Evening star., 1925-10-15
THE NORTH WINDOW
By Leila MechIin.

The best. in fact the only. legitimate
reason for buying a picture is because
you like 1t. A picture bought for any
other reason will never as a posses
sion be worth as much. And yet 1t is
safe to say that this is not the reason
which tnstigates the majority Of sales.
Unfortunately. people buy pictures to-
day most often because some one who
they think knows advises the pur-
chase; because they think they are
making a good investment, or because
1t Is the thing to do. The result Is
that there are fewer purchasers of
there should be and that the amount
OF pleasure got out Of the ownership
OF pictures is far smaller than 1t
should be-
A layman discussing this question a
rev days ago 1amented this fact and
said that 1t was his conviction that a
great many who could we'll afford to
buy pictures did not do so becaAse
hey were afraid OF subjecting them.
selves to criticism. A man would not
hesitate. he said, to go and buy an
automobile by one of the best makers,
tully assured that by SO doing he
would go up in his friends estimation.
Inc grade Of merit In automobiles is
comparatively fixed, but not so in art
When buying a picture which takes
his fancy he does not know II, when
ne gets 1t home, his discerning neigh.
Dor VIII not shrug his shoulders and
say to himself, II not aloud, "A fool
ana his money well parted" Two
'nousand dollars spent for an Oriental
rug Will bring the purchaser q pride in
possession through the admiration and
envy or those who tread its softness
IHat the same amount of money put
IN picture may not bring. The aver.
age american is not sufficiently sure
VI nlmseir or OF his taste in art to be
"llins 70 stand on his own feet.
ondoubtedly there is a good deal Of
rum IN this statement. To large
portion or our public art is still :,
mysterious thing. something sunnns.d =
~ beyond me ken of the average citi.
zen. The tt Juble Is not in the suhiec+
itself, brt in the attitude of mind Of
the public. VI
William NJ. Chase used to de,ieht :,
tellne how the first picture he ever
purchased was very ordinary
chroino' and how. beginning with this
purchase. no gradually educated his
wi taste by picture buying. The
mora
than this. keenly delighted him fnr o
certain length Of time, then, as his
appreciation grew. its glamour faded
rlnaiiy. 1t was discarded for some
thinS better. 1t was the same wav
with the next purchase-an original
painting, but Of modest cost. It. too
originally gave him great plea sure
ana hnally was retired. Some OF
theSe purchases which Mr.. Chase
maze he parted with; others, from a
inatter or sentiment. he retained, keep
ing them' not on his walls. but stored
away IN closet where he could occa
sionally look them up and recall the
pleasure they once gave. Also they
recorded. by comparison, his progress
along the road Of knowledge. How
inlch Detter this was than to buy on
the advice OF a friend or an agent
something which had no personal an.
peal. What an enormous amount o1
enjoyment Mr.. Chase must have
round in the method which he chose
all through the period Of develop
ment.
II was, perhaps. this very fact and
knowledge Of what so large a nart
Of the public misses that moved Mr.
chase to say one time in an after.
dinner speech that il he could dc
as he wished he would place over the
door or every art museum these
words: For your pleasure, not your
criticism
How curious it is that so many
seem to feel that the chief end and
aim OF art is to provoke criticism. de-
structive criticism, criticism which.
carefully analyzed. would be found to
be chiefly fault-finding Spend a few
hours in any Of the current exhibit
tions. listen attentively, not to the
whispered comments. but those
uttered in very audible tones, and
you will be surprised at how few are
the expressions Of pleasure and how
many are objections and foolish criti.
cisms voiced. These criticisms very
seldom come from those who have a
real knowledge OF art, from the artists
themselves. from the informed lay.
men. They art not genuine criticisms
but personal opinions. and they often
witness not to inferiority in the paint.
ing commented upon, but the ignor.
ance OF the commentor. 1t is not a
matter Of like or OF dislike. but a
mistaken notion that 1t is the thing
to do. Obviously, this applies chiefly
to cotemporary work. Before a
great masterpiece almost all stand
pieces are not produced every day and
the little masters Of today sometimes
prove the great masters Of tomorrow.
*
The Grand Central Galleries in New
York, established on a cooperative
basis primarily, it IL claimed, for the
benefit Of the artists and marketing
Of American painting in America,
boast the sale Of over a million dol
lars worth of paintings during the
past year. This fact, mentioned to
one of the well known dealers, brought
forth the statement that if any one
in New York who made picture.sell-
ing his business did not do approx.
mately as we'll as this each year he
would not be making a profitable re
turn on his outlay.
Evidently some people do buy pic
lures, but when one reads the amount
spent each year in this country for
candy, cigarettes. even, alas, chewing
gum. and compares it with the
amount spent for original cotempo-
rary works Of art the showing is not
gested by the chance caller, the peo-
pie distrust their own judgment and
are afraid, or is it that on the whole
comparatively few are able to derive
intense pleasure from pictures? More
likely the latter.
There are those who love pictures
so much that they would rather have
them than automobiles or radios or
movie shows. A young woman, a Ii.
brarian in one of our midwestern cit
les, gave a whole months salary one
time for a water color which she saw
In a local exhibition and simply could
v1< L,,k
farmers daughters in the State of
Kansas. have been known to buy etch-
ings by the master etchers and
pledge all OF their exR money or poul.