The Sunday Oregonian., February 16, 1908, Magazine Section, Page 4, Image 46

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BY DEXTER MARSHALL.
LONG on money, short on art that
wats America's position for a agood
many decades. Of late years, fiow-
ver, art in America has been advanc
ing lustily, so that today even Europe,
long a scoffer at our materialism, gener
ously admits that In our array of paint
ers and sculptors we have a rather for
midable advance guard in Art, spelled
with a big A.
In 3S76, .when he was 20 years old, John
W. Alexander, of late years one of the
most prominent members of America's
advance guard, in art, traveled from Al
legheny, Pa., his birth town, to New
York with "io which he had managed to
save for that purpose.
'As a mere lad he had busied himself
with "making pictures" and dreaming
dreams of the day when he would win
fame as a painter. About the iirst thing
he did when he reached the metropolis
was to seek out the publishing-house of
Harper & .Brothers and send in to the art
.manager, Mr. Parsons, some pen and ink
sketches' which he had made on the
pages of an account book. He sat a long
while on the bench in the outer office
before Mr. Parsons saw Him, and then
be received the chilling word that there
was no chance for him.
Now among young Alexander's dreams
there was one of the day when his
signed work would appear in the Harper
publications, and his disappointment was
naturally keen. The art manager noticed
his dejection. . .
"No. there is no chance," he repeated,
a little less brusquely, and then added,
"but you may call again."
"I did call again a week later," Mr.
Alexander told me. "Mr. Parsons bad
been having troxible of some kind that
clay and Hj looked over his glasses at
me as be remarked rather testily, I
told you there was no chance.'
" 'But you said I might call again,' I
ventured. '
" 'Yes, I know, lie said, still testily,
'but unless you want to take that
boy's job," nodding; at the office boy,
'1 can give you nothing."
" 'When does he go?' I gasped.
"My apparent eagerness to take the
job plainly startled Mr. Parsons, who
hastened to explain that he had no
Idea that I wTvuld turn office boy. Be
sides, the pay was only 3 a week,
and the boy wlio held the job was the
son of the head of one of the mechani
cal departments..
i'"Again my face fell. Again Mr. Par
sons noted my disappointment. He
begged to lie excused for a moment
while he could go and see what could
be done about my case. On his re
turn he told me to begin work on the
following Monday. -
"I did. and the Saturday evening of
the first week I cleaned up the place
more thoroughly than it had ever been
cleaned before. .1 swept under the
tables and desks, 'which, apparently,
had never been swept under before,
and When I had finished I had built
up a little mountain of dirt. I looked
not unlike a coal-heaver. I . had gn
thoroughly sweaty and the dirt stuck
to me.
"Worse than thfet, everybody nad
gone home but me,-- and when I tried
to get out, -down on the street level,
after climbing down - .the cylindrical
stairs between . the two buildings, the
janitor or . watchman or whatever he
was, w,ho had never seen me, proposed
that ' I should be arrested. I had a
hard time trying-to convince him that
I' was all right, and It looked ffcr a
while as if I were slated to be locked
up'-till the following Monday morning
at least. .
"I was kept pretty busy as an oirtce
boy. but I had time tok draw a little, and
onise in a while my drawings were used.
By and Iby I got J8 a week instead of $3
and drew all the. time. The pay was still
small, hut I wa happy, for I was In the
rainc establishment with Edwin A. Abbey,
S. Rhelnliardt and other artists illus-
. trators whose signatures I had watched
for week after week. In Harper's Weekly.
If you've ever watched for signatures
week after week on pictures, you know
how like Elysium the art department of
Harper's was to me. .
i , "On the $S salary I finally saved enough
to go to Europe and stjidy."
For the next 2 years Mr.' Alexander
lived abroad. He received his art educa-
. tfon In the Royal Academy of Fine Arts
in ' Munich, and both there and while he
was struggling to make nis reputation
his experiences were frequently of a par
with his New York efforts to make a liv
ing and at the same time be faithful to
bis art. Finally he triumphed, and today
he is recognized In all the art centers of
the world as ono of the leading painters.
