The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1903-11-27
FAMOUS
PICTURE GALLERY
Excellent Care Is Taken to Pre-
serve the Valuable Works
In Oil.
KEEPS THEM ~"DoCTORED"
Down Under tho Famous Capitol Ter
race is a Room Where an Expert
Keeps Busy Restoring Col
ors That May Fade.

! siie ''SS
washinet Ton special: The famous pic
ture of Thomas 3. Reed, painted by Sar-
gent while the speaker was in the last
year of his service, could not be founo IN
the corridors of the capitol now, were one
to search for it. Only the great wall pic
lures depicting historical scenes are IN
their places and some of these have un-
Ger. gone some marked changes in sur
roundings and settings.
But start down into the depths of the
terrace-that portion of the capitol when
so surprises the rural visitor on discovery
that portion with its light and really
| comfortable rooms and wide CORRIDORS.
Hidden down there is an art gallery
which cost more perhaps thar any other
gallery in the east. It is e gallery of por-
traits which annot be duplicated IN the
whole world. 1t is not in a place easy
to ind. Follow directions carefully ana
1t can be found. 1t is in the second tier
of rooms of the terrace. 1t is straight out
from the old crypt. now closed and dark.
where it was the intention to bury George
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. the exact center OF
the great capitol dome.
A Curious Workshop.
The rooms are the workshop Of w. II.
Duckstein. Here are brought from every
part Of the capitol the portraits to be
cleaned and reframed. They are not an
ordinary lot Of paintings. In that largest
pile to the left can be seen the faces OF
every speaker Of The house cf representa-
t!ves since the first Congress- except one.
1t is that OF Nathaniel Macon OF North
Carolina, who was speaker of the Sew
enth, Eighth and Ninth congresses. In
life he did not sit for his picture and after
death there did not seem to be the inter-
est attached to the gathering of portraits
Of the men Of the time that now exists.
In recent years spasmodic efforts nave
been made to find d portrait of him, but
without success.
That picture lying on the workbench IS
n, striking illustration of the kind Of
work at which Duckstein is most valuable
to the government. The half Of the pic
ture which is dull and dirty looking, and
through which the features Of the states
mans face can be din1ly seen, Is the half
on which Duckstein has not yet applied
his magic touch. He has a secret prep
aration which he uses on the pictures for
restoration purposes.
There are in the United States five men
besides himself who ave anything like
the recognized ability for renovating,
Frightening lip and restoring pictures. In
times gone by to rejuvenate a picture
meant the. work OF a day and sometimes
several days. Note some of the wonderful
metanorphoses through which Duckstein
briggs the pictures and just suggest that
he has been 'Retouching them, have
you?" Look at the anger in his eye and
the vexation in his voice as he declares:
'Retouching them? No, sir! Nothing but
. wanda would retouch an Oil. sir"
He Never Uses Color.
Then, If he is encouraged, he will tell
you that he never thinks of laying on new
color when he %brightens up a picture. 1t
is this way: The only real value of q
picture,' he says. lis in the signature
and experiment, making their signatures
stand for real art. When once placed or
pictures they mean the superiority of art
which has been attained. a signed pic
ture brought into my studio is brouSh'
here to bring back the light and shade ane
color which the artist had there original
ly. II 1 touched up the light places ant
altered it one Jot or title by adding to i
or taking away from 1t, the picture woult
no longer be that OF the man whose sigma
ture is scrGwled with j brush in the cor
ner. 1t would be his original, reprinted b.
me-
What Ducksteln does is to- use his Sc
cret restorative process. Unless a ga
jet has been swung into the picture an
the canvass is burned away, or there /
a ragged hole with rough edges, not q bi
OF color goes into the picture. Via al.
ilOSL OIL lflS pictures " OuS4iL iilc tHi
studio from the wall spaces of the capito
is the oil famine. The changing seasons
the steam heat, the moisture which come
through even the solid blocks of stone, a
sap the oils from the pictures. His eXpe
J., eye diagnoses the ai.ment of the pictur
t almost at a glance. II it is this lack of O.
| he applies the remedy in q curious way.
! The picture is removed from its canva:
! Great pads of plotting paper are sprea
out on the cut glass or marble surfac
{ prepared for the service. These blottin
f pads are soaked with Oil. The picture
, placed with its back on the pads and Owe
/ its face weights are carefully placed. !
1 the succeeding hours the Oil is gradual
absorbed by the picture and the color
frightened up by it. After the washin
q Of the pictures with cold, clear waite
a olive oil is rubbed gently over the surfae
{ with what Duckstein calls a dry grease
rag" Nnen it IS necessary to>remoVe II
I pictures from the frames the custodia
: will take the canvas over to Wlat looF
like and Is an ironing table. linen with
q great iron just like a "tailor's goose II
picture is carefully, ironed out.