Viewing page 387 of 607

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

364

studio and spent the day painting two little marine sketches and now have 39 small ones and three larger ones. I wonder if I will sell them. I am anxious to see whether the advertisement in the Century will be of any avail. If I cant sell these little pictures it seems to me I cant sell any thing. The Academy closes on Saturday night and I have heard of no offers being made for either of my pictures. I have a lot of money to pay and begin to feel anxious again. I had notes from Miss. Nesmith, Mrs. Anderson and Emma Brace to whom I sent cards for the Academy and a letter from Mary. When I came from my Studio at 4, it was snowing hard with the wind N.E. and now at 10 it is still snowing and the wind is blowing hard.

Thursday Dec. 16" 1886. Went down town this morning with the sleigh. We have excellent sleighing now. Sent the two boxes of Xmas presents to Lucy and had them registered. It was very cold and is still. This morning it was only 4° above zero. A tour of one or two schooners, several barges and boats drawn by eight steamers of various sizes left here yesterday and got through to Pokeepsie where they laid up for the night on account of the gale. Today they passed New Burgh all going well. It was the last chance as ice has formed rapidly today. I have worked all day in my studio and completed the 40" sketch. I find I can work there comfortably even in this cold weather. I am thinking of putting an advertisement of the Chester St. lots in the Freeman.

Friday 17" Walked down town and put an advertisement of the Chester St. lots in the Freeman to be inserted on the first page once each Saturday for 3 months for which I paid $7. I walked up to see the progress of the new toboggan slide. It was pretty cold but bright. I wore my patent ice creepers and when I reached home found I had lost one of them. I went over to my studio and worked until 3 o'clock painting a little morning landscape from one of my sketches at Arkville. Am worrying a little over my note which comes due the 27th. There was another of the exasperating notices of the Academy exhibition in the Tribune today.

Saturday 18" Snowed in the night and was still snowing this morning. I drove down town and got letters from Whittredge and Bowyer. I took Dwightey with me. We drove to Kingston. It was raining and freezing. I bought him a "Noahs Ark" for his Xmas. The sleet cut his face and he was ready to come home. I went to my studio and painted a snow storm looking out of my window, putting in my studio curtain. I did not quite complete it. Wrote to Whittredge and to Bowyer. Whittredge is discouraged about his profession as I am. Is getting his pictures and studies ready for a sale in March. It is a shame so sincere and accomplished an artist should meet with no more encouragement than he does. It has rained nearly all day and is still raining so that I fear we will lose our fine sleighing.

Sunday 19" A bright, sunny day. Sara and I went over to my studio to see my little pictures. I wrote to Dr. Taylor, to Mary, to Alice, a short note to Charlie McEntee and a note to Bray asking him if he would review my note of $400 coming due the 27th. Read in Dr. Taylors book which impresses me most favorably. We made a little tub of sauerkraut yesterday which I wish to see whether it is correctly made.

Monday 20" Sara and I drove down town directly after breakfast to do some errands and then up to the toboggan slide to see about giving consent to cut a tree. I found there was no need to do it in which the engineer agreed with me. It was a pine tree on the boundary line and I requested them not to disturb it. Then we drove out in the Flat-bush road, finding the sleighing excellent. Sara left me just this side the entrance to the woods and I struck off to the left along the swamps for a mile or more. I found the walking extremely difficult as the crust broke through at each step. I saw nothing I cared to sketch and made my way to the road coming out near the "Steene Rampe" entrance, followed the road back to the entrance of the wood and got into the fields at my left and passed the swamp where I made sketches the day Calvert was with me. Although it was a fine day it was not a picturesque one and there was too much snow covering the weeds and grasses. The things I sketched that day were 

Transcription Notes:
5/12 Made first FULL PASS today. . ---------- Reopened for Editing 2023-05-13 18:10:22