ART AND ARTISTS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2210, 9 July 1896, Page 42

ART AND ARTISTS.

*.* The family of Rosa Bonheur possess artistic taste to an unuiual degree. Her father, her sister, her brothers, and several. of their relatives and descendants have displayed, remarkable ability in painticg or soulpture/or both. *.'Mr Harao Thornycrofr, E.L, comet from an artistic family. Both his mother and father were sculptors, and their son began to model almost as soon ad be could draw. Mr Thornyoroft won a studentship at the Academy at an early age aud exhibited there as soon as he was 21. 1 ■ . • Mr Bartram Hiles, the artist, lost his arms when bo was eight years old. Yet as a boy ha managed to paiufcaad draw, holding the bitfsb or penoil between his teeth. His first picture was exhibited at the Bristol Academy when he was 16. While still in his toons, he won a National.Art Scholarship of £100. Later on he gained a fret-doss certificate for , modelling. He beat the clay with bis chin, moved it as he wanted with his lips, then held the modelling tools in his mouth, and did the finishing touches 1 Oue of bis paintings was accepted by the Royal Academy two y«arß ago . •.• Mr F. 0. Gould's first successes as a carioaturißt were some sketches of local characters made while he took liU oasy as a bank clerk in Barnstaple. His sketch of the local gaoler greatly riled that important functionary, aud forthwith he ganged to the mayor. " He's been caricatooria' me, has young Frank Gould. He drawed a pioburo of rus as a— a Christmas pig wi' an orange in my mouft. I beant a-goia' to staud ir, Me Mayor." The mayor advised bis gaoleiship to take no notice of the ivreprossible yoang man. A -grave official < should not heed the- like. " Ab,'but he's been a-oaricatcoiia' o1o 1 you, too, Mr Mayor," »The • mayor said thereupon that he would yard' tjhe • youog artist to feo just a little more careful. A story illustrating the dangers 66' t00 frankariitstio criticism on the part of royalty is told by the Copenhagen jgurnals. King O»car of Sweden, who is nofin the best odour ia the Norwegian capital juet at present, recently visited the annual art exhibition in Oaristiania, accompanied by the Crown Prino?. The visitors were conducted through tbe galleries by Mr Holmboe, a member of the committee, and himself a painter. On pausing before a certain canvas the Crown Prince remarked that it was a " fearful" composition. The King, after stooping to discover the artist's name, presently ejaculated with a smile, "Why, the man must be mad 1 " The picture was by Holmboe himself, but neither of the royal visitors was aware that it was he who was showing them round. The artist felt much offended, and afterward declared that he intended to demand an apology. He. was prevailed upon by the Kicg'o adjutants, however, to cay nothing, in order not to embarrass his royal critics. The sequel is reported to have taken place at a banquet given in connection with the Norwegian Artists' Association, held on the same evening, when, the president announced, amidst applaute, that instead of proposing K\ng Oioar's health as usual he would give that of Mr Holmboe. £25,000 FOR A PIOTUBB FfIAMB, "Nearly everybody knows that thousandß of pounds are frequently spent on oil paintings," said a Regent street business man to a representative of a London, paper, " but it is not such popular knowledge that equally big sums are occasionally spent on frames in which to enclose them. "I heard of a case which ocourred some four or five roars ago. A yourg artist of considerable genius exhibited bis first picture in the Academy, bnt soon after unfortunately died. "A wealthy old gentleman, who had, adopted the artist years before, and who had his welfaro and success at heart more than any other object in life, was so fearfully cut up, and so desirous of perpstuating the artist's memory, that he purchased the picture and bad it enclosed in a frame made almost entirely of solid gold. "Costly, however, a$ this frame w»s, it was quite eclipsed in value by the frame which tbe Shab, on his last visit to England, ordered for tbe portrait of his favourite wife, painted by one of our best-known artists. Tbe frame was made of wood, over which was laid a thick plate of gold. "In little interstices in the frame were small, exquisitely carved figures, represent* ing 10 other wives of the Eastern potentate, while on the top, surmounting an ivory miniature of the Shah himself, was set a magnificsnt ruby. This frame cannot beworth less tban £12,000. •• But what Is generally conceded to be the most valuable frame in the world is that " which holds the famous • Virgin and Child ' in Milan Cathedral. This is also of beautifully chased gold, at, the corners of which are religious sceneß of mosaic work in pearU % witb" other preoious stones set round !1> t The cost of this frame was £25,000.