New-York tribune., 1903-01-02

u. De ". Warner Would ignore
Age Of Impo'tationS.
MOST ARTISTS SAID TO FAVOR BILL.

MOST ARTISTS SAID TO FAVOR BILL.
John De Witt Warner, president of the Mu-
nicipaI Art Commission and of the Municipal
Art Society Of New-York, in q talk with Trib-
une reporter on the bill which provides for the
free importation of works of art created fifty
years before the date of their entry into this
country said that OF course. he was for free
trade in art, and equally whether it was the
product of yesterday the day before yester-
day. Mr.. Warner went on TO say:
j Pierpont Morgan in refusing to pay tariff
blaciInan a condition of being permitted to
bring into this country works of art that would
naturally. directly or indirectly. serve TO edu-
care and please his fellow citizens, IS right as
between him and our national administration
How far he should or viii deprive himself and
us OF pleasure in resentment at the uncivilized
attitude of our government IS another matter,
but one Of which he IS the best judge.
-As 10 the probability of action by Congress
on the bill in question. one could scarcely ex-
pect il 20 give US free art while it taxes our
meat. our sugar and our coal for the benefit of
trusts There is but little opposition among our
artists absolutely free art. and that little
from the same kind of piggery that inspires
other people to get Congress 10 fine those who
choose 10 prefer some one else's goods.
so far as concerns the proposition Of a spe-
cihc duty Of $50 or S100 each on works of art Of
less than a certain age that is simply PROPOSE
ton TO protect a lot of American artists in
proportion as Americans do not consider their
work worth paying much for 1t would protect
cheap American art against cheap foreign art
a bad business for the government and a worse
ore for art worthy to be such
Samuel Isham. treasurer of the Society of
American Artists. said that all artists practi-
caIly were IN favor OF the bill, and the only
trouble about the bill was that il did not include
even industrial stu1fs made in the last fifty
years.
II am absolutely in favor of free art Mr.
Ishan continued. land do not think specific
duty would do any good, because. you see. the
people here who buy pictures must be educated
and they will have what they want. Later. they
may get g taste for American art. II may be
hard on American painters. but specific duty
won't keep out what people want The only
way for people to cultivate taste for art is for
them 20 buy bad things till they see they are
bad good deal of art is cheap and tawdry,
and always will be, but let people have it till
they grow up TO something better.
j. Pierpont- Morgan's collection in London Is
probably one Of the finest there, but the tariff
on art is q much greater burden Oh people Of
moderate means who want to buy thlngs aDroau
for their private houses.
eIt ifs 10 be regretted that the bill does not
touch on furniture because we have the most
wonderful machinery for working wood We
can produce furniture of good class. but we
lack models If we had the mastery of beauti-
full furniture we could flood Europe at lower
rates than il is sold there 1t is the same Win
porceIains ef1broideries and everything OF that
kind In Fifth-ave- you see a lot of old furnl-
ture but if il is really old you have TO pay f1Te
times as much for IT you would in Paris. II
the people are ever to have feeling Tor art IL
viii he by letting them buy what they want TIL
tod zr-if .aT-T1
away the duty on art and people who make
sTfns abroad could bring home both old ana new
furniture which would instruct whole commu-
mites. eooo e,oo 900
The purchaser who can pay $1,000 or Slo,W'O
for a picture viii have the picture anyway,
despite the tariff. but the tariff may make a
good deal Of difference TO persons of more mod
crate means. We want 10 cultivate a hiking IoI
art Generally We are 10000, 600 of people, and
,fe T,Y,CnoTtion OF them that thinks of buy
ing an oil painting is very small indeed. We
want TO increase that proportion The market
FOR American pictures mas increased SIeduS III
Frederick W. Kost declared that he in
favor of d specific duty on every WORK OF t ar
and this duty would be more for the protecuon
Of the man who is beginning to buy pictures
than for the artist
.1You see Mr. Kost went on to say, 'it would
keen out the rot of cheap foreign pictures with
which the market is now flooded do not tnlnk
ART or artists need any further protection in this
country. I know of no tariff measure IN which
the artists have been consulted, and the talk OF
the politicians about protecting the artists
try town
The market is flooded with so-called Corots
Daubignys and ali Of the BaTbizon men Ihere
is a. factory in Brussels turning out these plct-
rIres mostly for the American market. When
studied in Paris in 1884 il was at a time when
there was great interest in Daubigny and the
Barbizon men. There was q movement on foot
TO locate the pictures by the Barbizon men
Without going outside of France at the time, III
France alone were located twenty-eight thou
sand Daubgnysi The demand for Daubignys
has since been On the increase, and is still IN
creasing II is easy to imagine what the sup
Dlv would be by this time And as Americans
have been the most liberal buyers, il is safe to
say that we have had fair share Of the TWEEN
ry-eight thousand Daubgnys and of those which
have been produced since
chance for underValuation. and every foreign
rcture that came here would go on record at
the Custom House. 1t would make II easy TO
trace a picture that questioned, and a man
who bought a genuine Corot or Daublgny or any
good picture abroad would not keep it out Of
this country on account of the S1OU duty. And
81 would be worth that TO keep out the spurious
works
The hfty-year clause proposed would simply
start a boom for cid pictures, and while we are
now flooded with so-called pictures of the Bar
bizon school we would be flooded with so-called
pictures by the old masters. All the paintings
which would then flood the American market
,z-r,rld he at least fifty years old