He lias won enough gold medals to hide
the expansive chest of a comic opera gen
eral. In 4g his picture known as The
Bowl," was bought by the French Min
ister of Fine Arts for the uuxumbourg
collection, an honor that has come to
only a very few Americans. Three years
later ho was made chevalier of the Legion
if
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of Honor by the French government, . the
following year he became an acedemician
of the National - Academy ; today he. is
a member of practically all the famous
societies of artists and his canvasses are
In numerous private and public collections
on both sides of -the-Atlantic. He is one
of the men whose brushes have made the
decorations of the Congressional Library
at Washington world famous, and it -was
he who received the important commission
to decorate the Carnegie Institute of
Technology at Pittsburg. - .
Like the late Whistler, another member
of America's advance guard of art, Mr.
Alexander, works with marvelous rapid
ity and nervously. Physically . he Is
slight, five' feet nine or thereabouts, with
a blond and full. but. not bushy, beard'
and mustache and rather scant hair. His
raiment is that of the prosperous banker
and his patriotism has not been weak
ened a whit by the twoscore years' resi
dence abroad.
Abbey the Coronation Painter.
Edwin A. Abbey, whose : name was
widely heralded a few . years ago when
he was selected by K.lng Edward to
paint the coronation picture, is one of
several members of America's- advance
guard in art who have become' expa
triates, at least to the extent that they
have permanent residences abroad.
On the authority of one of Mr. Abbey's
close relatives the statement is ' made
that the late King Oscar had not a little
to do with the ultimate selection of Mr.
Abbey as the coronation painter. -
A short time after he became a member
of the Royal Academy. Mr.- Abbey, ac
cording to a custom relating to new mem
bers, was called upon to help arrange a
private view for royalty of the Acad
emy's impending annual exhibition. A
few days later he was given King Oscar,
then on a visit to London, to conduct
about the gallery.
This was a delightful task until the
King found himself before his conduc
tor's exhibit, "The Trial of Queen Cath
erine." The royal wede, noting the
name of the painter, planted himself
firmly before the canvas and began fir
ing question after question at its creator.
The other members of the party were at
THE SUNDAY OKEGOXIAX. PORTLAND,
Three of the
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tracted to the spot, and f of the next half
hour the King kept up his quizzing,
while the royal personages and the
artists grouped about were alternately
amused at the King's queries and Mr.
Abbey's struggle between his modesty
and his desire to give his visitor the in
formation sought. - '
Mr. Abbey afterward admitted that this
was one of the worst half hours he had
ever lived through. But it was instru
mental in ultimately bringing him world
wide distinction. .When . King Edward
was casting about for the proper artist
to execute the coronation painting he
chanced one day to bring the matter up
in conversation with King Oscar, who re
called the time he had been shown
through the Royal Academy by Mr
Abbey and the satisfactory answers the
latter had given to all- questions pro
pounded to him on the technique of
painting. Thereupon King ' Edward, for
the first, time, though he had long been
acquainted with Abbey's work, began to
consider him for the commission.
Abbey was hardly more than promoted
from his cradle when he began to draw.
His first efforts on the fly leaves and
margins of books and magazines, attract
ed serious attention in the family and
among his friends. He was then four
years old. By the time he had reached
baseball age he had littered the house
from cellar to garret with sketches of
his family, "his home and his playmates.
He divided his time about evenly between
the great American game and sketching,
and at school, when he should have been
poring over the three R's, he was deeply
engrossed in the pleasant pastime of maK
Ing pictures.
The boy's father, a merchant in Phil
adelphia, turned to the sketch book and
brush for recreation throughout his life;
the boy's grandfather, also a merchant in
the same city, had found his relaxation
from . business cares in the same way.
Edwin's father ,planned a business career
for his son. encouraging him, meanwhile,
in his drawings, that he, too. might find
peace in it when, business cares came to
him. But one day the father had his
eyes opened when Edwin sturdily declared
for an artist's career. Several years later
he began his art education at the Penn
sylvania Academy of Fine Arts, where
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World s Famous
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Wirt,
from the start he-was looked upon as a
most promising student. ""
It was in 1866. when he 'was 14 years
old. that Abbey had the pleasure of first
seeing some of his handiwork in print.
This was an illustrated rebus which he
had made for Oliver Optic's paper. Our
Boys and Girls. After that he frequently
had illustrations in the paper, and so
clever were they that Oliver Optic (Mr.
