Page:Landscape Painting by Birge Harrison.djvu/144

LANDSCAPE PAINTING quality can be secured by the first-comer. If this were true, it would be the greatest of boons to the artistic profession. But, alas! the only real receipt for quality is to be born a colorist. The kind which is secured by simple recourse to the varnish-pot is a sadly spurious article, which will bring little pleasure to any one with a sensitive artistic organization. Quality which is obtained at the expense of truth is dearly bought, and varnish in itself does not make art. When, therefore, I am asked by students for the best way to secure quality in a picture, I feel inclined to paraphrase the reply of Oliver Wendell Holmes to the reporter who asked him the best way to make sure of a long life. "The best way," said the Autocrat, "is to select long-lived parents." [106]