The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-12-02
CORN PAINTINGS BY A FARMER.
So True to Nature That a Blind Man
~ L. L..

So True to Nature That a Blind Man
Can Count the Kernels
Cominiss oner Peck has written let
+ ter to Alfred Montgomery, the farmer
painter" Of Bloomington, notifying him
that his picture, Down on the Farm"
will be shown at the Paris exposition
next year.
In painting this picture, Mr.. Mont
gomery has accepted the challenge of
James Whitcomb Riley, who in his bal
lad, When the frost is on the punkin
and the folders in the shock says
that the farm presents picture that
mo painter has the colorin' to mock"
Mr.. Montgomery once called the atten-
| ton of the Hoosied poet to this chal7
lenge and he announced that he would
accept it.
The picture has been completed and
was shown to Mr. Peck last week. 1t
| is six feet long and three feet wide and
represents a farm at the time Of the
year suggested by the ballad. A panel
of rail fence Il made to do service for
frame and into this the painting has
been thrust as if it had dropped and
had caught there.
Montgomery lives on a little place on
the border of the town, whic5 he calls
a farm. He claims that he has taken
no lessons save from nature. He has
painted during period of thirty years
hundreds Of farm scenes, 1t Is claimel
that so realistic are s1me of the ears Of
corn seen in the pictures that they have
at different times attracted the nibble
of horse and the peck of hen. The ar
list told the writer that the man who
seemed most to appreciate his work
was blind. In painting the grains on
the ears, he had made them stand out
50 that the sightess critic went over
the canvas with his fingers, feeling al
most every grain. Mr. Montgomery
himself says, that in this making the
grains sand cut, he has been accused
of cutting off the ends of real grains
and pasting them on the canvas, but
this charge he dismisses with a dis
dainful laugh.
The artist exhibits hundreds ofAetters
from well-known Chicagoans who have
purchased bis corn pictures. He deliv-
cred one to ex- Comptroller Eckles the
other day. He has been referred to as
"the James Whitcomb Riley in art"
The farmer artist is exceedingly old
In his habits. Some time ago he -ap-
peared in the Auditorium Hotel in farm
garh. with a basket Of huge red, white
and yellow ears Of corn. He checked
the basket and invited the manager olt !
in the hall to see one of his corn pic
lures.
Montgomery uses up an Astonishing
amount Of energy. He will walk down
street loaded with sufficient parapher
MALTA and pictures to fill a cart One /
day, it Is said, he arrived at the railroad |
depot in Lake Geneva with his load just |
as the train was pulling out. He want |
ed the conductor to wait, but the latter
wouldn't; whereupon the artist began
loading the front ends of the cars as
they passed him. jumping on the last
car himself
The farmer artist says he will take
his family and go to Paris with his pic
lures 1t is said that he has made mon
ay from the sale of the wonderful pro-
ducts cf his brush. He says he is build
Ing a villa in some eastern state and
after the exposition he will settle there
for the remainder OF his life.--Chicago
Record