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-IKS uicr
B ? OEUVRE
It Gained Him a Reputation
Which Profited Him Not
By ESTHER VANDEVEER
George Ashley at, twenty-two was an
artist with a highly artistic tempera
ment. He had been brought up among
women who were of the very best, and
he Idealized woman in the abstract.
Having had nothing to do with others,
be knew nothing about them. Indeed, he
bad his own conceptions of the spirit
ual beauty of a good womnn and knew
neither her strong points nor her foi
bles. Possibly he might have come
nearer the composite of on excellent
woman bad not his associates been
very youthful and their characters not
.entirely formed.
Ashley was ambitious to paint a pic
ture of his Ideal of womanhood. He
did not care to portray a Madonnn;
there were already sufficient Madon
nas in the world, some of them painted
by .antlsts that he could not hope to
emulate. He desired to give bis Ideal
the garb of the twentieth century.
Of course all depended on his model.
His conceptions were like a flock of
birds, flying 1» the air and refusing to
remain' quiet long enough to be photo
graphed. Genius mUht'hhVe a founda
tion ^n which to build,- ,and when the
foundation is established .there muBt
be a starting point. A novelist who
evolved in words one of tb.e great pic
tures of the world said that he paced
the' floor for days dreUming Iti'bpt had
flnnllv hnmifi fn torlfn hln rinnnMn
he'hit flnnlly begun to write
wottlld never haVe been anything tint
dreams. . ...
‘Whhre was George Asbley to And a
woman through whose physical per
fection shone this purity that be wish
ed to depict? He was not rich, but
bad the means to go about'looking for
bis’ model. Tblsriie dld. ’ 'Efe visited
different countries. On the Street, in
hotels. In public gardehs, he was con
stantly peering Into the faces of wom
en he met looking for that which would
serve to concentrate bis dreams and
reduce them to reality. Many a counte
nance bb noticed, thinking that it was
the one he wanted, but on examination
was found deficient- Friends became
interested in bis search, and his atten
tion was called by different persons
to a number of women wbo it was sup
posed might serve his purpose.
The artist while In Florence, Italy,
having run short of funds, established
a studio for the purpose of keeping in
■practice and recouping his finances.
He soon achieved some reputation as
a portrait painter and received orders
.enough tojnaintaln him and keep him
reasonably busy, I;/'i ■■■<•*,
One;day an 'American lady and her
daughter came In to his studio, the
mother saying that he bad been recom
mended to ber to paint ber daughter’s
portrait.
i If , Miss Helen Laurence wqb not
beautiful she Was at least comely.
Ashley looked at her Inquiringly, as
be did at all women who might possi
bly serve his great purpose, but saw
nothing In her face to Indicate that he
had found bis model. After an In
spection of pictures he had made Mrs.
Laurence took him aside and made a
bargain with him to make a full length
portrait of her daughter, offering a
price which was at Once accepted, for
Ashley’s Ideas of money Were 1 more
vague than was hls Ideal of a good
woman.
1 When Miss Laurence appeared for
her: first sitting Bhe was arrayed in
spotless white’ clinging drapery that
showed her fine figure to the best ad-
vantage. Her coiffure was of the sim
plest All that dress qould do to rep
resent purity was effected. Then, too,
the girl’s face was stamped with in
nocence. She looked with her blue
eyes Into those of the nrtist with a per
fect trustfulness.
“Paint me as I am,” she said to him.
“Don’t flatter me. if you should make
a Madonna of me I should not, like It.
I am Imperfect and a perfect person
represented on the canvas would not
be I."
Ashley questioned her as to what she
considered Imperfections and was con
vinced by her replies that she did not
know the meaning of the word—that is,
she was Innocent. ’ While working on
her feature's he chatted with her to
draw out her Individuality. Her voice
was sweet, and it was evident from
what she said that she was profoundly
Ignorant of the wicked part of the
world she lived in.
Ashley made a discovery. He had
been looking for a woman whose coun
tenance expressed - purity. He now
formed a theory that Innocence and
parity are synonymous. Whether he
waB right or wrong Is an open ques
tion. It began to dawn upon him that
fiating found innocence It would serve
to. Influence him In portraying purity.
He did not realize that for some time
he had already been under this influ
ence. He was first made aware of It
by noticing In the face he was putting
on the canvas evidence that he was
on the way to realize his ideal. He
was.not so Impractical as to suppose
that he would ever realize that ideal,
for he well knew the impossibility of
any such realization. He simply knew
that he had found an-Inspiration.
'He found something more than an
inspiration. He found that which he
Faff hever before experienced—love.
This was quite natnrally the result of
peering into the face of a pretty girl
fffr hours ajt a time and striving to con
sider her at her best that be might
make a successful picture'of her.’ His
determination to make her hls model
j... - ,v*i - 1'?
There was a fascination about hls sub
ject which he supposed had been re
vealed probably to him alone. He
could not see how any other man
should be enthralled as he had been,
for he lnld hls enthrallment to bis pe
culiar potceptive faculties which en
abled him to perceive e perfect em-
Intent of purity. ■*,
hen the picture was finished It was
marked success; not as a portrait,
but ns a representation of purity. The
model's mother accepted It without
comment, though It was not n likeness
of her daughter, for It wns a beautiful
picture. It was placed In u conspicu
ous position and much admired, but
few of those who were acquainted
with the subject recognised It as her
portrait
Meanwhile Ashley hud become so
absorbed In hls model that be failed
to be elated with his success. During
the last sittings hls subject, by fre
quent casting down of her eyes under
hls gaze, by pouting her pretty Ups at
any Inattention on hls port, had given
evidence that her Innocent heart had
gone out to meet hls. Since he was
poor and had not yet made a name for
himself lu hls profession, he hesitated
to declare hls loVe.
