Very different from Rothschild was Sir Thomas Lawrence, the painter.
Overwhelmed with work, he insisted on Audubon's remaining to his simple
breakfast of boiled eggs and coffee, called at his rooms later, examined
his drawings, and said he would bring a few purchasers, that very day.
"In about two hours," says Audubon, "he returned with two gentlemen, to
whom he did not introduce me, but who were pleased with my work, and one
purchased the 'Otter Caught in a Trap,' for which he gave me twenty
pounds sterling, and the other, 'A Group of Common Rabbits,' for fifteen
sovereigns. I took the pictures to the carriage which stood at the
door, and they departed, leaving me more amazed than I had been by their
coming.
"The second visit was much of the same nature, differing, however,
chiefly in the number of persons he brought with him, which was three
instead of two; each one of whom purchased a picture, at seven, ten, and
thirty-five pounds respectively; and, as before, the party and the
pictures left together in a splendid carriage with liveried footmen. I
longed to know their names, but, as Sir Thomas was silent respecting
them, I imitated his reticence in restraining my curiosity, and remained
in mute astonishment....
"Without the sale of these pictures, I was a bankrupt, when my work was
scarcely begun, and in two days more I should have seen all my hopes of
the publication blasted; for Mr. Havell, the engraver, had already
called to say that on Saturday I must pay him sixty pounds. I was then
not only not worth a penny, but had actually borrowed five pounds a few
days before, to purchase materials for my pictures. But these pictures
which Sir Thomas sold for me enabled me to pay my borrowed money, and to
appear full-handed when Mr. Havell called. Thus I passed the Rubicon!"
Blessings on thee, Sir Thomas Lawrence, carrying out Emerson's divine
motto, "Help somebody!"
But Audubon did something more than try to obtain subscribers for his
book. He says: "At that time I painted all day, and sold my work during
the dusky hours of evening, as I walked through the Strand and other
streets where the Jews reigned; popping in and out of Jew shops or any
others, and never refusing the offers made me for the pictures I carried
fresh from the easel. Startling and surprising as this may seem, it is
nevertheless true, and one of the curious events of my most
extraordinary life. Let me add here, that I sold seven copies of the
'Entrapped Otter,' in London, Manchester, and Liverpool, besides one
copy presented to my friend Mr. Richard Rathbone. In other pictures,
also, I have sold from seven to ten copies, merely by changing the
course of my rambles; and strange to say, that when, in after years and
better times, I called on the different owners to whom I had sold the
copies, I never found a single one in their hands."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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