The morning times., 1895-10-19

The art treasures of private galleries In
Washington have au actual money value
much beyond u half million of dollars, aud
some OF the pictures have an actual and
sentimental value that Is simply inesti-
mable. The Brazilian minister, scholar,
connoisseur and devotee of the liberal
arts, has in his magnificent collection PIC
lures in oil and water colors which are
valued at more than SI50,OU0. The cot
lection oil Mrs. Hearst, widow of Senator
| Hearst is said to be worth equally as
much, AMI there are ban dozen more pa
latIal residences OF the National Capital
which have single pictures worth several
| Southern Plantations.
Some OF the people who have these
prIceiess creations OF the masters and
their followers and disciples are MIR. Thom-
| as Waggaman, Mr.. St.son HutChins, Mrs.
Hearst, Col. John Hay, Mrs. A. c. Hunt,
MIR. W. NJ. Hutchinson, Senator Mcmillan,
John r. Mclean, Don Cameron, Prof.
| Henry Adams, Mrs. Eugene Hale, Z. c.
| Glover, +. E. Riggs, the widcly-known
banker, and James Marion Johnson.
COLLECTIONS OF A LIFETIME.
These, 1T should be stated, are only the
principal owners, aud the aggregate value
| of their paintings and ancient relics is
alone about $500 900. They represent
I
| lifetime. Mrs. Hale, in addition TO her
own purchases, has Inherited the valuable
collection of her mother. who was the
| vile of Senator Zach Chandler.
| The beautiful creations which adorn the
walls OF the houses Of the millionaires and
| muiti-nillionaires are very seldom seen by
the vulgar eye, and are about as jealousy
! guarded as il they were surrounded by
an intermnable and impregnabie Chinese
wall of exclusion.
| The visitors TO the Corcoran Art Gal
| lery get a glimpse at the.pantings of Mr..
| Hutchinson, because he has on exhibition
| there-that is, loaned to the gallery
/, three paintings of very high merit and
| very high price.
that has visited the gallery lately. 1t is
the magnificent Judith" by Benjamin
| Constant, the celebrated French painter.
1t is in that painters best style, aud is a
marvel of color. The picture Is now SO
well known that 1t needs no description
| except to say that Judith Is represented
| with that "filhert-colored hair which
Labienus gave to Christ in the only extant
description of the personality Of the Sa-
| viuur. Another of the pictures from the
Hutchinson gallery is The Angeius ON the
Zuytler Zee" by the Dutch painter Hubert
| Vos.
BY DUTCH PAINTERS.
Still another is the Sheep in a snow
| storm, by Schenck, one OF the early Munich
school Of painters. But perhaps one OF
| the most striking and suggestive of the
| Hutchinson pictures is scene from low
| Dutch life with the French name of Les
Pauvres Gems" Like most of the subjects
| OF the Dutch school the components of the
picture are poor people. II may not be
| interesting to recall here what was said
the other day by an artist on Fifteenth
thA - Hs,
"raison d'etre'' of such paintings by the
| Dutch.
This artist, who is evidently somewhat
of a humoriSt, said that the Dutch painters
selected people from low life, because IIey
had character, and that high life had none.
This may or may not be a slaDder on The
rich burghers of Holland and the nouveaux
riches OF America.
Mrs. Hale's collection is rich in the i'm
possible Of attainment now adays for
money or by art. She owns the only Meis-
sonier In Washington. The Cavalier
also a priceless Diaz, showing the interior
of forest, and Rosa Bonheur which Is,
OF course, a cattle piece. These were pur-
chased abroad and at their full value.
There is a good deal said in the novels
about picking up lost treasures in junk
shops, but that is entirely out OF the ques-
ton nowadays.
Nearly all the junk shop proprietors
but II is said that they do sell lot of
rubbish, and especially 10 new Senator's
wives, who declare in the marts OF Europe
that they don't want any ''old pictures;"
they can afford TO buy new ones.
ONE BY yELASQUEZ.
Mr. Mendonca, the Brazilian minister,
has q collection of over three hundred oil
paintings, to say nothing OF " alter oo!ors and
bric-a-brac Among his choicestis Maria
Inro Srapr NC1a
painter Another of his gems is a PASTORAL
scene by Lancret. He ow ms Rubens and
many other examples of the Barbison
school Minister Mendonca is great
adnirer of Washngton's artist, Max Neyl, |
of whom he has twenty two pieces.
Senator McMillan's collection has an
actual money value OF al least one hun |
dred thousand dollars. The gem of his |
gallery is generally considered TO be q cat |
tie piece by Won Marcke. 1t would require |
a W hole page, however, TO enumerate and |
describe the examples he owns of Corot, |
Rousseau, Daubgny, and the other paint |
ers of the French school after the FlrSt
Napoleons era.
One of the special features of Mrs. Hunts |
collection ie her English prints in color |
from wooden blocks. Such things as |
these, whose value is evident only to the
connoisseur, are commanding at this time |
In Europe enormously high prices. She
and of Corot, and of Daublgny, of the French
school.
In Col John Hays salon one secs about
the best examples of original drawings in
tine city, or perhaps any other city on this
continent. The drawings are by the old |
and the new masters. Lovers of the an
tlQue and the inimitable see there the only
example of original drawings by Botti
cell in Washington. 1t is of this Botti-
celli that readers of Ruskin win recall that
he has written almost volume of praise
and culogy. RuskiD, in fact, is estate
when he talks of Botticelli. Col. Hay also
owns two original Turner'S. One of tho
most striking objects in the house, in fact,
is a stained window by John La Fargo.
MR.. wAGGAMAN'S COLLECTION.
The Waggaman collection is strong and
beautiful with examples of the Dutch school.
One of these is a Joseph Israels, which
cost ten thousand dollars. Besides this
wonderful work there are several by Nuy-
hens, Kever and Mariis. These are from
the oils, but besides this there is coliec-
tion of water colors by the best masters.
A very Interesting and rich exhibition
Is to be found in the collection of ancient
and modern ceramics in Japanese and other
Oriental curios and specimens of art.
In the gallery of Mr.. Hutchins is to be
seen LES Moissoniers," the harvesters, by
julien Dupre, a picture wonderfully full
Of life and action and color. He has also