The New York herald., 1870-06-20
9uE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF ART.
To THE EDITOR OF THE HERALD

To THE EDITOR THE HERALD
The time Is ripe for the establishment of an Ameri
can Museum of Art in the city OF New York. When
established it should furnish a detailed history Of
painting engraving, satuary and architectural OF
modern art particularly American, 1t should be
comprehensive. 1t should not dwell too much upon
the traditiOnary past but form rather comprehen-
sive museum OF the living present. In history it
should furnish the outlines. An intimate study OF
art from the Real Museo OF Madrid, to the Hermit
age of st. Petersburg. and from the National Gallery
TO the Vatican, Is the writer's only apology for
making a few private suggestions in regard to q
Metropolitan Art Museum From the aggregate sug-
gestions Of all VIII come the consummation OF per-
feet collection. Every one absolutely in earnest,
like the graduate OF oxford, viii be an element Of
strength in the coming work Thousands Of great
pictures and engravings already in the country,
and If every friend of art will tell where he knows
certain pictures to be. the aggregate Will make u
gallery.
WHERE SITUATE THE MUSEUM
The museum should be situated In some central
locality, where ladies and lovers OF art could rem
devious at all times. The Louvre and Borghese are
always central art circles. The art centre OF New
YORK VIII one day be about where IL now situated
the Reservoir, corner Forty-second street and Fifth
avenue. The Reservoir not being needed VII soon
give way to some public BUILDING Why not locate
the museum theres
As remarked before, the museum should be In q
degree historic. IL should show the travel OF art
from Gunta n , Ga PISA, OF tue twelfth century up
logne, German, French and American schools.
Painters who have made art epochs should be more
fully represented. They are the art posts OF the
cenrurles. such were the religious Fra Angelica OF
the fourteenth century; perugno, who tutosed sweet
ness to Raphael In the fifteenth; Michael Angelo the
grand; Andrea del SarO, the fiescoer; Leonardo,
the Christ painter; Claude the laniscapeis; Titan,
the colorIst Reubens bold; Tenicrs and Messon-
ier the realists and Turner, the insane. There are
Phldias, Canova, Thorwalsden and Powers In mar
Stenla, Lefevre, Strange and sharp, IN engraving
WHERE ARE THE hAsTERPIECEsY
They are all around us. LOOK about with me and
Is chronological collection which took ten years OF
the life Of hat great connoisseur J. }. Jarvis. This
tion extends from Guna da Pisa OF the twelfth, all
the way through 10 Guercino DO 1inichno and the
ana leonardo d da vnc are missing Mr. Barlow Of
Washington, the owner OF choice Rembrandt, has
more Manor House good copy OF Peruaino and Mr..
Miner X. Kellogg OF the same city. has now boxed
up In Baltimore superb signed Leonardo da Vinci.
The subject is Herodlus. This picture unless sOOn
secured VIII be lost 10 the country. ~ was Mr.. Ke
logg's la Belle Jardlnere'' !preniere ta.e dm
ptentre), since sold TO Lord Ashburton, of Bath
House, Piccadilly.
or the works OF J. NJ w. Turner the only copies in
America are those four small pictures secured
through John Ruskin by DR.. Magoon, that modern
Peter the Hermit In the American art field. These
Turners-"Lock Lommond,n "Smarlholm Tower
and the original vignette painted for Sir Walter
Scott for the "Lady OF the Lake"-now hang almost
forgotten on the walls OF vasser College. Superb
copies OF the French and Dutch schools are in dozen
OF American galleries. Each owner would be glad
to contribute something OUT OF his prolific store Let
the catalogue give credit Iron whom purchased"
and present owners would be glad to contribute,
only receiving irst cost themselves
WHERE ARE THE MODERN PAINTINGS
Senator Sumner has several Ruysdaels. Aspinwal
has Teniers, Murello Guido, Carlo Dolci, Correggo.
% ees
tOn, has r. Mengs, Vernet, Vandyck, Teneyck, REM
brant and the Greek slave. Mr. Walters, OF Balti-
more, has superb Reubens a Tonlmache aud
Gerard Dow sam Grant OF Philadelphia, has a
snyder. or the contemporary schools we nave
Messoner ssoaGa at Biodsets, w Waters Probosco's;
heur Ui'a at Il Biodgetts % Bemonss walters ana Nc
Cures (Washington): Buyureau at Johnson's and
hoa
and yerboeckhoven everywhere, and Church four
GaIdel at Messrs: San sam Colts URoberts' and
IN ENGRAVING
Mr.. Sumner has the finest heads In the country.
mans old collection, with Of the finest
pieces from Milan ana London DR.. Pease, OF Cam
a Rom naSn The
collection for Harvard College.
| to consummate an art museum, secure the Jarvis
collection as a nucleus, with the "Perugn0' ana
Rembrandt, y of Barlow, the "Leonardo,n OF kel-
| logg, and the four Magoon turner's" Order mme-
diately from each middle-aged coemporary artist
masterpiece. Let Meissonier give us nm nnlsned pic
turette, Gerome scene from the Pagan East TroyoD
his Fiensley cattle, Achenback lA.l marine ano Os-
wald burning canvass with vesuvlus 1aming nom
| the background. Let Church, and barley, and
| Knaus now middle aged, leave their marks. over
| beck and Habner, are Old, ana tne oest we can do
with the latter Is to buy the Connover picture now
for sale at Snedecor's.
| In marble after plaster casts Of the vepuses and
| antiores lei Powers furnish copy OF the "6ave,N
palmer baso reltepo and ar0nd all these works Of
art let Fred Law Olmstcad throw the ''seven lamps
Of architecture and we will one day thank him aa
| we now do for our Central PARK.
| NJ d. LANDON.
ASHLAND House, 100 East Twenty fourth street,
June =. 1870.