The New York herald., 1870-01-09
FIN E ARTS.
Architecture.


street architecture IN New York Ynl doubtless be
greatly modlned il the grand design TOR an arcade
railway on Broadway gotten up and recommended
bY Mr.. Melville O. Smith, anu approved by an
almost unanimous vote OF the Senate and Assembly
OF our State, should ever be carried INTO execution.
Meanwhile the most striking feature OF our street
architecture is It's utter contrast TO the splendid mo-
notony OF Hlusslnannized Paris. Variety seems TO
be its Only law. Perhaps the French altgaen,ent
might be advantageousy applied here to single
blocks OF houses. leaving all liberty far as con-
Germs the style and decorations OF each front. In
some cases the juxtapcsition OF buildings, unlike
each other IN dimensions and In every otner respect
nullides the pleasing or imposing effect which any
one OF them might have II standing alone. Thus on
Fourth avenue, within short distance little
gothic church Is altogether overwhelmed and
crushed ny the vast edifice lately erected by
the Young Mems Christian Association, ana
the bewlldering confusion of the spectator is still
further complicated by that Byzantine structure the
Academy OF Design. II cannot be denied, however
that IS owing to the infinite variety which we nave
mentioned that some OF our avenues offer superb
street views and that Broadway itself is unique.
L we are 10 have distlnctively national archi-
lecture may expect to the first signs OF 1t In
our steamboats, those noating palaces In our rail-
way station houses and in private dwellings spe-
cally adapted TO the exigencies OF American life.
IL Is said tnat southern lady, Mrs. Irwin sister
OF Mrs. Stonewall Jackson, has secured patent for
an Improvement In the construction OF houses
which promises TO create new era In architecture.
Mrs. IRWIN claims that six walled or hexagonal
apartments are not only more artlsticay beautiful
but also cheaper and stronger than the quadrangle
lar form. The hexagonal building would certainly
be preferable to the octagonal, which attracted much
attention few years ago, but failed to prove either
practicable or popular.
Sculpture.
Two or three bastS and ba5 reliefs by Launt
Thompson, the deservedly distinguished American
sculptor, are among the splendid prizes offered to
Subscribers TO the bore Art Union.
Can no eifectua protest be made In the interest OF
true art against ABSURD Congressional grants to mere
they call equestrian statues" and who manfestly
know more about the mysteries OF 'log rolling''
than about sculptures Why should the people be
taxed for the payment Of large sums OF money for
cutting or the head OF Mcclellan from one OF these
equestrian statues' and replacing 1t with head Of
Crants The same nody and the same cid horse may
be deemed by "the artist" equally good enough
for either OF these famous generals. But real
sculptor would feel bo1nd 10 make entirely
different designs wese he called upon for
equestrian statues OF Dota. Tborw aldsen has been
severely and justly censured for having cunnlngly
substituted figure Of EsculapUs for one OF Truth,
and Tor having managed to 'do" the Danish govern.
ment with duplicate when they fancied it was an
original We want no American Thorwaldsen
whose only claim to such title would be based on
similar tricks