Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1866-12-28
AmER1cAE AIR

E country ursG 1aQ q cOns0liuaLeQ gov
erumeut. and scarcely two centuries
ago it was all savage wilderness.
/ It's rapid progress in settlement and
civilization is one Of the greatest won.
ders Of the worlds history, and has no
/ precedent or parallel In almost all
+ that pertains to human progress and
cultivation the effete European mOn-
arches fBd themselves far outscrip-
i ped by our vigorous young American
( Republis. While we have borrowed
from them comparatively little we
have already given them the art a
7 uropalslo1=iby steam, the magnetic
I telegraph, and the example Of the
+ freest and best political institutions
in the world, In a century and a halt
I We have accomplished more in most
respects than they have done in fifteen
centuries Only Ia those branches of
civilization 80 the perfection Of which
a vast lapse Of time is essential have
we failed TO be equal or surpass them.
Among these are the fine arts. in
eluding literature. architecture, music,
painting and sculpture. We have yet
developed DO Shakespeare, Sir Chris
topher Wren, Beethoven, Angelo or
Canova Yet we have developed a
genius Tor literature and the fine arts
which, already makes the Old World
anxious for its laurels. In sculpture
and painting particularly our advance
ment has been such that, in view Of
our opportunities for such pursuits,
we may speak of 1t without egotism as
marvellous. Powers Greek Slave, ="
Rogers Charity Patient, Bierstadt's
"Yo Semitic Valley. and Leutze' 8
Course of Empire are works Of which
any nation might be justly proud.
The same is true of scores Of other
American gems of art that might be
mentioned. American bronzes are
now rated equal in quality and finish
to those Of any foreign country, and
American paintings sell for nearly as
much. even iu the European market,
as those Of any modern artist of the
Old World Bierstadt's Rocky
Mountain" was bought by Sir Nor
ton Peto for $50, 900, and it is said it
will take him five years to fill his pres
ent orders, domestic and foreign.
Nearly every other prominent Amer
lean artist is similarly engaged, show
ing that American genius is appreoi-
ated both at home and abroad. In
deed the demand for first class Amer
ican works of art seems to exceed the
supply, and the prices at which they are
sold are often enormous. Some Of the
finest paintings have brought $4,000
and S35, 600 each, and fine sculptures
rate quite as high in proportion
This shows that American culture
has at least kept pace with American
art genius, and it seems, indeed, quite
safe to assert that first class works
Of art are fully as much in demand in
this country as in Europe, and are far
more generally appreciated.
A government which, like ours.
unb ars the fountains Of intelligence 20
the humblest, and which so strongly
develops the nobler impulses Of the
human soul, must in like manner de-
Yelop an unusual appreciation Of, and
talent for eultivating, the beautiful
The good, the beautiful and the true
go hand in hand, and here each has
the freest access to human hearts
True, we have no great cathedral IKE
st. Peters, or that of Milan, built with
money wrung from the ignorant poor,
but we have bright intellects and big
hearts, the rich fruitage of our liberty
tree, and which are of far more worth
20 us and to the world at large than
rhe grandest architectural structures
that could be built by human hands.
Nor is it at all unlikely that under
the stimulus of our free institutions
and of its native energy and wonder
ful versatility the American mind, ia.
cilitated by the rapid increase Of our
country in wealth, will soon, perhaps
much sooner than we expect, trans
cend every other people on the globe
n architecture, painting, sculpture,
music, and every other accomplish
ment which beauties the intellect
and makes civilization a luxury.