Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-10-04

and the treatment is secondary. There is o
very vague idea of art among the people in
general. 1 have been asked if 1 had any
samples in my studio. Another person
asked me if oil paintings were not the dear
est kind manufactured. Think of an oil
painting being manufactured!
The thing that has gained the frmest
hold on the public mind is the crayon por-
trait. 1t meets you on every occasion
Your best friends question upon your ar
rival from abroad is: DO you make
crayons" Upon being introduced to any
person the same question is put to you as a
sort of an introduction to conversation on
art. On every parlor wall, wherever you
go, the inevitable crayon. portrait in all de-
grees of badness stares down upon you with
l1feless eyes. IF customer comes to order
portrait and thinks your price little too
high, he invariably remarks that friend of
his had most beautiful crayon made for
such and such price. Even on the street
the artist is not free from this bugbear and
frequently sees signs to the effect, Portraits
Supplied to the..Trade.
NARRowNEss OF ART DEALERS
'But the artists soul is still more har-
rowed when his business with the art deal
ers begins. To his question as to whether
the art dealer will take his pictures on exhi-
bition, he usually gets the answer: we
deal only in foreign paintings and is po-
litely bowed out of'the store. Once in q
while an art dealer will kindly condescend
to take a picture to sell on commission from
native young artist. He charges him
from 20 to % per cent on what he says was
the sale price. In many cases I have found
out afterward that the dealer sold the pict-
ure for much larger sum than he had told
the artist, thus cheating the latter out of his
money. Another cause of the avaricious-
ness of the art dealer may be illustrated by
the following: A lady was recommendeda as
pupil by an art dealer to needy artist.
This lady when visiting the artists studio
brought friend along who ordered por-
trait from the artist. Upon hearing this the
dealer Immediately informed the artist that
he expected q commission of 10 per cent
upon the order, as he was the indirect means
OF getting it. The artist, being rather hard
up, could not afford to lose the support of
the dealer, and therefore paid the blood
money. AT soon as the time came, however,
when he could drop his shackels that dealer
saw no more of him.
TRIALS OF THE ART TEACHER.
"1Iost all the artists take pupils in New
York. 1t pays we'll and renders them in
dependent. Between times they can paint
what they like and take their time for it.
have taken pupils myself. One meets a
great many curious persons among these
people who want instruction. Most Of them
wish to know exactly how many lessons it
will be necessary for them to take before
they can paint head They speak of art
us though it were q trade, requiring a stated
apprenticeship. Others, with the assur-
ance that advanced artists rarely have, will
says: 'Oh, paint beautifully already, and
think few more lessons is all need
''One day man about 50 years of age
presented himself at my studio and said he
wanted to see about lessons We talked
quite while, and finally asked him if the
pupil was advanced. L am the pupil said
he. 4 am q married man and have seven
children depending on me- By this he
gave ME to understand that it was perfectly
proper for me to take him as pupil, and at
the same time conveyed to me in delicate
manner that there was no possible hope for
me II had any matrimonial aspirations.
WOMEN ARE NOT ExTRAvAGANr.
''There are quite number of women
artists in New York. All of them, per-
haps have hard struggle at first, but most
of them succeed in making ends meet after
year or so. Women are more economical
than men, you know, and they are not
usually given to high jinks. Compared TO
their male colleagues, the women artists of
New York live economically and we'll.
Some of them live in studios, the same as
many artists do abroad. Many of these
women are strangers in the city, being
drawn hither from all parts of the country
in the belief that this is better field for
their labors. Where they come backed by
influential friends the road to success is |
pretty certain-at least, is greatly |
smoothed. Friends can do great deal for |
an artist because many people purchase |
pictures ar sort of a fad or fashion, rather |!
than from any love of art or by reason of
the possession of superior judgment
"The cultivation of social connections is
considered necessary to the artist, and a |
good many of the clever ones have worked |
this to their great advantage"
CHARLES THEODORE MURRAY.