The times., 1899-09-11
A PORTO RIC4b PAINTER
An Old Artist Begs1LeaYe to Found
a Gallery.
Francisco O1Ier Presents Petition
to the American Governor General
OF His Native IsIand-He Asks That
He Be Permitted to Collect and
Hang Examples of InsuIar Art.

Two months ago q grey-haired, Stoop-
shouldered old man handed in a petition
to the Governor General of Porto Rico that
read something like this: 81, Francisco
Oller, artist, native of Porto Rico, mar
ried, respectfully beg of Your Excellency
to grant me permission to found an art
gallery in San Juan Bautista For eight
years before the coming of the American
army of occupation l implored this in vain
Of the Spanish authorities, and now, know
ing the kindness of heart and enlightened
understanding that grace all you have done
for this hitherto unhappy island, 1 come to
you with my humble request. The paint
ings are all here, though scattered through
the different departments of government,
and all that is necessary is your authority
to have them delivered to me- There shall
be no expense TO the Government as I
charge myself personally with unhanging
them, placing them in position in the room
assigned, and caring for them as long as
l live"
This was the first intimation the mill
tary authorities had that painting as an
art existed in Porto Rico; that there was
any desire for artistic education among
the natives, and that there was master
lery and to teach in his declining years
the results of a lifetime spent at home and
abroad in the study and practice of his
profession.
Two weeks later, all the formalities hav-
ing been arranged, the objections of this
Secretary and that Secretary having been
overcome, this same artist, dusty and
tired, could be seen experimenting the ef-
forts of q gang Of conyicts as they la
pritf I, Ri pain in 10
and Offices where they had been seen and
admired by clerks and offceseekers for
whole decade.
And now, between the hours OF and
o'clock each afternoon, in San Francisco
Street, the passer-by will see a curious
crowd gazing through the half-open door
of the Disputacion Building and watching
Don Francisco Oller, happy and smiling,
teaching his classes in the tastefully ar
ranged gallery, which he considers the
crowning work of his career.
At present the fact of the existence OF
this gallery, the only one in the island,
is known to but few people in San Juan
and to none at all outside. lnere are
about twenty-five paintings on exhibition,
of which ten belong to the Spanish Gov
| ernment- For, when SPANS sovereignty
ceased, the departing governor general,
Macias, had received no instructions from
the Colonial Secretary in Spain concern
| ing their disposition. The result is they
| are now held in trust by the secretary of
| finance in Porto Ricos and will in all
probability be made the subject of a claim
! in the near future through the United
| States. The best paintings in this collec-
tion of ten are the "Carnicero Romano"
/ or Roman Meat STALL . by the Italian ar
! fist Jose Juiana, and "Antes de dar el ST.
/ (f'Before Saving Yes'-in the marriage
ceremony, by Jose Uria. The other paint
| ings in the gallery are the property of the
/ island government, number OF them hav-
ing been donated by MIR. Oller on condi
! tion that they were to- be exhibited in the
j art galley when ii should be founded. The
best OF these paintings are la Hilandera"
(.The Spinner'), by Cecilio la; La Tar
| do (tThe Afternoon -autuInn) by Nico-
| las Raurict; "Un Cesante" GA Discharged
Officeseeker') Una Cabezap GA Head'0; /;
Una Emboscada'' can Ambuscade'')
and "El Yelorio'' C'The Wake''), all by
LOlIer
| Amid these surroundings Mr. Oller gives
| instruction in drawing and painting free
He has day class in painting for young
women between 8 and 5 o'clock each after
| noon, and night classes in drawing and
| lectures on art, for women on Mondays
! Wednesdays, and Fridays for men on
Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays from
| to 9 o'cloek-separate classes for EACH
since co-education of the sexes is under all
circumstances prohibited by public opin-
ion.
Poor, receiving nothing for his work ex-
cept from the generosity of some of his
day pupils, this man is so devoted to his
cherished art that he considers it a privi-
lege and an honor to be allowed to incul-
cate ideas of truth and beauty in the minds
of the youth of his native land
| history of painting in Porto Rico is
,-;t. u-ff ar,,.i-o
names-Campeche and Oller. Porto Ricans
claim some others, who, born in the island,
left il early in life and ever afterward
lived abroad. The most important of these
is Pedro Pablo Pommayrac known in Paris
as painter of miniatures where he took
the first prize in the Salon in 1912 1t was
his one wish late in life to return to Dor
inquen' and die there. but the close of
his career in 1880 at the age of sixty-one
saw his wish unfulfilled.
Campeche was a mulatto, who was born
In the latter half of the last century, and
died early in the present one. He was a
mystic, and revelled in painting holy pic
lures and saints. He was an uneducated
genius whose works show poor perspec-
tive and faulty mixing of colors. Two of
his best pictures are in the Church of San
Francisco, San Juan, while many others are
owned by Porto Rican families.
Don Francisco 0ller was born in San
Juan in 1888, and soon gave signs of such
unusual talent that General Prim then
governor general of the island, proposed
sending him abroad on government al
lowance to pursue his studies, but Oilers
mother interfered and objected to the ar
rangement on account of his tender years
Campeches paintings at this time were
his only models but he was far more in
terested In the scenes of everyday life by
which he was surrounded. He went to
Paris when eighteen years old, and re-
NAMED eleven years studying the mas
ters. In all he spent twenty years
in Europe, leading a checkered ca7eer.
Having resolved upon series OF paint
ings illustrative of Porto Rican life, he
offered in 1869 his "Boca- -Abajo" for ex-
hibition in the Salon. II was a slavery
scene common in those days. A slave
stripped to the waist, is tied by the wrist
and ankles to ladder, "Boea- -Abajo'
("Mouth in the Dust'), another slave
stands by, having already given a number
of the one hundred murderous strokes
with the lash that are the poor wretch's
lot; round about are the other slaves
calm and dispassionate onlookprs of the
daily scene there Is the wife of the mar
on the ground, here his daughter, concu.
bne of the slave master, sitting near BY
at table slipping coffee and gloating oyel
the writhing torture of the victim.
When the Spanish Ambassador at Pari.
heard of the picture he protested to tn,
Government of Mcmahon, and it was re.
fused admission, since the committee ad
Judged il a criticism of the customs of ,
, friendly nation. Photographs of the pie
ture were, however, sold throaghou
lata n;