The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-04-13

From the New York SUM-
A man who pays $4,000 for one
picture and $4,000 for three others is
bound to be talked about William A.
Clark. of IT'S West Fifty-efghth street,
did this act at the recent sale of the
Stewart collection.
1t was on Friday night. a week ago,
that Mr.. Clark remained in the list of
bidders for Fortuny's 1.-THE Choice of
a Model' long enough to secure the
masterpiece for $4,000. AS the bids
increased over the first one of $50. 900.
one bidder after another dropped out.
leaving the field to Mr.. Clark and
George J. Gould. While these two men
continued the contest the eyes of the
crowd that packed Chickering hall
were upon them.s 1t was largely a New
York crowd, and to the spectators the
face of the young man upon whom the
mantle of the late Jay Gould has fall
len was more or less familiar. Few OF
the thrOng, however, had ever heard OF
and fewer still had seen the older man,
who quietly raised every bid that his
young rival made. His face was, In
a way, striking, and at distance re-
minded one somewhat of the face of
Charles Dickens.
Psychologists might have said that the
head was too big for the body. He was
perhaps slightly above five feet eight
inches in height, slim of build. his
cheeks somewhat sunken. Upon a
slender neck an unusually large head
was we'll set. Back from a high, broad
forehead fell a thick mass of dark
brown hair. plentifully streaked with
gray. A heavy mOustache and chin
beard could not conceal from those
who sat nearest to him the particu-
larly strong mouth and firm chin,
which gave to the face a stern express
sion, relieved somewhat by the nosL,
which, physiognomists would say,
showed that he was of a sensitive ma
ture, with a more than ordinary fond
ness for the beautiful. The cheek
bones were high, which, taking them
with other facial characteristics, might
lead to the belief that the man or some
of his ancestors had come from the
north of Ireland. From under the
heavy eyebrows deep-set blue eyes met
squarely and fearlessly the look of any
ono upon whom they CHANGED to rest
When the picture had been knocked
down and the applause, loud and con-
tinued, had died away. the inquiry be-
gan to go about the hall:
who is this man Clark? Where did
he come from? He must have some
money"
There were a few in the hall who
could answer the questions, but only a
few In another section of the coun-
try or in another part of the world, on
the continent Of Europe, for instance,
such inquiries would have probably
been met with an exclamation Of sur
prise at the ignorance of the inquirer.
That William A. Clark is best known
to New Workers by the fact that he
paid $4,000 for a masterpiece Of For
tuny is because the majority Of New
Workers are SO busy with their own af-
fairs.
William A Clark has had residence
in New York for only a comparatively
short time. He is fifty-nine years old
and the greater part of his life has been
spent in that part Of the country be-
yond the Mississippi river. His life
has been busy one, but he has had
play spells. Those seasons he has
passed abroad. 1t. therefore, happens
that in Colorado, among the hills of
Montana and on the Pacific slope the
man is known for what he has done
and the great wealth which he has ac-
cumulated. He is admired because he
is a manly man, considered by most
persons to be the best type of an
American citizen. In Europe he is
best known for his love Of art In the
ateliers Of Paris, in the studios of
Rome of Florence and of Milan, in the
art centers of the European capitals he
is known as a liberal patron. With
most of the great artists of the world
Mr. Clark is acquainted. But they
know only the art side of his nature
They admire him because he knows,
when he buys picture, why he buys
it. They know, also, that while he is
ready to buy really good picture, he
is too good judge to be induced to
purchase any of the gold bricks to be
found in plenty in the art world 1t
is. perhaps. owing to this fact that
when he goes abroad Mr.. Clark has OPP
portunities offered to him to look at
pictures which the general public never
sees.
These are some Of the characteristics
of the man who was born a farmers
son near Connellsville, Fayette county.
Pa. on Jan. 8, 1889. His father was
John Clark and his mother Mary An
drews, both natives of Pennsylvania.
His grandfather, also John Clark.
came to Pennsylvania shortly after
the Revolution from county Tyrone, in
the north Of Ireland.