Waterbury evening Democrat., 1891-11-07
A THEFT IN ART.
The Story of Missing Portrait
 of Washington.
Belief That It Is Still in Existence in the Isle of Man-The Portrait Originally Intended for the White
 House.

| House.
 One of the most singular stories in the annals of art is the theft and dis appearance of an authentic full length of George Washington, painted by Gill bert Stuart, the friend and pupil of West, says the London Black and White. This long missing portrait was one of three replicas made by Stuart from the well-known original painted to the commission of the celebrated Marquis of Lansdowne. That original and two of the copies are well and clearly accounted for; but the third disappeared in the following man. ner, and has never since been heard of. The portrait was painted for Gardner Baker, of New York, an active member of the society of St. Tammany, which | at his suggestion established museum. This museum was in 1795 made over to Baker, who added among other attrac- tions the full length of the great gen. eral In 1798 he appears to have gone to Boston to exhibit the picture; but, dying there of yellow fever, the DOT trait went to a MT. Laing in satisfac- tion of a claim. By and by the com mittee charged with furnishing the presidents house at Washington bought the picture, which was intrusted to one Winstanley, tricky neer-do-weel of painter, to pack and deliver. Winstan- | ley, however, copied the Stuart in his own vile way, delivered the copy, and fled to England with the original. Stuart himself was the first to discover and denounce the fraud. But though he repudiated the canvas that still hangs in the white house, and though | the evidence against it is overwhelm- ing, patriotic citizens of the states will still believe it to be the genuine DOT trait repeated by Stuart himself from the Lansdowne full length. What be- came of the genuine work stolen by Winstanley, painter and thief?
 Well, there is considerable reason to believe that it is now in the possession of William Burrows, picture dealer at | Douglas, Isle of Man. Some time ago there was a sale at Mount Vernon in that island, in consequence of the death of Mrs. Harrison, who was Mrs. | Hancock (having been twice married) and a daughter of one Breed, who formerly owned Breed island in Bos- ton harbor, whose name is immortalized in the battle of Breeds hill, and who settled in the Isle of Man early in the century. Among a variety of pictures disposed of at the aforesaid sale was a fine full length in oil of George Wash ington, and capital impression of the engraving which Heath made from the Lansdowne portrait, thus robbing Stuart of his copyright, and leading to probably the first and certainly the bitterest dispute on record concerning American and English artistic rights. MT. Burrows bought all the pictures at the sale, and the print, the master1y style of the painting, and it's all but com plete identity with the engraving led him to conclude he had acquired a genuine Stuart Washington. Hence those recent paragraphs anent the discovery" in the Isle of Man; hence a journey to London, picture in hand, to consult the experts.
 Now the experts all agree that it is not only genuine Stuart, but B very fine specimen in point alike of color, handling, design and (not less impor- tant) of preservation. MT. Burrows canvas is essentially the same (the diff ferences between it and the Lansdowne being extremely slight, and not even so marked as those which, as rule, natur- ally appear in replicas); but the Lans- downe does not equal the delicacy and distinction of the work now in MT. Bur rows possession, but which ought properly to be in the national portrait gallery. The only portrait of Washing ton there is poor-so poor indeed that apparently the authorities don't think it worth exhibiting. Washington, after all, was as much British as American; and the national album certainly should contain likeness worthy of the man and of the two peoples. But the author ities are so impecunious that they can only offer a comparatively small price. Such an offer has been made, it Is un- derstood; but the figure named is quite below the market value of the picture, which, unless some special means are taken to acquire it for the nation, will assuredly be snapped up by some patri- otic American millionaire.
 Finally, there is the question of identi- ty. Space forbids such a lengthy state ment as could be made of the facts, but, briefly, the considerations in favor of this being the replica originally in- tended for the white house are these: Winstanley came to England, presuma- bly, with the portrait, about the same time as Breed What more likely than that Breed purchased the picture for his Isle of Man home, which he named Mount Vernon" after Washington's? It has hung in the principal room there for nearly ninety years; Heath's engrav- ing (purchased probably at the time ot publication), being in the bedroom. It is pretty certain that Winstanley stole the picture to sell; it is not unlikely that he sold it to Breed. This Isle of Man picture is genuine Stuart and ob- viously a careful replica on a smaller scale of the Lansdowne portrait; it supplies in all essential points, appar- ently, the missing full length. If, there fore, this is not the white house DOT. trait then Stuart painted another full length hitherto unrecorded; or there was painter who painted in exactly Stuart's manner and forged his sigma