The Omaha Sunday Bee
. PART III.
HALF-TOIIE SECTICII
PACES 1 TO 8.
Goes Into ths Homi
THE OMAHA DEE
Best West
VOL. XXXVI-NO. 32.
OMAHA, SUNDAY MORNING, JANUARY 27, 1907.
SINGLE COPY FIVE CENTS.
GEORGE W. LININGER PIONEER : TRAVELER : ART COLLECTOR
Future Historian Will Award Him Honor and Credit for Bringing Love for the Fine Arts Into a New Country and for Giving His Fellow Citizens a Collection That is Unsurpassed in America'
TWO OR THREE centuries hence irhen Omaha shall be in
habited by a people leea strenuous and more leisurely.
lesa wrapped up in practical affairs and more regardful of
esthetic, when great municipal gallerlea shall be main
tained1 for the delectation of the public and where achoola
it art shall flourish, when Omaha shall have attained that stage of
pathetic deTelopment to which the cities of the old world have at
tained, it will be desirable to write a history of western art. And
the author who shall set himself this task will search back to the
nineteenth century. There he will find the name of George W.
Llnlngerstandlng pre-eminent as the earliest connoisseur, the most
careful critic and the most liberal patron of art In Omaha. If we
may be permitted to anticipate this twenty-second century author,
the opening paragraphs of his work will be something like this:
"George Washington Llnlnger Is the father of Nebraska' art.
Ills name stands out by Itself In the early art annals of the west.
In the middle of the nineteenth century, Omaha was founded upon
the plains of Nebraska. It-grew rapidly, so rapidly that, like a boy,
It ran wild and its people had little appreciation for the philosophy
of the fine arte. The citizens were nearly all engaged In commerce.
Great houses were established and the trade done throughout the
western country was immense. The city gained a name in that
which was. in those days, most desirable, namely, commercial
Strength and business stability.
"Llnlnger was at first engaged, like all the other citizens, In
commerce. He was a pioneer In the business of selling agricultural
Implements to the great farming population of the western country,
which was then springing into the foremost rank of the world for
the fertility of its soil. The gods seem to have favored the young
man, for his business grew to such an extent that he was enabled
to retire while still young from active pursuits. He then went to
Europe and began his great collection.
Seeds of Art Sown at Home
"Ills home city was too busy with its business pursuits to pay
much attention to his efforts at first. He built an addition onto his
home for a gallery and opened It freely to the public. He gave
freely of his means and .time to arouse an Interest in art. But
the city was too new, too busy la establishing itself, to give due
Interest to such matters. The good effect of this work, however,
upon the generations of after years was very great. Parle. Berlin,
Vienna, Dresden and Rome all piussed through the aage, which
Omaha was then passing and In each instance there was some man
like Llnlnger who sowed the early seeds."
If this suppositious author In the twenty-second century writes
along the lines above quoted he will be correct in statement of facts
andn his estimate of the position of George W. Llnlnger in Omaha.
Mr. Llnlnger Is one of those rare individuals possessing a practical
business mind together with a taste for the esthetic and the eye of
the connoisseur. Many successful -business men have devoted them
selves to collecting art, but few have made It more than a hobby.
Most of them have been the prey of dealers, paying exorbitant prices
because they could not distinguish really valuable works' of art from
the worthless. i 1
Bon of a small New Jersey farmer and tailor, brought up on the
frontier of Illinois, engaged' for years in the stove, tin and hardware
business, it seems strange that the thoughts and energies of this
remarkable man should have turned in his latter days so ardently to
the poetlo in color and design, to the beautiful productions of the
advanced thought of all ages. In this anomaly is a field for those
who love to speculate upon the mysteries of heredity. It may easily
be, Indeed, that somewhere back in the dim centuries an ancestor of
Mr. Llnlnger was an artist, for the family traces Its line to the Ger
man nobility. These ancestors in the seventh century owned a castle
on the Rhine, a principality of1 more than 100 square miles, and kept
an army of retainers to assist them In collecting their tribute. Mr.
Llnlnger early manifested a taste for art. While still engaged In the
hardware business he purchased several pictures. But the struggle
for a livelihood ktft little time and yielded little money for artistic
pursuits.
