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I - I k I && w .. . Tke Pretty Artists' Models Wko Knew So Well Tkeir Millionaire Patron and Jlis Luxurious Studio V. S s Vr7 rrn &tt- iirZ ih fek 's Cy i0lssj A Jar vA l3KT HI ' & il iO7 zsl Lu eL Never Guessed Tnat Mr. JBreese, the Hero or the Famous "Girl-m-tne- Pie Dinner, Had Fallen m Love IT Is not easy to send a thrill of surprise through New York's artist colony. The Bohemian dwellers in the studios are a very sophisticated lot But Mr. James L. Breese has accom plished the feat twice. First, when he staged the fa mous Girl in the Pie dinner at his studio many years ago, and, again, the other day, when he announced that he was about to be married. Mr. Breese is unusual in many ways. Most artists who live fn the merry studio buildings have to work for a living. But Mr. Breese is very wealthy and he lives in a studio because he loves the life. He is rather a patron than a daily bread worker, and so the busy art ists and the somewhat unconven tional models look upon him a:, friend, admirer, patron, rather than a fellow wage-earner. Mr. Breese Is sixty-four. All his life he had been a familiar figure in the studio world of New York Every worth while artist he has known, and all the best models. Al ways he has been known as "Jimmy" Breese. No one entered into the Bohemian ways of the art ist colony more freely than he. But not one of them ever dreamed thai Jimmy Breese was In love. It was not in a studio that Cupid did his work. It was on a sunny day in June that Mrs. Ralph Isham, a member of the Long Island Smart Set, drove a half dozen house party guests to Southampton for a look at Mr. Bree'se's famous gardens. One of the party was a lovely young girl of an old Southern family. Miss Grace Lucille Momand. Mn.Breese personally led the party about the grounds and watched the girl's brown eyes glow softly at the beauty of the scene. "Wonderful hair," mused Mr. Breese, as he contemplated his fair young visitor closely with artistic appreciation. "The only hair I have ever seen in three colors. Looking at it in different lights it is brown, it is golden, it is red." Miss Momand's enthusiastic approval of bis gardens, his stables, his horses awoke a response in his heart and next day Mr. Breese motored over to the girl's country home at Southampton and met her mother. The romance progressed rapidly and the other day Mr. Breese made application for a marriage license and the surprise of the art world was complete. Mr. Breese, as has been said, is sixty four years old. His fiancee is twenty-three. But Mr. Breese is very young for his years and Miss Momand is quite mature for her youthful age, so the prospects of happiness are not dimmed by what would seem to be an important disparity in their ages, their friends agree. Mr. James Lawrence Breese is easily the most Interesting figure in the upper Bohemia of New York. Millionaire, scien tist, sportsman, connoisseur of all the joys, he combines inherited wealth and ability In a remarkable degree. His vitality for his years is astonishing. He comes from an old New "York Colon ial family, and owns, among other desir able possessions, a great slice of down town New York real estate. He was edu cated at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Insti tute, a noted scientific place of education, and graduated there in 1875. Mr. Brepse was too rich to follow any calling for profit. After knocking about in many places and enjoying strange ex periences for a few years, he decided to devote his talents to artistic photography. He had an equal interest in science and in the fine arts. He built the most beautiful and the best equipped studio, at No. 5 