The Portland daily press., 1894-10-19
WORLDS GREAT MEN.
An Artists "reminiscences of Some
Whom He Painted.

Anecdotes of Grant, Lincoln, Gambetta
Bismark, jackson, Clay and Webster
Queen Victoria's Reserve.
The volume of "reminiscences of g. P. A,
Healy, the painter, which is about to be
published, contains many interesting :anec.
dotes of some of the worlds celebrities
Heaiy was very successful, if not a
great painter, and his profession brought
him into contact, at one time or another,
with nearly all the great men of his time.
Mr.. Healy was in this country during the
war. Among his sitters at that time were
Gems. Grant, Sherman, Mcclellan. and Admi-
raj Porter. He also had sittings from Abra-
ham Lincoln. Mr.. Lincoln, writes Mr..
Healy-
l particularly enjoyed. So much has been
said about that great and good man that il
seems almost presumptious 10 add to the
numberless anecdotes of his humor and
genial temper. During one of his sittings.
as he was glancing at his letters, he burst
into hearty laugh, and he exclaimed: las
a painter, Mr.. Healy, you shall be judge
between this unknown correspondent and
me. She complains of my ugliness. 1t is
allowed to be ugly in this world, but not as
ugly as l am. She wishes me to put on false
whiskers, to hide my horrible jaws. Will
you paint me with false whiskers2 No? ]
thought not. I tell you what shall do: give
permission to this lover of the beautiful to
set up a ba1ber's shop at the White House. !
And he laughed again with perfect delight
at the idea.
fnrI nd he Era1, 1,oh ,,aI,
more gracious in his manner than the En-.
glish Queen. Among the copies of por rtraits
he was commissioned to make for Louis
Philippe were some at Windsor Castle.
had the opportunity while working in
what was then called the Waterloo Gallery
the name was changed later. when Napo-
leon III. visited Windsor-of noticing the
difference of etiquette In the two courts.
Louis Philippe never seemed to consider
it beneath his kingly dignity to be pleasant
and kind.
QUEEN VICTORIA.
evidently feared to address an obscure
commoner.
was one day at work copying the por-
trait of Lord Bathurst. by Lawrence, when
the Queen and Prince Albert crossed the
gallery and stopped to look at what I was
doing. AS she wished for some details as
to the order the King of France had given
me etc., she turned to her husband, saying
Ask Mr.. Healy IT," etc.; and Prince AL
bert put the question to me as though he
had been translating from foreign tongue.
Then she exclaimed looking at my copy
''It is extremely like" and, with the slight
est possible bend of the head, passed on. l
own that my American blood rather boiled
in my veins. But my indignation did not
prevent me from looking very hard at her
Majesty. I was struck by the delieacy of
the features and compilations of the young
Queen and by the extreme elegance of her
very handsome husband. This was in 1S41.
While he was in Rome Mr.. Healy painted
Plus TX. He describes the sitting:
was introduced one morning into Plus
ks library; pleasant room. simply
enough furnished, full of books, the table
covered with papers. The Pope was dressed
all in white. the cloth with scarlet shoes;
the hair was hite, the face rather pale,
with bright eyes not incapable of sparkle,
for his Holiness knew how to take joke.
He was a pretty good sitter, but somewhat
restless and curious also as to what his
painter was ABOUT. On one OccaSlOu Ne
arose from his seat to look over my shoulder.
When I am earnestly at work l wish my
sitters to help me and do their duty by re-
manning in the attitude I have chosen. ]
exclaimed, perhaps a little abruptly: 81
beg your Holiness to sit down." The Pope
laughed and said: 81 am accustomed to
give orders not to receive them. But you
see, MIR. Healy, that / also know how to
obey" and submissively went back to his
chair.
Plus TX. HAS BEEN DEAD
now year. like to think of the few
short sittings he gave me in his cheerful
library; l like to remember his quiet,
pleasant talk, his rather Italian-sounding
French, his judgments of men and things.
One day, speaking of monk who had left
the church and married, lie observed, not
without malice: HE has taken his punish
ment into his own hands,
When Mr.. Healy went to Nashville, Tenn
to paint portrait of Andrew Jackson for
Louis Philippe 'Old Hickory was dying
from dropsy, and for forty days and forty
M