The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1912-09-08
GRUMBLEs OF ART PRETENDERs

The great Napoleon called the Eng
lish ga nation Of shopkeepers.' That
is a Characterization that has not been
seriously challenged since his time; 1t
is practically as true now as when the
great Frenchman spoke it. Therefore,
one is astonished to find that English
men who know very little about art
and care less about it, are, through a
mere selfish sense of possession, rising
in protest against the purchase by
Americans Of various art treasures
which England has cherished for great
er or less periods Of time. Recently the
question was raised in Parliament,
where q member expressed his disgust
that "vulgar American wealth is car
rying off so many Of England's art
treasures. - In reply. Mr.. Balfour made
rather an illuminating and overwhelm~
ing answer to that vulgar sense of pos
session. Balfour showed that the great
art possessions of England were OBJ
tanned in precisely the same way that
America s wealthy men are now obtain
ing them. 1t was English gold which
bought Italian. Dutch, Flemish, Span
isb, and French masterpieces of art. He
reminded the cavilers that the same
complaint was made against English
wealth at the time that English gold
was selecting aud buying these art
treasures. At that time England was
euviously and sptefully referred to as
"the rich country which could afford
to buy and was buying these art treas
ures merely as a display of wealth and
ostentatiou rather than because of any
real taste for art or any genuine dis
elimination as between what was
masterpiece and what was not.
1t was to be observed then, however,
OF Euglishmen, precisely as 1T is OBJ
served now of Americans, that only the
best would serve their purpose and
draw out their money. The taunt that
1t is vulgar and osteutatious wealth
that fixes upon these art treasures
which was voiced when Englishmen
bought those treasures, as now whom
Americans buy them, is blunted when
it is seen that none but the very best
will serve, and none but the choicest
will attract the attention of the "vul-
gar wealth 80 much held in pretended |
If it were mere vulgar |
wealth, ignorant, presumptuous, aud !
important only because of the money |
{ has TO spend. it would be easy to i'm |
pose upon that wealth and TO get the |
American dollars by inferior art or pre-. |
.entious forgeres. II is TO he noted /
hat some claims of this latter kind are
made, that Americans are fair game
'or frauds in antiques and copies in
paintings, But, after all, there is very
title of this. and few. indeed, are the
ases of established forgery or impo-
ition. Those who have American dol
ars arc not prone 10 throw hem away
n waste them on trash. The American
Wealthy man of today is precisely on
he same basis towards Great Britain
nd the rest Of Europe that the Eng.
lsh were in the times spoken of by
rr. Balfour. The Englishmen had
'lenty of money, lust as tbe Americans
ave today; but they wanted their
moneys worth in actual value, in real
TT treasures, Just as Americans do
ow.
MI. Balfour undertook 10 draw a dis
lnctiou as between the works of art
-hich Americans are taking from Eng
and That line of distinction is as be-
ween foreign works of art that Eng
shmen have bought in generations
one by, and the art which Englishmen
have produced. There is, In
act, however. no such difference With
mericans in the purchase of art treas.
res. Americans buy and are entitled
} buy English-produced art in Eng.