The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1895-07-05
A MAS4ERPIECE
BY Elisabeth Pu!len.

i 1UAx IN l. AAAA AAOA
BY Elisabeth Pu!len.
Maurice Ingraham strayed into Gou
pills, as he did nearly every day, in or
der to indulge in Il quarter hour Of home
sickness for the paradise of art from
which he had been exiled by means oil
IL rich legacy. When oile falls heir t,
the estate of childless uucle worth sew
cral millions it deprives him Of the deli
cio,ls makesliifts and economies and eX
cursions of the guild of painters. 1t has
been sstid that champagne tastes and {,
beer Income are Il cause of miseries
But an income which seems to constrail
to champagne all the time might prove
scious that the men who had worked be
side him iii i cc.rtail famous Studio it
Paris, how that he was rich. tried very
hard to tredt him in the old cordial way
But he felt the patronage of ,irt TOWARD
money, which is loftier than that OF
money toward art.
That morning he spitd at Goupi1's s
photograph Of moderate dimensions, &
landscape sighed by a former fellow
friendship had continued. but pal1idl,
and Internationally. FersSthe had mar
ried; the wife was said to be Il very nice
girl. but not at all of the smart set lii
graham had sent rather expensive wed
ding gift aid had meai}t to pay a visit
Their he heard that the ForsFthes were
out of town for the SUMMER. l1videntls
the artist had profited by his VACATION
the photograph from his painting showed
Il work of rare DUALITY, 1t was IA FLYER
side meadow: with a clump of willows
the stream had shadowy depths and
luminous cddies; some Sheep, were pastur:
ing i'll the foreground. Nothing could BIZ
more simple and serene than this idyIlic
landscape-yet 1ngrahams first impress
sion was Of something grandiosc After
4 moment this Quality disappeared: bit il
he turned away his gaze and then looked
afresh ut the picture it always made the
same effect upon him. He decided that it
was something about the background
there were vae que, large curves, perhaps
of cloud or of distant hills; at all events,
they We're extraordinarily imposing in
their faint and tenuous suggestions of
immensely
'"There is one vulgar consolation re-
served for the boudholder.'' said Ingra-
ham humbly to himself. ''He can buy
what pleases him and at the same time
encourage art''
He at once decided to lunch at an
Italian restaurant frequentcd by the
paitter clique who liked to recall the
impressions of a sketching tour that
they had once made in Il body to Rome
and to talk of the coloring of the great
Campasna, the unspeakable grandeur
of the ruins, the good taste of the
wines of the country, which they drank
under the vine trellises of little osteria
AS lngraham entered the restaurant he
saw Forsythe quite alone at Il table. He
crnc SOI hn ~k<,I l.:
IF you are not expecting anyone, For
sythe, will you lunch with me? This is
rather like sora Celia's, isn't it?''
"a fair imitation. But we miss the
fellow with the guitar and worthy old
Clelia. who would sometimes bring a
dish with her own hands in order to say
to us good appetite, my children!"
All! the dear old sora Clelia!'
They mingled "reminiscences until it
be an itnpertinence on his part to be-
gin to talk about the painting that he
wished to buy.
"Forsythe," he said, II have just seen
at Goupirs the photograph of Il most re-
markable picture of yours. 1t is wonder
full, beyond praise. You have struck a
new manner, and your first manner was
tile despair of the rest of us. But this
landscape Is great Let me say plainly,
and get over the crudeness of the situa-
ton, that l want to buy the original
They said at Goupirs that they had not
seen it, and did not know whether it
was sold or not. If it is ! shall try to
get it away from it's present owner.
must have it at any price,"
Il am glad that you like the painting
But the original is not for sale.''
Indeed, l cannot wonder that you are
in love with it yourself and wish to keep
Rtpf< lot
"Possibly."
"You would have no objection to copy
ing it for me on another canvass?
"As you say"
Ingraham drew out his check book,
signed page, tore it off and handed it
to Forsythe.
ooh, carte blanche is too much," pro-
tested the artist.
'"roo little. by Jove! want that land
graphs framed and sent to my rooms;
but, Of course, it must lack the touch
and the colors of the real thing-the sill
yer green of the willows, the olive
depths and the amber lights of the
water, the blue of the marsh lilies and
OF the heavens above them'-
Il painted it in monochrome"
But you hit the values marvelously
What was the tint?''
Gil, Il hIiNt VI DIO"u.
Not sepia?''
Burnt sienna?"
mot exactly"
''Umber?''-
"Well, hardly"
''All right, the coloring is your little
secret. But | have not yet spoken of the
real wonder of your work, Forsythe. Viii,
lows and streams and sheep feeding have
10 ON hf,ff R1,f fhnr
to it than that. You have painted in
there some great dim curves. They are
more than human; they are titanic, as if
you had seen for one inspired moment the
great earth-mother herself behind her crea.
tion-something, as Swinburn says: The
solemn slope Of mighty limbs asleep l
am bound to admit, however. that now
rich man, ashamed to be caught in
rapturous citation of poetry. Anyhow,
Forsythe, that picture is like glimpse
into the m!o'rning of the world, the prime
Whereupon the artist laughed gayly,
filled out the check with very moderate
figures and handed it back to Ingrallam.
'You shall have the REPLICA my dear fell
low, but | don't ia Ike the money before
hand. Thank you for all the nice things
you have been saying. But, upon my
word, I'm not responsible for the titanic
curves. They were accidental-no, not
that, either--incidental. They were in
fact caused by the particular canvas, 50
to speak"
"Nonsense, that cannot be so. How,
ever, to content you, will admit that you
painted better than you knew"
Eyes: that picture was the result of
the habit of handling a brush. Neither
more nor less"
"Forsythe, you used not to have these
little affectations. Don't try to make
me believe that a man can paint like
that without real inspiration. You d.
vined, you saw that prodigious curve, as
of colossal beautiful shoulder. 1t may
have been originally mountain or a
cloud; but you have softencd and made
it mysterious-a thing to Worship
"Come, now, will tell you all abou,
it, because it will really not do for you
to keep on raving about stroke of non,
existent genius. Well, this was the way
of it, Mrs Forsythe and I went away
for rf,p yyn1IiuO frin q fay q g tho c40tn ~