1IE SUNDAY OREGOXIAX, PORTLAXD, . FEBRUARY 5, 1911.
AMERICAN GIRLS SHINE AS
INSPIRATION FOR ARTISTS' PICTURES
Ewr Illustrator Em His On particular Type Mis Basmussea of San rrandsco Ii Harrison Fisher's Selec
tion u "The Elaalinf Girl" of the Golden West.
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TUB promlM of Miai Laurtn Ra
BUMto. of Pn Frmnciaco, the
w Hanion Flaber lrl, to cora
Nw Tork blda fair to ba tha befffn
Uns; of a mw aarlca of Flahar plcturea
ad at tba aajna Umt baa rouaej fraah
Utaraat la artlatio clrclaa In the arl
oui obaracterlattca of tha American
woman nxade famoua by other of our
noted llluatratora.
Eerr one knowa tbat the beautiful
wife of Cbarlea rana Qlbaon vn the
Inspiration of aome of hla wonderful
drawlnsa. but If Mra. Glbaon haa done
much for her huabaad he alao haa done
much for har. Irene Lannhorna waa
pretty, bat Mra. Charles Pana Olbaon
la beautiful.
The key to her tranaformatlon Ilea ta
the faet that aha married the artlat
who created the Glbaon girl. If ahe
had married a mechanic or a trades
men. It la 10 to 1 aha would have been
forced to content herself with the
leaaer title of pretty. Had It not been
for the maater hand of Charlea Iana
Gtbaon. ahe might never have realned
that aba waa capable of commanding
the euperlatlve adjectlre beautiful.
Today lira. Char lea Dana Glbaon la
one of the noted beauties of New York.
The way ahe dreasea. the way aha ar
raoeee her hair, the carriage of ber
head, ber figure, her walk, are all aub
Jecta of praise. In this praise the cre
ator of the Glbaon girl should have a
lion's share.
When Olbaon first met Ms wtfa she
They met at old White Sulphur.
Charles Dana Gibson, who has discov
ered In all American girls a new and
dlatlnctlve charm, at once detected tha
possibilities In this one. She waa a
bread-and-butter mlea In appearanoe,
with neither subtlety nor art. Bhe had
plenty of heart, but It waa all In ber
eyea. She waa without experience and
even without taste. Tet the artist, al
ready In love at the first eight of her,
foresaw what ahe might become.
In Imagination be reclothed her. He
dressed her hair over; he took off the
bow that loomed up from It; he loos
ened her locks: he caught a gllmpee of
her neck behind the ear, a line that
sloped. He made love to her and
chased Into her eyes a subtler glance.
But the final transformation of the
Virginian beauty Into the true Gibson
type did not take place until some time
after her marriage. Gibson worked
bard with bis wife model until finally
ahe arrived. This Is very evident In a
glance at one of her recent photo
graphs. Who would bare dreamed that the
little Langhorne girl would ever de
velop It The forehead Is no longer
aggreaatve. It Is ahadad with exquis
ite gold looks. Tou may only follow
Ita height In Imagination. The dim
pled chin la In full evidence and the
head la carried and turned so as to re
veal Its perfect ovaL The mouth Is no
longer a straight line. It turns up
alluringly at the corners.
And the eyea which De Monteaqulou
says In a baauttful woman oontaln all
was an unsophisticated Virginia girl. the Jewels the lid droop above them
slterfetljr, they are command lute and al
luring, they smile and sympathise, thev
ruontuae ana console.
The awkward, pretty bread-and-butter
mlaa of old Virginia duya haa dla
appeared. There Isn't a trace of ber.
Oraoe. charm, poise, brilliancy, discre
tion, allurement, fascination, the worn
an of the world, the srrande dame, the
tall, willowy, long-lined. Imperious
Ulbson girl Is there Inatead.
Qlbaon haa bad ether modela beeldee
bis wife and some of them have proved
a groat inspiration to him, but none to
the earns extent as his Virginian
Beauty.
While Howard Chandler Christy and
hla wife are no longer on amicable
terms, thore la no dispute over the fact
that she Inspired many of the Christy
gins.
The Inspiration that lies In a smile,
In the set of the eyes or the wave of
the hair away from the temples la felt
by many folka. but It takes the artist
to find In It aome raolal trait that rep
resents Amerloa m the eyea of the ar
tistic world. f
And because of these pictures Amer
ican beauty has become something
tangible, Inatead of the mere blending
or many races, as It was some years
ago.
