The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-09-14
KING EDWARD'S
 INTEREST IN ART Many of Queen victoria's Descendants Have Artis-
 tic Ability. SOME ROYAL PAINTERS
The Empress of Germany One of the Best
 Painters.

King Edward cannot only boast that he has mad a picture exhibited at Burlington House at an earlier age than the most precocious of our pres ent Royal Academicians, says London Tit Bits, but that his picture was pur- chased for a substantial sum before the public even set eyes on 1t.
 This remarkable and little known episode in his majesty's life occurred more than half century ago, when Queen Victorla's children contributed sketches to an exhibition which was held at Burlington House in aid of a fund for the soldiers wounded in the Crimean war The record price in the exhibition was realized by 8 sketch entitled "The Battlefield" the work of the Princess Royal, which found a purchaser for the sum of 250 guineas The Prince of Wales sketch Che was only thirteen at the time) was bought for 55 guineas; and drawings by the still younger princes and princesses AVGIACQ oV 6QllAOuS CelSlI
 There is, as a matter of fact, scarce ly one of Queen Victoria's descendants who has not inherited in some degree her love of art. The late Empress Frederick was throughout her life passionately fond of painting and ex- hibited so much skill that the Berlin Academy of Arts enrolled her among its members in recognition of her talent as 8 composer and drafts woman"
 Princess Henry of Battenberg Is lit- tie less skillful with the brush, as is proved by the three beautiful land- scapes which for so many years hung in Queen Victoria's sitting room at Osborne, and by many other pictures which have hohored places in almost every royal palace in Great Britain. Princess Christians talent takes the form of exquisite designs for the tap- estry produced under her direction at the Royal School of Art Needlework, and Princess Victoria, her daughter, Is one of the most skillful amateur painters of flowers in England
 But undoubtedly the best artist in our royal family is Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, who can produce with equal skill a beautiful picture or a life size statue which will compare not unfaVorably with most profess sional work.
 Nor is proficiency in art by any means confined to English royalties. It is not long since a sumptuous volume was published for a charitable cause, the illustrations of which were largely supplied by royal artists, The Ger man Emperor contribute a striking picture of a large ship riding at anchor on placid sea, surrounded by smaller boats and with a background of distant snowcapped mountains. Queen Amelle of Portugal was repre- sented by Q study of a donkeys head, ornamented with gayly colored trap- pings; the Queen of Spain by an ex- quisite study of flowers; the Empress Frederick by @ powerful sketch of a boys head, and Princess Clara of Bavaria by an ambitious and success full etching.
 The German Emperor, as is we'll known, Is an artist of much more than average skill One of his pictures Tight Between Battle Ships" is a re- markedly powerful piece of work, ex- hibiting rare skill and technical knowledge, while his design for thc tower of the Church of Our Saviour al Jerusalem proves that he is no mean architect and draftsman.
 King Carlos of Portugal, however is by universal consent the ablest ar tist among European sovereigns. Year after year his canvases attract crowds of admirers at the exhibitions of the Lisbon Salon, while at the Paris ex- hibition pastel, entitled Funny Fish on the Portuguese Coast won for him the honor of a silver medal.
 The Shah of Persia has cultivated his talent for drawing with consider able enthusiasm. His hobby takes a very curious form, for Wa are told that in his palace at Teheran he has studio, the walls of which are coy cred with white paper on which he does his sketching. When the four walls are covered with drawings he has them repapered and starts again.