Page:A tribute to W. W. Corcoran, of Washington City (IA tributetowwcorco00boul).pdf/36

 true delineation of Niagara Falls, with its fine coloring, and all the force and beauty of the subject, won some of the highest encomiums at the Paris Exposition of 1867; and this is but one of the many works that have been received with favor, not only upon our own shores, where we are prone to lean kindly to our people, but across the sea in classic lands, where "high art" can only be reached by climbing up to the altitude of the stars. There is at the same time with all the excellence referred to, a great deal of the "wild growth" of talent among us; some artists having a fondness for accumulation, rather than a reputation gained by slow and sure means. Prolific art making rapid strides cannot he the offspring of ability, or even energy—it is but a dedication to waste subjects, and not the moral, social and religious truths that form the basis of all true talent. Apropos we are reminded at this juncture of a remark made by a foreign professor to an over-anxious student, intent on making himself an artist at railroad speed. "Ven you can walk den you shall run, my dear high-art student. if you will lofe high art, you must learn to live wyout de rozbif and de portare. Dere is only bread and vater for de student of high art. But hear vat I say. It is high art if dere is truth and nature in it. I have seen high art no bigger dan my hand. I have seen no art at all in canvas bigger dan dis room." Turn we to the famous Flemish painter, Antoine Wiertz, who studied art from the soul, and whose pecuniary gain was but a grain of sand compared with the golden fruits of his indomitable desire to excel. His works are of surpassing grandeur, and the word insignificance never entered his lofty mind. He was always the earnest student, honest and pure, and so far superior to thousands in his profession, that at his death Belgium lost her brightest star. Wiertz's