Excerpt from De Luxe Catalogue of the Valuable Paintings Collected by the Late Joseph Jefferson: To Be Sold at Unrestricted Public Sale by Order of Mrs. Joseph Jefferson and Edward G. Black, Esq., Executors<br><br>The Madonna of the Cottage and The Port of Dieppe had been sent to a loan exhibition in New York City. They had been returned to Buzzards Bay the night before the fire, and placed in the hall on the first floor until such time as they could be rehung. When the fire broke out they were hastily taken to a placeof safety, together with the Corot, his first purchase. All the other pictures, however, and the entire house and furnishings were consumed in about twenty minutes.<br><br>This collection may therefore be said to be founded upon a high standard, beginning with the masterpieces of Mauve and Israels. With a catholic taste and excellent judgment guided by a cultivated instinct, he gradually built up the new group. His independent mind and enthusiasm possibly led to the buying of some pictures which are not of the highest standard; yet, like most collectors, he was continually culling and weeding out and adding better material.<br><br>He would often say I cannot have all the good things, neither will my purse allow me to indulge largely in the examples of the Barbizon School. I must be content with a few master works and leave to the millionaires the ownership of the others.<br><br>His experience with his first gallery led him to abandon the systematic display of paintings arrayed side by side. He remarked: I will hereafter distribute my pictures on the walls of the living rooms of my home, where I can see them daily and enjoy them with my friends.<br><br>About the Publisher<br><br>Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com<br><br>This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.