Chapter 10

Allan Cunningham wrote of her thus: "Her birth entitled her to a life of ease and luxury; her beauty exposed her to the assiduity of suitors and the temptations of courts; but it was her pleasure to forget all such advantages and dedicate the golden hours of her youth to the task of raising a name by working in wet clay, plaster of Paris, stubborn marble, and still more intractable bronze."

Before she had seriously determined to attempt the realization of her dreams, she was brought to a decision by a caustic remark of the historian, Hume. Miss Conway was one day walking with him when they met an Italian boy with plaster vases and figures to sell. Hume examined the wares and talked with the boy. Not long after, in the presence of several other people, Miss Conway ridiculed Hume's taste in art; he answered her sarcastically and intimated that no woman could display as much science and genius as had entered into the making of the plaster casts she so scorned.

This decided her to test herself, and, obtaining wax and the proper tools, she worked industriously until she had made a head that she was willing to show to others. She then presented it to Hume; it has been said that it was his own portrait, but we do not know if this is true. At all events, Hume was forced to commend her work, and added that modelling in wax was very easy, but to chisel in marble was quite another task. Piqued by this scant praise she worked on courageously, and before long showed her critic a copy of the wax head done in marble.

Though Hume genuinely admired certain portions of this work, it is not surprising that he also found defects in it. Doubtless his critical attitude stimulated the young sculptress to industry; but the true art-impulse was awakened, and her friends soon observed that Miss Conway was no longer interested in their usual pursuits. When the whole truth was known, it caused much comment. Of course ladies had painted, but to work with the hands in wet clay and be covered with marble dust--to say the least, Miss Conway was eccentric.

She at once began the study of anatomy under Cruikshanks, modelling with Cerrachi, and the handling of marble in the studio of Bacon.

Unfortunately for her art, she was married at nineteen to John Darner, eldest son of Lord Milton, a fop and spendthrift, who had run through a large fortune. He committed suicide nine years after his marriage. It is said that Harrington, in Miss Burney's novel of "Cecilia," was drawn from John Damer, and that his wardrobe was sold for $75,000--about half its original cost!

Mrs. Damer was childless, and very soon after her husband's death she travelled in Europe and renewed her study and practice of sculpture with enthusiasm. By some of her friends her work was greatly admired, but Walpole so exaggerated his praise of her that one can but think that he wrote out of his cousinly affection for the artist, rather than from a judicial estimate of her talent. He bequeathed to her, for her life, his villa of Strawberry Hill, with all its valuables, and £2,000 a year for its maintenance.

Mrs. Damer executed many portrait busts, some animal subjects, two colossal heads, symbolic of the Thames and the Isis, intended for the adornment of the bridge at Henley. Her statue of the king, in marble, was placed in the Register Office in Edinburgh. She made a portrait bust of herself for the Uffizi Gallery, in Florence. Her portrait busts of her relatives were numerous and are still seen in private galleries. She executed two groups of "Sleeping Dogs," one for Queen Caroline and a second for her brother-in-law, the Duke of Richmond. Napoleon asked her for a bust of Fox, which she made and presented to the Emperor. A bust of herself which she made for Richard Payne Knight was by him bequeathed to the British Museum. Her "Death of Cleopatra" was modelled in relief, and an engraving from it was used as a vignette on the title-page of the second volume of Boydell's Shakespeare.

Those who have written of Mrs. Darner's art have taken extreme views. They have praised _ad nauseam_, as Walpole did when he wrote: "Mrs. Darner's busts from life are not inferior to the antique. Her shock dog, large as life and only not alive, rivals the marble one of Bernini in the Royal Collection. As the ancients have left us but five animals of equal merit with their human figures--viz., the Barberini Goat, the Tuscan Boar, the Mattei Eagle, the Eagle at Strawberry Hill, and Mr. Jennings' Dog--the talent of Mrs. Damer must appear in the most distinguished light."

Cerrachi made a full length figure of Mrs. Damer, which he called the Muse of Sculpture, and Darwin, the poet, wrote:

"Long with soft touch shall Damers' chisel charm, With grace delight us, and with beauty warm."

