Ohio History Journal

WILLIAM THOMAS MATHEWS.   [The following sketch of William T. Mathews, one of the most distinguished painters of our state and generation, was prepared by his brother, Major Charles H. Mathews, New Philadelphia, Ohio, and is a sympathetic tribute to the memory of the notable citizen, who was known as the "Buckeye Artist."- EDITOR.] William   T. Mathews, bachelor artist, was a resident of Washington, D. C., for ten or fifteen years previous to his death,

which occurred at the Emer- gency Hospital, January 11, 1905.  He was then in his eighty-fourth year. The fun- eral services were held at the apartments of Mrs. Matilda Mathews, sister-in-law, Can- ton, Ohio, Saturday after- noon, January 14, 1905. Ma- jor C. Mathews and Mr. E. P. Mathews, brothers of the deceased, were the nearest relatives in attendance. Be- ing a Spiritualist, the services were conducted along the line of that association by Mrs. Cora Morrell, of Grand Rap- ids, Mich., who was ordained by The National Spiritualist's Association at Washington.

D. C. His brother, Major C. H. Mathews, spoke briefly of the high character of the deceased. Both of the brothers were over eighty years of age, the Major being eighty-five. The remains were laid to rest in the West Lawn Cemetery, Canton: "Soul-soothing Art! which morning, noontide, even, Do serve with all their changeful pageantry; (396)

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Thou, with ambition modest yet sublime,

Here, for the sight of mortal man, hast given

To one brief moment caught from fleeting time,

The appropriate calm of blest eternity."

It is with much trepidation that the writer essays to do

simple justice to a dear junior brother, whose genial character

and lovely disposition charmed all who came within the halo

of his sacred and sublime influence. He was one of the most

unselfish men I ever knew:

"To trace each future of departed worth,

Distinguished excellence in fitting terms

Portray, and virtue eminent proclaim;

How vain the task! Alone, then let the hand

Of gratitude inscribe this simple truth,

Beloved by all he lives, by all lamented died."

In quiet garden spots of thought throughout the world, live

those who act as centers of influence. By the law of natural

affinity they draw toward them the good in whatever form found,

giving forth more abundantly than they receive. The fire of

aspiration ever glows in these places. One such sanctuary lies

under the roof of a towering building, far above the crowded

streets of a busy metropolitan.  Here dwells a master of art

and life. Over the door is the inscription, visible to grateful

patrons of the arts: "All ye who enter here, leave care behind."

Within sits the master, old in years, yet young, weaving the

spiritual truth and beauty of the ages into brilliant, many-hued

pictures. From invisibility there come forth, beneath the stroke

of his brush, visible creations of the eternal verities; embodiment

of great thoughts, supreme ideals, high endeavor and triumphant

achievement.

William  Thomas Mathews was born in Bristol, England,

May 7th, 1821. When he was about eight years old he was placed

under the tuition of Professor Corff, organist of the Bristol Ca-

thedral, under the auspices of "The Established Church of Eng-

land," where he was thoroughly catechized and attended school.

He had a fine soprano voice and was one of the leaders among

the twelve choristers in that time-honored cathedral, which dates

back nearly one thousand years. The great cathedral bell still

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swings just as it swung over the heads of the monks of St.

Augustine at their morning prayers six hundred years ago. The

cathedral and a grand old Norman gateway leading to quiet

precinct and echoing cloister, are all that now remain of the

splendid Abbey of the Augustine Order, demolished at the com-

mand of Henry VIII. when the monastic houses were dissolved.

All around us are the sculptured marble monuments; the floor

beneath our feet contains the tombstones of dead generations.

The organ music rises soft and slow:

"Untwisting all the chains that tie

The hidden soul of Harmony."

 

It was in these sacred and solemn precincts that our sub-

ject began his useful career. In the year 1833 the Mathews fam-

ily sailed for the United States. From the management of a

small farm in the vicinity of Canton, Ohio, William turned to

learn the process of making tinware from Henry Bockins, one

of the substantial business men of Canton's early days. The

time thus spent between '33 and '34 was regarded by the young

man of lofty ideals as time lost; in acquiring a business which

he never afterwards pursued.

In 1844 he taught a select school in Winnesburg, Holmes

county, Ohio. In the winter of 1845 he went to Cincinnati; at

least we find him there in February, 1846, saying: "I am going

to paint a picture for a young lady here, as I must have practice.

