Coin Machine Review (& Pacific ...)

BAR ART
Rare Specimens Still Exist in
Western Drink Emporiums
By LUCIUS S. FLINT
From the days of the Caesars on down
to the present, the tavern industry has
created with each period of its development
a form of art all its own. At times it's been
a boisterous form of art. But it's always
been distinctive. The times, the customs
of_ each period of industry are interestingly
reflected in the adornments of tavern walls
and bars.
After a tour of the Twentieth Century
cocktail lounges in any city, with their
mural-decorated walls and streamlined bars,
it's interesting to try and turn back the
pages for a half-century or more and vis-
ualize the picture in similar establishments
at that time. There aren't many of these
places left today. All too many have been
torn down to make way for parking lots
and skyscrapers.
But what few remain untouched by the
hands of time tell in their decorations the
story of another day. The elaborately carved
bars and heavy brass spittoons call to mind
a picture of derby hats and narrow trouser
legs and stickpins, of handlebar moustaches
and heavy-waisted bartenders. The "dar-
ing" nudes that hung on the walls, paint-
ings with tremendously heavy frames,
bespeak clearly the weight and concealing
lines of feminine apparel.
Colorado, with its history of gold rushes,
fabulous fortunes and ghost towns, had
more than its share of such bars in the
bonanza days. And a share of those land-
marks still stand. A few of them are intact.
More have been changed. But in the cellars
and attics of most of them remain interest-
ing samples of the bar art of the nineties
and before. These relics make an interest-
ing picture.
Perhaps the finest collection of old bar
paintings in existence in the West is now
stored in an attic in the Navarre, one of
Denver's oldest drinking and dining estab-
lishments. Located directly across the street
from the world-famous Brown Palace Hotel,
the Navarre building is unchanged since
the days when the city's finest carriages
stopped at its door. The place has been
operated as a restaurant for more than
50 years. The building which houses the
Navarre was built 58 years ago for use
as an exclusive private school dormitory.
R. D. Stockton, one of the original own-
ers of The Navarre, is said to have had
$50,000 worth of nude paintings by the
state's leading bar artists on the walls of
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his bedroom. Many others originally hung
in the bar.
Included in the Navarre collection are
many paintings by a chap who found time
aside from his regular work to do a world-
famous canvas entitled "The Parlor Match,"
a painting depicting the members of a
colored family as they waited breathlessly
for an expected explosion as daddy struck
the first parlor match they ever saw. His
name, which was legend among some of
the old saloon operators of Denver, was
A. D. Cooper.
The original of "The Parlor Match" hung
at the Navarre for many years, then dis-
appeared. Present owners of the establish-
ment have been unable to find any trace
of it.
The old-timers who knew Cooper say he
was a typical saloon artist of the day. He
divided his time between Denver and the
mining towns, painting pictures as he went
in exchange for drinks and an occasional
small sum of money. Although Cooper's
name is not listed in any art directory,
his paintings have been viewed by untold
thousands. •
In the safe at The Navarre you'll find
the only remaining copy of a small adver-
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COIN
MACHINE
REVIEW
1 llustrations show a representative group of Bar nudes still hanging in old
Denver taverns. Top row left was painted by Ben Wechsler, is dated 1904, and
hangs in the Elks Club. Top center was done by M. L. Weaver, an eastern
artist, in 1853. It originally hung in the bar of the old American House, in
the early days the finest hostelry west of the Missouri River. It was brought
across the plains to Denver by ox team in the early seventies. When the
American was torn down C. B. Kenneth moved the painting to the Cherry
Creek Tavern where it hangs today. In the early days it was valued at between
$15 000 and $20,000. For many years it was insured for $10,000. Top right now
hangs in John Gahan's place. Undated, it is signed by A. Romes, It has
hung in its present location for more than 30 years.
Lower panel shows, left : one of Denver's Navarre collection. It was painted
in 1890 by A. D. Cooper. Center is another painting which formerly hung
in the bar of The Navarre. Entitled "After The Bath," it bears the signature
of W. A. Mitchell Makart. It is believed to be at least 50 years old. Lower
right a third painting at the Navarre. Likewise undated, it bears the signature
of Oscar Miller. It is also believed to be 40 or 50 years old.
https://elibrary.arcade-museum.com