The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-11-10
WOMAN ASSHE is PAINTED
Tricks of Vanity Betrayed to the
Artist.
OF PEOPLE
OBSERVATIONS Made by a Young Woman
who Paints Upon Her sit~ters-Paint-
ing Old Women, Children and
Men-woman's Two Sides.

when / have painted a persons
portrait" said an artist the other day.
II know that person through and
through"
This particular artist Is a woman
young. attractive. successful. though
not yet one OF hos famous portrait
painters who seem TO confer a favor
upon you in c%onsenting to paint your
picture and accept "A great many nun
dreds OF you dollars in She
hasn't reached that point yet: but per-
haps her remarks may be all the more
interesting on that account
YES" pursued the young artist.
when 1 have painted. say "A
portrait. I not only know her as she
is. but 1 know her as she thinks h ~
and as she wants To be. Before she
really settles down toNwork she shows
of all her little Alterations. It's ike
a dog when he want to be petted. lie
goes through all his tricks to see how
you like them. OF curse your sitter
doesn't give her little exhibition con-
sclously and deliberately. She doesn't
know that she is showing OF. But i do,
and I have to jolly her along past that
stage before 1 can get at the real
woman
1T isn't always vanity. A good deal
of IL is a sort OF nervous Unconscious
ness. Men have ~. too. only 1t X a
different form. When a man Is going
TO have his portrait painted he appar-
entity swallows a ramrod, and you al
most have to take a hammer TO make
him bend his Joints. When a woman
il the sitter. she feels as much Ike a
fool as the man does, but she knows
IL. She wants to look as II she hadn't
naA ng ~ Eha was
perfectly at ease. so she forthwith tries
10 do the things for which she has
been complimented.
.'She goes 70 work 10 show of her
good points: at least. what she thinks,
or has been told. are her good points.
IL 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 have n dreadfui
time getting her mouth shut. If a
woman has been old that her eyes are
brilliant. and that her great charm Is
in a certain flashing glance, comes
in here and flashes like a searchlight
hunting torpedo boats. Probably that
is really one of her charms. but I'M
fortunately 1 can't paint flashes:
Another woman has been told that
her beauty is in the dangerous droop
Of her eyelids. Well. l have as much
trouble keeping her eyes open as | have
getting the woman with the nne teeth
TO keep her mouth shut. The languor-
Gus lady gets on an expression whlch
Is a cross between a squint and the de-
spair of s~easickness, and which IL az
together vim TO the painter. Us Tor
the mouth. IL is almost impossible 10
keep the sitter from putting on an I'M
natural smile; and l have rarely known
IL TO fail that when a woman finds you
are al work on the mouth she bites her
lips TO make them redder.
''They generally settle down in a lit
tie 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 rave no habits of punctu-
aIity and do not realize the value Of
time. Maybe you have AN appointment
for half past 10 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. h doesn't
come even when you are all prepared.
so then you hdget around until she does
drop in. perhaps fully an hour late. She
always has "A luncheon engagement at ]
o'clock. so that you really. get not more
tina an hours work with her when you
should have had two.
..Of course. when one gets to he a IA
nous artist N can charge thousands
instead OF hundreds for a picture. ]
p the women are not so careless
Business men are always prompt. They
come on time. get right to work in 2
businesslike way. and stick to IL until
time f. up. ! must say, however. tina
men who are gentlemen OF leisure. anc
therefore I'm the same class with the so
ciety women. have been Just exactly az
unpunctual and hard TO manage.
1T Is the old ladies who pose the best
They have long < ceased To worr,
about putting their best foot foremost
They Just settle down as sweetly and
quietly as you please and don't give
you a bit OF rouble. How about chill
dren? oh. I love To paint them, but 4
Is often very. very hard 10 manage
them. I had one small boy who wat
proof against all Of my Requirement
save one. / had that big sword yoI
see hanging there. and one day In des
pair I took IL down n told him e
Dfav he was "A Roman soldier. IL WORKED