Miss Stevens mentions as her principal works "A Candlestick Representing a Girl Asleep under a Poppy," "Figure of Spring," and the "Spirit of Flame."
Miss Stevens is one of the women sculptors who have been selected to share in the decoration of the buildings for the St. Louis Exposition.
She is to make two reclining figures on the pediment over the main entrance to the Liberal Arts Building. She has in her studio two reclining figures which will probably serve to fulfil this commission.
Miss Stevens is modest about her work and does not care to talk much about this important commission, even suggesting that her design may not be accepted; if she is successful it will certainly be an unusual honor for a woman at her age, whose artistic career covers less than five years.
<b>STEVENS, MARY.</b> Bronze medal at the Crystal Palace. Member of the Dudley Gal ery, London. Born at Liverpool. Pupil of William Kerry and of her husband, Albert Stevens, in England, and of the Julian Academy, Paris.
Mrs. Stevens' pictures were well considered when she exhibited a variety of subjects; of late, however, she has made a specialty of pictures of gardens, and has painted in many famous English and French gardens, among others, those of Hol and House, Warwick Castle, and St. Anne's, Dublin.
In France, the gardens of the Duchesse de Dino and the Countess Foucher de Careil.
Mrs. Stevens--several of whose works are owned in America--has commissions to paint in some American gardens and intends to execute them in 1904.
<b>STILLMAN, MARIE SPARTALI.</b> Pupil of Ford Madox Brown. This artist first exhibited in public at the Dudley Gal ery, London, in 1867, a picture called "Lady Pray's Desire." In 1870 she exhibited at the Royal Academy, "Saint Barbara" and "The Mystic Tryst." In 1873 she exhibited
"The Finding of Sir Lancelot Disguised as a Fool" and "Sir Tristram and La Bel e Isolde," both in water-colors. Of these, a writer in the _Art Journal_ said: "Mrs. Stillman has brought imagination to her work. These vistas of garden landscape are conceived in the true spirit of romantic luxuriance, when the beauty of each separate flower was a delight. The figures, too, have a grace that belongs properly to art, and which has been well fitted to pictorial expression. The least satisfactory part of these clever drawings is their color. There is an evident feeling of harmony, but the effect is confused and the prevailing tones are uncomfortably warm."
W. M. Rossetti wrote: "Miss Spartali has a fine power of fusing the emotion of her subject into its color and of giving aspiration to both; beyond what is actual y achieved one sees a reaching toward something ulterior. As one pauses before her work, a film in that or in the mind lifts or seems meant to lift, and a subtler essence from within the picture quickens the sense. In short, Miss Spartali, having a keen perception of the poetry which resides in beauty and in the means of art for embodying beauty, succeeds in infusing that perception into the spectator of her handiwork."
[_No reply to circular_.]
<b>STOCKS, MINNA.</b> Born in Scheverin, 1846. Pupil of Schloepke in Scheverin, Stiffeck in Berlin, E. Bosch in Duesseldorf, and J. Bauck in Munich. Her "Lake of Scheverin" is in the Museum of her native city.
Her artistic reputation rests largely on her pictures of animals. She exhibits at the Expositions of the Society of Women Artists, Berlin, and among her pictures seen there is "A Journey through Africa," which represents kittens playing with a map of that country. It was attractive and was praised for its artistic merit. In fact, her puppies and kittens are most excellent results--have been called masterpieces--of the most intimate and intel igent study of nature.
Among her works are "A Quartet of Cats," "The Hostile Brothers," and "The Outcast."
<b>STOKES, MARIANNA.</b> Honorable mention at Paris Salon, 1884; gold medal in Munich, 1890; medal at Chicago in 1893. Member of the Society of Painters in Tempera. Born in Graz-Styria. Pupil of Professor W. von Lindenschmit in Munich, of M. Dagnan Bouveret and M. Courtois in Paris.
Her picture, "A Parting," is in the Liverpool Gallery; "Childhood's Wonder," in the Nottingham Gal ery; "Aucassin and Nicolette," in the Pittsburg Gal ery, etc.
Mrs. Stokes writes me that she has taken great interest in the revival of tempera painting in recent years. In reviewing the exhibition in the New Gal ery, London, the _Spectator_ of May 2, 1903, speaks of the portraits by Mrs. Stokes as charming, and adds: "They are influenced by the primitive painters, but in the right way. That is, the painter has used a formal and unrealistic style, but without any sacrifice of artistic freedom." Of a portrait of a child the same writer says: "It would be difficult to imagine a happier portrait of a little child,... and in it may be seen how the artist has used her freedom; for although she has preserved a primitive simplicity, the sky, sea, and windmill have modern qualities of atmosphere. The picture is very subtle in drawing and color, and the sympathy for child-life is perfect, seen as it is both in the hands and in the eyes.
