New Britain herald., 1928-12-19
From Poverty.
bY JULIA nLANmARD

New York. Dec. 10. - An Enos liahman asked . group at tea the other day. Docs anyone herr know Wanda Gar personally? After seeing some Of her etchinss at the Metro. politan Art Museum I immediately hunted up two for myself. Her name intrigues mo as much as the vitality of her art"
 Someone in the group sat up straight. It was . woman from Minnesota
 DO I know Wanda Gag." she laughed. About IF years ago our whole community took sides on Wanda. She was . little mother or . stubborn child depending on which side you supported.
 "Wanda never has weighed over 100 pound& Then she was . very slight little thing in her teens, looking about ls. oldest of seven orphans left destitute by the death of . Bohemian artist and his wife. Wanda had just finished a year at art school and won . New York scholarship. Our best families insisted she take 1t and lot tho county orphan asylum do its bit for the three youngest GagA
 Pat Away Schoaarship
 "Wanda asked no advice. shut her scholarship up in tho bureau drawer. turned a deaf ear to the orphan asylum and began to or ganixe.
 "Ths county gave them sls month for food and stale rolls filled in some of the chinks. Wan da taught school. her two next oldest sisters worked after school, they all drew Christmas cards and Wanda managed tho five sisters and one brother. They all wore hand. downs. She was 70 oe' fore she ever bought herself . brand new dress!
 ".Eat fair was the Gag family motto. Wanda would take seven plates at mealtime and met1cu- lously divide everything seven ways. Justice was as important es stale rolls in her scheme.
 "rhs town stormed and talked .undernourishment.' Wanda was adamant Her little famtly's in' tegrity and independence was far moro important than full stom. acha. She weathered the gale. sot two girls through school and reaay to teach and then amazed the small town by selling off the ram shackle old place their parents had owned and moving their few oits of furniture to Minneapolis where they were unknown and owed no one the courtesy of listening 10 bad advice.
 Through these years of scrimp- iuR. Wanda hadn't been able to keep from drSwins. Settled tn new place. she got out tho old scholarship and dusted 1t up. found 1t could be renewed and rode a chair car to a hall-bedroom ia New York. She told me once:
 ".Perhaps tho most disillusion- cd thing in life will prove to be my discovery when I got to New York that what you wanted to do didn't necessarily pay but that de- signing slenderizing clothes for stylish stouts. sketching fine frocks for the frivolous and stmp. ring misses for magazines did
 "Ever practical and now goaded by the savage desire to be utterly free economically. Wanda did com mercial art for two more years. sending money home to the little Gags who fortunately were less little each day. Finally Wanda brought the whole family, one by one. to a New York tenement on the East Side. They were all now contributing. Wanda was free! Finds Tumble 1Ymbers" "Retirement was what she wanted. She roamed the country side and found a deserted house. cheap. Tumble Timbers' Is now known to the world by the sand paper portrait Wanda made Of it..
 Wanda is making up for the lost years, ferociously perfecting this experiment and that She has ever written and illustrated charmingly . juvenile story book, Millions of Cats Coward Me- Cam, Incl She is now experl- mentng in oils. I do not know whether they will give me exactly what I want. But. 1t is such joy to try Knowing her. you feel somehow that whenever what she warAs does materialize, it will be