The morning call., 1892-03-14

iuI liie next issue OF Suncn are lalQ. Since
that time have attended the meetings reg
ularly."
Then you may be considered as Leech' S
successor" suggested.
Well. no, / scarcely think So" said the
artist. II trust that our styles are differ
ent. You know l get my cue from Mark
Lemon, who was editor OF Punch when 1
joined it. He said to me:
Don tao funny things. DO the grace full
side Of life. Be the French tenor in the
opera bouffe.'
Il don'tt. affect broad caricature. 1t is
~, You draw great deal from real life.
Mr.; Du Maurier?" l said when the artist
had thus laid down his own idea as to his
limitations.
Yes. do" was the reply. Here is one
OF my subjects now"
AS he spoke the door opened and boy.
accompanied by a disreputable-lo looking
ocotch terrier, l0Omed up on the scene. IL
was TIE artists son, Godfrey. who is rising
years OF age. and has figured in a hun
recognize him at once. Following in the
wake OF the Scotch terrier was comcal
little daehshound. which has also been held
up IN It's masters sketches TO all sorts Of
Tidicuie.
As for his daughters, he admits that he
puts them In many of his sketches. He
says, too, that he knows Sir Georglus
Midas personally, and that Maudle and
T0StIetnwalte have real existence.
linen we chatted Of the jokes that accom-
pany the Punch pictures. and was lmper-
tinent enough to ask Du Maurer if he wrote
his own Jokes.
y es, came the quick reply, ''every one.
10 not mean TO say that l actually make
up the stories that underle the pictures in
al cases. but the letter press that accom-
pauies them IS always mine. In most cases,
doubtless, It is really my invention. Often
however, friend will call and say, George
heard thus and thus at such and such a
place, ana II IL strikes me as funny / use Ii.
Frankly, II Is terrible task sometimes to
ger up The picture and the fun which is re-
CURED for the weekly Punch. and / get per-
leciiy wild over it. | walk up and down
the room, tear my hair, don't know what in
ne world shall draw. and at the very
last moment, quite likely when the printers
are waiting Tor copy, either find sugges-
tlon In my own brain or some happy friend
drops In and gives me the suggestion.
lnere was writer here to see me some
time ago. continued the genial artist, "and
ne asked me what sort of characters liked
best TO draw. / said bishops and fiunkeys.
he was bit shocked, think, but he asked
me- the reason of this weakness of mine for
footmen and bishops, and | calmly replied,
Their calves. my friend He seemed
somewhat mystifed. | really believe he
thought was joking"
III you have noticed the pOnderous calves
that Du Maurier attaches to the legs Of his
bishops and footmen you will appreciate
his reply TO the newspaper man.
hen The conservation drifteG to illustra-
ions IN American magazines and journals
as compared with the same work In Eng
land.
American illustration strikes me very
fayorably," said Punch's master hand. "Of
course, the political cartoons in Puck or
Judge. and other of your celebrated illus
trated journals, do not appeal to me strongly
because do not understand your politics,
but they seem 10 he very we'll done, and the
art OF printing in cOl0rs has certainly been
brought to high state in American publ
cations. When il comes To black and white
drawings, however, L think that we are
abreast of the American artists, II not bit
ahead. There is a man who has recently
died. Dir. Charles keene, who was superb
IN his work and whom il would be impossible
to surpass. The father of all black and
white work, as you might say, was Mcneil
OF Berlin. IL was from him that we all took
our models and our education, and, for that
matter, 1t ought 10 be understood that the
drawing OF modern artists has Come TO be a
careful study from actual models. Thirty
years ago illustrators used TO draw from
their imaginatioDs wholly. They used
no models. They drew what the saw in
their own minds. Nowadays we are more
particular, ana the model in an illustrators
studio has come to be quite as distinct and
necessary feature as he or she is in II
painters studio"
Then we talked Of his coming novel
es, he said. II am going TO publish
| another one. The Harpers were kind
enough 10 accept aud publish my first eff
fort, and am going TO thy again. Whether
L write any more after that will depend
almost entirely upon the appreciation
which this work may meet. III | find
that the reading public cares for my stories
shall write many more, for / have a vast
amount of material which seems to me
shDnlH a hnt 1 ind
that they like my style or the material
which have TO present, shall drop IL and
continue TO work solely as an illustrator.
l like. your Mr. Abbey very much, by the
way" lie continued. The is most excellent
artist. and the manner in which Harper's,
| the Century and the Seribner's Magazine
brings out pictures in black and white is
| worthy OF all admiration"
Du Maurier is Of the opinion that the daily
newspaper OF the future will be an lllustra-
ted Journal
Newspaper illustration Is still very
| crude" he said. Rough paper and hasty
presswork leads to results That cannot be
| satisfactory 10 the artist himself. But
being in its infancy. With our present
appliances We cannot hope to get the best
results from newspaper printing, though
L am perfectly convinced thst American
genius, IL not English, will some day
| complete process by which the finest
white in daily publication. 1t will GER
tainly come. Within twenty years we shall
See IN the daily press as excellent pictures
| rs we now have in the weeklies. What the
process will be | don't pretend to say or
| suggest, but invention Is rapid in this age
ana some method will be brought 10 per-
| lection Ivy which the fine lines OF pen and
ink work may DE reproduced satisfactorily
| on quick press"
So the artist chartered on in his easy,
N hA q
| reputation came up.
There isn't so much in fame at times, ~
said the humorist with a laugh.
Some time ago at friends house | was
selected to take lady in to dinner. She
| had not caught my name. | told her IL was
Du Maurier. 'Du Maurier, the artist said.
myself
Il sometimes do pictures for Punch" |
| said
"'Dear me-" was the crushing renIv 81
| wonder If L know any OF them. / wonder
| II you did not do picture of n scene in
| Hampstead oncep'
There" said the artist, with another
outbreak o. laughing. there was fame for
yun!"
The sun had set behind the steeples OF
Harrow before Du Maurier conducted me 10
| the threshold OF his hospitable home As
| we were passing out he pointed TO large
frame in the hallway in which were gathered
some two score drawings of streets and
| people.
There" he said, rs something that can
never be surpassed in black and white,
don't care how far the art may be developed
That work is superb. TWAS done by Mes-
sonier."
Say good word for me to the Anne rican
people" he said. as he babe me good-by. ~
like them and they have been very kind to
me-" L. II. II
London, Feb. Is.
Copyright