bove five
hundred for oils. An artist almost always does wrong who puts more work
than these prices will remunerate him for into any single canvas--his
talent would be better employed in painting two pictures than one so
elaborate. The water-colour painters also are getting into the habit of
making their drawings too large, and in a measure attaching their price
rather to breadth and extent of touch than to thoughtful labour. Of
course marked exceptions occur here and there, as in the case of John
Lewis, whose drawings are wrought with unfailing precision throughout,
whatever their scale. Hardly any price can be remunerative for such
work.]

103. There is, however, another point, and a still more important one,
bearing on this matter of purchase, than the keeping down of prices to
a rational standard. And that is, that you pay your prices into the
hands of living men, and do not pour them into coffins.

For observe that, as we arrange our payment of pictures at present, no
artist's work is worth half its proper value while he is alive. The
moment he dies, his pictures, if they are good, reach double their
former value; but, that rise of price represents simply a profit made by
the intelligent dealer or purchaser on his past purchases. So that the
real facts of the matter are, that the British public, spending a
certain sum annually in art, determines that, of every thousand it pays,
only five hundred shall go to the painter, or shall be at all concerned
in the production of art; and that the other five hundred shall be paid
merely as a testimonial to the intelligent dealer, who knew what to buy.
Now, testimonials are very pretty and proper things, within due limits;
but testimonial to the amount of a hundred per cent. on the total
expenditure is not good political economy. Do not, therefore, in
general, unless you see it to be necessary for its preservation, buy the
picture of a dead artist. If you fear that it may be exposed to contempt
or neglect, buy it; its price will then, probably, not be high: if you
want to put it into a public gallery, buy it; you are sure, then, that
you do not spend your money selfishly: or, if you loved the man's work
while he was alive, and bought it then, buy it also now, if you can see
no living work equal to it. But if you did not buy it while the man was
living, never buy it after he is dead: you are then doing no good to
him, and you are doing some shame to yourself. Look around you