I have commenced a portrait of the lady I board with. Mr. Soule

says I ought to paint altogether from life. I practice a good

deal and learn something every day. I expect to commence a

portrait for a Mr. Barnes, a former printer in the Gazette office.

I have the use of a piano here and am improving on the guitar."

A Columbus paper, January, 1894, says: "Mr. Wm. T. Ma-

thews, who is painting Gov. McKinley's picture, began his ca-

reer as an artist in Cincinnati in 1845. He went there from

Canton, Ohio. He took with him several pictures as evidence

of his handiwork. His purse being light, he stopped 'Over the

Rhine.' His pictures he hung on the wall to beautify his room.

The German proprietor was attracted by a picture of 'Bos-

ton Harbor,' with sailing vessels. When Mr. Mathews returned

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the landlord asked the price and was told twenty dollars. He

said: 'You stop by me and I buy him.' The bargain was soon

made, and this was the first picture Mr. Mathews ever sold. A

local artist, Insco Williams, persuaded him that he was a natural

artist and that it would be wrong for him to fritter away time

at other business and offered him a position without pay in his

studio. Mr. Mathews is now recognized as one of the leading

portrait painters in the United States."  In speaking in later

years of this period of his life, he said: "My fortune was made.

I could see six weeks of undisturbed possession of myself. I

walked, or rather strode, down the street with the feeling of one

who owned about everything in sight. I passed a drug store

to which I had been recommended for a position with a sense

of relief and I called on my friend Mathias Weaver. He intro-

duced me to William Miller, the miniature painter, who intro-

duced me to Charles Soule, the leading portrait painter of Cin-

cinnati. He asked me what I was going to do in Cincinnati?

I showed him some of my work. He promptly said: 'You were

intended for a painter. Don't make the fatal blunder I did by

going at business not suited to your talents.' These words made

a deep impression on my mind. He asked me to call again, and

said: 'I live out of town. I would like this studio opened by

9 o'clock a. m. If you would like to come here and open up

and entertain callers, you can paint here as much as you like.'

This effectually disposed of the drug business. Some kind friends

had mentioned me favorably to the 'Gazette' people, and the next

thing I knew the great daily had blazed forth the news that

another artist had arrived and would join the group of artists

who were making the Queen City famous as the Cradle of Amer-

ican Art."

That Professor Mathews thought and studied deeply, is

evident from fugitive productions found among his papers. That

he did not leave a succinct autobiography is deeply to be re-

gretted.

"Art," says he, in a written essayette, "is the manifestation of

the Ideal of a people. This signifies that the artist is supposed to

take the most exalted and unbiased view of human character

and to depict it with fairness, always evincing a sacred regard

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William Thomas Mathews.                401   for truth; not that kind of regard which induces the artist to search for every little flaw and blemish on the surface, but to present the most favorable side of the subject and impress the spectator with the breadth and grandeur of Nature. American civilization leaves on the mind a sense of rawness and restless- ness; the imagination turns for relief to the future. There is no escaping the conclusion that there awaits America a material and moral destiny unparalleled in history, despite the aesthetic

barrenness of to-day. Of all the peo- ple of Italy who have made an im- pression on modern life, none inter- ests us more than the Etruscans; they have left a written language which no one can interpret. Stupen- dous works which time fails to de- stroy, and a high and suggestive art whose preservation is due to the silence of the grave during thirty centuries of slumber. If America, during her opportunity of material prosperity, does not secure a high position in Art and Literature, in her decadence she too will disappear from history as did Eutruria, leav- ing only a great shadow on the dial

plate of time." Mr. Mathews made painting a practical study for twenty- five years. He was a member of the National Academy of De- sign in New York, and was thought by his brother artists to have achieved success. His productions and the verdict of the art critics attest the genuineness of his reputation. A long, inti- mate and friendly association with the leading painters of this country, involving of course, a mutual comparison and inter- change of ideas, enabled him to speak somewhat authoritatively upon art matters. He said: "The popular idea of painters and the profession, is sometimes wide of the truth, very naturally. There is no great mystery about it; no saintly nor seraphic halo. Painting is a science as well as an art, and has certain definite Vol. XV.-26.

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402       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

rules and principles, the same as any other science which re-

quires careful study. A natural bent combined with great en-

thusiasm and industry are the requisites for success. The es-

sential principle of painting relate to outline or modeling-you

might call it drawing-and the variation of light and shade.

You can have a good picture by combining these skillfully,

without the use of color. On the other hand, skillful coloring

may make a tolerable picture out of indifferent outlines and

lights and shadows. An artist may be a great painter and lack

in color. He can hardly be so and lack in the other essentials.