West Sixteenth street, that New York had ever known up to that time. It was called "The Carbon Studio." Mr. Breese's personal apart ments were as wonderful as the rest of the establishment. The Oriental rugs and draperies were especially rich, and some very rare old armor gave distinction to the place. The society photographer un derstood to perfection the art of making a woman's face soft, charming and attractive. The most beautiful women in the country thronged his MjcmicmfflmraT c v WSJ? T& mmmL ff'll'j fun kflmf &v kv km JTm Tmwf lM)Ifriyvly V & m ma m mmr 1 m?"A Z - mmWif "' iQ.Uv y'' BC( n Ammm m 4v mmmmUwws d ''-'-''"" --p, " .- KpMmDBuw mDBBuwtfc. vHI mmmmuW Aww mm Cc M " "l fv HHB 'mMkWL Mm9W"'' ' "' ''$MEMmTi &m IBJ mttrn I'll .-.K!K ' MiHJB! BW ' sSK.w'ilS3flHE 'oSlV - ffSfi iySrw&j' -XkWk VWkm WmmM'd ' WMm$mmmW A" ; : ' -k I tC-10' Lwlkmm - xWm HHHf " I 2i T l.P"" "mHB. mmmmmmmmWmB& ,? HHPRPiib Mr. Breese Chatting Earnestly with Miss Swanson, an Attractive Artists' Model, While Penrhyn Stanlaws, the Well- Known Artist, Sits Holding a Dog. studio and almost fought for the privilege of being photographed by him. With his talents, his wealth, his numer ous admirers and his many accomplish ments, Mr. Breese was able to make his studio the scene of many remarkable social affairs, where art and pleasure were gracefully mingled. And it happened that the famous "Girl in the Pie" dinner, an event that has become memoraDle u New York's society, was given at the Breese studio. This is commonly associated with the memory of Stanford White, that noted architect whose career in upper high life Bohemia was ended by Harry Thaw's pistol. White, one of the most prominent guests, was especially attentive to poor Susie Johnson, whose appearance as the "pie girl" was one act in her little tragedy. Susie Johnson was a pretty, sweet faced, innocent looking child of New York tenements. Her home was on the top floor of No. 104 Eighth avenue. Her father, an honest mechanic, occasionally drank "a drop too much" and at such times made life hard for Susie and her mother and the other children. At twelve years of age, Susie went to work in a braid factory. She stayed there three years, when the dispensary doctor informed her that she would have to find other and lighter work, or her days would be ended by consump tion. At this moment a prominent New York artist happened to be in need of a model. He wanted a slight, fraii figure to pose for a nymph in a forest in a state of nature, of course, as nymphs always are. He in serted this advertisement in a newspaper: "Wanted a young girl model to pose in the nude. Experience not necessary. Thirty cents an hour." Little Susie Johnson answered the ad vertisement and was accepted, and so be gan her life In the studios. She was quick ly seen and appreciated by several of the noted artists of the day. A few weeks later she was engaged for the famous "pie girl" stunt In the dinner at Mr. Breese's studio. This was in the Winter of 1895. The occasion of the din ner was the tenth anniversary of the wed ding of a man prominent in New York society. His wife happened to be away in Europe and his friends thought the event could be most fittingly commemorated by a stag dinner. Mr. Breese, whose wife also had interests elsewhere, volunteered the use of his studio, his professional talents and other expert services. wKL X x 1 cv? a . ...;. ih.. it smmmm MWnmW' m5i& maw , s? 1 AmmmW3 1 IB SflHiiDk mmmWISm - " IIMISSmWmmmmm mmmmwnmmlEEk$8&' fmmwmmmS- 1SI&- -W$m&m mWwBnSt 1 WaWBBAmMBmmmmmm 999BHi,:Br M11lMiriV IWPtoIi 1 -"'s -aaP jasgBEtT ij.aWMM JJJ HBEE. "' - Vr--' sRlPiBBBBBBBBSnl-BBr BBMBaBniSV J9HHBBBBBBB9afiBfc3BBBBBBBB BBBBBBBBBg ' ":.1V, v .jaPfe: BSmWZ JWiBBKajTglBlgHHilBBffgfafaTgfgfgfj JBBBBBBBBJSIf iBB-BMMBElEBB- - ' W9lJBBBBBlBWgBBBBBB,BBBBl BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBlr4BBBB5BM"jij9BBBBBBsBBBBP3BBWQP?BBB vbIbBBBBBBBBBbbbbBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBbBBBBBBBBBs b3BBBBBVbBBBBBBBBBBb9''BIbibBBBBBBBBBBB9? - s- bbbbbbBbkObBbBB&hVbUbBBBfbBBBV nHB MBWSg' ' ."'