The Press., 1916-05-03
HIS, l CHEF E; D'OEUVRE
 It Gained, Him a Reputation { Which Profited Him Not !
By ESTHER yANDEVEER,

l George Ashley at twenty-two was an
 artist with a highly artistic tempera-
 ment. He had been brought up among
 women who were of the very best, and
 he idealized woman in the abstract.
 Having had nothing to do with others,
 he knew nothing about them. Indeed, he
 had his own conceptions of the spirit
 ual beauty of a good woman and knew
 neither her strong points nor her foi-
 bles. Possibly he might have come
 nearer the composite of an excellent woman had not his associates been
 very youthful and their characters not entirely formed.
 Ashley was ambitious to paint a pie | ture of his ideal of womanhOOd. He
 did not care to portray Madonna;
 there were already sufficient MadOn-
 nas in the world, some of them painted
 by artists that he could not hope to
 emulate. He desired to give his ideal the garb of the twentieth century.
 Of course all depended on his model.
 His conceptions were like a flock of
 birds, flying in the air and refusing to
 remain quiet long enough to be phOto-- graphed. Genius must have a founda-
 ton on which to build, and when the foundation is established there must be a starting point A novelist who
 evolved in words one of the great pie
 lures of the world said that he paced
 the floor for days dreaming it, but had
 he not finally begun to write his dreams
 would never have been anything but
 dreams .a -.-.r..- t....-
 Where was George Ashley to find
 woman through whose physical per
 lection shone this purity that he wish
 ed to depict? He was not rich, but, had the means to go about looking for
 his model This he did. He visited
 different countries. On the street, in
 hotels, in public gardens, he was con stantly peering into the faces of wom- en he met looking for that which would
 serve to concentrate his dreams and
 reduce them to reality. Many a cOunte- nance he noticed, thinking that it was the one he wanted, but on examination
 was found deficient. Friends became interested in his search, and his atten- ton was called by different persons to a number of women who it was sup posed might serve his purpose.
 The artist while in Florence, Italy. having run short of funds, established studio for the purpose of keeping in practice and recouping his finances. He soon achieved some reputation as portrait painter and received orders enough to maintain him and keep him reasonably busy.
 One day an American lady and her daughter came il to his studio, the mother saying that he had been recom- mended to her to paint her daughters portrait .. ','- :: 'sE, -' [s@
 If Miss Helen Laurence was not beautiful she was at least comedy s Ashley 1ooked at her inquiringly. as he did at all women who might possi- ply serve his great purpose, but saw nothing in her face to indicate that he had found his model. After an in spectioH of pictures he had made Mrs. Laurence took him aside and made d bargain with him to make full length portrait.' of her daughter, offering a price which was at once accepted, for Ashley's ideas of money were more vague than was his ideal Of d good +-; +-.zA >-..@s \
 When Miss Laurence appeared for her first sitting she was arrayed in spotless white clinging dfapery that showed her fine figure to the best ad-D vantage. Her coiffnre was of the sfm- plest. All that dress could do to rep resent purity was effected. Then, too. the girls face was stamped with in-t nOcence: She looked with her blue eyes into those of the artist. with per.s feet trustfulness. ..*:..sE. .--: i s!l
 "Paint me as am,"1 she said to him. Don't fiatter me. If you. should make a Madonna of me should not like'i 1t: I am imperfect. and perfect person represented on the canvas. would not | be T." |" = ,'--'-~s>
 Ashley questioned her as to what she imperfections and was con vinced by her replies that she did not | know the men nin| of the wOrd-that Is