The New York herald., 1921-10-16
LORD LEVERHULME
AROUSES ARTISTS
Has Dispute With Sir William
Orpen Over Payment for
Portrait.

Special Correspondence to THE New YoRK
HERALD.
LONDON, Oct 15.-Lord Leverhulme.
Of Port Sunlight fame. who a year ago
was burned in eflgy in Hyde Park by
Chelsea art students after hfs mutila-
tion Of his portrait by Mr.. Augustus
John, is again the discussed man of
the moment in the world Of artists,
this time on account Of new portrait
by Sir william Orpen.
Last year Lord Leverhulme sum-
marily reduced the Augustus John por-
trait, clipping out the head and re-
turning the rest of the canvas to the
painter. Over the new portrait-rep-
resenting him in mayoral robes. for
presentation to the town council of
Bolton--the question at issue Is the
price.
Lord Leverhulme agreed to pay
5000 guineas for a full-length standing
portrait. He was persuaded by Sir Will
lam Orpen to be depicted sitting, for
artistic considerations. The portrait An
ished and despatched to Bolton, Lord
Leverhulme surprised the painter by Of
fering him half the sum, since. sitting,
he occupies less space on the canvas
than according to the pose originally
suggested
Sir William protested. The area of his
accomplished painting, he points out, Is
no less through the change of pose as
much paint and varnish has been used.
Lord Leverhulme answers with a sug-
gestion of arbitration. and Sir David
Murray. the veteran landscape artist, Is
to decide the point.
The portrait, which measures feet 3
inches by feet inches and is de-
scribed by the Bolton town clerk as
speaking portrait of Lord Leverhulme,
1t was despatched from London q fort
night ago. This has been placed in the
police parade room at the Bolton Town
Hall. and the portrait will not be un-
packed or shown until the council has
decided on its acceptance. Only the
front OF the case has been opened suffi-
ciently to ascertain that no damage has
occurred in transit.
Lord Leverhulme's contention" said
an artist to the Daily Mail. makes a
landmark In the history Of portrait
painting. and It is extremely stimulat-
ing that at this late day a problem so
totally fresh should arise. From the
times of Apelles, some 2,300 years ago,
recorded custom Of a sitter paying for
a portrait by a scale based on the pro-
portion between his person and the ac-
cessoriee in the picture.
This Leverhulme case will no doubt
have far reaching results. Such
picture as Mr.. A. J. Munning's recent
portrait Of the Prince of Wales may be
now considered as belonging to an al
ready bygone genre. The Prince in that
picture occupies an almost negligible
area-at q guess should say one
twentieth Of the whole. The rest Is
merely filled in with a horse. an oak
tree, a landscape and so on.
"It simply will not be worth an
artists while in the future to paint por-
traits on that scole. Why. even II he
works in some surrounding accessories
Just for his own amusement he risks
having It all trimmed down by the
patron and the edges sent back to him.
But art thrives on difficulties. and II
will be stimulating to see how a new
school Of portrait painters develops who
shall contrive to put down the whole of
their patrons and nothing but their
on tho canvas"
Lord Leverhulme, through his secre-
tary. Mr. Martin, stated that he did not
intend to discuss the dispute.