Boyhood and Business Life
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GEORGE W. LININGER.
are many paintings by the modern artlats. There is a magnificent lleve they have the genuine piece in the Louvre and that' only the
piece of Limoges, an example of the lost art of rendering painting on copy of this work is In America, but well nothing must be said in
copper iridescent. There is one magnificent piece which came from print, for the Europeans are jealous of their art treasures and
the palace of one of the greatest families of Italy. The French be- might make things unpleasant.- There are also ceramlce and carved
The first twelve years of his life were spent in Chambersburg,
Pa., where he was born December 14, 1834. His father was in
moderate circumstances and, when a friend who had been In Ohio
returned and told wonderful tales of the fertility of the country,
beyond the Alleghenles, he put' his family, his goods and chattels
on a wagon and emigrated to Illinois. He operated a sawmill for
some time and then moved to the town of Peru, where Gqorge
grew up, entered the hardware business and, in 1856, married Miss
Caroline M. Newman. He might have spent his life there In the
village, his artistic longings stifled by . circumstances. But again
Fate stepped in, disguised this time as Death. Physicians told him
his only chance for life was in going west, bo he started for Kansas.
That country not suiting him, he came north and settled in Council
Bluffs where. In 1868, with E. L. Shugart as a partner, he es
tablished the first jobbing agricultural implement house on the
Missouri river under the name of Shugart & Llnlnger. Five years
later the firm moved across the river and changed its name to the
G. W. Llnlnger company. In 1881 It became the Llnlnger & Metcalf
company and is now the Llnlnger implement company. Mr. Llnlnger
has always been president of the firm and has directed 1U policy.
He has seen it grow from a small concern with only one employe
to its present great proportions. Honesty, Integrity and industry
hare made it a success, A year ago in reorganising his business he
did something characteristic of himself by taking Into the firm
ten young men who had served him faithfully for a number of
years.
Mr. Llnlnger has always been a mover In enterprises for build
ing up the city. He was Interested In the nail works, the wire works
and other commercial enterprises of early days; was a member of
the Board of Trade and of the executive committee of the Com
mercial club for years; is now president of the Bee Building company
and a director n The Bee Publishing company; is president of the
Nebraska Masonic home and was a member of the city council In
1878, when he worked hard to get the city to Install its own water
works plant. He was a member of the state senate In 1887. He
served on the Omaha Board of Park Commissioners for a number
of years, where his services were of particular value because of his
observations on the park systems of the finest foreign cities.
Services to the Art World .
- But ail these activities pale Into Insignificance when compared
with his services in the world of art. It is there that he has gained
the name that shall endure. During thirty years he has searched the'
world for its choicest treasures, examining ancient palaces, exploring
European pawnshops, where decayed families have often disposed
surreptitiously of the treasures of their ancestors; delving Into
ruined caetles, digging Into the very pyramids of Egypt. Through
forty countries In all parts of the world he has hunted. He has
made five trips to Europe and three to Mexico, besides visiting every
state iu the Union.
He has ben indefatigable In this work, traveling tens of
thousands df miles and undergoing all manner of hardships to get
rare examples of art. The result Is the fine collection which he has
In his home today. In very few houses In America is there such a
wealth of rare treasures as In the home of Mr. Llnlnger at
Eighteenth and Davenport streets. There are more than 300 pictures
altogether. Including some of the finest In the world. J. Hovey
Allen, the eminent critic, has pronounced Mr. Linlnger's collection
of the old masters the finest In America. There are three pictures
by Guldo Rent, the Italian master, who painted two' of the twelve
great pictures of the world. . There are eaavssea by Rubens and
Eoinbraudt and Titian and many others of the masters. And there
Good Old King Oscar of Sweden
IN the course of a visit to Stockholm a
year and a half ago a long, delightful
visit I found myself face to face re
peatedly with a phenomenon whose as
"pect, I was very sure, I had observed in no
other continental capital. At first the mys
tery was evasive enough, but little by little,
as my impression of the town continued to
deepen in tone, its more Intangible parts be
gan to simplify themselves and loom appre
ciably distinct. Finally, for my curious
senbe, there ' was no escaping some sort of
interpretation, the last stage of which un
conscious process developed on the day of
my departure. For it was then I felt. Irre
sistibly, that, though I had had but the
merest glimpse of him in the flesh. I was
yet familiar with the spirit of the king. ' I
knew now that I had seen reflected in so
many things, material and immaterial,
fruits of the will and the work of a beauti
fully human monarch. By these signs I
could recognize the subtle sensibility, the
educated conscience, the generous knowl
edge and large nature of Oscar II of Sweden.
