New-York tribune., 1900-03-10
PICTURES AT AUCTION.
SALE OF THE CHHOF-BLAKESLEE
ON-EIGHTY-THREE PAINT
INGS BRING S56415.

siaSm The reason Is plain. Good Old Mas
rs are rare Nearly all of the best of them
,o5 nv F7uronean museums. by kings and princes
tv national governments and municipalities. When
ne inpovershrnent of some nobeman occasionally
rts an old master of the highest class the
narket there Is a skurrying among all the repre-
entatives of the great galleries. and they hasten
- the aurtion sale. Naturally have fewer .of
,bese opportunities than they have in Europe.
put we have opportunities OF sort. One was Of
.ered last night at Chckering Hall when the first
half OF the Fischhof- -Blakeslee collection put
$, at auction The remainder will be sold to-
night The collection is suggestive 1t illustrates
the kind old art that 1t is easy to get, the kind
that we may readily have in the absence of the
finest treasures. Some Of ii is good OF ii is
moor: ali OF #. IN the auction room, is interesting
as testing American aptitude in the study and
handling Of the picture market. The total of
received for eighty-three pictures is par
1icularly significant though it may said that it
would have been much greater II certain names in
rbe catalogue had been represented their best
II was in the individual bids that there food
for study. At times they revealed shrewdness. At
other times they suggested the hypnotic power of
a fzmous name. The Portrait of Shakespeare"
which according TO the catalogue is presumed
10 he the work OF Burbage," brought the reasonable
sum Of $50. Apparently the amusing statement
of the catalogue that 'the work possesses unique
historical value" taken its due weight.
The Saint Peter catalogued under the name of
Rubens on the other hand. brought $3.50. which
was offered by Charles F. Sprague surely gen.
erous purchaser. II IS catalogued as coming from
the collection of Sedelmeyer, the Partisan dealer.
This is interesting, but II does not make the pict
ure a brilliant example of Rubers. Such
ample would be worth much more than $3.50. and
a perfect specimen of the OF Albert Cuyp
would be worth than the $3.50 paid by r.
Curtis for the Dutch River Scene with Cattle
attributed TO him; both these paintings fetched
extraordinarily substantial figures Similarly
Portrait Of Henrietta Maria, Queen Of Charles
l." given TO Van Dyck, brought very curious
prioe, sl.le0 10 wit This curious for the
that II IL were a Van DyCk of the purest water II
would be worth s1l. .ooo rather than Nlo0 and be
cheap that. Since IT is not thoroughly char
Acteristc Van Dyck. why should Charles F
sprague have paid .1.1oo for II? A Portrait OF
Mrs BrudenelI' by Sir Joshua Reynolds sold for
500 first class Sir Joshua is worth more. The
Mrs. Brudenell" belongs, however. to that class
Of paintings which was familiar enough in the
great painters studio. but in which posterity has
particular interest the class Of journeyman's
portraiture, uninspred commercial, uncharacteris-
tie for more typical OF the artists pupils than of
himself.
This brings up the whole question Of how CRATE
fu ought to be for collections Ike the Ftschhof-
Blakeslee collection. Is II worth while TO bring
over 70 America paintings which have chiefly 10
recommend them the fact that they are old7 II
IS good for Americans to possess old masters but
only when we can have them Of the highest quail
fly. Pictures like the Henrietta Maria" the Mrs
Brudeneu,' the est. Peter o. the "Madernoiselle
lie Nain,' Of Gainsborough in this collection are
of very mild interest TO The name Of Van Dyck
calls up memories Of his masterpieces Windsor
In the Louvre and in dozen other European
museums. With Rubens, Reynolds and Gains
borough it is the And the memories rise
these waits Of the auction room to which allusion
has Just been made seem thinner and
Inonplace than ever. II Is not always a question
OF authenticity. We need not doubt the author
ship Of the Portrait OF Lady Harrison" for
ample, catalogued John Opie's. But why pay
ss25 for the picture which is very far from repre-
senting the high water mark of Opie's art? And
though Sir Henry Raeburn painted every inch of
the Alexander Fraser Tyler is IL worth 5000?
Hardly. Raeburn his best is a painter worth
paying for but unless he is at his best he is one
OF the least interesting Of British artists This is
the great lesson that must be learned by Ameri-
can collectors. and, incidentally. by the dealers
who cater to them; that price is high TO pay
for a masterpiece, and that price may easily be
TOO high for an ''old master that is not mas
terpiece.
The bright spot of last evenings proceed
ings was that of the Portrait of Russanna Ran
dolph, Of Chester, Virginia." by Copley, which
sold for $500 That picture. by an early American
artist. was worth every penny that it brought.
THE LIST SOLD.
The following is list OF the paintings sold, to-
gether with the prices paid and the names Of the
purchasers:
"a Fisher Girl F !. HuTistone: e l. Morrison. $3.50
'Plerrot Before the Police Court T Couture
'Fis6ing. iaggeT Honneward Bound" W c stan
The PAN through the woods Frank de Haven
'I5oriraI; ar Old Man s de Konnick: l. A
'Por1Tsit of Shakespeare, Burbage; F R. Kaiden-
'isailemsn q The Court Of Louis XIV j. B. Van
P5f. a FdSad sai5s 5aefs C cyp E waTdxsl 10 fSS
'i39rtrai Of a Dutch Gentleman Van Ravestein:
THE Departure Adrien Denont: Eiward Brandes 800
Pigs and Ducks b. River Eugene Jettel:
'Pertrat q a Man in Arnor.'' Aart de Gelder:
..ILsgSy coDey. siT Peter LEY; Max 200
'.3i.eTen [in in Garden" Jean Louis Hamon: r. ooo
'Psrtfsit Of a Nobleman. Nicoaas Macs Victor
'TortTst Lady harrison John ope; j. Rich 'O
:EiIsIs :.Ei3s5eaRs s. T 55o
'r3rtsI q Lady Dorothy North; ADRIAN Hanne-
'TsS.as ,.S.s9 y Wfa5EoTt6 % Ear g,rs35d
'ssini Peter Paul RUbens; Charles F. Nv
'qss5 39.5 River with Cattle Aebert cuyp: r.
Portrait sstt q Captain Honeywood' Sir William
ia Femme au Chat Thomas Couture: Charles F.
.Tss .T:rT T'5stR 4 eaeqtIa M2tsys 25S
rr2t.sit rrat Of Lady Dorothy Godolphin.' c. J. Van
= Spanish Noblen1an Claudio coeilo: Charles F.
sGs ps% e 5.a. s4no24 Veto. N., S7S
FEsa I'm and chid.' r degli ineannati; Charles
s,Aorssetz ...-......-..-.. -...-....'. 25O
..pa.eiion Nacslav Brozk; Charles Pfzer.. 2T5
Bsiman ..t.'. IT'S
tt.eiihg the Port Eugene Isabey r. $50
sarne Of Cards. MoIenaer; /. A I.anthier.
i. .o9aette, r. de Madrazo: William Solomon.
per.oolsA Ganstorough Dupont; so
Teh TeI1h OF the Countess de Goidstein, Jakob Van
E@l~ard Brandes. 425
wreck Eugene Isabey; Victor Morawtz. S75
ss rssr ot Young Girl. J. Z. Walker; s. l. Nor
DJO
& Williams. 81. $50
.s rynsking. Miense MoIenaer: G. williams 800
Francis Gotes C'harIe