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Frère, whose pictures no longer enjoy the popularity of former times, the Royal Academy was not regarded a desirable medium of advertisement or publicity.

Gambart's annual exhibitions for many years served the purpose of introducing French art to English collectors; but his enterprise was not long before it gave birth to rivals. In 1872 a Society of French Artists was established at 168 New Bond Street. This, like Gambart's, was a purely trade concern. The promoter was M. Durand Ruel, and his scheme received the patronage of eighteen French artists, among whom were Corot, Daubigny, Diaz, Dupré, Millet, and Ziem, and naturally the works of these men, with that of their colleagues, formed the mainstay of the annual exhibitions. The first exhibition was such a success that its com. position was changed five times during the season, for in 1873 the sixth and seventh exhibitions were held, and in each of these two later exhibitions works of Whistler were to be found.

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* The picture for which this extraordinary price was paid, Napoleon I. in the Campaign of Paris, 12 in. by 9 in., painted in 1862, was exhibited at the French Gallery in 1869, when it was bought by Mr. Ruskin for 1000 guineas. As will be seen from the name of the buyer, it returned to the French Gallery (in 1882), Mr. Ruskin obtaining a profit which left nothing to be desired.

It will be interesting now to turn to the records of the auctionroom and see how the works of the artists now so much in vogue fared under the severe ordeal of the hammer. Redford's "Art Sales," which brings the story up to the year 1886, is not a perfect source of information, but it is reliable as far as it goes. The minimum limits may be taken as 90 gs. for pictures and 50 gs. for drawings; the prices quoted in the Table on p. 90 almost exclusively relate to paintings in oils. The names of vendors and purchasers are given as revealing the identities of collectors and dealers who concerned themselves with this particular class of art. The name of the late railway magnate, Mr. J. Staats Forbes, predominates. He was one of the earliest collectors of the Barbizon school, and at his death his rooms were stacked with pictures of great value. His first sale in 1874 consisted of 163 pictures, nearly all of painters of the modern Continental schools, and the total of £20,704 5s. was apparent rather than real, seeing that most of the lots were bought in. Ten years later he had another sale, when 228 pictures made a total of £24,047 9s. 6d., but here again many were bought in. The absence of the name of a buyer may be taken to indicate that the reserve price was not reached.

From the number of pictures apparently bought in it is obvious that the English market was not yet ready to pay high prices for works by the leading artists of the modern French and Dutch schools. If however they failed to find full recognition in the sale-room, they were fully appreciated by a few collectors such as J. Staats Forbes, Sir John Day, and Mr. Alexander Young. Each of these collectors made a splendid collection, and each, it may be added, realised an enormous profit on their investments in modern pictures. That of Mr. Staats Forbes was sold in instalments by private contract; that of Sir John Day was sold in May last for nearly £95,000, or something like twice as much as it originally cost; and that of Mr. Alexander Young, head of the well-known firm of accountants, was sold to Messrs. Agnew and Messrs. Wallis for £525,000; it consisted of about 600 pictures and drawings. Of the three collectors, Mr. Young alone lived to witness the triumph of his investment.

The striking change which had come over the English market from 1887 to 1909 will be seen by comparing the following Table with that which deals with the earlier period.

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In the first list only five pictures reached four figures, in the second only four out of sixteen failed to reach 1000 gs., and all found purchasers-the sixteen pictures producing the enormous total of £47,880. There are those who do not believe that the Barbizon and modern Dutch school will continue to maintain the remarkable prices of the last season or two, and there are others equally confident that these men have come to stay. It is idle to speculate on the vagaries of fashion, and we must be content, for the present at least, with taking actualities as we find them.

Much might be written of the pioneer English collectors who pinned their faith and invested their money in these pictures, and doubtless the history of the formation of their collections would make excellent reading. Gambart's nephew, Mr. Lefevre, who has himself retired from active business life, is in possession of a quantity of interesting reminiscences which it is to be hoped may one day see the light. The object of this article, however, has been rather to sketch in outline the early stages of a commerce which has extended to vast proportions than to deal with it in detail. Mention however must be made of one who was probably the first Englishman to collect these pictures—the founder of the superb Wallace collection, the Marquis of Hertford. This

collection was made long before the disastrous war of 1870, and it includes examples of Rosa Bonheur, Corot, Diaz, Jules Dupré, Th. Rosseau, Troyon, Ziem, and an unmatched series of sixteen works by Meissonier. The Marquis was a connoisseur of fine taste and excellent judgment, and his purchases were made with a total disregard for the erratic ebb and flow of fashions in pictures. Choice examples of the painters of nearly every school appealed to him, and he purchased them whenever the opportunity occurred. The result of this is seen to-day at Hertford House, which contains one of the most perfect collections, not of pictures only, ever formed by one man in any age or country.

W. ROBERTS.

LESSONS OF THE TEST MATCHES

NEVER in the history of our national game has English first-class cricket undergone such a convulsion as the awakening in connection with the Test matches. For a considerable time some of us --who were called Jeremiahs, vitriolic cavillers, and so forthhad been suggesting that all was not for the best in connection with the best possible game; still the most rabid pessimist was not prepared for the disastrous "slump" in British batting. So bad were the performances to which the public were treated that it became obvious nerves even more than decadence of skill had to do with the actual poverty of result. Some degree of complacency may have been restored by the partial improvement in the English form at the final fixture at the Oval; yet it must be borne in mind that a draw was all that our visitors required, and after lunch-time on the first day it was never out of their power to obtain the needed, if undecisive, result.

It has been said that we have underrated the Australians. This I do not think is the case. Unquestionably they pulled themselves together after a forlorn start, and achieved no small feat in not losing a single game between the first and the fifth Test match. Yet this cannot be ascribed to preponderating ability on their part, but to the curious way in which they seemed to induce every opposing side to play far below its real form. Moreover, it must not be forgotten that our visitors take a widely different view of their engagements to what we do. They concentrate their attention on the Test matches, and regard the rest of the matches as more or less lucrative exhibition games. The mission of any Australian team is to win the rubber of representative matches, and the present side has achieved this handsomely. They have done so not by reason of their own overwhelming ability,

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