Quite in opposition to this praise, other authors and critics have severely denied the value of her talent, her originality, and her ability to finish her work properly. She has also been accused of employing an undue amount of aid in her art. As a woman she was unusual in her day, and as resolute in her opinions as those now known as strong-minded. Englishwoman as she was, she sent a friendly message to Napoleon at the crisis, just before the battle of Waterloo. She was a power in some political elections, and she stoutly stood by Queen Caroline during her trial.

Mrs. Damer was much esteemed by men of note. She ardently admired Charles Fox, and, with the beautiful Duchess of Devonshire and Mrs. Crewe, she took an active part in his election; "rustling their silks in the lowest sinks of sin and misery, and in return for the electors' 'most sweet voices' submitting, it is said, their own sweet cheeks to the salutes of butchers and bargemen." She did not hesitate to openly express her sympathy with the American colonies, and bravely defended their cause.

At Strawberry Hill Mrs. Damer dispensed a generous hospitality, and many distinguished persons were her guests; Joanna Baillie, Mrs. Siddons, Mrs. Garrick, and Mrs. Berry and her daughters were of her intimate circle.

She was fond of the theatre and frequently acted as an amateur in private houses. She was excellent in high comedy and recited poetry effectively. Mrs. Damer was one of the most interesting of Englishwomen at a period of unusual excitement and importance.

When seventy years old she was persuaded to leave Strawberry Hill, and Lord Waldegrave, on whom it was entailed, took possession. Mrs. Damer then purchased York House, the birthplace of Queen Anne, where she spent ten summers, her winter home being in Park Lane, London.

She bequeathed her artistic works to a relative, directed that her apron and tools should be placed in her coffin, and all her letters destroyed, by which she deprived the world of much that would now be historically valuable, since she had corresponded with Nelson and Fox, as well as with other men and women who were active in the important movements of her time. She was buried at Tunbridge, Kent.

DASSEL, MRS. HERMINIE, whose family name was Borchard. Daughter of a Prussian gentleman, who, having lost his fortune, came to the United States in 1839. His children had enjoyed the advantages of education and of an excellent position in the world, but here, in a strange land, were forced to consider the means of their support. Herminie determined to be a painter, and in some way earned the money to go to Düsseldorf, where she studied four years under Sohn, all the time supporting herself. Her pictures were genre subjects introducing children, which found a ready sale.

She returned to America, determined to earn money to go to Italy. In a year she earned a thousand dollars, and out of it paid some expenses for a brother whom she wished to take with her. Herminie was still young, and so petite in person that her friends were alarmed by her ambitions and strenuously opposed her plans. However, she persevered and reached Italy, but unfortunately the Revolution of 1848 made it impossible for her to remain, and she had many unhappy experiences in returning to New York.

Her pictures were appreciated, and several of them were purchased by the Art Union, then existing in New York. Soon after her return to America she married Mr. Dassel, and although she had a large family she continued to paint. Her picture of "Othello" is in the Düsseldorf Gallery. Her painting of "Effie Deans" attracted much attention.

Mrs. Dassel interested herself in charities and was admired as an artist and greatly respected as a woman. She died in 1857.

DEALY, JANE MARY--MRS. W. LLEWELLYN LEWIS. Silver medal at Royal Academy School and prize for best drawing of the year. Member of Royal Institute of Painters in Water-Colors. Born in Liverpool. Studied at Slade School and Royal Academy School. Has exhibited several years at the Royal Academy Exhibition and Institute of Painters in Water-Colors.

In 1901 her picture, "A Dutch Bargain," was etched and engraved. "Hush-a-Bye Baby" and "Good-by, Summer," have been published by Messrs. De la Rue et Cie. She has successfully illustrated the following children's books: "Sixes and Sevens," "The Land of Little People," "Children's Prayers," and "Children's Hymns."

To the Academy Exhibition of 1903 Mrs. Lewis sent "On the Mountain-side, Engelberg."

DE ANGELIS, CLOTILDE. This Neapolitan artist has made a good impression in at least two Italian exhibitions. To the National Exposition, Naples, 1877, she sent "Studio dal Vero" and "Vallata di Porrano," showing costumes of Amalfi. Both her drawing and color are good.

DEBILLEMONT-CHARDON, MME. GABRIELLE. Third-class medal, Salon, 1894; honorable mention at Paris Exposition, 1900; second-class medal, Salon, 1901. This miniaturist is well known by her works, in which so much grace, freshness, skill, and delicacy are shown; in which are represented such charming subjects with purity of tone and skilful execution in all regards, as well as with an incomparable spirit of attractiveness.