And I -recall hearing myself mutter, not, I
confess, without emotion: "This king at
least has a soul."
Oscai Fredrlk. third son of the then
Crown Prince Oscar (afterward Oscar I)
and Princess Josephine, was born at Stock
holm January 21. 1829. From his grand
father, Carl XIV Johan. he received the
title of duke of Ostergothland. This title
he bore until 1872, when, having become
heir apparent by reason of the. deaths of his
brother Gustaf and the Infant Crown Prince
Carl Oscar, he succeeded Carl XV. whose
. demise occurred September 19 of the above
year.
Prior to this period Oscar had taken
little or no active interest In affairs of state.
Only in an abstract way, through the me
dian) of temperament perhaps, did he ap
preciate the Import of administrative mat
ters, politics, diplomacy. Of course It was
Inevitable that he should mingle with
courtiers and bear more or less of the hum
of the monarchical machinery. But his
' heart dwelt elsewhere. One cannot read
the record of his apprenticeship in the navy
(which began when he was but 10 years of
age), or the even more illuminating story
of his career as amateur traveler, poet, his
torian, scholar, without being struck by the
truth of this. For a long time, however,
he cherished but one prime aspiration to
see himself the commander of a fleet. He
learned to love the sea with an intelligence
of instinct and a fervor of passion consum
mately wonderful. For the heroes of his
boyhood and early manhood he had an af
fection and admiration, the best accessible
proof of which may be found in his verses
to such daring Swedish sea-fighters as Claes
Uggla, Jonas Hokenflykt and Nils Ehrens
kold. Many pages of King Oscar's "Ur
Svenska Flottans mlnnen" (Out of the Story
of the Swedish Navy) are devoted to a glor
ification of their deeds. The same book of
poems, anonymously submitted, was
awarded a prize by the Swedish academy in
1857, and contains what must be considered
the author's finest poetic effort, the melodi
ous, virile stanzas to the Baltic. Very fair
translations of this poem exist In German
and French. v
Wandering through the published writ
ings of Oscar Fredrlk (as he always signs
his productions), I one day found the fol
lowing bit of sentiment:
More than life itself to many a youth is
a flower to adorn the bosom of his love; and
. well it is that this be so.
If we regard the quaint little aphorism
In the light of the most beautiful event in
King Oscar's personal life, or apply It
thereto, it will have twofold significance.
I refer to his courtship with Princess Sophia
of Nassau, at Monrepos castle, near the
banks of the Rhine, In Koblenz, where the
young couple first met. She was then 20,
he 27. Beautiful, lovable, dearly fond of
many of the very studies to the pursuit of
which he was greatly devoted history, lan
guages, music Oscar Fredrik soon saw In
the German princess the woman of his
dreams. September 26, 1856, they an
nounced their betrothal, and, in commemo
ration, immediately afterward they cut their
names In the trunk of a giant oak, benign
witness to their troth. Likewise, the lovers
planted a few of its ueorns. one of which
sprouted and became in the course of a year
a two-leaved tree. This they transplanted
In a flower pot and brought with them to
Stockholm to set it out in the Idyllic gar
dens of Drottnlngholm castle. Eight or
nine years later, when Hans Christian An
dersen was visiting the royal family there,
Prince Oscar gave him a branch of the
memorial tree, which, as the story-teller re
marks, was even then taller than he. It la
today one of the, sturdiest of all the oaks
on the grounds.
After his marriage to Princess Sophia
tfce heir apparent cultivated his literary
talent with renewed zeal. Such was the
quality of his interest that It was no rare
occurrence with him In those days to sit up
till dawn discussing Runeberg, or Tegner, or
Goethe, with some congenial companion.
Strangely enough, however, he had no lik
ing for the representatives of the New
School (so-called), a reactionary party that
championed "the rights of fancy and feeling
within the domain of poetry" and depre
cated and opposed the prevailing French
standards and tastes in arts and letters, as
Instituted by Gustavus III. In 1859 he pub-i
llshed a translation of Herder's version of
"Poema del Cld," sumptuously Illustrated
and dedicated to his brother, the crown
prince, likewise an amateur man of letters.
