The Mathews journal. (Mathews C.H. [Court House]) 1903-1937, 1912-03-07
PICTURE COST S.
NOW WORTH $1,000

c H M o n d, VA.-Special-
Art connoiSSeurs of Rich
mond-and there are more of
them here than the average In
dividual suspects-are i'm a state
OF rhapsody today Mt the discov-
cry of a genuine SulIy painting I'm
this city. IL Is the life-sige por-
trait of an infant about a year
old-a beautiful. but natural,
child, with the lOvelieSt OF brown
eyes and the most kissabIe of
pink flesh.
The fortunate posSeSsor of this
genuine art treasure Is Mrs. John
SHELTON Williams. And her good
fortune, I'm her own opinion, L.
greatly enhanced by the fact that
she came across the picture quite
accidentally I'm n local antique
shop.
The portrait, together with its
handsome frame, cost her only
50. Yet the picture, now that IL
has been definitely identified,
would readily bring $4,000.
The Sully portrait Of Patrick Henry,
which was the property of the Henry
family. but hung for years in the
State Library. sold last year in Phila-
for $4,000.
Mrs. Williams, however, is not in
the least interested in the market
value of her picture. An art enthu-
siast herself, with the best Of taste
in aesthetics. she positively rejoices
IN the beauty OF the painting and can
not feast her eyes enough upon it,.
Nor are other art fanciers less en-
thusiastic.
The canvas, which is about four by
three feet in size. is now at Franck's
store, where il is being cleaned. Louis
Franck. an expert in this delicate
work, is renoVating the canvas-that
is, when he is not dancing before the
picture in a state OF ecstacy at the
beauty of the brush child.
And apropos Of Mr.. Franck's ef-
forts. ii may be stated that the babe,
IKE al! unmatched or neglected flesh
ana blood infants, was very dirty
when Mrs. Williams found the can
vas. But the delicate tints and har-
mony of colors quickly caught her
eye and she considered IS a song for
the painting.
with the portrait. He bses no chemi-
Gals. but simply his sturdy thumb
which has already traversed half the
canvas and developed the most deli
cate of tones.
The picture has a BACKGROUND OF
old red shading into dark brown, and
is somewhat suggestive of the Sir
Joshua Reynolds style, without that
English artists tendency to overem-
bellish backgrounds. The babe, which
looks like 'Sure-enough," and not
the cherub or the amor of the ideal.
list, is represented as tearing a rose
to pieces. Above its head is a bunch
of richly colored flowers. Unpreten.
tious simplicity of style marks the
painting. but it is a thing calculated
to appeal to any one who loves chill
dren.
The infant, whose merry eyes look
out from the canvas was a real, Joyous
cooling child sixty-one years ago. o.
that there is little or no doubt. But
its name has yet to be revealed. Who
knows? Perhaps Sully's subject him
self or herself-the portrait looks
more like that of a girl baby-wil
appear and identify it.
On the back of the canvas is the
date 1851 and also the painters
initials I. B., wrought in monogram
style. The crude canvas itself bears
the stamp OF a London house, and IL
ought not to be a difficult matter tC
identify the portrait. Sculptor E. "
Valentine and others will make ar
effort to do this.
In years agone there have been
newspaper controversies about Thos
Sully, whose history does not appear
well known hereabouts. He was
spoken of in Virginia as the "elder
Sully" to distinguish him from a
painter nephew, Suliy, according to
the best information, was born in
Charleston, S. c., but spent many years
in Philadelphia. He painted his IA
nous portrait of Patrick Henry from
miniature done by an artist who
caught Henry's features while the
latter was figuring here in the famous
British debt case.
Patrick Henry died in 1899, and
Sully appears to have been born just
about that time. He painted the
Henry portrait to furnish an engraved
frontispiece for William Wirt's bio
graphy of the great patriot which APP
peared in 1917.
The Henry painting, as may be
judged by the price it brought in Phil
adelphia, is a magnificent piece Of art
work, but ii does not clutch at ones
heart strings like the rosy babe on the
canvas now owned by Mrs. Williams.
That babe is lovely enough to make
anyone want it.
City Buys Water Plant.