The San Francisco call., 1909-06-29
SLEUTH TURNS
CRITIC ON ART
Arrests a Picture Dealer for
Displaying Copies of the
Worlds Most Famous
Paintings

IN ELECTIVE REDMOND of the San
francisco police force has put the
ban upon the master paintings of
the world.
He has pounced upon George Fred
rick Waite. r. A.; he has covered Mu-
nier in brown paper; he has turned
Magnussen to the wall; he has blushed
on gazing at SoIomon's Judgment Of
Paris; he has relegated F. Possart to
the unmentionables.
And. incidentally, he has arrested
Theodore Cranz. an art dealer of 2254
Mission street for having the temerity
to expose copies of these paintings to a
vfrtuous public, charging him with at
tempting to sell obscene pictures. The
case comes up for hearing in the po-
lice court today. Cranz nearly dropped
in faint when Redmond walked into
his store a week ago and told him he
was under arrest
"But-but,' said Cranz. almost hys-
terical with anger and surprise, these
are copies of the worlds most famous
paintings. There's copy of Watts
Love and Life Great heavens. man.
you don't mean to say you call Watts
obscene
I'D call him worse-and I'd do so
to his face. too"
1t was in vain that Cranz stormed.
The detective was obdurate and the art
dealer and the offending pictures were
taken to the police station, the former
to be allowed out on bail. the lat
ter to be hidden away in a dark corner
of the property room-away, away
from the chance gaze of some unsus-
pecting member OF the police force.
With Kipling, Redmond admits It's
pretty and with Kipling. he also
asks; But is it artT'
And sure" said he succinetly,
| there's not enough clothes in the
whole caboodle to dress doll baby.
Look at that now, will your"
He held up Magnussen's Evening"
disgusted reproach in his gaze. mot so
much as rag on the lady's back" He
laid it down to pick up Watts Love
and Life"
Would you think" he asked, would
you think that a man would allow his
wife to see such a picture? 1t fair
beats me. And now, here, What dye
say it is? The Judgment of Paris is
lit? Well, It's queer way of judging
and through the leaves OF the trees.
too. And here''-he held to the light
Munier's Cupid Disarmed" - here,
look at that. There's a meaning in that
picture. Any one can see the meaning.
Is 1t the arrows you look at when you
examine it? Not by long shot. It's
the look on the woman's face. Who
cares If the arrow points are artistic?"
He rolled out the last word with with
erfng contempt. And take this-all
these girls bathing, rnd not one with
decent bathing suit. And size up
this onet No respectable lady would
dress herself in a Turkish rug
And so down the line. He intfmated
that to him it was nothing if they
were copies of great paintings or not.
They're not fit to be seen.' he said,
and that closed the matter.
Cranz' views on this dictum against
himself and art were scathing. BY
what right has this-this-this police
man to act as an art critic? I think it
is high time for the art dealers to
make stand against outrages of this
character perpetrated by those whose
understanding of art is in inverse ra-
ito to their desire to make arrests.
This is the second time that this man
charge. The other case was dismissed.
Now I am going to see just how much
longer a peaceful businessman is to be
hauled away to the police station on
such flimsy and unjust pretexts
have subpenaed James d. Phelan as a
witness to make him swear that the
statutes in Golden Gate park are more
immodest, IL such word can be ap-
piled to them, than my pictures. other
witnesses will include the leading art
lists in the city. If the police judges
are of the opinion that masterpieces
of the world can not be shown to
San Francisco public, then l will not
show them; but 1 want to know what
is to be legally considered immodest
in art. That is all. Surely the local
police can not have q very great COM
plant when the pictures are allowed
to travel through the federal mails
without objection"
Carvon& ff;rl prnhlnn1