"Another portrait by the same artist is hung on a marble pillar at the top of the stairs leading up to the balcony. The admirable qualities of decoration are wel shown by the way it is hung.... Is a fine piece of strong and satisfactory color, but the decorative aspect in no way takes precedence of the portraiture. We think of the man first and the picture afterward."
At the Academy, in 1903, Mrs. Stokes exhibited a portrait of J. Westlake, Esq., K.C.
<b>STORER, MRS. MARIA LONGWORTH.</b> Gold medal at Paris Exposition, 1900.
Born in Cincinnati, Ohio. Pupil of the Cincinnati Art School, which her father, Joseph Longworth, endowed with three hundred thousand dol ars.
After working four years, making experiments in clay decoration at the Dal as White Ware Pottery, Mrs. Storer, "who had the enthusiasm of the artistic temperament coupled with fixity of purpose and financial resources,... had the courage to open a Pottery which she cal ed Rookwood, the name of her father's place on the hills beyond. This was in 1880."
Nine years later this pottery had become self-supporting, and Mrs. Storer then dissolved her personal association with it, leaving it in charge of Mr. William Watts Taylor, who had col aborated with her during six years.
At the Paris Exposition Mrs. Storer exhibited about twenty pieces of pottery mounted in bronze--al her own work. It was an exquisite exhibition, and I was proud that it was the work of one of my countrywomen.
In 1897 Mr. Storer was appointed United States minister to Belgium, and Mrs. Storer took a Japanese artist, Asano, to Brussels, to instruct her in bronze work. Two years later Mr. Storer's mission was changed to Spain, and there Mrs. Storer continued, under Asano's guidance, her work in bronze, some of the results being seen in the mounting of her pottery.
At present Mr. Storer is our Ambassador to Austria, and Mrs. Storer writes me that she hopes to continue her work in bronze in Vienna.
In the summer of 1903 Mrs. Storer was in Colorado Springs, where she was much interested in the pottery made by Mr. Van Briggle. She became one of the directors of the Van Briggle Pottery Company, and encouraged the undertaking most heartily.
<b>STUMM, MAUD.</b> Born in Cleveland, Ohio. Pupil of Art Students' League under Kenyon Cox and Siddons Mowbray, and of Oliver Merson in Paris, where her painting was also criticised and approved by Whistler. Her earliest work was flower painting, in which she gained an enviable reputation.
In Paris she began the study of figure painting, and her exhibition at the Salon was favorably received, the purity and brilliancy of her coloring being especially commended.
Several of Miss Stumm's pictures are wel known by reproductions. Among these is the "Mother and Child," the original of which is owned by Mr.
Patterson, of the Chicago _Tribune_. Her calendars, too, are artistic and popular; some of these have reached a sale of nearly half a million.
A series of studies of Sarah Bernhardt, in pastel, and a portrait of Julia Marlowe are among her works in this medium. Many of her figure subjects, such as "A Venetian Matron" and "A Violinist," are portraits, not studies from professional models.
This artist has painted an unusual variety of subjects, but is ambitious in still another department of painting--decorative art--in which she believes she could succeed.
Her works are seen in the exhibitions of the Society of American Artists and of the American Water-Color Society.
<b>SWOBODA, JOSEPHINE.</b> Born in Vienna, 1861. Pupil of Laufberger and I.
V. Berger. This portrait artist has been successful and numbers among her subjects the Princess Henry of Prussia, the late Queen of England, whose portrait she painted at Balmoral in 1893, the Minister Bauhaus, and several members of the royal house of Austria. The portrait of Queen Victoria was exhibited at the Water-Color Club, Vienna.
She also paints charming miniatures. Her pictures are in both oil and water-colors, and are praised by the critics of the exhibitions in which they are seen.
<b>SWOPE, MRS. KATE.</b> Honorable mention at National Academy of Design, 1888; honorable mention and gold medal, Southern Art League, 1895; highest award, Louisville Art League, 1897. Member of Louisville Art League. Born in Louisville, Kentucky. Pupil of Edgar Ward and M. Flagg in New York, and later of B. R. Fitz.
