employment to surprisingly many artists in colonial
North America. The nature of the work gave them
a crucial economic advantage over the engraver,
composer, or writer. Prints, musical scores, novels,
or plays could be imported cheaply; personal
portraits could not. Because portrait painting served
the purpose of commemoration in a society without
other visual means of preserving the memory of its
ancestors, and because ideals of interior design
considered massively framed portraits to be essential
home furnishings, painting in the eighteenth century
was a flourishing profession.
Only the preeminent painters, however, managed
to establish themselves for long in one place. Once
a painter completed all the available customers'
portraits, there was usually no further demand for
the work. Most painters belonged to the large band
of traveling artists, actors, and musicians who roamed
the colonies. Usually they announced their arrival
and period of stay in the local newspaper, telling
where specimens of their work could be seen -- a
coffeehouse, private residence, or the printer's
office. Universally, painters advertised two selling
points: cheap rates and a good likeness. Most
offered to accept no payment if the person who sat
for the portrait found the likeness unpleasing.
The relative costliness of the work and the demand
for it made painting in colonial America a competitive
and prestigious profession, a possible source of
economic independence and social
advancement. Some painters obviously could not
survive the considerable competition. Most became
neither rich nor destitute, but earned a comfortable
living between painting and engaging in related work.
Some painters also ran shops selling brushes, glass,
turpentine, varnish, canvas, carved frames. Other
painters offered lessons in drawing or music.
Success depended not only on the painter's skill but
also on the kind of painting offered. Landscape
painting, for instance, did not serve the purposes for
which most colonists bought paintings. For provincials
anxious to mark their social level, declare their taste,
display their recent material gains, and record their
success for posterity, painting meant portrait painting.
181. The passage supports which of the
following statements about portrait
painters?
A. Few portrait painters enjoyed
giving lessons in drawing.
B. The profession of portrait
painting offered little prestige.
C. Most portrait painters advertised
low rates for their services.
D. Most portrait painters were able
to establish themselves in one location.
答案是C，請問B不對嗎？？？紅色字不是就是講B???
