London at the End of the Century:A Book of Gossip
a Beckett, Arthur William
1900
PAST AND PRESENT.
To sum up. The profession of an artist in London, instead of being considered as the of an idle dreamer, is now regarded as an excellent opening for a young man who can boast talent as well as birth and breeding. A successful artist must be a well-read and polished | |
244 | gentleman. Of course, like , he may shun society, but when face to face with his fellows he must be able to hold his own. Of course I do not say that genius may not raise an artist from the ranks as it raises men in every other walk of life from the same source. The stories of the Chancellors have told us that many a keeper of a sovereign's conscience has had forbears of the humblest origin. But such exceptions have proved the rule that in intellectual callings early associations with refinement are of the last importance. Nowadays family portraits intended to continue the series of centuries are painted by the artistic scions of the race depicted, and even millionaires find no fault with the occupation regarded from the standpoint of L. s. d. So given talent, there can be no pleasanter career for a man than that which makes a studio not only a place of recreation but a source of income. |