Mrs. Swope devotes herself almost entirely to sacred subjects. The pictures that have been awarded medals are Madonnas. She prefers to paint her pictures out of doors and in the sunlight, which results in her working in a high key and, as she writes, "in tender, opalescent color."
One of her medal pictures is the "Head of a Madonna," out of doors, in a hazy, blue shadow, against a background of grapevine foliage. The head is draped in white; the eyes are cast down upon the beholder. A sun spot kisses the white draperies on the shoulder. It is a young, girlish face, but the head is suggestive of great exaltation.
A second picture which received an award was a "Madonna and Child," out of doors. The figure is half life size. Dressed in white, the Madonna is stretched at full length upon the grass. Raised on one arm, she gazes into the face of the infant Christ Child.
Mrs. Swope has had success in pastel, in which, not long since, she exhibited a "Mother and Child," which was much admired. The mother--in an arbor--held the child up and reverently kissed the cheek. It was cal ed
"Love," and was exhibited in New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago.
Mrs. Swope's most ambitious work--five by three feet in size--represents an allegorical subject and is cal ed "Revelation."
<b>SUES, MLLE. LEA.</b> Three silver medals from the School of Arts, Geneva; diploma of honor at the National Swiss Exposition, 1896. Member of l'Athenee, Geneva. Born at Genoa and studied there under Professors Gillet, Poggy, and Castan.
This artist paints landscapes, Swiss subjects principal y. Her pictures of Mont Blanc and Chamounix are popular and have been readily sold. They are in private collections in several countries, and when exhibited have been praised in German and French as wel as in Swiss publications.
<b>SYAMOUR, MME. MARGUERITE.</b> Honorable mention, 1887; bronze medal at Exposition at Lyons. Born at Brery, 1861. Pupil of Mercie. Her principal works are a plaster statue, "New France," 1886, in the Museum of Issoudun; a statue of Voltaire; a plaster statue, "Life"; a plaster group, the "Last Farewel s"; a statue of "Diana," in the Museum of Amiens; a great number of portrait busts, among them those of Jules Grevy, Flammarion, J. Claretie, etc.
At the Salon, Artistes Francais, 1902, this artist exhibited a "Portrait of M. G. L.," and in 1904 "A Vision" and "La Dame aux Camelias."
<b>TAYLOR, ELIZABETH V.</b> Sears prize, Boston Art Museum; bronze medal, Nashville Exposition, 1897. Member of the Copley Society, Boston. Pupil of E. C. Tarbel and Joseph de Camp in the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
This artist paints portraits in miniature and in life size. Her works are numerous and have been seen in many exhibitions.
<b>THAULOW, MME. ALEXANDRA.</b> Wife of the great Scandinavian painter.
This lady is an artist in bookbinding and her work is much admired. A writer, H. F., says, in the _Studio_, December, 1903: "When the exhibition of bookbinding was held some time ago at the Musee Galliera, Madame Thaulow's showcase attracted attention by its variety and its grace. The charm of these bindings lies in the fact that they have none of the massive heaviness of so many productions of this kind. One should be able to handle a book with ease, and not be forced to rest content with beholding it displaying its beauties behind glass or on the library shelf; and Madame Thaulow understood this perfectly when she executed the bindings now reproduced here. But these bindings are interesting not only from the standpoint of their utility and intelligent application; their ornamentation delights one by its graceful interpretation of Nature, rendered with a very special sense of decoration; moreover, the coloring of these mosaics of leather is restrained and fresh, and the hollyhocks and the hortensias, the bunches of mistletoe and the poppies, which form some of her favorite _motifs_, go to make up a delicious symphony."
<b>THEVENIN, MARIE ANNE ROSALIE.</b> Medals at the Salons of 1849, 1859, 1861. Born at Lyons. Pupil of Leon Cogniet. Portrait and figure painter.
Among her pictures the following are noticeable: "Flora McIvor and Rose Bradwardine," 1848; "Portrait of Abbe Jacquet," 1859; "Portrait of a Lady," 1861.
<b>THOMAS-SOYER, MME. MATHILDE.</b> Honorable mention, 1880; third-class medal, 1881; bronze medal, Exposition, 1889. Born at Troyes, 1859. Pupil of Chapu and Cain. The principal works of this sculptor are: "A Russian Horse"; "Lost Dogs"; "Russian Greyhounds"; "Huntsmen and a Poacher," in the Museum of Semur; "Combat of Dogs," purchased by the Government; "Cow and Calf," in the Museum of Nevers; "Stag and Bloodhound," in the Museum of Troyes, etc.
