The evening times., 1898-06-10
WOMAN rs SHE
Is PAINTED
An Artist Who Studies Femi-
nine characteristics.
Society Sitters Give Trouble BE-
cause They Lack Habits of Pune
tuaIIty-Old Ladies' Pose Best.

"When / have painted a person por-
trait" said an artist the other day, II
know that person through and through.
This particular artist is woman. young
attractive, successful, though not yet
one of those famous portrait painters
who seem to confer a favor upon you in
consenting to paint your picture and ac-
cept a great many hundreds Of your dol
lars in exchange. She hasn't reached
that point yet: but perhaps her remarks
may be all the more interesting on that
account.
YES" pursued the young artist. when
I have painted. say. woman's portrait,
I not only know her as she is. but l know
her as she thinks she is and as she wants
to be. Before she really settles down to
work she shows of all her little affecta-
tons It's like a dog when he wants to
be petted He goes through al his tricks
to see how you like them. OF course. your
sitter doesn't give her little exhibition
consciously and deliberately. She doesn't t
know that she is showing on. But do.
and i have to jolly her along past that
stage before can get at the real woman.
1T isn't always vanity. A good deal of
IL Is a SOTt neTNOuS OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
Men have 1t. too. only 1t takes a different
form. When a man is going to have his
portrait painted he apparently swallows a
ramrod, and you almost have to take a
hammer to make him bend his joints.
When a woman is the sitter. she feels as
much like fool as the man does. but She
knows 1t. She wants to look as II she
hadn't swallowed a ramrod and as If she
was perfectly at ease, so she forthwith
tries to do the things for which she has
been complimented.
..She goes to work to show of her good
points; at least. what she thinks or has
been told are her good points. If a woman
has been told that she has fine teeth she
tries to show every tooth In her head.
Well, you know, I'm not painting teeth,
so l have a dreadful time getting her
mouth shut II woman has been told
that her eyes are brilliant. and that her
great charm is in a certain flashing
glance, she comes in here and flashes like
a searchlight hunting torpedo boats.
Probably that is really one of her charms.
but. unfortunately. can't paint flashes
Another woman has been told that her
beauty is in the languorous drOop of her
eyelids. Well, l have as much trouble
keeping her eyes open as / have getting
the women with the fine teeth TO keep her
mouth shut. The languorous lady gets
on an expression which Is a cross be-
tween a squint and the despair of sea-
sickness and which is altogether trying
to the painter. As for the mouth, 1t is
almost impossible to keep the sitter from
putting on an unnatural smile: and /
have rarely known 1t to fail that when a
woman finds you are at work on the
mouth she bites her lips to make them
redder.
They generally settle down in a little
while. however. when they think the
whole thing is decided. Then the trouble
is to get them to come on time and give
you sittings of reasonable length. The
women who have their portraits painted
are generally society women who have no
habits Of punctuality. and do not realize
the value Of time. Maybe you have an
appointment for 1880 o'clock. You are
pretty sure your sitter won't be on time,
so you don't begin to get your colors
ready until that hour. OF course. she
doesn't come. even when you are all pre-