t. Yet there are certain
Academicians who paint like women for women, and instead of leaving it
to women receive all the honour and remuneration; and those having this
feminine art and spirit behave the worst to those whom they copy. The
pretty-pretty pictures of conventional coquetries which we have served
up year after year by the chefs of this pastry of art might be concocted
by the dainty fingers of the lady artist just as well as, or even better
than, by the effeminate man who takes her place and robs her of her
honours. But after all, are not the women themselves to blame? Art, I
hold, is nowadays purely a commercial affair. Burlington House is simply
a huge shop, and it is all nonsense to talk for one instant about the
encouragement it gives to art, or to take seriously the prosy platitudes
which are poured forth year by year at that picture tradesmen's
dinner--the Royal Academy Banquet. Women are not invited--women,
forsooth, whose works on the walls have done their share towards
bringing the shillings to the turnstiles of the Academy. But more
ridiculous still is the omission of lady patrons of art, for it is well
known that this feast is given with two objects--to advertise the coming
show, merely "chicken and champagne" in theatrical phraseology, and to
feast Mr. Cr[oe]sus, who buys the pictures of his host.

Now, it is the influence of women that makes the majority of men buy
pictures. Few men buy pictures to please themselves; they buy them to
please their wives. Why women are not patronised in art is for this
simple reason, that women would rather patronise the work of a fool, if
that fool be a man, than the work of a genius, if that genius happen to
be a woman. I agree with Mrs. Jopling, that "with men success is reached
with a fair wind and every favour, while with women those only succeed
who have the power of weathering many storms." Quite true. Grace Darling
will row out to help some feeble man struggling in the billows of
incompetency, but she will sit on a rock and see a woman sink before she
will stretch out a helping hand. If women fail in art, it is because
women fail to help them, and I hold that but for women we might even
to-day find the Royal Academy incapable of forming a quorum without
calling in lady artists, as they did before. I see that the two ladies
most qualified to speak about this subject disagree on the most
essential point. Mrs. E.M. Ward gives it as her opinion that if women
stu