New-York tribune., 1867-06-14
THE NATIONAL ACADEMY or DESIGN.
rorry.r,usr ANNUAL EXHIBITION.


O,o thing sbould be considered by those who
and Who does not compain!-of the poverty
q, , nrssent exhibition IL "a not reasonable to expect
that ont NJ the six hundred pictures on these walls the
greater number any large proportion shoulh DO goou
or even passabe In country In the world not even
IN France are there six hundred good pictures painted
I'm wear No whore, one hundred pf0duced IN that
time and perhaps is safe TO ga further ana say that
mon might look for so few as fifty. painted in year OF
rurope and not find them. last year there were l19'
paintings in the French Salon ths year according 10
or correspondent not many. by an in 1865 there
were over TOO in the English Royal Academy How many
Of these pictures worth looking at' twicet Pcr
hama one In thirty many able to stand the test
Of criticlsmf Perhaps, ono in fifty. How many were
strong enough to attract general admiration or even
general curiosityf Perhaps. one in hundred Well
then whv EXPECT that 10 America where there no ex
perience IN Art worth mentioning where thero are no
traditions where there proper training for who
sba, teach the teacherss Think that actually Mr Edwin
White and Mr. Thomas Hicks havo puplsD why demand
that here in America things should be better thah they
are in those older weather.. more cultivated commuh
tesi The mere statement Of tae demand shows ts un
reasonabeness.
We'll but" some will say. this being the case "
would be better TO exhibit fewer pictures Let al the
had ones be discarded and let the show be made select
one" This sounds reasonable enough. but IN truth nov"
ever desirable il might be- 1t cannot be done fo oho
thing there arc judges TO mako an nfailbe decioh
and il there werc and they should ply their once secr
w. the show would be small 1t would be hardy worm
be 70 have erected the Academy Building to hold It,
And besde there is such variety OF character ana dis
position so many degrees Of culture and eduostoh 80
many tastes that 1t better too many pictures than 100
few We cannot tell what given man. woman or chid
will 0nd interesting In gwen picture IL toaone' u'
modesty and humility to see how picture that we oah
not for the life OF u.s. take pleasure H. or learn on o
bo moved by will delight, and teach, and move another
man Mr. Greenwood says that he has secn his room
packed "a full would hold with clergyinen ana their
wives Sunday school scholars all with tears OF emo
lion born OF delight rolling steadily down their faces dur
ing the two hours that tho Bunyan Tabeaux ana his
explanatory discourse elng unrolled together But
the Bunyan Tabeaux only gave us the hdgets ana pro-
duced weeks depression OF spirits Only the other day
while we sat for hour before Mr Bierstadts Domcs
Of the Yo Semitic trying in vain to like II or approve IT,
two beautiful girls IN the gallery two splendid ahgeS
newly dressed disooursed ravishingy OF its at
mosphere and distance that felt Inundated by the
contrast OF their powers Of perception
Optic. sharp t need. wseo
To see What s not TO be seen
with our own No. we cannot all SEQ alike and these
ovcr full galleries teach rent many different lessons
The question is do tho exhibitions grow better on the
whole with the yearsf Arc there moro good pictures
this year than there five yoa. agof IL these ques
tons oan be answered In the Affirmative. then we may 10
encouraged. And. even II We must answer no. thefe
may be no for despair for In evory literature ana
art there como Of nacton OF Decline OF apparent
DEATH which really only times OF change when tho
old crop ganercd and the new nos sown or just break
Ing tho mold and we may believe that In our own case
wo have reached crisis that principles arc working and
their result not yet apparent that the next movement
will be = movement forward.
Tho main point interest in tho study of the present
Condition OF Art In America U.s.. What are the young men
doingr The older men have built up tho Academy
have given an assured existence permanent conven
lent and beautiful home They did their best Tor to ah
vancoment OF Art In period whom tho general pubic
felt almost interest whatever In the subject and whom
n very little techaca and intellectual ability won't
great way Thsro are always few personal friends OF
those gentlemen; a few individuals with natural re-
spcct for names that aro associated with tho history OF
any endsayor few whos sense OF Justice Ia shocked by
the ndecorum Of criticism IN questioning tho verdict of
cIiduos; who will resent any attompt 70
xiye our paintors OF the past and passing
generation tho low place that undoubtedly
belongs them. and who equally resent attempt TO
show that tho young and women who arc making
ready 10 their places likely 10 produce works OF
creator valuo and interest than thes Yet venture
10 that this Ia extremely probable for tho simple
reason that granting thoy hayc no higher natural
ability they have grown under influences far better
calculated TO stimulate tho intellect the oompctiton s
moro eager and the pubic difficult 10 plosse When
tho mon who at tho hoad OF tho Academy and
who well past tho middle term Of life. were young
and Just beginning their profession the condition oil
Art, hero in America. - low a. can we'll DO con
oeyod. The population small men OF letters were
few and Tho standard OF culture low there no
interest IA Art outside of the circle of educated mon
and their mainly OF the connoissour kind
race OF schoars race OF arsts does not rlso higher
than the average culture of ts tme aud Is no dspar
agement OF these amvbo and respectable gentlemen TO
say that their pictures have little interest for to-
day than the books OF their cotomporares Tho plain
truth sthat they followers aud imtaors and
even the advance that Of tho landscape painters
made toward natural treatment was beyond measure
feeble without any root Of permsnonce founded In
study and observation. Then thero oamo another
stop forward. taken by tho scholars and pupils Of
these men. Kensett. Church, Clifford. Hubbard
Cropsey and others; with certain elements I'm
ported from abroad. and with independents
ng-tho Harts Gignoux. MIgnot and tho rest and
about the time tho Dusseldorf influence and
em grafton real evil artistic "Rhncdor pest"
ono may Joke such misforunewh Is now. hap
PLY. much abated. This younger school has boon Of
great service 10 culture It has boon far worthy
respect than the school which preceded 1.-THE school
Durand and Cole. The that composed 1t suffered
from their insufficient training. and had not natural
power enough to mako up for the want of It, but they
moved toward nature. not away from hor. They made
tho neKt step 10 nature half dovelopmont
Of their own practice, andInot a contradiction OF IT, AZ
their own was Of that OF their teachers There s no
doubt that they have helped 10 lay tho foundation Of
distinctive American school OF landscape painting. and
tho pictures that they painted In their prime must always
DO looked upon with respect and with certain degree
Of pleasure. Unhapply. they have all ceased to paint
we'll, toierably and that. too. while they arc still
comparatively young Their work no longer attracts
the public interest, longer commands tho public ro
spect. Time when any these names would draw
boyy, when OF them would draw crowd; but
now, hardly ono Of them Ia able to attract moro
than a passing look. We read somowcre. lately.
a statement by q person OF enthusiastic tenn