Page 118 - La Société canadienne d'histoire de l'Église catholique - Rapport 1961
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114        WISCONSIN  HISTORICAL  COLLECTIONS.

                                  he soon composed  himself, only  wishing  that he  had  his gun.
                                  But the bear soon passed off  into the brush, and young ROCEEY
                                  as rapidly out of  it-the  separation apparently mutual.
                                    He  returned to Pennsylvania  in the  spring of  1816, to go to
                                  school-walking  all  the  way  to  Pittsburgh, as  no stages were
                                  then running in that  region.  While  attending  school, he  first
                                  conceived the idea of  painting;  he copied figures from tea trays,
                                  and began to cultivate and develop  his artistic taste.  As there
                                  were no  works of  art  to  study in  that part of  the country, he
                                  went to  Philadelphia  in  December,  1817, and  remained there
                                  till March  following,  picking  up  what  information  he  could,
                                  when he went  to  the Susquehanna  country,  and  remained  six
                                  years.  In December,  1824, he again  went to Philadelphia,  de-
                                  termined  to  become  a  portrait  painter.  He  took  a  letter of
                                  introduction from WM. Cox ELLIS, cashier of  a bank  at Milton
                                  for  which he had  painted  n,  sign exhibiting more than common
                                  skill, to his brother,  CHARLES ELLIS, who  proved a kind friend
                                  and patron of  the young artist.
                                    He received  six  meeks  instruction  from  THOMAS   a
                                                                                  ~~IRCH,
                                  well-known landscape and marine  painter;  and spent some time
                                  in  antique  drawing  from  the  collections of  the Pennsylvania
                                  Academy of  the Fine Arts.  From every artist whose acqnain-
                                  tance he made, he derived  new information.  Mr.  B.  OTIS was
                                  tho first portrait painter to whose  rooms  he had access,  and  he
                                  found him generous  and  communicative.  He  also  found  the
                                  elder SULLY very friendly, and  always ready to impart instruc-
                                  tion.  The first palette he had regularly set for him, was handed
                                  him by TIIOXAS SULLY, Jr., arranged  by his father.  ROCHEY
                                  found Mr.  NAGLE, a young  artist,  enthusiastically  devoted to
                                  his profession.  They spent  long  winter  evenings  in  drawing
                                  together,  at NAGLE'S house, from  casts, by lamp-light;  until at
                                  length  NAGLE became  very  active  in  getting  up the  Artists'
                                  Fund Society, in opposition to  the Academy of  the Fine AlSts,
                                  in which ROCKEY did not agree with him.  Thus has Mr. ROCKEY
                                  progressed,  step by step, until he has taken high rank as a  por-
                                   trait painter, and almost entirely a self-taught artist.
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