.Vj-Buiagiil iMyihyyjirEIHMBlBJHMMMWMPllBBMWJMMBBlBMWBMl bBBBBbBbBBBBBBV rwa. E :8bHobbbbI1 BBBBBKBBBBBaiSBBBBBBBff'itBBBBB I r reese Smoking a Cigarette in HflHRg- vSBu;:: jbMbbB5B- JbbbbII s Studio in the Luxurious BfflL ',4SBBBBBm BbbbbBw JbBsBbsBbbbI I Embrace of a Very Com- P 'flB 3BBBBiBBKSy JBBBbI 1 fortable Davenport. BBBBBBBBBBBBKlBBBBDS&SiaBBBBBFBBJftkaSBBBBBBBBBBBBBr T "VBBB1F .A.KWBBKS7 mmmmmmmmm B 5N BBBBBBBBBBBBRVBBBRllBBBBJBVSVAXdBCBBBBBBBBBBBBr I BBbMBBBBBBBBbFBbI BbSBBBBBBBBBBBBH K f aiBBBBBBBBBBBBBlllB&flCBlBBBBBBBBBr ! VIh1bbHbBBBBBbK SbBBBBBBBBBbH I BBBBBBBBBBBBiLMrfrlBBBB I bBbB -f f BBBBBBBBBBBBbBbH 31 BBBBBBBBBBBH BBfS3SBBBWt Hr f' J If V a.ijtS.! " BSBBBBBBBBBBBBbHbSBBBBBBBbH 5$ Bk 7tBBBJ "bBJblIvBt k j" j irfcy BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBaBBBBBBBBBBBBI iBBBBBBBBMBf Vl fxCMir f -BBBBSBSaIbBBbH 1 BBBBBbHPPA W-rLl -frl4 s i 7w-:BBBBjBBBB S s HP -- " w-j i-. gj-f "-?z - TbbWpbbbbbj x R If uufirrtfj bbWf " Bl & t "WiiHt bBbbbbbbbbbbbB d 1 r k 7-c-i,-- - bbbbbbbbI 1 I'' .. .uSBBWKf '.--.'' . VAWAWAWJ : BASLJbMtaiUx9SU3BBBBiH9Dy '.' JvK BBBbBm BBBbbBr vsbsVBbbb9 bS BbbbbbbbbbbB sr 8BsumxumTO0OTcoxiu It Was Mr. Breese Who Undertook to Give a Dinner in His Studio Which Should Surprise Even Such Sophisticated Art Patrons as Stan ford White. As the Piece de Resistance of the Dinner Mr. Breese conceived the Happy Idea of Having an Enormous Pie Brought in on the Shoulders of Four of the Waiters. Out of the Pie Stepped Miss Susie Johnson, Graceful Young Artist's Model, Unencum bered with Much If Any Drapery. The banquet was of Lucullian luxury The cost Is said to have been $3,600, oi $110 a plate, a surprising sum In those days of lower prices. Nothing but cham pacne was drunk. The guests included thirty-two of the mon most prominent in New York's finan cial, professional and fashionable life. The studio was transformed into a bower of roses, and here and there peeped forth gay posters boldly remini scent of Parisian scene. Four banjo players and as many jubilee singers helped to enliven the least with music. The dinner was over. The four and a half bottles of champagne allotted to each person had been consumed, and a certain somnolence was Betting in. Something was needed to Jolt the re vellers into a wide-awake condition. Suddenly the old-fashioned lullaby "Four and Twenty. Blackbirds" broke forth from banjoists and Binger. Four waiters came In bearing a surprisingly monstrous ob ject, something that looked like an impossibly large pie. They set it carefully in the ssssssssssssssssss PlwTo 6Y WHtTr 3TUOW.WV. Lunch Time for Artists' Models in the Studio Build ing. Mr. Breese Is Seated Between the Two Ladies. Miss Grace Lucille Momand, to Whom Mr. Breese Has Announced His Engagement. middle of the table. The negro chorus swelled louder "Four and Twenty Black birds Baked In a Pie." The guests, startled into curiosity, be gan to poke their noses against the pie. They detected a movement in it like a chick's pecking against the egg. A quicker movement and the crust burst at the top. A flash of black gauze and delicate flesh, showed within. A cloud of frightened yel Copyrleht, 1919. by Star Company. low canaries flew out and perched on picture frames and even on the shoulders of guests. But what drew the eyes of all the revel lers