PICTURES 391 ORIGINAL PICTURES Those who can afford it should have some original pictures. Anyone whose standard of living includes a very expensive auto- mobile should have at least one original painting by an established artist. The purchaser of original paintings is helping in the crea- tive work of her own age. The person with a small amount of money, who wishes to buy an original picture, should buy it from the artist directly. The art dealer is, of course, necessary and should be patronized by people of means, but more people might be able to afford pictures if they could buy them from the artists. The prospective purchaser of an original picture who does not live in a city where there are exhibitions should write to the near- est art museum for advice about buying original paintings in the price range that she can afford. It might be possible to have pic- tures sent on approval or to arrange a visit to some artists' studios. REPRODUCTIONS Reproductions of worthy pittures are much better than poor originals. Black-and-white reproductions of etchings and other prints are often so successful that it is impossible for an amateur to distinguish between handmade prints and machine-made copies. The person who is paying for original etchings should buy them only from the artists, exhibitions, or reliable dealers. Commercial reproductions in color vary greatly in quality, the best being so faithful that they show every brush stroke of the original paintings; others are extremely poor. It is now unthink- able to hang brown or gray reproductions of paintings. The average home could make use of several reproductions of the work of the best artists of the present or past. The pictures should be large to be effective, the minimum dimension being about 18 inches. Reproductions of either contemporary or old pictures can be obtained from large art museums and from art stores. Depart- ment-stores and other concerns that cater to public taste will have many mediocre and poor pictures of the type commonly put on calendars*