The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-01-15

tnlS cily- 1 sold II for $3.50. 1t was
bought by 5. P. Avery, and now belongs
10 the club. II was not the money that
got from this picture. though, that
! brought me success because I did not sell
/ Il until several months afterward. I took
| the canvas 10 Plot and asked him what
! he thought Of H. He looked at il, and
| then be said Mr. Chase, I want you to
paint the portraits Of my children. I will
| advance you one-half of the price before
you begin work.
Within day, everybody In Munich art
circles knew that the great painter had
| commissioned me to paint the portraits of
| his children. My reputation was made
! The dealers who refused to notice me
crowded my studio and asked for paint
| ings, studies, anything that l had. The
seal of approval had been set by the
highest authority of his day. I had money
| -Pilotis money-and 1 was independent
| so told these dealers No to go away,
TO let me alone, that l would have moth
| ing to do with them. l paid my rent. l
| walked on air The whole world looked
bright. There was sunlight everywhere.
Curious story of an Exchange.
Il won't tell you how I painted these
portraits or what has become of them,
for that has nothing TO do with the
matter we are talking about. A GU
| rlous sequel, however, to this ltJle
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 portrait of a girl smok-
| Ing pipe, by Wilhelm Leibl. even at
that time a famous painter. l enjoyed
! studying this picture more than almost
any other in Munich, and II occurred to
me that so long as my work was in de-
mand | would exchange some of my pic
lures for it so that l could study il al my
leisure in my own studio. l gave three
| studies of heads in exchange for it,
Now, at the Stuart art sale last year
| one of Leibrs pictures sold for $4,000.
About month ago the art dealer who
| arranged the trade in Munich more than
| twenty years ago wrote me asking wheth-
er l still had this picture, and If So Wheth-
er l would sell it. | replied that I had It,
and did not care to dispose of It, In an
| sWer to this received a letter asking me
| to put my own price upon the canvas.
| This was a different matter. So l wrote
TO my old-time friends, telling them that
! II they would send their gent TO me with
$1,000 l would part with the picture, never
thinking that my offer would be accepted
| But they cabled their acceptance and
they've got the picture now, and l don't
| know whether to be sorry or glad"
How did PiloH happen to ask you to
paint his childrens portraits? l thought
| you said he was a severe critic of yours, -
| l suggested.
Made Columbus Turn His Back.
1T was not wholly my study of the
| Woman in Black, as 1 afterwards learn
ed, because, although the great painter
| was a very harsh critic, he had a rather
nigh idea of my ability, which I possibly
did not deserve. I'll give you an Illus
| tration. 1 told you how 1 resented the
| method of manufacturing pictures employ
! ed in the academy, of my desire for in
| dependence and all that. This happened
a month or SO before L received my COM
mission. 1 had all the sensitive lndepend-
ence that goes with unrecognized ability
| and grinding poverty. I resented almost
! everything. That was my mood. One day
the master said to me that he wanted
| competitive compositions from the pupils,
| and he had selected the subject of Column
| bus before the council, because there were
| a number of Americans in the academy.
| Now, l knew how Pilot wanted those
| compositions to be made. I knew where
he would place Columbus and where he
would put the members of the council, but
1 determined that If 1 were compelled to
| paint II, 1 would follow my own ideas.
| Two days before the time for submitting
| the compositions arrived, some of my fell
| low pupils asked me what I was doing
| with Columbus I told them nothing.
| You'd better do something said one of
them. The chief expects something very
| important from you laughed. They in
sisted, and more as joke than anything
else, laid out my composition. I said to
one of the young men: There is no au-
| thorized portrait of Columbus, is there?
| No one knew of any. So I continued,
| I'll paint the back of the discoverer and
1 won't put him in one corner of the pic
| ture, but in the CENTER And so 1 did I
made him face the council in a position
tfraIN
chief. The more l worked at the thing,
the more interested / became, and before
! l had been painting an hour 1 was en-
| crossed in it. After 1 had finished
! it [ laid it one side and thought no
more about it, But I finally entered it
with the other compositions. To my in
| tense surprise it received the medal. AS
| soon as the award was announced Pilot
came TO me, Indignation written in every
| line of his face.
Its an outrage he said. I don't I'M
| derstand how the committee came to give
! you that medal You don't deserve 1t.
| The idea of making so bad a use of so
| great a subject! Now, this is what you
want to do Put Columbus over on one
side paint a side view of him. Do it this
| way and he illustrated with his express
slve gestures how the figure was to be
| drawn. Now, don't paint on your little
| canvas. I'll give you a studio that three
men nave now I'll turn them all out.
You can have it by yourself. There wen
put a canvas thirty feet wide and 1 want
| you to paint this picture this way. In one,
in two years you will have produced a
| painting If l have any influence with
your government it will be in Washing
ton 1t will be in the capitol 1t win make
! you famous
"Of course I was pleased. I was more,
I was touched. But l didn't have money
enough to work one or two years, or even
one or two months longer, and told him
| so frankly.
| " You don't need money said Pilot,
! the academy, the government will pay
| your expenses will hire your studio give