Only a few days ago, Harrison Fisher,
the srtlst, returned to his studio In
New Tork elated with the successful
culmination of his pilgrimage to the
Golden West In search of a new type of
beauty for his portrayal.
From the hundreds of photographs of
pretty woman which were sent to a San
Francisco newspaper In Its campaign of
asslatance on Mr. Fisher's behalf, the
artist chose that of Miss Laurlne Rns
muasen as exactly the "slashing type"
be was looking for.
Mr. Flaher left San Franclaco with
Mlaa Raamuaaen's promise" to go to New
Tork early In the new year and pose
for the pictures) of the new "Fisher
girl."
Miss Raamueaen la the daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. Charles FUsmus.en and
Is an artist of more than local note. It
was. perhaps, this latter fact that
aroused her sympsthy with Mr. Fisher
In hla hunt for a heroine for his paint
ings. 8he la five feet eight lnchea tall
and Is JS years of age.
It was a good while ago that Mr.
Flaber announoed that ha was aeeklng
for a new type. For many months he
sought In vain. Then, after a careful
study of the pictures of beautiful women
from dlferent parts of the country, be
decided that California was the place
where he would be most likely to find
the distinctive model he wanted.
The model for Mr- Fisher's picture
"Girl of the Golden West" was a New
York girl. Miss Lilly Pederaon; she has
frequently posed for Mr. Fisher and has
inspired some or nis best work.
When Charles Dana Gibson returned
to America about two years ago after
his course of study abroad, be engaged
as a model a beautiful young Irish, girl
who, curiously enough, possessed his
wife's maiden name. Langhorne.
Miss Camllle Langhorne. one of the
latest of the Gibson girls, comes from
Dublin. She Is a pronounoed type of
Irish besuty regular features, blue- j
gray eyes, clear complexion, with Just
the faintest suspicion of roses, a wealth
of glorious red-brown hair and a slender.
girlish figure.
Miss Langhorne came to this country
six years ago. She had been a model
abroad, both at the South Kensington
School, In Dawaon atreet, and at the Ro
tunda, two of the best art schools In
tha metropolis of Erin's Isle. She came
to America to stay but a year and re
turned home. Four years ago she came
here again to make It her home.
Soon after Mlea Langhorne came to
New York ahe waa looting for an en
gagement as a model, and some one re
ferred ber to Mr. Gibson. Just back from
three years in Paris, w.iwc hla work in
oils bad. hardly caflea forth the praise
which be had long before earned In the
United States for his Glbaon girls and
bis Gibson men, and all those delicate
aatlrea of aoclety which have earned
for their creator an income that la aald
to have reached 1100.000 a year.
Miss Langhorne called upon Mr. Gib
son and waa Immediately engaged. She
has since posed for some of his newest
Gibson girls.
IS MADEMOISELLE SOREL THE MOST
BEAUTIFUL WOMAN IN THE WORLD?
Many Critics of Feminine Charms Believe That She Is the World's Greatest Beauty Distinguished Actress Is One
of the Stars of Comedie Francaise.
Eminent Poet
Is Financier
Umastoar, Mexico's Finance Mlnle
ter, Besjtna Day WHh Flowers."
Jose Tvea Limantour waa In his gar
den. mourning over frost slain roses. It
was my first meeting with the Mexican
Minister of Finance. With cloaked
shoulders for the rarefied air of the
high plateau upon whloh the Valley of
Mexico sits, cupped within bare and
austere mountains, was shrewd. In
spite of the brlllanoy of the afternoon
sun he moved slowly from bush to
bush, marking the blasted flowers.
He spoke of his garden Vnthusiaotlc
ally and with the precision that comes
of assured knowledge, while he walked
along the primly ordered paths of his
estate, whloh lies In Mlxcoac. a suburb
of the city. Later he indicated In his
library a shelf crowded with authorita
tive works on landscape gardening,
from tha pens of American, English,
French and Italian experts.
"Let me tell you a curious thing,"
Id he. "That Is, It may seem curious
that such duties come within the offi
cial scope of the work of a Minister of
Finance.
