The sun., 1916-09-24
RALPH ALBERT eLAkELOCk
OA.eA

nue t~hirty-three pictures by the mas
ter which the dealer had bought for
500 in all.
The tradition Is tha. the STYLE OF
Blakcloclk came to him when he was
working as a painter in a factory. \
generation or so - there came into
vogue black lacqucrcd hair brushes
with highly colored mcdailions painted
on the backs. sometimes landscapes
and sometimes more or less beautiful
women with raven locks built into cof-
fcraann co;.furcs. Ralph Albert Blake
lock, working all day at his bench be-
fore row after row Of reversed hair
brushes. often looked at his scrapinys
of paint at the end of the day us he
was about TO lay away his palette AMI
1t occurred To him that he saw clouds
and sky and trees.
A mere fancy. his intimatcs called
Il, but he decided that he had bchc'd
Il vision. He left his occupation to he
como an artist. There are in existence
many examples of tho starving time
that followed III" efforts Of l:lakclock
Ia COLOMBO the children of his brain in
the now country which he had sc.n
from afar.
So We have Blallclocks painted on
tho lids of cigar boxes and sold origi-
na!ly to IA F'orty-sccond street frame
maker for 30 cents each. There are
Blakclocks which are on merely panels
of poplar; others which are on cheap
starchcd and sized muslin; Elakelocks
which were the badges Of courage and
Of want.
Not all of them were gems. Many
were unfinished. They were scattered
here and there as unconsidercd trihes
TO be snapped up at some later day by
the shrewd manipulation. These were
days OF experiment. FOR Blakeiock in
finding himself made many n false
start. He was dissatisfied with the
media other painters used. with their
brushes. their tools. and ever with
the varnishes. Once he wen put on
he market n varnish OF his own.
There were therefore unsatisfactory
examples OF his work everywhere as
we'll as masterpieces.
a we'll known collector who. when
there We're Blakclocks coming into the
best galleries. had acquired nine, c
complained hat he had found two Of
the best nes on the floor one norm
ing and wanted to know what to do
about 1t.
Pick them up" suggested an artist
friend.
81 don't know how was the
answer. They slid off,"
The paint vas laid on thick by Mr..
Blackjack always. and the knife was
used oftcner than tho brush in getting
his effects. lie had evidently used
an inordinate deal OF bitumen. so as the
canvas dried the hold OF the paint
was looscncd. The result was that the
whole mass OF pigment slipped off the
| canvas and fell face downward on the
floor.
As Is the case with all tho can
vases OF all painters who have ar
rived. there was q general uncarthing
Of the earlier works. Especially was
this ri after the doors OF the asylum
closed upon the gifted painter on Sep
TENDER II. 1899. We conrc now to the
first degree in tho art OF art faking-
adulteration and extension. In the
days before the pure food law and. OF
course. not now. dishonest manufac-
turers of chocolate drops used to make
tho dark coating go further by diluting
It with paste and adding lamp black to
maintain the color. There was a very
honest antique dealer In Nantucket.
the homo Of whale oil lamps hid
samplers. who, when he caressed any
article OF colonial furniture he had for
sale. could truly say MY hand rests
at this moment on one of the finest
pieces OF genuine old mahogany in
the world" This was literally true.
for whenever he got n real antique
table or chair he dissected 1t and put
ut least one leg into the four or Ave
new-old pieces which he offered for
sale.
The first degree In art taking Is this
touching up and strengthening of orig
inal sketches II canvases. There are
restOrers and re%touchers Of wOndrous
! skill, as was revealed in the famous
suit brought by William r. Evans
against n Fifth venue picture dealer
and frame maker who had sold him
Homer Martins. later alleged to he
spurious. Mr.. Evans, by tho way. was
also nm admircr Of the works Of
I,lakclock. Of which he possessed many
examples.
Tho genesis OF substitution could 10
traced in that cause cclebre in the II