The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-09-03
POOR MARKET FOR ART.
Mr.. Yerkes Buys Nudes and startles
the Artists.
From the Chicago Herald.

| From the Chicago Herald.
Charles 7. Yerl1es has just paid 10000
street car nickels for two nude gems by
Anders L. Zorn in the Swedish section of
the art gallery Now while such a pur-
chase by Mr.. Yerkes is a small matter in
itself and happens so frequently that it
! has long ceased to be news, vet the word
that somebody had bought two produc-
tons out of the almost endless array Of
contributions was hailed with delight by
the European commissioners.
The Columbian Exposition, which, is
! eccentric in more ways than one. has
proved bald exception to others in the
amount of coin which has passed from art
lovers to art makers. With four months
of the fair passed, it is a fact that not
more than half hundred oil paintings
! have found purchasers. Here and there
an exceptionally fine piece Of marble has
a sold" tag on it, but so rare has been
| the sculptor's Joy at the sight of such
label it Is now current verdict among
the men from over the seas that Ameri-
cans at home are not as lavish with their
| money as when rummagiug through
! luNuriant studios in the old world CAPT.
| tails. From Rome and Paris and Berlin
! and Copenhagen and Antwerp come let
| tiers upon letters from anxious artists, in
! curing as 10 the success of their submit
/ uNb WI No nun Il COAllIilGINld1 SbdUODOlQB.
! There has so far been but one answer-a
! note so uniform in It's discouragement
! that 1t might have been printed in thou
| sand lots and mailed at each frequent
| query Nobody is buying the costly can
| vases, and the $4,000 purse which a
! Philadelphia man gave for a yelled
woman in marble is the most sensational
transaction the big building has wit
messed.
! AMERICANS PREFER TO BUY ABROAD.
One of the commissioners said he be-
| lieved the lack of sales was due to the
! fact that but few of the visitors realized
that nearly all of the contributions are
! in this country to remain in case the peo-
| pie want them. This may be true in. "a
| measure, but it is far from being thor
oughly true. Collectors like the say and
sound of buying their fancies across the
! ocean. They like to import them, to have
the very tag and smell of Europe about
them, Americans were large purchasers
at the Paris exhibition and the French
artists expected a harvest when they en-
tered the Columbian lists. Speaking in
shop terms, business in the Art Gallery
is very slack. It's stringency is felt by
many countries and thus the rarity of
the Yer1es deal, and the few others,
| makes it news.
Mr. Zorn has been unusually fortunate
| been given a commission to do a portrait
of Mrs. Potter Palmer The president of
| the board of lady managers has been
ready for the work to begin since she
succeeded in convincing the members of
the board it was economy for them to 80
home before the Secretary of the Treasury
ordered them to. A sitting was to follow
soon after she completed this work, but
then Mr.. Zorn became disabled. He fell
and broke his collar bone, but within a
few days the famous Swedish artist will
be himself again and the portrait will be
started.
So universal has been the gloom in the
art building that the countries are almost
unit in declaring their decided aversion
toward exhibiting at the California mid
winter exhibition.
JAPAN Is DISCOURAGED.
Japan, with barely token turned into
cash, positively refuses to entertain for a
moment such proposition France and
Spain are equally positive, with Italy I'M
decided what to do in the extremity. Its
commissioners came without salaries, ex-
pectlng to find ready reward in proceeds
from sales. The sculpture book of all
ltlay's display shows fewer than a dozen
transfers. and all have been slight ones
save a single purchase. 4. S. Stevens, a
Washington banker, has sent check for