"They have claoed me In charge of
the park at Chapultepec. That 1a part
of my work, to look after the treea and
the flowers and to plan the Improve
ments. Really, It isn't work, for I re
gard It as part of my relaxation, my
pleasure. I go there every morning on
my way to my office. When I leave
my house I am the Minister of Finance,
for my secretary rides with me and
reads my mall; but when I arrive at
the park I become a gardener for an
hour. It Is delightful there In the early
morning. The superintendent tella me
that a tree la alck. We examine It and
prescribe for It. We plan flower beda
and the planting of shrubbery. The
hour goes too quickly, for when' I enter
my automobile again there Is the secre
tary with the letters, and once more
am Minister of Finance."
He has been In charge of the Mexl
can exchequer since 1S93. He has ac
cepted as his life work the rehabilita
tion of the flnancee of the republic. No
one could have performed the task bet
ter, and few could have managed so
well. With him a dominant talent for
finance has attained to the dignity and
power of genius. Contrasting Jhe
hopeless muddle of Mexico's finances
two decades ago and the firm economic
basis upon which they now rest, one
marvela at the almost nocromantlc
quality of hla accomplishments. Like
a manclal David he freed Mexico from
the apparently hopeleaa thraldom In
which It waa held by the giant deficit.
In budgeta of the paat the deficit waa
regarded aa Inevitable In the yearly
caatlng up of the cation's accounts. Mr
Llmantour met the deficiency. and
within two years after he clutched the
purse strings he had it In retreat. It
has never returned. Now, when Mexico.
goes into ice world a money marts she
pose.s as no cringing suppliant, hat In
hand, and ready to accept grateully
tha most meager sop that the bankers
noose to toss. She Is rich. She cave
her debts dollar for dollar. Accord
ingly, ahe Is respected and deferred to.
If she wants to borrow, she makes her
own terms .and the bankers may take
mem or leave them, as they choose.
The appetite for work of the Minister
of Finance Is avid and Insatiable. He
Is In his office until 8 o'olock In the
evening-, and not Infrequently It la later
when he leaves. Eight waa the hour
he named In hla first appointment with
me. That waa exceptional, I thought.
and wondered at It. But aa one atudled
ths man and hla methoda one ceaaed
to oonalder It extraordinary. Hla vaca
tions are taken once in- four yeara. If
he feela that he la able to respite him
self without losing momentum In his
work. Usually these vacation trips are
combined governmental missions to the
United States and Europe.
His day begins at S. which Is his hour
for rising. Business starts Immediately
alter breakfast, when he and his secre
tary seat themselves in an automobile
for the Invariable visit to Chapultepec
.Park. Thence he proceeds to his office
and remains there until 1. Returning
at 3 be applies himself to routine mat
ters and receives callers until well past
the hour when the American man of
affairs has regaled himself with dinner
nd is trending theaterward or seek
Ing the bridge table. This routine sel
dom varies. If there Is a man in Mexi
co who works harder and puts In long
er hours than the Minister of Finance
It la President Dlas.
One cannot but believe that the
strain has told on him, although one
detects no hint of It In hla phyalcal
bearing, or the keen, rapier-like qual
ity of hla mentality. At 57 his hair.
moustache and aide whlakera are
wholly white, but he has the slender,
lithe, erect and easily moving figure of
youth. His English Is admirable. To
bacco and alcoholics are taboo with
him.
Mr. LImautour shares his passion for
gardening with an absorbing and tech
nical love of music. Above the key
board of a piano In his house I saw
spread out the bewildering conglomer
ation of musical characters which goes
to make up the score of one of Wag
ner's operas. He ends his days with
music Nightly, for an hour before re
tiring he sits at the piano and sub
merges the brain-wearying routine of
the financier In the melodies of the
classical composers. Occasionally he
Improvises.
'And then to bed," said he. I take
the music to bed with me, and leave all
he rest. One can stand a great deal
of finance If he starts in the day with
the flowers and ends it with music. It
helps one to sleep soundly, too. New
York Post.
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TO be regarded by many critics and
fond admirers as the handsomest
woman In the world and the most
distinguished actress In France is the
distinction accorded Mile. Cecils Sorel,
one of the stars at the Comedie Fran
caise, Paris, where her great talent, as
well as her striking beauty have given
her unusual prominence.
Mile. Sorel's repertoire Includes dra
ma both modern and classical, but she
limits herself to roles requiring the
classical type of beauty. She is tall and
stately, has a beautiful figure and Is
exceeedlngly graceful. Many persons
think she Is the only modern Frenoh
actress who can compare with the great
beauties of the 17th century. Bhe has
never been In America.