This artist is one of the three miniaturists whose works have a place in the Museum of the Luxembourg. She has had many pupils, and by her influence and example--for they endeavor to imitate their teacher--she has done much to improve and enlarge the style in miniature painting.

DE HAAS, MRS. ALICE PREBLE TUCKER. Born in Boston. Studied at the Cooper Union and with M. F. H. de Haas, Swain Gifford, William Chase, and Rhoda Holmes Nicholls. Painter of water-color pictures and miniatures.

Her pictures are in private hands in Washington, New York, and Boston.

The following article written at the time of an exhibition by Mrs. de Haas gives a just estimate of her work:

"Mrs. de Haas is especially devoted to the painting in water-color of landscape and sea views, for which the Atlantic coast affords such a wide and varied range. A constant and keen observer of Nature, she has seized her marvellous witchery of light and color, and reproduced them in the glow of the moonlight on the water when in a stormy mood, and the silvery gleam has become an almost vivid orange tint. She is most happy in the tender opalescent hues of the calm sea and the soft sky above, while the little boats seem to rock quietly on the water, barely stirred by the unruffled tide beneath.

"The sunset light is a never-failing source of variety and beauty, and Mrs. de Haas has found a most attractive subject in the steeple of the old church in York Village--whose graceful curves are said to have been designed by Sir Christopher Wren--as it rises above the soft mellow glow of the sky or is pictured against the dark clouds.

"In another mood the artist paints the low rocks among the reeds, with the breakers playing about them, while the distant sea stretches out to a horizon, with dark, stormy clouds brooding over the solitary waste. A remarkable union of the beauty of land and water is produced by a foreground of brilliant fancy flowers relieved by a scrubby tree in the background, with the faint responsive touch of yellow in the clouds over a calm sea, where gentle motion is only indicated by the little boat floating on its surface.

"The schooners on the Magnolia Shore with Norman's Woe in the distance suggest alike the tragic story of the past and the present beauty, for now the sea is calm and the sails are drying in the sun after the storm is over.

"Many other pictures might be mentioned--a quaint old house at Gloucester, a view of Ten Pound Island, with its picturesque surroundings, and the familiar beach, with Fort Head at York Harbor. As a specimen of landscape I would mention a picturesque group of trees at Gerrish Island, full of sunshine.

"But Mrs. de Haas has added another most attractive style of art to her resources, and her miniatures, besides their charm of simplicity of treatment and delicacy of coloring, are said to have the merit of faithful likeness to their originals. Of course portraits, being painted on commission, are not generally available for exhibition, but Mrs. de Haas has a few specimens of her work which warrant all that has been said in their praise.

"One is a charming picture of a child, which for beauty of delineation and delicacy of tinting recalls the memory of our greatest of miniature painters, Malbone.

"Another is the portrait of the artist's father, and is represented with such truth of nature and so much vitality of expression and character as at once to give rise to the remark, 'I must have known that man, he seems so living to me.'"

DE KAY, HELENA--MRS. R. WATSON GILDER. This artist has exhibited at the National Academy of Design, New York, since 1874, flower pieces and decorative panels. In 1878 she sent "The Young Mother." She was the first woman elected to the Society of American Artists, and to its first exhibition in 1878 she contributed "The Last Arrow," a figure subject, also a portrait and a picture of still-life.

[_No reply to circular_.]

DELACROIX-GARNIER, MME. P. Honorable mention, Salon des Artistes Français; medal at Exposition, Paris, 1900, for painting in oils; and a second medal for a treatise on water-colors. Member of the Société des Artistes Français, of the Union of women painters and sculptors, and vice-president from 1894 to 1900. Pupil of Henry Delacroix in painting in oils and of Jules Garnier in water-colors.

Mme. Delacroix-Garnier has painted numerous portraits; among them those of the Dowager Duchess d'Uzès, Jules Garnier, and the Marquis Guy de Charnac, the latter exhibited at the Salon des Artistes Français, 1903. At the same Salon in 1902 she exhibited the portrait of J. J. Masset, formerly a professor in the Paris Conservatory.

