Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-11-26

hearteRed soul left the canvas here, mean
Ing to return next copying day--and never
returned. Something may have happened
to her. but more probably she just felt that
she couldn't face her own bad work again.
remember, one morning, as we were get
ting out our paint boxes and selecting the
lghtest stool and the steadiest easel to
carry up four long flights of stairs to the
galleries. an old lady came fussing into
this room and turned over canvas after
canvas. She said she wanted to find her
half-fnished copy of Rosa Bonheurs Horse
Fair but looking for it seemed to be an
endless task.
"'when did you leave it here?' she was
asked
:" oh. it was long time ago. she re-
"'How long?'
"well, let me see! It must be about four
or five years since quit working on it,
cat last she spied her canvas at the bot
tom Of a lot of broken frames, and bounced
upon 1t with a cry of delight.
But alas somebody, during those five
years, had needed small piece of canvas
corner Of her picture. I shall never for
get the disappointed look on her face when
she took up the canvas and quietly gazed
at 1t, without uttering a word of COM
plant
Many Queer Types.
Among the copyists at the Metropolitan
Museum. as in all big picture galleries.
tucIe arc sumo Qudinl types TO De seen.
There is an old woman who comes here
nearly every day when copying is allowed"
said one Of the attendants 'T have
noticed her scores Of times, but I never yet
saw her working. She trots up and down
the galleries with her easel under one arm
and her painting materials in the other
hand, but she never takes her stand before
picture and starts to copy It, She in
spects the pictures of the greatest painters
with critical eye, as If she is wondering
whether they are really worth while vast
Ing time over. / suppose there is such n
wealth of material here that she cannot
make up her mind what to copy She has
been coming here regularly for years, but
doubt whether she has copied a single
picture"
A year or so ago there was a copyist at
the museum who caused a good deal of
interest and amusement to his fellow
workers. He was a little old man of the
conventional artistic type, so far as ap-
pearances went; but he was an undertaken
by profession.
He had made money in that grim line
Of business, but all his thoughts were
centered upon art AS soon as he could
afford to do so, he retired from business
and devoted his leisure to painting-or
rather. to dreaming about painting.
Month after month he visited the mu-
scum on every copying day and sat before
a famous religious picture. Yet he made
but little progress as the days passed. He
always seemed to be mixing his paints or
sitting in rapt attitude, gazing in adora-
ton at the beautiful picture upon the wall
Other artists, as time went on, would
want to copy the same picture. The mu-
scum authorities allow only one copy to
be made at time
when do you think you will get your
copy fnished?' one of them would ask him,
growing impatient
AREN'T you tired Of your task?'' another.
more sympathetic than the first, might
say.
The dear old man would turn to them
--,,kl La AZ 10 rNsfx Al
choly smile which had earned for him his
reputation and money as an undertaken.
Don't you know that the great masters
never hurried with their work?" he would
reply. Did not Leonardo da Vincf take
twelve years to paint his masterpiece"
Out Of the Usual Run.
During last winter two copyists who were
quite out of the usual run worked at the
museum. They were sweet-faced nuns
from a. western convent. The elder, about
thirty-fve years of age, chose for her SUBJ
feet Gabriel Max's Last Token of Chris
tian Martyr" which represents a young
girl in den of tigers. This is, of all pic
lures. the one that a nun might be ex-
pected to copy and take back to her west
ern convent to hang upon the walls there,
in order to teach the lesson of resignation.
The younger nun, a girl of about twenty,
with madonna-like face and sweet, low
voice, chose for her picture one on the wall
directly opposite to the Last Token
Bouguereau's Brother and Sister,
These nuns attracted considerable atten-
ton from the copyists and visitors because
they applied themselves with diligence to
their task, which the average copyfst sell
dom does The way those calm, intelligent
women copied the pictures in six weeks
time was marvel to all who observed their
work. Their drawings were absolutely cor
rect and their colorings clear Those two
copies are conceded to be about the best
ever made in the museum.
An American woman now copying pc
lures in Paris has curious life story. Her
husband was formerly wealthy American
business man. They sent their son to study
art In Paris. and he developed talent and
speedily became successful.
His mother was fired by his example. She
was forty-five years old. but nothing would
suit her except to go to Paris and become
an artist herself. So she left her husband