The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1893-08-19
In ALONDON GALLERY
WHERE AMBITIOUS ART STUDENTS
THRoNa FOR STUDY.

Men and Women Who Make a Living by
Copying the Works OF Recognized Mas
ters-Fee Days In the National Gallery
of London and the Crowd Attending.
On two days in the week, Thursdays and
Fridays, a fee is charged for admission To-
the National gallery, Trafalgar square, Lon
don. This doea not diminish the attend
ance, but changes it's character. Instead
of the usual throng Of tourists and home
visitors, most of whom stroll in bewilder
ed manner from chamber to cham Der in the
great building, there is an attendance Of
men and women who gather in groups be
fore the most famous masterpieces. Most
of the women chatter volubly, and not a
few of the men will join in conversation
The visitors for the most part are painters,
students, dealers or connoisseurs.
OF course these painters are mt the gallery
to make copies of pictures, but what con
noisseur or amateur would care to invest
in copies? Well, copying paintings is bread
and butter TO u small army of London
painters, but it must not be supposed that
such n method of earning a living meets
with the approval or even knowledge of
those in authority mt the museum and gal
leries. On the contrary, every possible ef
fort is made to discountenance the practice
of using the privileges of the galleries ms
an immediate and direct source of pecu
MARY benefit A painter who was known to
sell his copies as originals would not be
permitted to enter the galleries OH student
days.
On the other hand, encouragement is
shown to students who desire to copy. Any
one can get immediate permission by pro
dueing II specimen of work which will
serve ms n pass, even II it show but little
merit, or by II letter of recommended ion
from any known artist or art teacher Tn
der such circumstances it is no wonder that
clever painters, who are willing to stoop to
fraud, are able to pursue their business un
disturbed in the great galleries. A painter
of this class usually is n specialist-that is,
he devotes himself to acquiring the style OF
some one master, copying; his pictures ex
clusiyely, and cases are not altogether rare
wherein famous paintings have been sol
cleverly reproduced us to deceive connois
seurS. ..s
The writer knows of one instance in re
cent years in which the INSCRIPTIONS
painter spent the greater part of his life III
copying the water cOlors of recognized
master aud hnd no difficulty in dsposin2l
OF every copy ~ an original. The copies
were generally disposed Of through dishon
est dealers, but though purchasers paid
literally for the fakes" the painter him
self proiitcd little by his skill, for he was
always miseitbly poor and died at last OF
starvation and drink. An especially re
marliabe feature of this mau's work was
the fact that he copied from memory. Dur
ing the last years of his life, ut least, he
never brought his easel and palette TO the
National gallery, but he often went there
and stood for hours at time before the
picture he had selected, committing to
memory every detail of outline and color
effect, Whether it was his method to re
turn after having completed his copy to re
view his work by Il second or third study of
the original the writer does not know
The number Of copies mnde in the great
galleries to be sold under false representa-
tiOns is small compared to the immense
amount of work done there every year,
Most of the work, ii sold, is sold for what it
purports TO be, and therein lies the oppor.
tunity for purchasers who want good paint
ings. Not few painters OF unmistakable
talent give themselves up to copying bs
cause it assures them u living less precari
Gus than might be earnCd by creative work
alone. Moreover, TO copy OH fee days in the
ment of no moan value, for dealers are
lowering about all the time ready to pick
up an excellent copy at a bargain, or, as is
frequently the case, to give II commission
for n new WORK, II real original, from the
brush of any painter whuse work strikes
them as having the requisite style and
power.
Besides the dealers there are always pri.
waite buyers on hand, some Of them Ameri
cans, who happen to know the possibilities
Of obtaining good pictures at low prices
and are not slow TO take advantage OF the
opportunity. That the opportunities may
be excellent, 50 fer ~ prices 20, may be in.
fcrrud from the plight of an Italian who
WAS patiently copying an old Dutch pic
turc, He frankly ADMITTED that he had no
commission; that he MAS copying solely in
I the hope that lie might sell his copy for Il
! little food. lie came from Naples, where
/ he had run tliroughu fortune and had been
/ four months in London. During that time
/ he Ind sold one small picture of his own,
and that for a mere ride. sol have taken
To copying" he said simply.
Snmr Of the copytsts make good incomes
/ one man who camc under the writer's OBJ
svryaiiou had lived for several years on one
picture in the Beihupl Green museum. lie
had copied it more thpn 50 times 4 IA
vorite among the copyists is Murillo's st
john the baptist" one painter alone has
made and sold a dozen copies of it.
There are more women than men among
! the coPyi9ts, and critical observers of long
standing say that in recent years the work
OF women has undergone Il remarkable i'm.
! prnvemsnt in breadth and strength of treat.
mrut. Perhaps this has. not been unaftrct-
ell by the better accommodations Afforded