New-York tribune., 1906-08-19
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What constitutes g far-see!ng collector how
nsy man with reasonably good instirc: for art
invest bis money with fair prospect oc not losing
.he whole of IL? IN short What must conectF -
there, or very similar questions must DC con-
stantly in the minds OF many people who attenh
picture sales for eight nine months sn the yeaF-
IL may be urged that the safest guide 90 Invest
rent pictures is the dealer whose business TX Is
IKE that of the stockbroker and the landscape
gardener ia their respective spheres-tn Know the
past the present and the possible future OK the
picture market but IL is just this uncertainty about
everything that prevents so many OF Us from oe-
coming rich. We have had quite recently a staftans
illustration OF the fallibiity of even the picture
dealer: zen years ago highly respected member
OF that body sold client picture for tison' anu
a few weeks since had the mournful pleasure OK
seeing that very picture sell for GOO suineas.-ah
effect made his client substantial gilt on aOouI
E5ccO Scores OF similar IL less striking instances
might be quoted where the dealer has acted the
part OF q wise mentor Cases 20 the contrary are
also not unknown.
During the season just closed there have been
many illustrations OF wise investments mahe I'D
usefu-.s by men who never regarded themselves
ss collectors Two Of these illustrations are quite
remarkable. The late Mr.. Woods, for over hair
century associated with the great firm OF Cnr'suee'
always insisted that he was not collector: ne
had unique opportunities during the last fifty years
OF buying fine things az low prices ana ne not ony
has the opportunities but he also had intimate
and sar-seelng knowledge with which few men nave
been endowed. And yet ne simply bought picture
now and then because he liked Il. or because ne
happened 20 have blank space on one OF his Walls
The result is that he searcely ever made mistake
Y have been permitted 20 look over notebook In
which the prices are entered for most OF his pur-
chases and the comparison OF figures is truly
enough 90 make one turn green with envy.
He began collecting in 1852. his first purchase
being pair OF pastels by Hubert Of young pierrot
and a young girl for which he gave SIS; this pair
realized guineas ar his sale in May. I'm 1888 he
bought Ronney Head OF Llady Hamilton for TO-
which now realized 300 guineas in the cos he gave
&c l6s for Drouais portrait Of Madame de Pompa-
dour and this sold 40 guineas: 25s for T.
de Keyser portrait OF lady which now sold for
100 guneas: and 7s for a pair Of vases Of flowers
by Baptste which sold for 5. guineas. In the Ws he
gave IS guineas for Beechey's portrait OF Lady
WhitbreRd. which realized 500 guineas; %
guinass for Reynoldss portrait OF Mrs. Robinson
a version Of the picture in the Wallace collection
and IL has realized $50 guineas and so forth.
But his greatest triumphs were Hoppner's portrait
of Lady Waldegrave, which he acquired in 1881 for
f23 against 5000 guneas it brought at his sale.
and LawTence's Miss Emily c. Ogilvie which cost
about 800 guineas and now sold for 1900 guineas
Such examples these are, ft may be urged,
treme. but similar ones occur every season. The
gentleman whose five pictures sold at
Christie's June 90 and included Turner's Rape
OF Europa. was also not picture collector in the
usual sense Of the word. He bought picture sust
now and then az unextravagant prices but with
Grafton Of future profit; the five pictures which
him flss5 brought fssa. TO say nothing OF the
intellectual enjoyment Of possessing them Tor about
thirty yeaFs-truly a brilliant illustration OF wise
buying and wise selling.
There can be doubt about the fact that tho
''ups' and downs Of picture prices form a very
interesting and important factor in collecting One
might MI page after page with both the ''ups" and
the downs beginning with the most famous Of
an examples in the former class, the stolen and
recovered Gainsborough Duchess OF Devonshire,''
tor which Wynn Ellis gave about Es5. and which at
his sale realized 1000 guineas
The enhanced value Of pictures by the artists OF
the early English school and OF the old masters
generally has been a progressveSone for the last
quarter Of a century and affords such volume Of
material that Il Is necessary to confne myself in
this paper TO facts and incidents Of the last two
seasons. Within about this period the supply OF
Romneys Reynoldses and CIainsboroughs has 10
some extent fallen OF and other phases have super
vened The idealzed portraits by the three great
artists Of the early English school have been sue
ceeded by the somewhat hard and realistic ex-
amples of Sir H. Raeburn. whose work has made
such gigantic strides IN price and favor during the
last few At the sale OF hs yeSnalning
works May Z, 1871. forty-nine portraits realized
$500. but only approached four figures and Il
1s well to remember this in glancing the tabu-
lated arrangement following OF thirteen works by
him sold during the last two seasons: