of pictures from the collec-
ton. This list of purchasers was of
much benefit to Mr.. Smith in his deal
ings with foreign artists. He says that
the people of Minneapolis are becoming
known abroad as an art-loving people,
all ON account of the exposition, and
artists are much more willing to have
their pictures exhibited here when
there is possibility of making sale.
OF his trip, his experiences and obser-
vations abroad, and of the pictures Sc
cured, Mr.. Smith talks mSSt entertain
ing !sE,;o v,,ooo, ;, oo,a NJ -,
yesterday, especially those with whom
| come in contact, are most Skep-
teal, very conservative. 1t is hard to
do business with them. You have to
meet man half dozen times, make
appointments, wine him and dine him
before you can talk business with him.
can do more business in New York
city in six days than can do in Europe
in six weeks. However, am well sat
isfied with the collection picked up"
Among the pictures which l have Sc
cured is Messonier's "1614," beauti-
full thing. Messonier is president of
the new salon, split from the old salon,
and this painting is one of his greatest
works. Then have paintings by Hen
ner, which are very fine indeed. Will
Jams is another artist who is represent
ed in the collection. His reproduction
of satin and textures l have never seen
equaled. They are marvellous.
"With all due respect to the w. G. L.
U. ladies, they will need goodly num-
Der of fannels and draperies. [ have
secured a choice collection of nudes.
They are all great paintings and chaste
works of art. The greatest is Bouguer-
eau's awakening of Spring" Bou-
guereau is president of the old Paris
salon, the most important body of art
lists in the world, and this picture Sc
think it is the finest nude ever painted.
"When was at The Hague | secured
some of the works of Mesday and his
wife. I want to say here that 1t was
largely because our minister to the
Netherlands, A. R. Thayer, of Mime
apOl1s, went with me. Mesday is most
difficult to approach. He is immensely
wealthy, and cares little about selling
pictures. He has over S1,OO0.000 worth
of art treasures in his home. He is
probably the most wonderful marine
painter that ever lived. Few men can
paint ship in the water that looks real.
have twenty-five of his marines, few
of which have ever been exhibited.
Then L secured twelve of his Wife'S
paintings, figures.
while at The Hague l secured many
valuable curioS. Buc- brac $50 or 200
years old is not considered at all old
there. Nothing becomes ancient until
1t has attained the dignity of 800 years
or SO. Well, [ secured a duplicate,
among other pieces of silverware, of
twelve pieces called the Seasons" each
piece representing month of the year,
which form the center piece in the pal
ace. Then have some very fine cary
ings in ivory. | have set of household
furniture, seventy pieces, mind you.
carved from ivory, all of which can be
put in child's thlmble at the same
time.
Among the collection Is painting by
Grimelund-a horse painting. 1t is
probably the most wonderful animal
picture in the world. also visited al
Fortainebleu that other great animal
painter, Rosa Bonheur. She is singu-
lar woman-dresses just like man,
and the most difficult artist to approach
l ever saw. She has magnificent
home, full of paintings complete and
half finished, studies and curios. She
never sells picture except to three
firms. Thousands of dollars have been
offered her for some of her studies, but
she told me. These are the children
of my brain. would be lonely without
Them By promising to insure them
hope to have two of those studies to eX
hibit.
The six cases of paintings now here
comprise the collection of old masters
as good a collection as there is to be
found anywhere. They belong tt
Schmeltz. who is immensely rich anC
has castle just outside Paris. During
the Franco-Prussian war Schmelti
bought thousands of paintings from
churches and from people who feared
that they would be destroyed. He
had secret cellar where they
were stored. Since the war hi
has sold hundreds to various
art galleries. This collection of 1O(
paintings comprises the best of all ht
| had. He saved them for a purpose, Il
make donation or something of tha
sort. He is most peculiar man, some
thing angered him, and / got there just
| In time to get them. had hard work
| to do it, though l was never sure o.
them until they had been shipped
| Among them are works by Rubens
Van Dyck, Murrillo, Salvador Rosa
Claude Lorraine, and Titan, all marvel
Gus works of art.
"I have painting by Haberle, on the
STYLE of The Old Violin, which is away
ahead of it. 1t is painting of an etch
| ing, bank notes, coins, stamps, Old let
ters, cards. allreproduced as if sticking
in frame.
NEARLY all of the foreign pictures
are for sale. Then we have goot
samples of the work of American art
lists abroad. One is E. L. Weeks LAS
| Voyage" which took medal at thu
salon. 1t represents an old man being
borne across the Gauges. that he may
die upon holy ground, his attendants
tanning him to keep him alive. In fac
many Of the paintings have secured
medals in the salons. Then our Amer
lean artists at home will be largely rep
resented. In, fact we will have the
finest and largest collection of painting
which Minneapolis ever dreamed o.
SEEING"
All this and much more Mr. Smitl
told GLOBE reporter in the course O
an hours chat. His conversation wa:
interspersed with delightful reminis
cences, anecdotes and observations con
corning his trip, his encounters witt
artists, peculiar customs in Paris, novel
ties In the way of hotel service lik
small elevators, no light but that o