“There was nothing at all extraordinary about my boyhood,” he said, in
answer to a question. “I was very much like other boys, perhaps less
promising than most. I remember that my parents complained because I
was unable to fix my ambition upon any single profession, and they
urged that I must have some definite aim in life. When I appeared
unable to decide for myself, they undertook to decide for me and
to formulate plans for my future. They suggested that I enter the
ministry, but I had an instinct which told me that I was fitted for no
such career. I told them then that art offered a greater attraction,
and they were willing that I should begin studying. I entered the
Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia, and was delighted with my
undertaking from the very beginning.
“Of course I was interested in all that pertained to art, and
especially in drawing in black and white. I read all publications which
printed work of this sort, and especially ‘Punch’ and ‘The Graphic,’
so that they had no inconsiderable share in my instruction in the use
of a pencil. I used to observe the styles of the different artists and
study the best in each.
“In 1871, my father suggested that it was time to decide whether or
not I was to earn my livelihood as an artist, and I decided that it
should be my life-work. I was fortunate in obtaining employment in the
art department of Harper and Brothers, in New York City. I was only
nineteen years old at the time, and was filled with enthusiasm over
my work. I was anxious to learn as much as possible, and Harper’s was
an excellent place for me. I was given a great variety of work, and
received every encouragement for earnest effort. Every improvement
in my drawings was appreciated. Several boys who worked with me at
that time have since become famous in the art world, notably Reinhart
and Alexander. Even the boys who swept out the office were gaining
an excellent start, for one of them has since become one of the most
famous Franco-American painters, practicing in Paris.”