New-York tribune., 1869-05-13
THE FINE ARTS.
THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF DESldN'
I'M iItoRTy-FoURTH ANNUAL EXHIBITION

,,,a We have 10 distinguish, IN collection
where the good pictures look exactly llke INC D~
Four hundred and fifteen numbers IN the C"'V ,s5
with the exception Of a half-dozen painlinEs i
we can Justly admit many, Watercoior ui"IHo v
two and as many architectural studles' WHaV i'ic
be show for year Of artislifc! How can tiS
~ time he iustiaedi How can the expenditure vi noVy
% ,bis beautlful and convenient building DC Jusuheu,
or the demand made upon the time OF so many men anu
oor WIN are fetched from their active empl0yments
and from the pursuit Of happiness TO De maue orRu Vi
dseontented under the influence OF all TINS lhahly
certainly we should not like to be set the task OF Jus
fypg these things And perhaps the part OF prudence
TouId be- not TO meddle with such problems at ALL For'
ben all is done what resutq Here is the Academy 1t
an incorporated Institution. If 1t have no soul nor
mind IL is at least incorporate, IL has body Ana the
body has house, elegant SHE'LL 1t owns real estate
1t makes and we suppose 1t invests, money ~
IS thus safely intrenched. Then 1t has staoo
government, with rulers, and a body OF hOoIoS
called Academcians. aud nursery, or Ioroink
bed where slips set out for supplying the piaoo v
mobiles that die out dry up and disappear Inese op
are called Associates. Then, behind all these 10 E
body of Fellows Fellows for Life and Fellows III rer
petuity Great are the privileges OF FeoW oo lar "s
fba state of man is concerned the privileges OF
Fellow for Life are way different from those OF rel
low I'm Perpeulty. But the Fellow In Perpetuy mas the
consolation Of knowing when he comes 10 ue that NO
transmits those privileges, such as they are 10 ms weep
ing heirs When he pays into the excheQuer OF the Acad
smy the necessary $780, he may hear the portraits OF de-
ceased artists that cover every square foot OF wall
In the ladies' dressing room, hail him. with visionary
voices "the father Of line OF Fellows" AS ior
The other Fellow upon his head they place fruitless
rrown and put a barren scepter in his grpe for his
pary 500 and all the privileges brings, die with hlmi
no son of his succeeding And what inestmable prVf
legesl Five season tickets to the annual exhibition
Access to the library and readingroOml VINO tnat mas
ever seen that library read the catalogue OF DOCKS
contains but must thrilled with the strong desire TO
have access tolt collection extensive, so reh so
modern so up to the times What shall 1t be compared
tot To one of booksalls in Nassaust' on which
we readAny book this stand for 20 centsT 10 Vhe
famous library in the Cooper Instue To the cupDoaIu
of books on an ocean steamerf Would there DO
book apiece II oil the Fellows Of both species
should take into their heads TO have access 10 the LIZ
brpry on the day. What privilege 10 transmit 10
ones hersl Then there are invitations to all the Con
versatons" by which, suppose is meant tho Recep
tiops held by the Academy Everybody knows what
pleasant occasions these Receptions And everybody
can see that If adds TO the Conversation up stairs
the Dancing afterward down stairs, $500 is mere moth
ing to pay for the power Of transmitting such privilege
10 ones postey There then are the two students that
every Fellow can name annually, who, on passing the
usual examination, shall be admitted TO the
Schools Of the Academy free Of charge
"schools" quothal Suppose We drop hourishes, and
say simply schOolp school in the cellar school
without teachers school without scholars, where,
II there be nominal scholars and anything at all be taught
by tho nominal teaCherswe may Judge by the annua e1
hbton that nothing learned there which has power TO
recruit by a drop Of living blood an institution
that seems slowly dying Of marasmus' Per
haps the reader is not very much impressed
with the value OF the privileges enjoyed by the
Fellows But they have seemed so valuable to others
that no than l5 people have subscribed $500 each to
make themselves Fellows in Perpetuty, and 79S have
subscribed 500 to become Fellows foe and they
are among our most respectable citizens So that we see
how the Academy is iDrenched What 1t does is proba
bly, satisfactory to nobody People have long since
ceased to look TO for any healthy influence upon our
art IL does nothing whateyer-nO one can honestly
deny ito make Art we will not say loved we will con-
tent ourselves saying respected by people We
charge the Academy, bluntlY, with beng untrue
TO its trust The public has done everything
for it that it has been asked to do. 1t has supported
vigorously Annual Exhibition 1t has built for its use
OF the most beautiful edces in our city has sub
scrbed to the Fellowship Fund $5sOOO And what does
the Academy for al this flights uDits building three
four times I'm year. and sends out san-smooh cards
and bets printed gold and oolors, aud decoraes its
sairways with flowers and hires band Of musicians and
puts pitcher Of and tumbler the floor Of the
ladies' dresngrOOm and goes TO other expenses. and
invites people TO come and talk for a few
hJufs, aud, nOW-0udthon, TO dance a lttle
after. II opens a yearly exhibition TO which,
for somo reason or other that nobody give,
tho artists who stand with the public representatives
Of American Art longer send any contributions.
IUmOr that the best men are so disgused with the
low aim, the small spirit, and the want Of enterprise
Which mark the management that they have with
drawn silently % their credit There is universal
dissatisfaction The school, have SAID is a
prcense. We grant that it is difficult 10 say where the
teachers are 20 come from Think Of Mr. Huntington
Er nis Oh Mr. Cray teaching The hsurel Neither one Of
these gentlemen make drawing that would pass
tho examination at Kensiugton, much less that OF
rstratc French studio. II is true this Is not exactly
the fault OK these gentlemen They were never taught
themselves They belong the ranks Of selfnade
men, But then the Academy is responsible for keeping
in its highest places vhOthOugh they we're the
best we had longer aud who exert not ameTey
negative influence but positively retard progress and
prevent the Academy from doing any real good 70 the
community. II IS scandal that Of the men
an high places in the Academy having made up their
minds that not their bad pictures their aznes their
incompetence that in the way Of progress and that
hinder American art, but only the bringing TO
this country the works Of the best foreign
artists srenuOusy themselves TO prevent the
importation Of such pictures hoping in this to force
our people TO like and 10 buy their own inferior prOduc
tions II is by such reactionaryand bgoted methods
that the Academy proposes TO create American school
Of Art and TO educate public This the Spartan
principle They taught their boys sobriety by showing
them the shame Of drunkenness So are 20 teach
youth the excellence Of landscape art by showing them
the failures Of Mr. CIanch We TO their enthu
for the figure, by dragging them up TO Mr. Hicks's
canvasses. We 70 create few masters Of the pa
thetc and the romantic, by feeding the tender minds
OF youth on Mr. Langs performances They 10 learn
what Titan was by studying Mr. Gray. And as we
cannot have Turner, we may have much please
OF Mr. Durand. When demonstrate against this small
soued meddling with the public education, we get no
satisfaction whatever. The Academy its own master
and nobody has any right interfere with IT, so long as
it does not violate its charter And really no one feels
interest enough in its dong interfere The best men
among the artists may fret They are welcome 10 fret