At the Salon, Artistes Francais, 1902, Mme. Thomas-Soyer exhibited "An Irish Setter and a Laverock," and in 1903 "Under the White Squal ."
<b>THORNYCROFT, MARY.</b> Born 1814; died 1895. Daughter of John Francis, the sculptor, whose pupil she was. This artist exhibited at the Royal Academy when very young. Her first important work was a life-size figure called "The Flower-Girl." In 1840 she married Thomas Thornycroft, and went to Rome two years later, spending a year in study there. Queen Victoria, after her return, commissioned her to execute statues of the royal children as the Four Seasons. These were much admired when exhibited at the Academy. Later she made portrait statues and busts of many members of the royal family, which were also seen at the Academy Exhibition.
In his "Essays on Art," Palgrave wrote: "Sculpture has at no time numbered many successful followers among women. We have, however, in Mrs.
Thornycroft, one such artist who, by some recent advance and by the degrees of success which she has already reached, promises fairly for the art. Some of this lady's busts have refinement and feeling."
<b>THURBER, CAROLINE NETTLETON.</b> Born in Oberlin, Ohio. Pupil of Howard Helmick in Washington, and of Benjamin Constant and Jean Paul Laurens in Paris.
In 1898 Mrs. Thurber took a studio in Paris, where her first work was the portrait of a young violinist, which was exhibited in the Salon of the fol owing spring. This picture met with immediate favor with the public, the art critics, and the press. The Duchess of Sutherland, upon seeing it, sent for the artist and arranged for a portrait of her daughter, which was painted the following autumn while Mrs. Thurber was a guest at Dunrobin Castle. This portrait was subsequently exhibited in London and Liverpool.
Mrs. Thurber has painted portraits of many persons of distinction in Paris, among them one of Mlle. Ol ivier, only daughter of Emile Ollivier, president of the Academie Francaise. Monsieur Ol ivier, in a personal note to the artist, made the following comment upon the portrait of his daughter: "How much I thank you for the portrait of my daughter; it lives, so powerful y is it colored, and one is tempted to speak to it."
Mrs. Thurber is an exhibitor in the Salon, Royal Academy, and New Gal ery, London, and other foreign exhibitions, as wel as in those of this country.
She now has a studio in the family home at Bristol, Rhode Island, on Narragansett Bay, where she works during half the year. In winter she divides her time among the larger cities as her orders demand. While Mrs.
Thurber's name is well known through her special success in the portraiture of children, she has painted many prominent men and women in Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, and New England.
Among her later portraits are those of Mrs. James Sul ivan, one of the lady commissioners of the St. Louis Exposition; Lieut.-Gen. Nelson A.
Miles; Albert, son of Dr. Shaw, editor of the _Review of Reviews_; Mrs.
A. A. F. Johnston, former Dean of Oberlin College; Augustus S. Miller, mayor of Providence; Hon. L. F. C. Garvin, governor of Rhode Island; and Judge Austin Adams, late of the Supreme Court of Iowa.
<b>THURWANGER, FELICITE CHASTANIER.</b> This remarkable artist, not long since, when eighty-four years old, sent to the exhibition at Nice--which is, in a sense, a branch of the Paris Salon--three portraits which she had just finished. "They were hung in the place of honor and unanimously voted to belong to the first class."
Mme. Thurwanger was the pupil of Delacroix during five years. The master unconsciously did his pupil an injury by saying to her father: "That daughter of yours is wonderful y gifted, and if she were a man I would make a great artist of her." Hearing this, the young artist burst into tears, and her whole career was clouded by the thought that her sex prevented her being a really great artist, and induced in her an abnormal modesty. This occurred about forty-five years ago; since then we have signally changed al that!
Delacroix, who was an enthusiast in color, was the leader of one school of his time, and was opposed by Ingres, who was so wanting in this regard that he was accused of being color-blind.
Mme. Thurwanger had a curious experience with these artists. When but seventeen she was commissioned by the Government to copy a picture in the Louvre. One morning, when she was working in the Gal ery, Ingres passed by and stopped to look at her picture. He examined it carefully, and with an expression of satisfaction said: "I am so very glad to see that you have the true idea of art! Remember always that there is no color in Nature; the outline is all; if the outline is good, no matter about the coloring, the picture will be good."
This story would favor the color-blind theory, as Ingres apparently saw color neither in the original nor the copy.
An hour later Delacroix came to watch the work of his pupil, and after a few minutes exclaimed: "I am so happy, my dear girl, to see that you have the true and only spirit of art. Never forget that in Nature there is no line, no outline; everything is color!"
