The Washington times., 1920-11-28
I'll Will Not Paint Ugly Women, They Bore Me-;
Nor Actresses,
They Are
Artificial"


fe,ainine beauty among the 1lO.oOO'oO
Amcricans. But he will paint very few
n rican women.
> will not paint ugly women, they Dor
nc, | will not make portraits OF actresses
they are artificial" NJ. Helleu declared.
But what is beauty?" the artist wa
asked.
"Ah! Who can analyze the beauty OF ;
pretty woman" he exclaimed in a tone o
reverence. "But the heart knows. trus
1t. When a girl comes to me, begs me Il
make her portrait, let her be gowned Il
the envy Of all womanhood, and clever
chic, completely fascinating-if my hear
says no, l refuse to make her portrait.
IL will not paint an ugly woman. 1t II
not worth while. Only the beautiful II
. worth while in this world"
"But actresses, many of them, are beau
tiful," the reporter insisted.
beautiful In the outward semblances o.
beauty as the world values what 1t regards
as beauty, but 1t is hollow, 1t Is artificial
II is destroyed by unnaturalness.
great earnestness, "the actress learns {
trade OF articles, her life becomes a con
tipual make-believe-and finally she lose!
the priceless charm Of spontaneity, sin
cerity, sweet naturalness. Without natural
ness there is no beauty, so the actress ha'
for me not the slightest appeal. l mus
beg her to excuse me.
"Naturalness is the keynote. II l flint
It lacking my heart refuses to respond Il
my work and / cannot endure to paint her
A woman Of the underworld, an actress
even a woman In politics. pure as gold
perhaps, but keeping an habitual pose FOL
a purpose, loses her naturalness. Her pre-
lenses petrify me. My heart grows cold
the cold creeps to my fingers and freezes
them, and how can a man use the dry
point with cold heart and numbed hands.
"The chorus girl only follows in the
footsteps of the actress. She is
an impostor-her beauty is a mask
that does not tell us the truth
about herself. Poor girl, she is
seeking for perfection in way
that will never find it. There are
many women not on the stage in
the same sad state-they do not
know that their claims to beauty
are false. Their failure lies in
acting part instead of being M
themselves. It is a great reproach. EaN
Someone told me OF the remark 1MN
by one of your most conspicuous Ssg
social leaders, very admirable ssSN
woman. She said that after a MS
reception at her residence in the
early morning hours as she was
preparing to go to bed she hap
pened to glance in the mirror In
her boudoir and was startled to see Nz
that her face was wearing a fixed ySSM
and artificial smile. Through the w
hours Of the entertainment and VIZ
from long custom she had put on "
and wore without knowing it this
artificial smile. She was playing
a part.
"But the sincere woman-she is.
shall / say, half way on the ROAD
to beauty. Tall or short, blonde or
brunette, slim or plump; there is
no type of beauty as such. Women
are beautiful because they are
beautiful They leave me breath.
less. Their scintillating eye-thrusts
blind me; their betraying radiances warn
me here again is beauty. The eye car
tell, can penetrate the mask of artifciality
and SO inform the heart"
"But cannot n woman strive to be beau
tiful, is there nothing within reach Of femi
nine ingenuity which will assist in realiz
ing the one great hope and dream ol
womankind?" the reporter queried.
"Ah, yes, something can be accom-
plished," NJ. IIelleu admitted, but at once
exclaimed "But usually the efforts are
made in directions which are hopeless
Many women passionately desire to be
rich. not for mere greed or stupid wish OF
ostentation. They want money to adorn
themselves lavishly, thinking that they can
then win to beauty, which Is every
woman's birthright. That thought saddens
me.
"Jean Jacques Rousseau once said
Riches arc progress-and progress Is
worthless It is hard for woman to be
both rich and beautiful, for clothes do not
make the woman. would gladly make
the portrait of a beautiful but ragged