Among her pictures are the "Happy Mother," "Temptation," "Far from Paris," "Maternal Joys," and in the Salon des Artistes Français, 1903, "Youth which Passes."

DELASALLE, ANGÈLE. Honorable mention, Salon des Artistes Français, 1895; third-class medal, 1897; second-class medal, 1898; travelling purse, 1899; Prix Piot, of the Institute, 1899; silver medal, Paris Exposition, 1900. Member of the Société des Artistes Français, the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts, Société des prix du Salon et boursiers de voyage de la Société Nationale. Born in Paris. Pupil of Jean Paul Laurens and Benjamin-Constant.

Her picture of "Diana in Repose" is in the collection of Alphonse de Rothschild; "Return from the Chase," a prehistoric scene, purchased by the Government; "The Forge," in the Museum of Rouen, where is also a "Souvenir of Amsterdam." Portrait of Benjamin-Constant and several other works of Mlle. Delasalle are in the Luxembourg; other pictures in the collections Demidoff, Coquelin, Georges Petit, etc.

At the Salon des Artistes Français, 1902, this artist exhibited the portrait of M. Constant and the "Roof-Maker." At the Salon des Beaux-Arts, 1903, "The Park at Greenwich," "The Pont Neuf," "On the Thames," and a portrait in oils; and in water-colors, "The Coliseum, Rome," "A Tiger Drinking," "A Lion Eating," "Head of a Lion," "The Forge," etc.

In the _Magazine of Art_, June, 1902, B. Dufernex writes of Mlle. Delasalle essentially as follows: This artist came into notice in 1895 by means of her picture of "Cain and Enoch's Daughters." Since then her annual contributions have demonstrated her gradual acquirement of unquestionable mastery of her art. Her characteristic energy is such that her sex cannot be detected in her work; in fact, she was made the first and only woman member of the International Association of Painters under the impression that her pictures--signed simply A. Delasalle--were the work of a man. Attracted by the dramatic aspects of human nature, she finds congenial subjects in the great efforts of humanity in the struggle for life. Her power of observation enables her to give freshness to hackneyed subjects, as in "La Forge." The attitudes of the workmen, so sure and decided, turning the half-fused metal are perfect in the precision of their combined efforts; the fatigue of the men who are resting, overwhelmed and stupefied by their exhausting labor, indicates the work of a profound thinker; whilst the atmosphere, the play of the diffused glow of the molten metal, are the production of an innate colorist. Her portrait of Benjamin-Constant represents not only the masterful man, but is also the personification of the painter. The attentive attitude, discerning eye, the openness of the absorbing look, the cerebral mask where rests so much tranquil power, the impressive shape of the leonine face, all combine to make the painting one of the finest portraits of the French school.

She has a perfect and rare knowledge of the art of drawing and a faculty for seizing the character of things. Mlle. Delasalle exhibited her pictures at the Grafton Gallery, London, in 1902.

DELORME, BERTHE. Medals at Nîmes, Montpellier, Versailles, and London. Member of the Société des Artistes Français. Born at Paris. Pupil of A. Chaplin.

Mlle. Delorme has painted a great number of portraits, which are in the hands of her subjects. Her works are exhibited in the Salon au Grand Palais. In 1902 she exhibited a "Portrait of Mlle. Magdeleine D."

DEMONT-BRETON, VIRGINIE. Paris Salon, honorable mention, 1880; medals of third and second class, 1881, 1883; Hors Concours; gold medal at Universal Exposition, Amsterdam, 1883; Paris Expositions, 1889 and 1900, gold medals; medal of honor at Exposition at Antwerp; Chevalier of the Legion of Honor and of the Belgian Order of Leopold; officer of the Nichan Iftikhar, a Turkish order which may be translated "A Sign of Glory"; member and honorary president of the Union des femmes peintres et sculpteurs de France, of the Alliance Feminine, of the Alliance Septentrionale; fellow of the Royal Academy, Antwerp; member of the Société des Artistes Français; member of the committee of the Central Union of Decorative Arts and of the American National Institute; member of the Verein der Schriftstellerinnen und Künstlerinnen of Vienna; one of the founders of the Société Populaire des Beaux-Arts and of the Société de bienfaisance l'Allaitement Maternel, etc. Born at Courrière, Pas de Calais, 1859. Pupil of her father, Jules Breton.