In 1852 Mme. Thurwanger was in Philadelphia and remained more than two years. She exhibited her pictures, which were favorably noticed by the Philadelphia _Enquirer_. In July of the above year her portraits were enthusiastical y praised. "Not a lineament, not a feature, however trivial, escapes the all-searching eye of the artist, who has the happy faculty of causing the expression of the mind and soul to beam forth in the life-like and speaking face."
In October, 1854, her picture of a "Madonna and Child" was thus noticed by the same paper: "For brilliancy, animation, maternal solicitude, form, grace, and feature, it would be difficult to imagine anything more impressive. It is in every sense a gem of the pictorial art, while the execution and finish are such as genius alone could inspire."
<b>TIRLINKS, LIEWENA.</b> Born in Bruges, a daughter of Master Simon. This lady was not only esteemed as an artist in London, but she won the heart of an English nobleman, to whom she was given in marriage by Henry VIII.
Her miniatures were much admired and greatly in fashion at the court.
Some critics have thought the Tirlinks to be the same person with Liewena Bennings or Benic, whose story, as we know it, is much the same as the above.
<b>TORMOCZY, BERTHA VON.</b> Diploma of honor, Budapest and Agram. Born at Innspruck, 1846. Pupil of Hausch, Her, and Schindler. Among her pictures are "Girl in the Garden," "Blossoming Meadows," "Autumn Morning," and a variety of landscapes.
<b>TORO, PETRONELLA.</b> A painter of miniatures on ivory which have attained distinction. Among those best known are the portraits of the Prince of Carignano, Duke Amadeo, and the Duchess d'Aosta with the sons of the Prince of Carignano. She has painted a young woman in an antique dress and another in a modern costume. Her works are distinguished by firmness of touch and great intelligence. She has executed some most attractive landscapes.
<b>TREU, OR TREY, KATHARINA.</b> Born at Bamberg. 1742-1811. A successful painter of flowers and still-life. Her talent was remarkable when but a child, and her father, who was her only master, began her lessons when she was ten years old. When still young she was appointed court painter at Mannheim, and in 1776 was made a professor in the Academy at Duesseldorf. Her pictures are in the Galleries of Bamberg and Carlsruhe, and in the Darmstadt and Stuttgart Museums.
<b>URRUTIA DE URMENETA, ANA GERTRUDIS DE.</b> Member of the Academy of Fine Arts, Cadiz, 1846. Born in Cadiz. 1812-1850. She began the study of drawing with Javier, and after her marriage to Juan Jose de Urmeneta, professor of painting and sculpture and director of the Cadiz Academy, continued her work under his direction. A "St. Filomena" and
"Resurrection of the Body," exhibited in 1846, are among her best pictures. Her "St. Jeronimo" is in the new cathedral at Cadiz, and the Academy has shown respect to her memory by placing her portrait in the room in which its sessions are held.
<b>VIANI, MARIA.</b> Born at Bologna. 1670-1711. I find no reliable biographical account of this artist, whose name appears in the catalogue of the Dresden Gallery as the painter of the "Reclining Venus, lying on a blue cushion, with a Cupid at her side."
<b>VERELST, MARIAN.</b> Born in 1680. This artist belonged in Antwerp and was of the celebrated artistic family of her name. She was a pupil of her father, Hermann, and her uncle, Simon Verelst. She became famous for the excel ent likenesses she made and for the artistic qualities of her smal portraits.
Like so many other artists, she was distinguished for accomplishments outside her art. She was a fine musician and a marvel in her aptitude in acquiring both ancient and modern languages. A very interesting anecdote is related of her, as follows: When in London, one evening at the theatre she sat near six German gentlemen, who expressed their admiration of her in the most flattering terms of their language, and at the same time observed her so closely as to be extremely rude. The artist, in their own tongue, remarked that such extravagant praise was the opposite of a compliment. One of them repeated his words in Latin, when she again replied in the same language. The strangers then asked her if she would give them her name. This she did and further told them that she lived with her uncle, Simon Verelst. In the end she painted the portrait of each of these men, and the story of their experience proved the reason for the acquaintance of the artist being sought by people of culture and position. Walpole speaks in praise of her portraits and also mentions her unusual attainments in languages.