Perfection in all is requisite in attaining the highest rank."

Near the close of his career it was the aim of Professor

Mathews to paint a thoroughly American picture of a represen-

tative American. He chose William McKinley as the highest type

of our nationality. When Artist Mathews was in Washington,

nearly twenty years ago, President McKinley was then chairman

of the Ways and Means Committee. He associated with him,

saw him in the halls of Congress, heard his speeches, walked

with him upon the streets, and was with him in his home. As

a sitter the artist says he found Mr. McKinley the same grave,

dignified, courteous, gentleman that he always was. It was one

of the desires of the artist that the portrait should show itself

a thoroughly apparent type of the American school, and one

that would commend itself to his countrymen. The portrait

sows the strong, uncompromising, qualities of the man, with his

conscious force disclosed in every feature. It presents the man

when fewer cares had been borne and lesser battles fought. The

picture, the artist hoped, was one that would be regarded as a

faithful portraiture of a man known the world over. Any one

with a critic's eye, who has seen the McKinley portrait by Mr.

Mathews can well understand Ex-Speaker Henderson's remark

to the artist: "Mr. Mathews," said Mr. Henderson, when the

portrait was on exhibition at the Corcoran Art Gallery in Wash-

ington, "the American people should never forget the service

you have rendered them in preserving the features of President

William McKinley in so truthful and artistic a manner."

The portrait of President McKinley was first publicly shown

in Pittsburgh a few years ago, where it attracted general at-

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William Thomas Mathews.               403   tention and received great commendation. The Pittsburgh daily from which we make our extract says: "Mr. Mathews has had a wide range of experience in art, and his portraiture has been largely of representative Americans. He painted two portraits of Bryant, the poet, that are highly regarded as faithful likenesses  and  admirable  works  of  art.  It  was   the friendship of this great poet and journalist, who was at that time editor of the Evening Post, and his kind and beautifully written criticisms, that helped along the artist, then struggling,

as all artists do, to have his pictures hung in the National Academy in New York, where, afterward, for twenty-five years, he was an exhib- itor. He has painted among others, pictures of Lincoln, Daniel Webster, 'Prince John' Van Buren, full-length portraits of Lincoln and Sumner for the South Carolina legislature. Also Gov. William Allen of Ohio, Gov. Richard M. Bishop of Ohio, James A. Garfield, two of Mr. McKinley and one of Mrs. McKinley. Mr. Mathews was regarded by all possessing powers of critical ap- preciation to be one of the greatest portrait artists of his day. He was

not only an adept in the technique of his profession, namely that of accurate and correct drawing, of the law of perspective, and a most delightful and successful colorist, but as a portrait painter he had that further and rarer gift of delineating the subjective character of his subject upon the canvas. This tribute to his proficiency is easily sustained by all of the portraits which he painted, and they were many. While the artist was more prom- inent before the public in the career of Mr. Mathews, his char- acter and qualities of mind were no less admirable. He was a most genial friend, a delightful conversationalist, enjoying ever the association of kindred spirits. He left behind him the mem-

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404         Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

 

ory of a mind equipped with rare accomplishments and of a char-

acter whose influence could not cease with his demise.

 

"Yes, the grave hath quenched that eye, and

Death's relentless frost,

Withered that arm: but the unfading fame

*       * *   the remembrance

With which the happy spirit contemplates

Its well-spent pilgrimage on earth,

Shall never pass away."

 

 

 

 

ODE FOR STANTON DAY.*

 

Written by Prof. George C. S. Southworth and read at the celebration

at Kenyon College, 26th April, 1906, in memory of her distinguished

son, Edwin McMasters Stanton.

 

I.

Statesman and Jurist, entered into rest

What time our grand Republic loosed her helm

After the toils of war! Among the blest

None shines more radiant in the heavenly realm

Than he, whose name our laureate honors overwhelm.

STANTON, the patient, fiery, masterful and bold,

Persistent, wielding freedom's sword of flame,

Man cast in the Arthurian, knightly mold

Whose blazon vibrates from the trump of fame

Down the resounding avenues of time the same.

As some fair star ascends the arch of night,

While round the pole the constellations wheel,

His good report mounts brighter and more bright,

Resplendent in the galaxy of commonweal:

Beside his tomb a reverent people kneel.

 

II.

His perfect courage in that hour awoke

When craven counsels paralyzed the arm

* See article on Edwin M. Stanton by Andrew Carnegie, page 291

supra.

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