The works of this artist are in a number of museums and in private collections in several countries. "La Plage" is in the Gallery of the Luxembourg, "Les Loups de Mer" in the Museum of Ghent, "Jeanne d'Arc at Domrémy" in a gallery at Lille; other pictures are in New York, Minneapolis, and other American cities; also in Berlin and Alexandria, Egypt.

At the Salon des Artistes Français, in 1902, Mme. Demont-Breton exhibited a picture of "Les Meduses bleues." The fish were left on the beach by the retreating water, and two nude children, a boy and a girl, are watching them with intense interest. The children are very attractive.

At the Salon of 1903 she exhibited "Seaweed." A strong young fisherwoman, standing in the water, draws out her net filled with shells, seaweed, and other products of the sea, while two nude children--again a boy and a girl--are selecting what pleases them in the mother's net.

At the exhibition of Les Femmes Peintres et Sculpteurs, in February, 1903, Mme. Demont-Breton exhibited the "Head of a Young Girl," which attracted much attention. Gray and sober in color, with a firmly closed mouth and serious eyes denoting great strength of character, it is admirably studied and designed and proves the unusual excellence of the art of this gifted daughter of Jules Breton. At the Exposition of Limoges, May to November, 1903, Mme. Demont-Breton was pronounced hors concours in painting.

DICKSON, MARY ESTELLE. Honorable mention, Paris Salon, 1896; bronze medal, Paris Exposition, 1900; honorable mention, Buffalo Exposition, 1901; third-class medal, Paris Salon, 1902.

[_No reply to circular_.]

DIÉTERLE, MME. M.

[_No reply to circular_.]

DIETRICH, ADELHEID. Born in Wittemberg, 1827. Daughter and pupil of Edward Dietrich, whose teaching she supplemented by travel in Italy and Germany. She made her home in Erfurt after her journeys and painted flower and fruit subjects. Her pictures were of forest, field, and garden flowers. They are much valued by their owners and are mostly in private collections.

DIETRICHSEN, MATHILDE--NÉE BONNEIRE. Born in Christiania, 1847. When but ten years old she began the study of art at Düsseldorf, under the direction of O. Mengelberg and Tideman. When but fifteen she married, at Stockholm, the historian of art, Dietrichsen. She travelled extensively, visiting Germany, France, Italy, and Greece. She passed three years in Rome. Her pictures show refined, poetic feeling as well as good taste and humor.

DILLAYE, BLANCHE. Silver medal at Atlanta Exposition, 1895; medal at American Art Society, 1902. Member of New York and Philadelphia Water-Color Clubs, American Women's Art Association, Paris; first president of Plastic Club, Philadelphia. Pupil of Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts; has also studied in Europe.

This artist makes a specialty of etching, and the medal she received at Atlanta was for a group of works in that art. She paints in water-colors, and has exhibited at the principal American exhibitions, in London, and in both Paris Salons. Her etchings have been widely noticed. At an early age she showed talent, and preferring etching as a mode of expression, she soon became noted for the qualities which have since made her famous, and is one of the best known among a group of women etchers. Her work, exhibited at the New York Etching Club, is conspicuous on account of its strength, directness, and firmness, allied to delicacy of touch.

"In Miss Dillaye's work one sees the influence of her wanderings in many lands; the quaintness of Holland landscapes, the quiet village life in provincial France, the sleepy towns in Norway, and the quietude of English woods."--_Success_, September, 1902.

DINA, ELISA. A Venetian figure and portrait painter. Is known through the pictures she has shown at many Italian exhibitions. At Venice, in 1881, she exhibited a graceful, well-executed work called "Caldanino della Nonna." "Di Ritorno dalla Chiesa" appeared at Milan in the same year. The latter, which represented a charming young girl coming out of church, prayer-book in hand, is full of sentiment. She sent to Turin, in 1884, "Popolana," which was much admired. Her portraits are said to be exceedingly life-like.

DRINGLINGER, SOPHIE FRIEDERICKE. Born in Dresden, 1736; died 1791. Pupil of Oeser in Leipzig. In the Dresden Gallery are seven miniatures by her of different members of the Dringlinger family. The head of this house was John Melchior Dringlinger, court jeweller of Augustus the Strong.