New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1866-08-21
AN ART JOURNEY.
ART IN NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. HAMILTON


PHILADELPHIA August 1866.
wrote YOU the other day an account of my visit 10
Mr. sully His Is name well known throughout the
country but to-day have to write about man far less
known; younger man, Philadephan, whose pictures
are scarcely to be out Of this city Here indeed they
abound here everybody knows James Hamiltons WORK
II is praised criticised ridcued initiated and bought
But in New York. for one had never heard his name
His pictures may twice. have been In the Acade
but have never seen them the Academy, being M
tonal" snubs everything that comes to 1t IRON aOioau
and has made Hamilton exception to that
treatment by which the impression has been crealeu anu
IS steadily fosered that there is no art the seS
outside Of New.Yotk City And yet Hamilton is one oi
the sbest mon have In landscape, one OF the os'
studious original and industrious His producuvenesS
immense doubt if many Of our men can show anylhlns
like such Of work. and its variety can have but one
expanation-that it Ia the fruit of constant STUDY Oh
nature.
took letter Of introduction TO the artist from MI john
sartan the welknown engrayer atwhoee house sa~an
early picture By Hamilton which impressed me sUOneV
He could dare saw discalm 1t now because his way OF
r.nnc has changed greatly since that day but his OBJ
lection would hold only so far as tho execution, 'o
nethod Of paiutug is concerned. This was, certainly,
had method When I told him had seen the picture,
ooh yes no answered, "that was painted long ago.
There are 20 pictures under that one. But have gwen
all that up believe Hamilton was in earnest when he
said there were twenty pictures underneath the ono
saw. and tho same is true Of many Of his earlier pro-
dnctions lie would begin pctno on certain theme,
and work away at it for a time but becoming dissatisfied,
or losing the glow Of his first intention and finding him
self strongly impressed with some other aspect OF nature
he would begin alter here and there TO paint out 70
paint anew until little By little, the first picture would
disappear entirely sunrise would pass into midday AFTER
noon evening and night, land 10 sea- deep ocean 70
shore and thus from change to change, until the paint
would stand so thick upon the canvas that 1T must be
manipulated with the palette knife, and became as we
may say longer painting but modelling 10 look al
some OF these canvases, man would say 'ua'
Hamilton is dashing careless painter throwing his
coors to left and right and letting things come
out as they will. But nothing could be moro mis-
taken. He is fastidious painter not easily satisfied,
painting rapidly but thoughtfuy, knowing well before
hand what he would express, and caring very little as to
how be Expresses -that his thought should somehow,
get itself uttered being TO him the main consideration
Hence his work often looks strange, unreasonable froay
upses theories, topposes our conventional notions
with what looks like brayado, and il obge Us to think
TO decide. Neat people, clean people who like to see
their and orderly appearance reflected in Nature who
ike their trees and rocks and skies scrubbed polished and
combod would probably experience very uneasy sensa
tons standing before many Of Hamtons pictures lie
is the very Of such painters as William T. Rch
ards Of Philadelphia, Clifford, or Church or Bier
stadt and Of he has no apparent relationship 70
Ferrer or the Hills In all his work saw bit Of detail
nothing dclcaely finished what he could do in this way
have no means Of knowing his studies do not appear
have lain in that direction. IL IS true that the greater
number Of pictures that BIO showed wcro made up Of
hrf a. he
large forms with masses, rather than with small forms
aud delicate detail But should speak with for
am here at the wrong time 70 thoroughly what Ham
ton has done. Althc rich people who own his pictures
are of town and their houses either closed or else
aro filed with carpenters and painters busy with repairs
So I could not got sight Of his "Lono Egypt" his
Fhraie Constitution Going Down." "What are tho
wild waves sayingi" "a painted ship upon painted
ocean" 4" brook that 70 the woods oil night sngeih
a quiet tune" "The Last Days Of PompoiP and many
Others whose very titles interesting, and which are
praised by mon in whose poetic sense am used 70 con-
6le And certainly, what did SOC OF Hamiltons way
OF dealing with his subjects made il easy for me to be-
ievo that these quiet but strong admirers Of his usti
fed in their admiration.
MI Hamilton lives quito out Of ,own, nearly three
miles. should say on Washington ave-, few doors from
the Fnkrd road. Tho ride thther in the horsecars is
Ike rides in horsecss everywhere gentle orcasto Of
ones funeral and goes through succession of dIngy
streets whose houses have the cheerful aspect Of tombs
Tho Phadelphans indulge in several customs which
little adapted promotearty any know of One is to
keep the white wooden window shutters vigorously closed
except in cases Of death when they "bowed, it is
called that is opened little way but prevented from too
great concessions to the and air by being tied together
with wecpers of black Of whatever material the purses of
the dsconsolse survivors Afford Shoe-strngs have
boon known TO be rcsored 10 In where grief has had
10 wage unequal struggle between impecuniosy and
that ycarning for responsibility which is part Of tho
Phladephians religion; but such an attenuation OF
mourning ia only allowed in desperate cases understand
however that applicants for cold yieuas at basement
doors elwaysready to follow up unsuccessful demands
with petitions for old and belt-rbbons, and that
when bcggars happy to secure dead relative
thoy manifest their desoation by aprose display of these
catof articles on their shutters e this may there
seemed to have been unusual mortality in the streets
through which wormed its way into tho Frankfort
road and consequent display OF weepers that at length
had all the effect ofan audible groan, result not very
surprising with weeper at every window of our-story
house, aud oxn at the belpu, aud was not at
oil taken aback aghting and asking passerby TO be
directed to Mr. Hamlton house at being told that il
the next door 10 where there going to be funeral
However, all such gloomy notions soon chased
away finding myself in tho artists painting room,
which was in state OF litter delightful behold and the
very opposite of Mr. sulys. The canyases are stacked
against tho walls deep leave only alley by
which TO reach the front of the room where stands the
easel holding unfinished picture and sofa where Mr..
Hamilton seated me while he showed me his sketches of
Niagara, Of which had heard much. suppose that
not quarterof these fifty orsxty studies will ever BIO mado
into finished pictures but, IL they could be ex-
hibitod in gallery by themselves, it would be
how impcrfccty any of the "Yiows of Niagara repre-
sent the Falls in the variety of their terri