Today’s Promising Yet Truly Morbid Fact!
No one knew why a photograph of the Hebrew Orphan Asylum was displayed so prominently in the studio of the promising painter Henry Alexander – and to this day it remains a mystery. Few took the time to know the young modernist artist after he arrived from San Francisco, determined to make a name for himself in New York City. Other artists in his building went to lengths to avoid Alexander, since he quickly made a reputation begging for money that he never repaid. Whatever cash he got was spent on whiskey and painting supplies. He was definitely not an orphan, and according to a surviving sister, came from Californian pioneer stock and studied in Europe. Nevertheless, he was deemed noteworthy enough in the art scene to warrant an article about his death in the New York Times, published on May 16, 1894. The landlord of his artist studio had padlocked the door because he had paid only three months’ rent in the prior year. Alexander pleaded with the landlord for access to retrieve one painting that he could sell for $150, and clear up his arrears. Apparently, Alexander did find a buyer, and instead, used the funds to go on a binge. Alexander checked into a decent hotel, and two days after the night porter heard agonizing groans coming from his room. When hotel staff opened the door with a pass key, they found Alexander sprawled unconscious on the floor. An empty bottle of whisky and a drained can of metal polisher (Oxalic acid) were on the table. The Times concluded, “Lack of funds, it is thought, caused the artist to take his life.” Before he died (at age thirty-four), Alexander’s work was exhibited in a number of galleries, and seemed to offer promise of better things to come. He liked to paint the interiors of churches, and his most famous piece was prophetically titled “Lost Genius”. The acid he ingested was sold as a product called Bar Keepers Friend, which was presumably used to polish brass and not knock off patrons who didn’t pay their tab. Records from the Hebrew Orphan Asylum, located on 137th street and Amsterdam in New York City, indicated that a thirty-five-dollar anonymous donation was made the day before Alexander died, though no child with his surname was registered.
Culled from: Genius and Heroin: The Illustrated Catalogue of Creativity, Obsession, and Reckless Abandon Through the Ages
Ah, Bar Keepers Friend. I have that stuff under my sink along with countless other things that shouldn’t be ingested! It polishes up my copper stuff like a charm! I recommend it using it but… not drinking it. 😀 heh heh…