14 East 57th St. New York ar N.A. > ~_ i) ~ Robert C. Mi PAINTINGS BY THE LATE ROBERT C. MINOR, N.A. ON FREE VIEW AT THE AMERICAN ART GALLERIES FROM THURSDAY JANUARY 12rn, 1905, UNTIL THE DAY OF SALE, INCLUSIVE SALE AT THE AMERICAN ART GALLERIES ON THE EVENING OF WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18ru, 1905 PROMPTLY AT 8 O’CLOCK ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE PAINTINGS, PASTELS AND WATER COLORS ROBERT C. MINOR, N.A. TO BE SOLD AT UNRESTRICTED PUBLIC SALE BY ORDER OF DR. GEORGE M. MINOR, EXECUTOR ON WEDNESDAY EVENING, JANUARY 18TH BEGINNING PROMPTLY AT 8 O’CLOCK AT THE AMERICAN ART GALLERIES MADISON SQUARE SOUTH THE SALE WILL BE CONDUCTED BY THOMAS E. KIRBY OF THE AMERICAN ART ASSOCIATION, MANAGERS NEW YORK 1905 Press of Ji jc battle & Co; Astor Place. New York e: CONDITIONS OF SALE 1. The highest Bidder to be the Buyer, and if any dispute arise between two or more Bidders, the Lot so in dispute shall be im- mediately put up again and re-sold. 2. The Auctioneer reserves the right to reject any bid which is merely a nominal or fractional advance, and therefore, in his judgment, likely to affect the Sale injuriously. 3. The Purchasers to give their names and addresses, and to pay down a cash deposit, or the whole of the Purchase-money, if required, in default of which the Lot or Lots so purchased to be immediately put up again and re-sold. 4. The Lots to be taken away at the Buyer’s Expense and Risk within twenty-four hours from the conclusion of the Sale, and the remainder of the Purchase-money to be absolutely paid, or other- wise settled for to the satisfaction of the Auctioneer, on or before delivery; in default of which the undersigned will not hold them- selves responsible if the lots be lost, stolen, damaged, or destroyed, but they will be lefi at the sole risk of the Purchaser. 5. While the undersigned wil] not hold themselves responsible for the correctness of the description, genuineness, or authen- ticity of, or any fault or defect in, any Lot, and make no War- ranty whatever, they will, upon receiving previous to date of Sale trustworthy expert opinion in writing that any Painting or other Work of Art is not what it is represented to be, use every effort on their part to furnish proof to the contrary; fail- ing in which, the object or objects in question will be sold subject to the declaration of the aforesaid expert, he being liable to the Owner or Owners thereof, for damage or injury occasioned thereby. 6. To prevent inaccuracy in delivery, and inconvenience in the settlement of the Purchases, no Lot can, on any account, be re- moved during the Sale. 7. Upon failure to comply with the above conditions, the money deposited in part payment shall be forfeited; all Lots uncleared within one day from conclusion of Sale shall be re-sold by public or private sale, without further notice, and the deficiency (if any) attending such re-sale shall be made good by the defaulter at this Sale, together with all charges attending the same. This Con- dition is without prejudice to the right of the Auctioneer to en- force the contract made at this Sale, without such re-sale, if he thinks fit. 8. The undersigned are in no manner connected with the business of the cartage or packing and shipping of purchases, and although they will afford to purchasers every facility for em- ploying careful carriers and packers, they will not hold them- _ selves responsible for the acts and charges of the parties engaged for such services. Tur AMERICAN ART ASSOCIATION, Mawnacers THOMAS E. KIRBY, AvctioneEr. PREFATORY NOTE In the early seventies a group of young American art students, pursuing the exacting curriculum of the Antwerp Academy of Fine Arts, found themselves persuaded thai | there was something beyond the horizon which bounded the erypt-like class-rooms of that venerable institution, and began to look outside into the world of art, which they were soon to enter upon with the youthful anticipations of speedy success. ‘The mentor of this little coterie of enthu- siastic young men was a newcomer, himself a student, but a student with a more settled purpose and a more reason- able and logical ambition than any of us. Compared with his enthusiasm, our emotions seemed tame and cold; we dreamed over processes, he gloried in results. We believed in the school of the Netherlands with a faith that was al- most. religious; he awakened our interest and developed our belief in the school of France. Our ideas were cramped and narrow because we had been long preoccupied with the absorbing study of the rudiments of the profession; his views on art were broad because, although he could not yet claiin a place in the ranks of artists, he had been in close touch with some of the eminent men.in the profession and had gained from this intercourse a balance of judgment: which no student in the Academy possessed. That new- comer was Robert Crannel Minor, and, although he came as a stranger to most of us, his influence made itself felt at once. | He had been painting a year or two in America, latterly under the direction, of Alfred C. Howland,;. whose pro- ficiency was a great stimulus to his ambition. While work- ing with Howland he began to feel that if he was to make a success as a landscape painter, it was necessary for him to seek his inspiration at the fountain head. This idea grew until he could no longer resist the call, and he left New York and joined the colony of painters in Barbizon at the time when that school was in the apogee of its suc- cess. He worked hard for a season there under the per- sonal influence and more or less under the direction of Diaz until, probably overpowered by the splendor of the accomplishment of his master and recognizing his own lack of training, he came to Antwerp to study under Van Luppen, a landscape painter of wide renown and with an admirable technique. From him he learned the deliberate method of the Netherland school, and for a time it seemed as if he would be so influenced by this method that he would be in danger of losing that point of view in art which distinguished him above his fellow-students. But he was only acquiring the alphabet, and he had the good judg- ment to strike out for himself as soon as he had become familiar with the method which the Flemish master was so well qualified to teach. From that time to the end of his career he did not turn aside in any notable instances from his chosen path, and the influence of the Barbizon school of landscape, which was the strongest power in directing his efforts at the beginning, remained potent with him to the end. The collection of pictures he left behind him amply proves that he was an ardent student of nature and that, while he did not attempt to cover a wide range of motives, cither in composition or in effect, he was absorbed with the effort to express the charm of the hour when the land- scape takes on its most suggestive and enchanting aspect, the dawn or the approaching twilight.