Omaha daily bee., 1899-08-20
HANGING PICTURES ron A LIVING
How an Energetic woman Worked Up
n Profitable business.

N Profitable BusineHS.
Eyes, l hang pictures for a living, and
enjoy my work very much" The speaker
was Miss Josephine Pentland, a little blonde
woman who, although she protested she was
we'll on in her twenties, hardly looked old
enough to be past her early teens.
81 never consider a job for less than $40, and
often receive ten times ten. You see, so few
persons understand the proper hanging OF
pictures. or course, where they have q lot
of money and can employ a distinguished
artist or hrst-class decorator, they have no
reed for me. But 1t is the people OF moder-
ate means to whom / am useful. Do you
know. as a rule such persons hang pictures
according to their eye, putting them in
spaces where they will fit and make as much
show as possible.
at seems impossible to make them under
stand that each room or part OF a room
should be invested with an Idea that can
be attained by the artistic arrangement Of
pictures on the wall. Engravlngs should be
hung with engravings, etchings with etch-
ings, photographs with photographs and
paintings with paintings. They can not be
distributed simply as regards size, colors or
framing. Last week ] was called into a
house, and found a superb collection Of
japanese prints simply killing, some fine
specimens OF a famous water colorist's work.
The owner explained tina. he knew the pic
lures were all good because they had cost
big prices, and had been bought at the ad-
vice of friends whose artistic taste could
not be questioned.
''Then he complained that. as visitors
never seemed impressed with the beauty OF
his collection, he had sent for me.
There were a number of prints and
water colors In every one of his rooms, all
grouped together according to size. Taken
as a whole, the frames were not bad, so /
managed to use them. separating and re-
hanging so that they followed up the idea
given to the apartment by the pictures.
One can readily see how different the hang
ings in a room decorated with water colors
should be from one decorated with Jap
prints. That man was the most grateful
customer | have ever had, and l am sure
would have paid double the amount asked.
The Job took one and one-half days for
myself and the colored boy who works as my
assistant, and | received S65 for it. So you
see my work pays well.
81 am not an artist, and really don't be-
lieve / could ever be taught to do creditable
work as such. / began life as the youngest
daughter OF well -to-do people In Boston.
received an ordinary Boston education, and
travelled a little abroad. Then we had re-
verses, and when my father died my mother
and i did not have enough TO Keep pody anu
soul together.
81 knew that for all big places open to
women there were ten applicants to one va
cancy, so l made up my mind to think UP
some little field all untried by other women
and attempt to climb in and fiji the niche.
! knew | could arrange furniture in a room
in a manner to please the most artistic. Ny
friends were always after me for advice. Sc
! went to a girl who had recently married
and set up housekeeping. told her my plans
and asked to be allowed to arrange her fur
niture. She consented, but said that the ar
rangement Of her furniture suited her in
every way except the hanging OF her pic
lures. So I undertook to rehang her pic,
lures and did the work so satisfactorily that
l soon had several other orders.
After my second year in Boston I decided
that New York was the better field, so !