Adams) himself took the trouble to make
the acquaintance of the youngster, formed
a great liking for him and later dedi
cated a book-to him. --
Two years after the appearance of the
re-bus Abbey entered a wood engraver's
shop. About the same time be had ac
cepted by Harper's Weekly, over which
he had pored as a child, a sketch entitled
"The First Thanksgiving." Three years
later' he went to New Y'ork to become
a member of the Weekly's staff. In the
meantime he had studied at the Pennsyl
vania Academy of. Fine. Arts, acquired
there a local reputation for laziness as
well as brilliancy, and had several
sketches accepted -by bis new employers.
As a member of the Weekly's staff Ab
bey worked at first for barely enough to
keep him in the necessaries. Even after
he had acquired a reputation among
artists, and his work was eagerly
FEBRUARY 16, 1908.
Living Portrait
Country
watched for' by them from week to week,
his' salary was not munificent, but every
cent'be could - spare, went .into decora
tions for his studio, a hobby, which has
clung to him all througii his career and
accounts in a large measure for the
magnificent fittings , of his English home.
During the seven years that he was
pinned down to a desk doing black and
white for a living he worked jn water
colors for recreation, but not until he
had been abroad for -a year did he re
ceive any decided recognition in this line.
Abbey made . hfs first trip abroad in
order to get the necessary "color" at
first hand , for the illustrations he- had
been commissioned by Harper's to make
for a book of Robert Herrlek's poems.
The day he set foot on English soil he
became fascinated with the life there,
and though he did not permanently take
up his residence abroad till 18S3, since 1S7S.
when he first saw England, he- has lived
there almost wholly for his art's sake,
he and his friends declare.
Though ' Abbey is a painter of the past
he has never, been guilty of an anachron
ism in his finished product, so far as the
critios arc aware. Above all things else
he despises such a "break." To the end
that his paintings may be true of the
times they represent, even In - the
slightest details of dress, he has made
what is probably the most wonderful and
valuable collection of antique habiliments
and accessories known to the modern
world of art. '
He considers time spent in avoiding an
anachronism or undoing one doubly well
spent. That he might not be guilty of an
anachronism in "The Castle of King Am
phortas" he made a journey to Brittany
simply to sketch and model certain
peculiar deails . of architecture; and
when he found that he had made a slight
mistake in the heraldic design on the
skirt of Lady Anne in. "Richard Duke of
Gloucester and I.ady Anne" he did the
skirt all over . again.
This passion for .minute correctness he
displayed as a boy. - Among his first
sketches to be published was one entitled
"Tracking Rabbits." He used his brother
and another playmate as models, and so
Insistent was he that their "dress be' cor
rect in every detail that the two models
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refused several 'times to accommodate the
ambitious artist longer. . '.. .. .
Mr. Abbey's home.. Morgan Hill, in
"Gloucestershire, is a . rambllug and pictur
esque structure over 300 years old. It is
surrounded hfi- 30 acres of typical English
land, and .ever since Mr. Abbey lias been
its .owner .the house - has undergone fre
quent alteration. It. is said to be rno of
the most artistically" furnished homes in
all England.' ' . .'
It was at Morgan Hill,' but not in it,
that the famous series -of panels known
collectively as "The Quest for the Holy
Grail" was painted. - Mr. Abbey had
erected what he described in a letter to
a relative as "an abomination of . corru
gated lron" and in this the great panels
were executed after- their creator - had
spent months patiently searching for data
and accessories to make them historically
accurate in the slightest detail beyond
the peradventure of doubt.
Trio, of Famous Portrait Painters.
John S. Sargent, who jias been called
"the greatest portrait painter now living,"
even by European art critics. Is an Inti
mate friend of Abbey's and, like him, has
his residence abroad. He declares, how
ever, - that he is a good American, and
certainly he. displayed sturdy American
spirit some years ago by refusing the
privileges of British citizenship offered
him by Queen Victoria. He has spent
practically his whole life on the other
side of the Atlantic. He was born In
Italy qf American parents in 1856, learned
to speak German before he did English,
received his art education in Paris and
has traveled in many lands since, occa
sionally coming to America to paint por
traits. He Is. among the comparatively
few great artists who did .not lack funds
with yhich to pursue his art studies.