Two years later, at his wife's initiative, he
had rendered Goethe's "Torquato Tasso"
into Swedish. As an aid to the perfecting
of her knowledge of the language Princess
Sophia copied the translator's manuscript,
of many revisions and blurs. In an elegant
" hand, from which It was ultimately typed.
The production Is dedicated to her.
Few, if Indeed any, of King Oscar's pre
decessors equal him as an orator. His elo
quence has on more than one occasion
proved a power by which he has been ena
bled distinctively to assert his royal position
and authority. Sonorous, rich, musical, his
voice is in Itself a splendid artistic force.
During the crisis with Norway, In June,
1904, 1 had the pleasure of hearing him ad
dress 10,000 or 15,000 loyal subjects who
had gone to his country seat, Rosendal, on
the outskirts of the capital, to express their
approbation of his attitude and their affec
tion for their king. He spoke very briefly,
perhaps not more than 200 words. But
there was a tremor in his voice, and an In
definable something about his bearing, his
gestures, from whose haunting appeal it
was impossible to escape. It was a most
Impressive spectacle. I shall never forget
the sight of the venerable monarch stand
ing there on the balcony, surrounded by his
children and grandchildren,' in the failing
light, facing the multitude. Not like a
crowned ruler did he look to me: I could
distinguish only the man who, deeply con
scious of the responsibilities ( of his office
and the solemn significance of the particular
hour, recognized above all the reciprocity
of the Issue, and, recognizing It, seer.itd in
deed to be of the people that were doing
htm homage.
ivories and hammered metal goods and statuary and a countless
variety of all manner of exquisite curloe from all countries In all
ages. The Llnlnger collection Includes examples of art for every
century for the last 4,000 years.
Every room In the house Is a treasury of art. All. nations have
contributed of their finest and richest to furnish the rooms of this
very remarkable house. The first article which meets the eye of
the visitor as he enters the hall Is a big settee of teakwood ex
quisitely carved and inlaid. This is an example of Japanese work
of a century ago. In the various rooms are articles of furniture
from all nations and of all periods. Spanish cabinets, Florentine
mosaics, old Holland furniture, rare tapestries, Italian Ivory and
bronze furniture, royal Dresden cabinets, French buhl, Venetian
mirrors these are only a few of the bewildering array of rare
things to be seen, many of them priceless, all of them worthy of a
place In the leading museums of the world. There Is a Spanish
cabinet made of turtle shell Inlaid with bronze and ivory. Mr.
Llnlnger picked this up in Granada, whither he ventured In 1888,
Just after the terrible cholera plague had blotted out many families.
One cabinet which stands In the hall is an example of Arabian
work. It came from Damascus and Is curiously and wonderfully
Inlaid with words of the Arabic language in ivory.
What tales this furniture might tell if it could speak! For It
has stood In the palaces of the great of all nations. Kings and
queens and princes have sat In those royal chairs. Royal Jewels
have been deposited in the drawers of those exquisite ancient cabi
nets. Those pieces of furniture have been present at great functions
state. At royal betrothals, funerals, Intrigues among the great of
the earth, they have stood In their places, silent witnesses. And
now they are gathered under the roof of this one house.
His Den a Unique Collection
The den which Mr. Llnlnger has fitted up for himself Is a
particularly Interesting place, though different in its furnishings
from the other rooms of the house In that the furnishings of the
den have nearly all an air of. the savage, the heathen, the pagan
about them. There are spears and tomahawks, weapons of the
aborigines, all manner of swords, shields and armor, battle axes and
weapons of war.' The walls are hung with elegant old tapestries
and beautiful examples of old needlework. Idols before which,
millions have worshiped, grin, from their corners in the room,
while a prayer wheel occupies a prominent position on the wall.
There are a thousand other little things, characteristic of the
heathen and the mediaeval European races In this room, its contents
coming from thirty different countries.
Few people of Omaha realize what a wonderful gallery of art
Is In their midst People with the esthetic taste that is bred by
residence in the art-saturated atmosphere of foreign cities have come
half way round the world to see this collection; ambassadors from
foreign countries have made the trip from Washington for the
especial purpose of examining it, critics and painters have come
thousands of miles to see It, but thousands of people in Omaha
have never taken the opportunity to view the paintings which are
offered for their delectation without money and without price.
