In 1896 he painted his first ideal miniature, "The Golden Hour," now owned by Mr. Robert S. Clark of New York City. The idea of this exquisite picture developed from an effort of Mr. Baer's to paint in profile from memory the head of an auburn-haired girl that he had seen. A well-known English girl who had posed for Sir Edward Burne-Jones and Sir Frederick Leighton, happened then to call at his studio. Several sittings, in which a number of pencil and red chalk drawings were made, gave him an entirely different idea. The profile developed into a lovely dream picture, in which woman's crowning glory, her glowing hair, was poetically idealized. The picture shows two profiles, like twin sisters--the first with hair of dark copper tinge, the second at the left with hair of brilliant auburn, melting into the sunset colors of the sky. This was the first of a number of ideal works by Mr. Baer, and was followed at intervals by others of like charm. "Primevera," painted in 1908, which is Mr. Baer's most important and ambitious endeavor, represents Flora, the handmaiden of spring, and is a delicate color poem. Mr. Baer was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on January 29, 1860. He studied art in Cincinnati and in Munich. He returned to America in 1885, and for several years was an instructor in various art institutions. In 1897 he received the first-class medal for miniature and ideal subjects in New York, and he was an organizer and a former president of the American Society of Miniature Painters. Mr. Baer is at present treasurer of that society and an associate of the National Academy. PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR. VOL. 4. No. 23, SERIAL No. 123 COPYRIGHT, 1917, BY THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION, INC. [Illustration: MRS. BECKINGTON, BY ALICE BECKINGTON Actual size: 5-1/4 inches high, 4-3/8 inches wide. IN THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, NEW YORK CITY] _AMERICAN MINIATURE PAINTERS_ _Alice Beckington_ FOUR