<b>VIGEE, MARIE LOUISE ELIZABETH.</b> Member of the French Academy. Born in Paris in 1755. That happy writer and learned critic, M. Charles Blanc, begins his account of her thus: "Al the fairies gathered about the cradle of Elizabeth Vigee, as for the birth of a little princess in the kingdom of art. One gave her beauty, another genius; the fairy Gracious offered her a pencil and a palette. The fairy of marriage, who had not been summoned, told her, it is true, that she should wed M. Le Brun, the expert in pictures--but for her consolation the fairy of travellers promised her that she should bear from court to court, from academy to academy, from Paris to Petersburg, and from Rome to London, her gayety, her talent, and her easel--before which al the sovereigns of Europe and all those whom genius had crowned should place themselves as subjects for her brush."
[Illustration: A FRENCH PRINCE
MARIE VIGEE LE BRUN]
It is difficult to write of Madame Le Brun in outline because her life was so interesting in detail. Though she had many sorrows, there is a halo of romance and a brilliancy of atmosphere about her which marks her as a prominent woman of her day, and her autobiography is charming--it is so alive that one forgets that she is not present, tel ing her story!
The father of this gifted daughter was an artist of moderate ability and made portraits in pastel, which Elizabeth, in her "Souvenirs," speaks of as good and thinks some of them worthy of comparison with those of the famous Latour. M. Vigee was an agreeable man with much vivacity of manner. His friends were numerous and he was able to present his daughter to people whose acquaintance was of value to her. She was but twelve years old at the time of his death, and he had already so encouraged her talents as to make her future comparatively easy for her.
Elizabeth passed five years of her childhood in a convent, where she constantly busied herself in sketching everything that she saw. She tel s of her intense pleasure in the use of her pencil, and says that her passion for painting was innate and never grew less, but increased in charm as she grew older. She claimed that it was a source of perpetual youth, and that she owed to it her acquaintance and friendship with the most delightful men and women of Europe.
While still a young girl, Mlle. Vigee studied under Briard, Doyen, and Greuze, but Joseph Vernet advised her to study the works of Italian and Flemish masters, and, above all, to study Nature for herself--to follow no school or system. To this advice Mme. Le Brun attributed her success.
When sixteen years old she presented two portraits to the French Academy, and was thus early brought to public notice.
When twenty-one she married M. Le Brun, of whom she speaks discreetly in her story of her life, but it was wel known that he was of dissipated habits and did not hesitate to spend all that his wife could earn. When she left France, thirteen years after her marriage, she had not so much as twenty francs, although she had earned a million!
She painted portraits of many eminent people, and was esteemed as a friend by men and women of culture and high position. The friendship between the artist and Marie Antoinette was a sincere and deep affection between two women, neither of whom remembered that one of them was a queen. It was a great advantage to the artist to be thus intimately associated with her sovereign lady. Even in the great state picture of the Queen surrounded by her children, at Versailles, one realizes the tenderness of the painter as she lovingly reproduced her friend.
Marie Antoinette desired that Mme. Le Brun should be elected to the Academy; Vernet approved it, and an unusual honor was shown her in being made an Academician before the completion of her reception picture. At that time it was a great advantage to be a member of the Academy, as no other artists were permitted to exhibit their works in the Salon of the Beaux-Arts.
Mme. Le Brun had one habit with which she al owed nothing to interfere, which was taking a rest after her work for the day was done. She cal ed it her "calm," and to it she attributed a large share of her power of endurance, although it lost her many pleasures. She could not go out to dinner or entertain at that hour. The evening was her only time for social pleasures. But when one reads her "Souvenirs," and realizes how many notable people she met in her studio and in evening society, it scarcely seems necessary to regret that she could not dine out!
Mme. Le Brun was at one period thought to be very extravagant, and one of her entertainments caused endless comments. Her own account of it shows how greatly the cost was exaggerated. She writes that on one occasion she invited twelve or fifteen friends to listen to her brother's reading during her "calm." The poem read was the "Voyage du jeune Anacharsis en Grece," in which a dinner was described, and even the receipts for making various sauces were given. The artist was seized with the idea of improvising a Greek supper.
She summoned her cook and instructed her in what had been read. Among her guests were several unusual y pretty ladies, who attired themselves in Greek costumes as nearly as the time permitted. Mme. Le Brun retained the white blouse she wore at her work, adding a veil and a crown of flowers.
Her studio was rich in antique objects, and a dealer whom she knew loaned her cups, vases, and lamps. Al was arranged with the effect an artist knows how to produce.
As the guests arrived Mme. Le Brun added here and there an element of Grecian costume until their number was sufficient for an effective _tableau vivant_. Her daughter and a little friend were dressed as pages and bore antique vases. A canopy hung over the table, the gue