was a slender, girlish figure amid the broken crust of the pie. The figure was covered with spangled black gauze, through which the girl's white limbs gleamed like ivory. She rose from her crouching posture and timidly stepped forth to the table. An architect lifted her to the floor. A banker led her to a chair. An artist held a glass of champagne to her lips. Susie Johnson was the sreat success of the eve ning. She transformed the distinguished gentlemen present from a party of tired Great Britain Rights Reserved. diners Into a throng of gay revellers eager to make her acquaintance. Susie Johnson's life after the revel in the studio was a rapid descent She dis appeared from her home and for a year circulated in the studios. Then the wife of an artist, who had been touched by her winning face, took pity on her, and she spent two years asja governess In a quiet Brooklyn home. Then she married a re spectable young man, but he left her when he heard of the pie dinner and its conse quences. After that she was for a time a chorus girl In a road show. Finally she paid & visit to her former home. Her father, in his anger at her conduct, threatened to strike her. but de sisted when he saw her pitiful expression. Susie Johnson, in a statement about this time, said: "I was fifteen years old when I an swered the advertisement and had been earning $2.50 a week in the braid factory. Thirty cents an hour for posing seemed a fortune to me. My mother used to ac company me at first and help me to dis robe. "After the pie dinner I left my home for finer quarters. To any girl who Is poor I should say, stay In the factory or kitchen. Sht who onters thts studio leaves inno cence behind." A year after the "girl in the pie" dinner another little affair at Mr. Breese's studio excited Interest It was called a "costume masque." Some of the men wore bartender's cos tume and stood behind a real bar, whwe they served beer and champagne a d other drinks. During the dancing one .oman's filmy dress caught fire from a match thrown on the floor, and she might have been burnt to death had not her partner thoughtfully drenched her with cham pagne. Mr. Breese was a great racing auto mobilist in the early days of the sport. In 1904, while racing with W. K. Vander bile In his car at Havana, he was severely injured and nearly killed. His country home. "The Orchards," at Southampton. L. I., is one of the finest examples of modern Colonial architecture In America. It was built and furnished by the late Stanford White. The furniture and contents are worth many hundreds of thousands of dollars. The great music room is furnished with authentic sixteenth century Italian furniture. Magnificent Flemish Gothic tapestry adorns some of the apartments. The vast garage attached to the house includes 3 complete machine shop, where Mr. Breese can have every repair made. Mr. Breese's present New York home is a three-story studio in the magnificent Hotel des Artistes, at No. 15 West Sixty seventh street. The living room Is sixty by thirty feet Its furniture includes some enormous pieces of old English silver. Venetian columns of red, blue and gold lend Indescribable richness to the walls. Mr. Breese finds comfort on a divan cov ered with old Spanish brocade. One of his many fancies is to have the fire screen decorated with live smllax, fresh everv day, all the year round. Mr. Breese was first married about thirty years ago. His wife, a daughter of General Robert B. Potter and a niece of Bishop Potter, died two years ago. In his younger days Mr. Breese wore a beard and prided himself on his resem blance to King Henry VIII. Now he Is clean-shaved and with face more wrinkled, but not less Interesting. 3 4fc