Of an exceedingly retiring disposi
tion, Sargent has gathered a reputa
tion for eccentricity little less pro
nounced than Whistler's. One of his
peculiarities is to charge for a portrait
according to the pleasure he gets out
of paintinglt. Hence some sitters have
paid him as little as $2500, while oth
ers have been compelled to part with
110,000. The more pleasure in the work
the less of the wherewithal he de
mands for the finished product.
Of one thing be certain if you ever
ask Sargent to paint your portrait and
he accepts, do not look for an idealized
likeness of yourself. When he shows
you the completed canvas you will be
able to recognize yourself without the
aid of spectacles. There is a story that
he once painted the portrait of a wom
an famous for her beauty and social
standing. When the canvas was de
livered to her she immediately saw
that Sargent had portrayed not only
her outward beauty, but her true char
acter as well, which was far from
be'autiful, and in her fury she cut out
the head of the painting.
Sargent "paints beneath the skin," is
the way the critics put it.
William M, Chase,- whose portrait
are also famous on both sides of the
water, began life as a clerk In his
father's shoe store in Tndianapolis. He
had previously told his father "that ho
desired to be. an artist, that he had
dreamed of no other career since child
hood, when he was forever- drawing
pictures of the things he saw. But not
until his son wasted much of the
store's supply of wrapping paper by
covering it with sketches did the fath
er fall in with his son's plans for
himself and help him to get what art
education could be procured In this
country at that time.
Chase first took up the painting of
fruits and flowers, and in this way
earned - sufficient money to go abroad
and study. The trip was made in 1S74
when he was 25. He was in Munich
two years. Since then he has taught
thousands of art students in New York,
Philadelphia and elsewhere, frequently
taking large classes abroad. He is the
great American art teacher.
All artists must have their hobbles,
apparently. -Chase's particular pench
ane is a luxurious studio. Those who
ought to know say that his studio is
the finest in the country, that $50,000
would not cover the cost of the art ob
jects that are scattered about it.
James Carroll Beckwitli, who with
Chase and Sargent, constitute America's
trio of great portrait painters of the
present, spent many weeks of his boy
hood in bed. To amuse himself he drew
and painted. That is why he is mm
artist; the lve of painting he got in those
feverish days has never left him, and it
whs strong enough in after years to over
come a father's objections to his son's
ambitions and, in addition, cause him to
give the boy a sort of education lie
longed for. '
But though young Beckwith scorned a
business career, as . a painter he is very
shrewd on the business side: no one can
boast of having got the better of hint
financially. .Beckwith is also refreshing
in that he 4s one of the few members ot
America's advance guard in art who be
lieve that art students of this country
should get . their whole training here and
go abroad only for1 experience.
Beckwith can always be counted on to
take part enthusiastically in any move
ment looking to the removal of tlio
tariff from works of art. This is his
great hobby. In Cleveland's second term
he 'did succeed in getting the tariff re
moved, and ' it nearly broke his heart
when the Republicans, on their return to
power, put on a duty still higher than
the old one.
Like Chase. Beckwith has taught a
legion of art students. When he returned
from his studies abroad he was short
of money and he decided that the quick
est way to replenish his purse was to
teach. Not until late years has he de
voted the greater part of his time to
portrait and genre painting. lioth 1!
and Chase have their studios in New
York, and they and Sargent arc all close
friends. Beckwith lias sat . for Chase
and Chase for Sargent.
Karl Bitters Picturesque Career.
John La Farge, who took up the study
of art as an accomplishment on the ad
vice of his father, and for several years
thereafter had no thought of following it
seriously: Elihu vedder. whose gigantic
mosaic of "Minerva"' has attracted the
attention of thousands of visitors to the
Congressional Library at Washington and
who has lived in Rome most of the time
since the Civil War; Kenyon Cox. who
determined to become an artist when his
boyish gaze fell on some pictures brought
to Warren, O., by a traveling artist;
Dlnslow Homer, painter of the rural and
now living the life of a recluse down in
Maine these are. other famous wiclders
of the brush in America's advance guard
of art. By reason of his work in stained
glass, he having discovered a method of
obtaining certain light effects that is
known abroa'd - as "the . American
method." La Farge's position in the
vanguard is unique.
Among the sculptors in our Vanguard
there is. first, "the father" of American
sculpture, J. Q. A. Ward, whose first
models were made in the soft mud of a
(Concluded on I'age 11.1