New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1868-12-07
FINE ARTS.

x,,.ho,,s reneived from Mr.. Frank Leslie copy OF
h;s Rcport on the Fine Arts Department. Vi '"o
French Exposition of 1867. The hrst part ol ',0
Ceneral Catalogue of the Exposition when was pun
I;sbed nv the Imperial Commission, ana WHICH III
c,udcs all the information contained Ill MI hesnos
Ranort has been in our hands since juno ol i"SS
wear aud we published at that time an aossi"OV
IN, contents great deal OF fault has Deen io""u -
ARTIST circles with the management oil inc
contribution to the Fine Arts Department. ou' vi '"V
whole we Judge with little reason IheIe was gnu
ground for fearing at one time, that lne "noo 0i'0
nr;se would be seized upon by few men ana turiled
into a great advertisement OF their own WORKS an"
90; a. Commission determined to prevent. Inc
II, fli,o wa ourselves ever had about TINS mat
q. 100 one If regret that the men i'll question hau
o, heep allowed little more rope III winch case "o
ho,J alt have been gTatifed with the sight Oh sew
oral cheerful and never-tobe-regretteo sulci"eS-O
rsn,,tations As it was, such specimens OF the MoiN
of these persons as were included IN the CoHect'on
and they had perfect right 10 be represehteu-weo
either passed by with the neglect thae the!
deserycd or received such notice IN the french
Journals as probably gave more satSiac-
ton TO the readers than to the subjects OF the ci-
cisn 1t is not to be doubted that the COMMISSION
itself had its prejudice of taste but whether some Oh
the omissions from the Collection that we thOugh'
were to be regretted were owing to the VIII OF the
Commission or to the refusal OF the artists III ques-
ton to contribute. are not informed. we th'ilk
Il would have been well to have relied less conf
fdenty ON the works of the older Academlcians'
aud t. have sent over few representative drawings
hy the Younger men and women. They might have
called down severe criticism. but the whole they
would not have been laughed at, as was the case
with te works of some who on this side the water
think that the monopoly of rdicule belongs to them
Yle verdict given upon the American Collection
WAS doubtless true one, and for al the journals OF
, postion, il was nearly unanimous. In our OPINION
Mr Leslie would have rendered real service 10
Americans at home if instead Of dry statistics he hau
filled bis report with TRANSACTIONS of those portions
of tho many criticisms upon the Exposition i'll inc
leading journals, which related especially 10 the
Amarican pictureS These at least were above all
susD,eion of having been written from interested mo-
fiyes We should then have seen exactly how orr
performance in Art looks in the eyes of the most Gull
tiyatcd nation in Europe. Ii is true that the report
would not have been hateTing, but II would nave
done Ia good the public and the artists would both
have prohted by IT, And though we by no means
feel the need of any such seconding, we might per
hays have been pleaeed 10 have certain persons
made aware that the judgments pronounced
% by THr TRIBUNE were, in every instance,
substantially upheld. In spite of the mod
lied approval given by the appointed judges
to cerian of our artists-to Mr.. Church. TO Mr..
MoEntce, to Mr. Eastman johnson, to Mr.. Homer,
aud to Mr.. Kensett-lt was not until the last moment
thst.it was decided to give medal to any American
artist and then it was given TO Mr. Church, not on
tho strength of either of his two pictures in the Ex
hibt,on but for his picture of Niagara which he had
Just completed for the House of Gounil. and which
the Commission went to Goupils gallery expressly
to see. If Mr. Leslie's report had contained real
history of the American Department of the Fine
Aria ia the Great Exposition, and not mere blood
less exhibition OF statistics, it would have been vel
come aud useful even If it had appeared still later
In tho day