The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-01-15

would not do it for ten times that
much.
After entering the academy I had
a pretty hard time of il. l foresaw
that my money would be spent long
i before 1 had acquired the requisite
training, and try as hard as / might
l could not sell my work to the local
/ dealers. 1 had been more or less of a
frevolutionist in the school. ! had OBJ
( Jeeted to painting pictures to order, and
7 it was not the way Of The master.
Z DOWN TO BREAD AND CHEESE.
/ "At last I got down to bread and
/ cheese. Even my canvas and my
paints were supplied by my fellow stu
dents. I had been in Munich two years
and q half. 1 had worked hard and
conscientiously. / had been unable to
sell anything. 1 had received. it is true,
the highest medal given by the acad-
envy in each class, but 1 had been Sc
verely criticised by the teachers for my
/ independence and the dealers would
have nothing 20 do with me. l know
what despair means"
The artist rose TO his feet, walked
across the room and lJoked out of the
window where the maid was bringing
home his child FROM their morning
walk.
FIRST SUCCESSFUL PICTURE.
1T was the turning point in my life.
I don't know how much longer. I could
have kept up the struggle. 1 was for
tunate in having secured quarters with
some people who had confidence in me
sufficient confidence to let me owe
them two years rent-but 1 could not
have held out very much longer, and
knew it. 1t was then that l painted
my first successful picture. 1t came
about this way: l painted a study OF
woman in black dressed in a riding
habit. 1t now hangs in the reception
room of the Union League club in
this city. I sold it for $500. It was
bought by S. 2. Avery. and now belongs
10 the club It was not the money that
l got this from picture, though, that
brought me success. because did not
sell it until several months afterward.
took the canvas to Pilot and asked
him what he thought of it. He looked
at it. and then he said: Mr.. Chase,
want you to paint the portraits OF my
children. 1 viii advance you one-half of
the price before you begin work
Within a day, everybody in Munich
art circles knew that the great painter
had commissioned me to paint the
portraits Of his children. My reputa-
ton was made. The dealers who refused
20 notice me crowded my studio and
asked for paintings, studies. anything
that l had. The seal of approval had
been set by the highest authority of
his day. l had mOney-Pilotis money
and 1 was Independent, so I told
these dealers No to go away, to let me
alone, that would have nothing to do
with them. 1 paid my rent. 1 walked (
on air. The whole world looked bright
There was sunlight everywhere.
STORY OF AN EXCHANGE.
81 won't tell you how Isoainted these
portraits or what has become of them, |
for that has nothing to do with the
matter we are talking about. a curious
sequel, however. TO this little siege of
the Bavarian art dealers came to pass
only last month. Let me tell you about !
it. One of the dealers had in his store a |
portrait of q girl smoking a pipe. by |
Wilhelm Leibl, even at that time a |
famous painter I enjoyed studying this |
picture more than almost any other in |
Munich, and it occurred to me that. so |
long as my work was in demand, | |
would exchange some of my pictures /
for it, so that l could study it at my |
leisure in my own studio. ! gave three |
studies of heads in exchange for 1t.
Now. at the Stuart art sale last year /
one of Leibrs pictures sold for SIS 900. |
About month ago the art dealer who |
arranged the trade in Munich, more /
than twenty years ago, wrote to me |
asking whether I still had this picture, |
and, if so, whether 1 would sell it, I /
replied that 1 had it, and did not care
to dispose of it. In answer to this
received a letter asking me to put my
own price upon the canvas. This was
different matter. SO I wrote to my old
time friends, telling them that if they
would send their agent to me with
g 600 1 would part with the picture,
never thinking that my offer would be
1n1 hnit~
ceptance and they've got the picture
row. and don't know whether to- be
sorry or glad"
How did Pilot happen to ask you
to paint his children's portraits? L
thought you said he was a severe critic
of yours" 1 suggested.
MADE COLUMBUS TURN.
TT wa not wholly my study of the
Woman in Black as l afterwards
learned, because, although the great
painter was a very harsh critic, he had
a rather high idea of my ability, which
possibly did not deserve. I'll give
you an illustration. l told you how l
resented the method Of manufacturing
pictures employed. in the academy, of
nv desire for independence, and all
hat. This happened Il month or so be-
fore l received my commission l had
al the sensitive independence that goes
With unrecogniZed ability and grinding
poverty. l resented almost everything.
That was my mood. One day the mas
er said to me that he wanted Compel
tive compositions from the pupils, and
le had selected the subject of 'Colum-
GUS Before the Council because there
we're a number Of Americans in the
academy Now, / knew how Pilot
wanted those compositions TO be made.
knew where he would place Column
,us and where he would put the mem
,ars OF the council, but 1 determined
hat if I We're compelled to paint it, l
would follow my own ideas. Two days
before the time for submitting the COM
positions arrived some of my fellow pu-
)ils asked me what 1 was doing with
Columbus. 1 told them nothing. You'd
,etter do something, said one of them.
The chief expects something very i'm
,ortant from you l laughed They
insisted. and more as a joke than any
hing else laid cut my composition.
aid to one of the young men: There
s no authorized portrait of Columbus,
5 theTe?' No one knew of any. So.
continued, III paint the back of the
Iiscoverer and l won't put him in one
orneT of the picture, but in the cen
err And 50 l did. 1 made him face
he council in position that l knew
would not entirely please the chief.
We mere / worked at the thing, the
mere interested became, and before
lad been painting an hour 1 was en-
-rosSed in it. After / had finished 1t I
aid it ore side and thought no more
bout it. But 1 finally entered it with
he other compositions. To my intense
urprise it received the medal. As soon
s the award was announced Pilot
anne TO me, indignation written in