The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-10-22
Noted Decorator Recalls
Interesting Facts of the
'MahSter.'

CMUGGLING?
- Twenty years ago a young
Englishman stood beWildered on the
strange American dock while
stranger customs officials searched
his baggage and his bundle and
took from the latter a lunette
painting, now famous as the King
John Signing the Magma Charta,
one of the finest pieces Of work Of
Frank Brangwyn, eminent English
artist.
The customs officials wanted to
know how the young man thought
he could bring valuable paintings
into this country without paying
duty?
Paid $4,000 Duty
He explained that it was only
sketch submitted by the great
Brangwyn as a design for an i'm
mense mural painting for the new
$700OO0O court house at Cleveland,
Ohio.
He also said he intended to take
it right back to England as soon
as the architects had passed upon
it and he had taken all the meas
urements necessary for the great
"mahster."
But these officials were from Mis-
souri,. They made the CuyahOga
county officials back in Ohio pro-
duce $4,000 duty before the painting
and the young Englishman were re-
leased. Today the painting is worth
$4,000, with or without duty.
Thus the interesting sketch came
into this country for the first time.
It has been back a number of times,
and hangs right this minute in
special collection of Brangwyn's
work at the John Heron Art Insti-
tute with etchings, prints and other
oil paintings of his. 1t will be there
the rest of October, in one of the
upper galleries.
Behrens Remembers
This story is one Of a number
recalled recently by Henry R. Ben
rens, indianapolis interior decora-
tor. who with his brother William,
had the contract for decorating the
Cleveland courthouse, which took
five years to build and two years
to decorate.
OF the many artists whose work
was purchased for the courthouse,
Behrens said, Brangwyn is the only
one not an American.
"He has a palette like Sargent's,"
Behrens said when he again viewed
the sketch at the art institute, "And
it takes genius to model figures in
paint the way Brangwyn does.
'You know" he continued, when
it came time to arrange for the
panels for the building and this
young Ernest Saunders arrived, 1
was delegated to show him the
works.
Nothing to Look at
"Fe was certainly nothing to look
at! A skinny-looking little fellow in
"a baggy suit, but he was Brang-
wyn's chief assistant and under
study and how he did love the
'mahster!' We came to know him
very we'll, and when he got warmed
up over a Martini cocktail-we had
EN- in those days-he'd tell us about
the 'mahster' in glowing terms.
"Brangwyn had given him strict
orders as how to make a scaled
drawing for the lunette, and he
was in a stew when he found that
he couldn't make it that way with
out digging up the floor. The
mahster' was very critical and it
all had to be just so. We COM
promised on another method Of
squaring off the allotted space and
Saunders went to work scaling the
lunette to exact measurements.
The Way He Worked
"He used to stand making color
sketches on little cards. That fell
low never used ordinary painting
methods-he moistened and shaped
that brush with his tongue and you
never saw such dynamic little
sketches! I don't think he ever had
as many as fifteen colors on his
palette I used to worry about him
poisoning himself-but he never
worried, said that was the way he
often worked. In that respect he
was like Brangwyn, who uses almost
all primaries. mixing his own colors
as he goes along. He's very par
tial to pure and strong colors.
Il used to question Saunders
abcut what the 'mahster" would do
when he got home again. Well
said he. The first thing he'll say
is that he wants to see these scaled
drawings. Then he'll tell us-there
are eight of us including me. and
we're no bum painters, either-to
lay out the canvas according to the
scaled drawings.
The Master Works
Then he'll come in and check it
over and put in the basic lines and
tell us to go ahead with it. When
we get almost finished he'll come in
again and check it over and put in
the finishing touches. And if he
doesn't like it, he may paint the
whole thing over again, himself!'
The sketch, however, was done
entirely by Brangwyn," Behrens
said. And young Saunders told
me that sometimes Brangwyn would
stay three weeks on Job like that
never leave the roorn vvnara he