Mile. Sorel Is a woman of re
markable distinction of manner and ap
pearance. Bhe Incarnates, in a moat sur.
prising way, the type of woman who
adorned the French court in the 17th
and 28th centuries. Dreaaed In a court
coatume of those times, she looks aa If
ahe had stepped miraculously from them
Into our own days. If she could step
back to them she would certainly out
shine the Duchesse de Longueville, or
the Marquise de Montespan, or the most
graceful and witty beauties of the court
of Louis XIV.
She has had a most romantic career.
It has been widely stated that the late
President Faure waa making an after
noon call on her when he died sudden
ly. She has denied this with tears In
her eyes, and perhaps with reason, for
a little later everybody saia ne was
calling on Madame Stelnhell.
Mile. Sorel is called the best-dressed
woman in the world. She sleeps on a
bed that cost 130,000. and all her sur
roundings are of proportionate magnifi
cence.
Her new play, "L'Adventuriere." at
the famous Comedie Francaise, has Just
proved a great success.
Recently Mile. Sorel experienced a
great sorrow when she was obliged to
abandon her famous lion cub pets, not
because she outgrew her , attachment
for them, but because they have ceased
to be cubs. They were given to her by
a friend, who brought them from Africa.
During the Summer they played In the
yard of ber attractive house in Paris
to the great damage of plants and the
dismay of women friends of the actress.
But Mile. Sorel was so amused by their
antics that she allowed them to remain.
Her great regret was genuine when the
cubs grew to an age at which It was
dangerous to have them romolng about
the title of
to the Jardln d'Acclimatlon, where she beauty.
occasionally visits them
The great French beauty has very
decided views on the subject of dress
and during the course of a recent In
terview she expressed herself as fol
lows:
This Is a very expensive age and to
be well-dressed a woman must spend at
least 50.000 francs ($10,000) a year for
her clothes. That Is the minimum, and
does not Include the cost of furs or
jewelry, which usually foots up several
hundred thousands.
It was a Frenchman who said: 'It is
the duty of every woman to be beau
tiful.' "
So it is, and undoubtedly any woman
worthy the name would be glad to ful
fill this duty, but many women, indeed
most of them, don't know how. They
wear hats that are all wrong In color
and shape and dresses that are no better.
'Frequently a man who isn't a bit of
an artist In the real sense of the word
is endowed with a fund of good taste,
but he hasn't the courage to experi
ment in so serious a matter as his
wife's clothes. He doesn't dare to go
muoh beyond saying, 'Why don't you
wear quieter colors? or 'I don't like
those things perked up on top of your
head.'
"She, as a rule, adopts the prevailing
fashion, no matter how little it suits
her, and selects her gown or her Jacket
because Mrs. Someoneelse has one cut
on the same pattern. The advantage
In consulting the taste of the mere man
who pays her bills is that his Judgment
Is apt to be guided only by what he
likes or dislikes. As a rule, he doesn't
follow the styles.
"Following the styles is fatal to any ,
"To prove that this is true, one need
only study the ways of the great dress
makers of Paris, who call themselves
artists. They have gained their repu
tation because they create. Women
consult them because they give them
something individual, something suited
to the special charms of each.
"Monsieur Worth, at one time the
greatest of the French dressmakers,
said to a sallow, dark-haired American
heiress who went to order gowns from
him: 'Do as I say, and I will make you
beautiful.
"He made her gowns of white, some
of cloth, some of soft silks, some of
brocades with gold, but always on a
white background.
"The heiress sighed: 'Brown Is so
fashionable, and I love blue!'
" "Wear either, and you will oe ugly!
Brown Increases your sallowness,' cried
the autocrat; white decreases it. It
must be the foundation of all your
wardrobe.'
"The artist had his way. and it is on
record that with white he created a
beauty.
"The great French actress, Madame
Sarah Bernhardt, has said: "If I did
not know how to present myself, I
should be hideous."
"There was a time wiien it was even
more fashionable than now to wear
Jewels In the hair, and even falling on
the forehead. Sarah Bernhardt cried
out in horror. 'Jewels near the eyear
she said. 'Never! They destroy thlr
luster, they rival their brilliancy. Wear
them on the corsage, or on the throat,
if you are compelled by the first signs
of age, but never any nearer to the
eyes than you must. '
I