The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-05-06
PRODUCING OLD MASTERS
THE TRAFFIC IN FAKED-UP PIC
TUREs A LUCRATIVE ONE
OF Poverty the Usual Method OF
Disposing of the Paintings 5
Wages Paid to ARTISTS"


New York Commercial Advertiser.
There is a good story told this week by
the Chicago Journal about the production
of pot boilers in that city. which can be
capped by similar ones in New York. But
first for the Chicago story. A painter new
ly arrived. strolled. into one of the down.
town picture shops. The dealer. seeing him
standing in a critical attitude. accosts him
with You're fond of pictures?'
Eyes. a little replied the painter
There is a pretty bit of scenery here"
continued the dealer. pointing to a small
landscape some ten by eleven inches; 'that
little clump of trees and the red house. 1t
has a charming atmosphere about it, don't
you think? With the frame, just as it is,
we are asking only SIS for it. Now that one
there is a companion piece; same size. same
frame. If you would like to buy the pair
we could let you have them forfeit me see
well. take them along for S25."
WELL" replied the painter, "it is evf-
IDENTIFY a fair price. but the fact is / don't
want to buy them; l am a painter myself"
"Oh. you're an artist remarked the
dealer. Perhaps you would like to do some
painting for us?''
"Oh! don't know. perhaps so. But what
do you pay for a picture like that?'
Well" replied the dealer, becoming con-
fdential and stepping up close to his WISH
tor, that is a cheap picture. and if you can
paint them fast. you can make good
money"
But what do you pay?' repeated the
painter, impatiently.
For that size we are paying eight cents"
The only thing which spells the story Is
that 1t is no doubt founded upon fact, If not
4 literally true. and ones sense of humOr is
interfered with by a sense OF pity. But let
there be no pharisafcal satisfaction to a
New Yorker that the locale of the incident
is Chicago. The same kind of traffic
thrives with us. The ingenuity of Its pro-
motors is exhibited in various ways.
MADE IN "OLD MASTERS"
The manufacture of ''old masters is a
steady source of revenue. 1t is only fair
10 add that their sale in New York to-day
is mainly limited to country visitors. The
average New York pieture-buyer, even il
he does not know too much to be taken
in by a fake. has learned that it is unwise
to rely upon his own judgment. Unless he
is dealing with a reputable dealer, he
seeks expert advice. But ii has not been
always so. and many a gallery contains
examples of its owners credulity. In
these days, however, the trade Is mostly
directed at the Westerner; and the old
masters are sent upon the road. l could
mention the name of a landscape painter
of no mean merit-but he is dead now, so
why disturb his memory by doing so? He
had his ups and downs. like many of us;
and during one of the down periods was
a regular puIveyor of fake Daubignys. He
lad studied for a little while with that
painter and caught a taste of his method.
Buyers refused to consider his own work,
so he got even with them by manufac-
turing Daubigny. Perhaps he felt 1t to
be a fair revenge upon the faulty of a
world that seldom judges for itself, but
Only runs after names. Perhaps the world
had forced him 10 it DE mortuis nil nisi
bonum," and the price he got for a full
sized canvas was never more than SIS;
so it may have been necessity rather than
laxity of morals which led him to the
deception. Ie sheltered himself behind
one shred of honorableness. He never
signed them. That detail was attended to
by the dealer. AS for his own share i'm
the matter. he may have kept up the pleas
ant ILLUSION that he MAS painting IN the
ed something a la Daubigny; he supplied
IL. Other painters before his time, and
since, have shown the influence of otner
men.
HIS BUSINESS METHODS.
A little while ago. If you had frequented
a certain restaurant not so very far from
Washington square. you might nave no.
ticed an individual who was an habitue of
the place. Night after night he would be
Stdltu q IA cdllC dpISs icSStu, VI
comfortable habit. and slipping his vim ordi-
naire with the easy composure of a man
for whom the morrow holds no anxieties.
Perhaps he is still TO be found at that same
resort. Then. again. one morning in pass
ing up the elevator of some downtown Of
flee BUILDING you might have detected a
face that seemed familiar. If you were
good at remembering faces you would iden-
tify IL at once. But everything else is diff
ferent. This man is shabby, down at heel,
| with all the signs of being one of those
poor derelicts of humanity that Fortune
has neglected. Yes. he is this morning a
needy portrait painter, whose merit is un-
recognized, and who does not know where
to turn for a crust to feed his wife and
starving little ones. But he is too proud to
beg. and is going a weary round in search
of work. He enters office after office, re-
ceiving scant attention in some, threats In
others, but at last a hearing.
Just let me show you what can do" is
his plea. Il need the money so badly. and
the price is so small = only $40 for
the love of God give me q chancei" He gets
it, and his method of procedure follows in
this way Furnished by his. patron with a
photograph, he has 1t enlarged upon thin
paper. which is pasted upon muslin and
stretched. He covers this with a coat of
shellac. as a foundation for the oil paint.
Several artists are in his employ. the
best of them are women; for he himself. i'm
his franker moments over a bottle of wine,
will admit that he knows nothing of paint
ing. His forte is securing business. The
4 paint Il .dlu vi iltu 81 do " lCdNC tAiC
| print visible until the final touches are put
in; and the work is done with considerable
skill. for those artists understand their
| craft. They have been well taught: not i'm
probably in Paris or Munich. Finally the
work of art is inclosed in a Dutch metal
''gilt" frame. BY this time the items of
expense incurred are: Enlarging the photo
graph, 26 cents; frame, 45 cents; wages of
artist" $50: total. S2.2l, leaving a profit
10 the promoter of S7.79! 1t is a poor MORN
ing's work when he cannot secure one or
two orders, so that his dinners are easily
accounted for; and he assures you that you
would be surprised if he were to tell you
some of the names OF those who have been
his patrons. Not that the latter statement
even IL true. necessarily proves anything
more than that kind -hearted men will give
a poor devil of a petitioner the benefit of
the doubt.
WORKING" THE PUBLIC.
Perhaps this ingenious gentleman is still
practicing. but I have my suspicious that
he has diverted his genius to another,
though a kindred channel; or the following
may be only another phase of the same
trade. But within the last few weeks some
of the suburban villages have been worked