Omaha receives prominent mention In Baedeker's guide book ot
America, and more space is given to the Llnlnger art gallery than
to anything else. It even Is marked with an asterisk, the "mark of
commendation" which Karl Baedeker is extremely squeamish about
giving to anything.
One morning while the Transmlssisslppi exposition was In prog
ress three Japanese visited the gallery. They spent several hourl
with catalogues examining the pictures and other art treasures.
Before they left they sought out the owner of the gallery and
presented their cards.. One of them proved to be the eon of a
member of the Mikado's cabinet, the minister of commerce. An
other was the son of the mayor of Kioto. The former ot these two
extended Mr. Llnlnger an invitation to visit his father's palace If he
should ever come to Japan. They were especially skilled In Judging
needlework and they declared that the examples of this art in the
Llnlnger collection could not be equalled today.
Library Contains Bare Books
A library of several thousand volumes has a place In Mr.
Linlnger's home. It Includes some very rare old books, one being
the actual work of Gutenburg, the Inventor ot priming. Hundreds
of books treat ot the art works In which he has taken such a great
interest.
There is a picture In the gallery which he bought tor a song
and for which he has refused an offer of several thousand dollars
This Is one example of the fact that Mr. Llnlnger Is a connoisseur
and no mere dlllettante In art. Probably the finest piece of carved
Ivory in the world is in the collection and this he picked up in m
European pawn shop.
To foster art in Omaha has been his constant endeavor and It
1b a disappointment to him that the city as a city takes no greater
interest in it. He has given of his time, his money, his effort and
his experience to this end. He was the foremost mover In the
formation of .the Western Art association and was its first president.
The first Interstate art exhibition was held in his gallery 'in No
vember, 1888. He tried to start other movements and always took
the deepest and most unselfish Interest in students. He "discovered'
J. G. Borglum and Solon Borglum, sons of an Omaha physician. He
sent them to the best schools ot Europe. The former Is now in the
front rank of American painters, while the latter has reached the
same eminence as a sculptor. J. G. Borglum 1b doing much ot the
work on the magnificent Church of St. John the Divine, now being
erected in New York.
' Mr. Linlnger's gallery has been open to the publlo for years oa
Thursday and Sunday of each week, free of charge, and thousands
have visited it Most of these have been from the schools and
clubs of the city and state. He has helped to foster art throughout
the state by lending his pictures for exhibitions held to raise money.
Six years ago wtiile in Egypt he made a collection of mummies and
other Egyptian curiosities, shipped them to Omaha and presented
them to the city. The size of the gift may be shown by the faot that
the consignment weighed ten tons. The city at once placed the
goods in the city library building. But there was no fund available
for the classification of them and, when Mr. Llnlnger returned, fie
spent two months classifying and spent a large sum of money-In
building cases for the display of a collection that is not surpassed
in America.
Masonry His Life Study
v Masonry has been a lifelong study of Mr. Llnlnger. He has
been a Mason for fifty years and has held all the high offices in
the fraternity. It was the mysteries of the beginning of the order,
shrouded as they are In the misty draperies of antiquity, which
started him on his quest of Egyptian curiosities. Masonry Is com
monly traced back to the time of the building of the temple by the
Jews, but Mr. Linlneer has found the Masonic symbols In Egypt
dating from hundreds of years before that.
Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Llnlnger. George
Albert died when a child and Miss Florence was married to F. L.
Haller, secretary of the Llnlnger Implement company. Mr. Llnlnger
was baptised a Lutheran, but has been most closely affiliated with
the Episcopal church. v
The best works' of a thousand men of all ages whose bones
have been dust for centuries are preserved in the Llnlnger gallery
With his ascendency to the throne his and the Llnlnger home today. And it seems to the visitor that the
literary activities virtually ceased. He l"rlts 01 those meiufcover about the place and lend to it a sort ot
surely must have found It a somewhat awk- mysterious charm that comes as he views the lapse of centuries and
ward Journey, the transit from the quiet Pecelve ln n nou'' the result of the tolling of millions of mea tot
Continued on Page Four-l thousands" ot jesTs,.
