The San Francisco call., 1906-06-24
ATTA|NS FAME
At GREAT ACE
Brabazon, the Artist, at
Eighty Receives
Recognition.
Last Novel of Thack-
cray Passes Out of
Copyright.
SPECIAL CABLE no THE CALI.

y
reached the age of eighty, Such. how
ever, was the experience Of Hercules
Brabazon Brabazon. the celebrated i'm
pressionist painter who died in London
this week. for IT was after half CEN
tury of work that attracted practically
no attention whatever that this ven-
erable water-colorist awoke one morn
ing to find himself world renowned
His pictures. which formerly could be
bought for the traditional song, began
to command fancy prices. and Mr.
Brabazon Brabazon would have found
himself rich as suddenly as he had
found himself famous. had he not al
ready been possessed of handsome
private fortune. This fortune, which
the artist inherited from his father. to-
gether with a considerable position
as an English country magnate. enabled
him to spend his life in wandering from
one European country to another, seek
| ing subjects for his brush and studying
the best examples of Continental art,
and although his existence was ap-
parently that of a dtIertante, Brabazon
was slowly but surely amassing the
experience which one day was to bear
such golden fruit.
Up to the time. however, some six
sionism set in and BrabanzOnS won
derful water-colors' brought his world
wide reputation. the veteran artist had
received only the scantiest encourage
ment.
Half a dozen OF his intimate friends.
including Nine. BodichOn, the foun-
dress of Girton C0lege. admired his
"blobs of COLOR as Brabazon called
them, but they, no more than himself,
foresaw that he would become famous.
and the painter often declared that the
only really high compliment that had
been paid him previous to his boom
came from q total stranger This was
some twenty years before his artistic
recognition and happened when, at the
old Cloche Hotel at Dijon, Brabazon
was showing some of his sketches to a
friend An unknown visitor begged
for a glance and instantly predicted
fame for the artist "A second Tur-
ner," he cried enthusiastically, and
Brabazon afterward declared that this
spontaneous admiration from a strang-
er meant much to him.
Almost Immediately he had attained
his majority the artist. who had be-
come the owner Of Oaklands Park.
magnificent estate in Sussex. handed
over the responsibilities and privileges
of this position to his sister and broth
er-in-law. and he was once described
to Coventry Patmore as the gentleman
Oaklands." Thus freed from fox hunt
ing, leases and quarter sessions, how
ever he was able to follow the cult Of
beauty that was finally, though belat-
edly. TO place him in the front rank of
British artists.
A musician as we'll as an artist. he
was intimately acquainted with LiSzt
at weimar. although. strange to say.
he never heard him play Their ac-
quaintance. in fact. took place in
Liszt's later years. when not even his
most intimate friends could ask him
to sit down to the piano.
Brabazon's travels took him TO India
and Egypt, as well as all over the
Continent, and like all artists. he had
a passion for Italy
Nothing delights me more" he once
said to a friend. than to be locked
up in an old Italian church when the
sacristan goes home to dinner"
The artist TO whom fame came so
late in life wished, however. TO be
buried in England. and accordingly
was laid to. rest in the presence OF a
great number OF distin guished folk in
the quiet churchyard at Seddlecomb.
the Sussex village near which his
country seat was situated
ROMNEY PICTURE SALE.
Mrs. Humphry Ward must have
found uncommon interest in a sale Of
pictures which she attended in London
the other day. for it afforded some
striking evidences of the way in which
the works Of the painter Romneys
upon whose life Mrs. Ward based her
last novel. have. increased in value. not
only since the artists death. but even
in the last quarter of a century.
At the sale. which took place at
Christie's. a portrait of Mrs. Mungay
which Romney painted in 1877, and for
which he received exactly $500, was
sational profits were realized on other
works by the artist whom Mrs. Ward
drew for us as John Fenwick as
well as those of two other early Eng
1ish artists For example. Romney's
portrait of the StanhOpe children.
which was bought by private COL
1ector in 1878 for $40. was knocked
down at the Christie sale for $4,000.
while for portrait by Hoppner. orig
inally bought by the same collector
for $115, no less than S31 500 was OBJ
tained. For this picture, by the way.
there was a spirited struggle. the frst
bid being $500. and the price rising
by. leaps and bounds thereafter. The
picture Is of Lady Waldegrave. and
shows her in a gray dress and a large
straw hat with a blue ribbon.
At the same sale one of Romney's
thirty-three portraits Of Lady Hamil-
ton. which originally cost its owner
the actual purchasers Of this and the
other portraits thus disposed of were
not disclosed
THACKERAT'S LAST NOVEL.
Under the operation Of the English
copyright law. which gives an author
no power to assign beyond forty-two
years lease the creations of his mag
ination, legal protection has just been
Withdrawn from the last of Thack-
eray's important works. 1t is just Tor
ty-two years ago that there was pub
lished in the Cornhi1 Magazine the last
installment of the great nOvelists un-
completed work. Denis DuvaL" 1t is
interesting to recall that Charles Dick
ems, who was destined also 20 leave
behind him an unfinished book, wrote
of his great rivals splendid fragment,
''In respect to earnest Feelings. far
seeing purpose. character. incident and
certain living picturesquesnes blend
ing the whole. / believe 1t 10 be much
the best of all his works"
The extent to which Thackerav based
"Denis DuVal' in actual h,SfOr- fS