Nevertheless he was unable to tear
himself nwny from Miss Laurence, nor
Uld she seem inclined to part with him.
After the finishing of her portrait, or.
rather, hls conception of purity, he
was unable to work. The mornings
usually found him in one of the gal
leries; where be expected to meet the
girl who had captivated him. He -Was
seldom disappointed, though pbe was
not alwnys nloue. 'While she was sit
ting for him, sp far as he knew her
time was exclusively hls own, but how
that She had no engagements with him
she was free to go about with whom
ejib liked, and since he was not detiu-
pled he hrid an opportunity to meet
tffif other company.
!■’ Although Ashley- suffered the pangs
of jealousy upon seeing Miss Lnurdnce
with other cavaliers, she alwayB reds-
snred him with one of her sweetest
smiles on such occasions and not 'ln-
freqdeutly yvpulff jajakfl ft, plain to him
that'hhd wlBhed him ,tp jloj.u feer. $Vhen
relieved of her other attendant ‘sho
would take him to the BolwlJ
In rear of the Pittl gallery, then -which,
there Is no more fitting place for IdV-j
era. These gardens are representative!
of the medieval method of cultivating!
Shrubbery and flowers, ihe perfume;
of the latter alone Is conducive to love, i
In the evening they would walk to-,
gether on the Arno embankment, which
When the lamps are lighted Is as near
fairyland as any real scene that can
be produced. But It was In the apart
ment occupied by Miss Laurence and
her mother, where the lovers were
alone together, that Ashley broke down
and confessed his love and hls fears.
She received this, confession and his
fears with no definite response.
He was hoping one morning that a
reputation would come from hls mas
terpiece to enable him to muster cour
age to propose to his model, when, tak
ing up a morning journal, he saw an
announcement that a young American
had the night before committed suicide
by jumping from the Ponte Vecchlo,
a medieval bridge, Into the Amo. It
was hinted that the young man had
taken himself off for love of a fair
countrywoman. Ashley recognized the
name of a man he had seen with Helen
Laurence pne day' In the gallery of
the Pittl palace and to whom he had
been Introduced by ber.
As an- American, Ashley considered
it hls duty to go to the lodgings of the
young man to learn if anything was to
be done In the premises. On reaching
the house—a pension on' the Lnng
Amo, which means In EngWsh the
Amo embankment—he made inquiries
of the proprietor. He told the artist
that the suicide’s mother and sister
were there and a brother was expect
ed during the day.
“I noticed,” said Ashley, “that an
American lady was the cause.”
“Yes, signor; the lady whose portrait
is now attracting so much attention:
This episode will likely make the art
ist’s fortune.”
A icaiurc wormy oi nolo la the
grand canyon of the Rio Grande,
which has been given the uamo of the
Canyon of Santa Helena, it Is of the
box type, with solid, perpendicular
walls. At the heed of the'canyon
these walla are 500 feet high, at the'
mouth 1,500 feet,- showing a surface
slant of 1,000 feet.
Ashley seemed turned to marble. He
stood looking at the man aSlf stricken
by some fe'arful calamity. The other,
who was handing a key to a guest at
the moment, did not notice hie changed
nppeafance and continued;
“The American is not the only one
who has suffered from this same cause.
An Englishman made a great ado
when the lady refused him, and one of
our own citizens, a prince, fell into the
same pit. Among her victims she is
named La Belle Dame Sans Merei; aft
er an English poem."
Ashley staggered out Into the open
air. Standing with a hand on the
stone coping that protects the side
walk from the river, it seemed for
awhile as if he would be another vic
tim to La Belle Dame Sans Mere!. But
presently, steadying himself by the
coping, he walked slowly in the direc
tion of his studio.
The idle prediction of the landlord
wns fulfilled. The story attached to
hiB picture of purity wns well known,
and every one vi.rited it from curios
ity If for no other reason. Since the
name of the artist was attached to it,
be might have taken advantage of the
reputation It gave him to make a for
tune, but be never painted another
picture and was never seen ngnin in
Florence after that morning.
After the suicide a story concerning
Miss Laurence’s part In the matter
was hushed up. It appears that, hav
ing beard of the young American who
was bunting for a model of purity, she
made a bet that she would sit for the
picture and that It would be a success.
She too. left Florence immediately aft
er the tragedy and returned to Ameri
ca, where It Is 1 to be Uoped she te-
pentstf of her many sins-'
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Near Chattanooga, Tenn.
4
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DIXIE junk co.
lO PERRY STREET
1 11 1
V
We beg to announce to the people of Newnan and Coweta county that we
have opened up a'junk shop in the rear of C. J. Barron & Sons’ repair shop, and
are in the market for all kinds of scrap iron, brass, copper, zinc, lead, dry bones,,
old sacks, cotton and woolen rags, etc.—articles that are generally thrown on
the trash heap. We pay cash for these articles, and will take any quantity
brought us. We pay the highest prices for everything in this line.
DIXIE JUNK CO.
Newnan, Georgia.
/ w-
K ' i.
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in the
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Other Models
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Touring Car, 7-passenger - - $885
Roadster, 3-pauenger ... 850
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Panel Delivery Car • - • • $875
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Tonring Cor, 7-passenger - - $1050
Roadster, 3-passenger - - - 1000
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