The Grangeville globe. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho) 1907-1922, 1914-03-12
WHISTLER STORIES
Audacity and Sarcasm of the E.
centric Genius.
THE FAMOUS PEACOCK ROOM


In Mrs. Alec Tweedie's Thirteen
Years of Busy Woman's Life" she
tells this story of Whistler, which she
heard at first hand:
1.-The famous peacock room at
Princes Gate was a wonderful scheme
of decoration, peacocks eyes on a gold
ground being it's principal motif. About
the year 1880 the late Mr.. Leyland, a
wealthy shipowner and patron of the
arts, had taken this grand new man
sion and asked Whistler to decorate
room. Jimmy. poor and out at ell
bows as usual, jumped at the idea.
but no terms were fixed upon. The
work began. 1t was prodigious I'M
dertaking and the extraordinary and
erratic little man gave it his whole
time
Being at Princes Gate all day and
having the run Of Leyland's house.
Whistler had hospitable way of in
viting his friends to come and see the
room and then he would ask them to
stop to luncheon. This sort of thing.
which began occasionally, ended in
being an almost daily occurrence, and
Jimmy used to hold a little levee every
morning, when three four or FIVE peo-
pie remained to Luncheon This became
too much for Mr.. Leyland, and his plan
for putting an end to the campaign
was somewhat ingenious one.
Jimmy one day entertained four
friends. The meal not being announc-
ed, he rang the bell for the butler
when is lunchT he asked.
~ have no orders for lunch replied
the man. with Il stately air.
"'Oh. no, of course. replied Jimmy.
not in the least disconnected. Wen
60 along to such and such hotel
Stupid OF me to forget It,.
But it was enough, and, though he
pretended not to mind and with that
delightful impudence for which he was
famous turned 1t off, he never forgave
the incident and determined to pay
Leyland out. From that day he took
his own lunch in little paper parcel
and sat and devoured it when so in
came in to admire the peacock decora-
tons about the usual luncheon hour.
"'You will have some lunch. won't
your Whistler said. Leyland looked
surprised.
up jumped Jimmy, fetched his bag
and proceeded to unite his parcels, say
ing: It's all right. old chap; have no
anxiety. 1t is my lunch. not yours,
and you are heartily welcome to it.
| hx. NJ i5ha RI
which had taken so long Leyland wish
ed to pay the bill and asked the artist
what was his figure i have worked
whole year and more Whistler said.
i consider my services are worth e.
600 year, therefore the figure is e.
500. from which you can deduct the
few hundreds you have given me on
account
'Leyland was Mortified. 'Preposter-
ous.' he said. perfectly prepOsterous.
Jimmy looked at him and drew him.
self up to his full height, which was
not great. i beg. Mr. Leyland. that
you will accept as a gift the entire
work of my life for the last year and a
quarter. 1 can compromise nothing.
"Once again Whistler scored and
Leyland paid. Whistler's thanks to his
patron afterward took the form OF
painting life size portrait of him as
a devil with horns and hoofs.''
Sir C. }. Poynter. P. r. A. says the
New York Sun. told in an Interview
how when he was studying in Paris
for three or four years there was ont
little artistic group called "Trilby.
He says:
MY companions were Whistler, D,
Maurier. Val Prinsep. Lamont. Thorn
as and Armstrong. OF course d.
Maurier altered the thing a good deal
but his picture of studio life was II
| the main a truthful representation o
our life at that time. Trilby herself,
believe. was a pure product Of the au
thor's brain.
I'm many ways the most remarkabl
man among us was Whistler II b
had only had energy there is no know
ing to what height he might hav
scared. but be was incorrigibly lazy
remember visiting him once at
nursing home In Paris. He had bee
working little on study In pin
carnations. 1t was exquisite from tn
extraordinary sense of color 1t dis
played. This was his great gift. 81
excelled every painter ever known 4
purity and delicacy of coIoring. FL
rarely finished any work. but he love
to pretend. just for fun. that his uI
finished studies were perfect work
of genius. Then he would chuck
/, when people took him at his word an
declared that the very Incompetence
of the sketches constituted their grea
artistic merit"
Two Sided Paper.
One of the most extraordinary news