The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-08-30
WOULD NOT PAINT FOR MONEY.
WORKS or LOVE WHICH 4 GENIUS
CANNOT BEAR TO PART WITH.
Tho Experience or Connecticut Art
Patron with the EX-Raphael Of Alien
Street, whose Views or Art We're
Changed in Washington Square.

chops and toby, Jack Bedloe, whose days
are spent in Broad street, was enjoying a
quiet smoke with friend in the grill room
of an uptown club. He presently fell to
telling stories of artists.
When in the Street he is all stocks and
trades, but, once away from his Office and
the ticker, finds his greatest relaxation in
paintings and painters. and sometimes
finds amusement there as we'll
For years he has haunted the studios
and semi-artistic clubs, picking up by the
way queer assortment OF yarns that differ
from he tales of the orthodox art ma gaines
and those OF the professional art writer's.
He declares that all his stories are true.
Perhaps they are.
After putting for time and smiling TO
himself, Jack began to tell Of an unreoog-
nzed genius he had recently unearthed.
The story he told was something like this:
Two or three years ago Louis de Beau
champ was the undisputed leader of the
crayon portrait experts Of the lower East
Side and was hailed az the Raphael of
Allen street. His studio was store under
tenement, and its show window was
crowded with black and white portraits
of the celebrities of the neighLorhood
and of generous family groups" Theres
no race suicide down there said Jack
and all day long an ever-changing throng
Of old and young admired the free exhibi-
ton.
At least once day the artist paraded
the quarter with a painters portfolio under
his arm He marched slowly along the
crowded streets, gloomy and dignified, a
faraway look in his eyes, apparently seeing
no one.
He was swarthy as a Moor, and his we'll
oiled, bme-black hair was brushed down
to his eyebrows and was cut straight across
the back, just above the coat collar. Winter
or summer, his clothes OF ultra Bohemian
cut were black. His broad-brimmed, soft
felt hat was black, az was also his volumin-
Gus soft silk tie, which efrectualiy concealed
his linen. He chilled the sunlight as he
passed but he excited curiosity and wonoer,
and little brother Ivy said that every
promenade was good as a quarter-page
ad."
At this time ne was known as Gorchewski
and he was gradually developing a bank
account His younger brother showed
no aptitude for art, so Louis had started
him in business az a necktie pedler, ant.
Icy, too, was making money and was
looking forward TO a store with plate glass
windows filled with gaudv shirts and loud
neckwcar.
A little over year ago something hap
pened, Gorchewski received his first and
last order for "hand painted" oil por-
trait. in color Ii was to be a half length,
and to be splendidly framed.
He worked as usual from a photograph,
but he knew the original, and the canvas
should have shown sallow faced patriarch
with a long, white beard, black velvet
cap and black coat, with a black and
white prayer shawl about his shoulders.
All this was too tame for the artists
Oriental fancy, AS he worked Gorchewski
discovered that he possessed rare color
faculty, and his dreams became flame
Colored and orange crayon Sauce" sud
denly became an abomnation 10 him
When the great work was finished Cor
chewski met with the world-old reward
of the innovator and genius who lis in ad-
vance of his time In vain he explained
that man OF woman is only the founda-
tinn on which an inspired artist builds
that without artistic license all painting
would be commonplace and dull
The family, the friends, the original
Of the portrait himself, prot ested in chorus
They shouted criticisms and heaped ridi-
Guile and abuse on the dist racted painter.
Why had he made he cap old gold? Who
ever saw n man with purple complexion
and a sea-green beard. Why was the prayer
shawl crimson? Didn't he know any better?
Who wore brown velvet long-tailed coats
with gold buttons2
Exasperated by their jeers the paint er
drove his critics out, cursing them for
herd of unappreciative behemot his, and
closed tho shop.
Now begmneth the high art era The
prosperous and envied Gorchewski shook
the dust of Allen street from his feet and,
with brother Izzy. took the top floor Of
little old house i'll West Fourth street.
The front room is the studio, and the door
bears he name Louis de Beauchamp, which
the painter has adopted as being more
poetical than his own, and he has been
working there early and late for over a
year,
The collection of his canvases is now
large and unbroken. De Baauchamp loves
his paintings as tniser loves his gold and,
unlike most of his craft, he fairly breads
a buyer The brother, though. feels diff
ferently, As the artist has about spent
all his money on frames, canvases and ex-
ItTlTneWS, lIIy IN IOl al lutte worried,
Ivy has the knack Of making acquaint-
anCes. One day he got into Bedloe's
office
Before he left, said Jack, "he told me
about his talented brother. and of the
wonderful chance to get a whole gallery
Of masterpieces. But il never seemed
right for me to buy painting. I'm lust
n Connoisscur and not a patron, you know.
"Oncp or twice, downtown or wandering
about the art dealers galleries, I've run
across old Jabez Beers who occasionally
comes down to the Street from somewhere
in Connecticut, From habit the boys call
Rim a lamb, but he's n lamb that's never
been shorN. Jabez isn't beauty, and the
most noticeable thing about him is his
freCkles
II had lalely learned that for the first
time in his-lfe he had developed a vanity |
and betrayed weakness. He had con-
tessed TO desire to own gallery OF paint |
ings
at seemed to he about the right thing !
for a moneyed man to have, he said, and |
he'd about concluded 10 buy few pictures !
IN gold frames Preferred foreign ores, |
but was afraid they'd be too dear; would |
not object to something done here, pro-
vidcd II didn't look like American work.
so Sickeu Ivy on him One after
noon few days ago De Bcauchamp stood !
m his studio rolling a cigarette, regarding
with evident pleasure his latest painting,
Which rested on dilapitiated easel in
'lrI corner The room had been uimmed
almost TO darkness. He had tried the
picture in full light with little satisfaction,
n half light with more, and finally, when
hardly visible, it seemed to him to be the
most precious of his creations.
No. -. j. Lsl-l