Evening star., 1923-08-19
PAINTINGS BLUSH
IN UTTER SHAME
Impostors Disguised as Mas
terpieces Said to Hang in
Chicago Art Institute.
Special Dispatch TO The Star.

Special Dispatch 10 The Star.
CHICAGO, August 1S-Some of the
worlds greatest paintings hanging
in the galleries of the Chicago Art
Institute seemed to blush with shame
today because the trustees of the mu-
scum had failed to refute the charge
OF Bernard Devine, art critic and
dealer, that among them there were
rank impostors disguised as master
pieces.
There are three fake Blakelocks in
one of the art Institutes proudest
collections, Mr.. Devine stoutly AYERS.
ITO one who is STEPPED in the art of
the great master the imitation is
patent. The trees are frozen trees i'll
which birds would never nest. and
the ground is so hard a pick-ax could
not break il. The paintings are out
OF color. out of drawing and out OF
composition"
Trustees Flabbergasted.
Naturally. the trustees are tiahber-
gaSted by the charge, but they eX-
press themselves as unwilling to take
any action in the matter until Mr.. De-
vine offers more definite proof. Be
sides. they say, the pictures he halls
as fakes are merely loaned collec-
tionS and were never purchased by
the art institute. Nevertheless, the
art-lOVing public appears disposed to
withhold its patronage even on free
days unless the trustees get busy at
once TO separate the sheep from the
goats so that when they visit the in
stitute TO look upon the work OF some
old master they may feel assured
they are seeking the real thing.
But Mr.. Devine'S bombshell has not
only shaken the art institute to its
dignified foundations, but its reverber-
ations also have Jared more than one
Chicago rich man out of his Snug Sc
renity and scattering fragments may
howl over art collections from Maine
to California
There is Il Chicago millionaire who
paid S35.oo0 for fake Inness that
isn't worth moro than $50, said Mr.
DeNine. "Ther" is one So-called art
eonnoisSeur who has sold more Blake
locks in Chicago than Blakelock. the
great painter. ever painted in his
life"
Secs Ring OF Art Fakcrs.
Mr.. D"vine charged that a powerful
ring of art takers controls the "old
master" market of the country. That
The ring is composed Of some Of the
best known art critics in the United
Statesmen whose Judgment on
picture is held final but who have
bartered their professional honor for
wealth
Under the direction of these art
takers Devine said old masterpieces
are turned out with remarkable
speed and accuracy by a group of
clever master makers" These i'm
ttations are then sold at the fabulous
price OF originals, with the guarantee
OF the critic that they are genuine
In this manner not only private col
lectors but also great art museums
are duped and Swindled
There is an Indian painter in
New York employed by this picture
trust. and he Is a corker" said De-
vine. He has three stoves in his
studios, and as soon he finishes
picture he subjects 1t first to the in
tense heat of the stoves and then TO
the cold OF his ice box. He then
covers it with some specially pre-
TO be exposed to all kinds of
weather. Within a fortnight il has
aged half a century.
Now and then an amazing slip-up
occurs Christmas was coming. and
some of these critics needed spending
money. So Blakelock. being always a
best seller. they decided to make
Blakelock His greatest works are
moonlight scenes. but it takes white
paint seven years to dry. And how
can YOU make a moon without white
paint?
But-the Moon Falls or.
Then some one hit upon a happy
scheme. 1t was decided to make a
plaster Of Paris moon. covered with
a thin coating of varnish. OF course.
the varnish dried imm ediately, and
the picture was sold to some mil
lionaire Blakelock fan in Chicago,
who hung it in a favored spot in his
salon. But that favored spot hap
pened to be over the radiator, and it
was cold winter. One morning the
millionaire found that the moon of
his new Blakelock had melted off
and had fallen to the floor"
Devines expose has created a
sensation in art circles here. a sensa-
tion in which there is considerable
chagrin at the thought that the east
has been putting something over on
the midwest. The expose accompa
MED the filing of his damage suit for
$4,000 against brother art critic.
Prof Albert Chatain. also of Chica go
because the latter spread reports
during a sale of some real master
pieces in DeYines possession, he said
that the pictures were fakes, causing
Deyine a loss OF 500, 900.