The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1873-06-16
MODELS IN NEW YORK.
Difficulties Under Which the Nude
is Pursued Here.
WHERE MODELS ARE PROCURED, FROM
What They Get and What
They Do.
The LADIES' Life School at the Acal-
envy Of Design.
.Abnormalitic of fMOdea
Life.
tccENTa;c,TIEs OF THE HAfle leaf.

che thought must have Obscurely fsshed across his
mind that he would like Eve TO sit for his model
Having no childhood to look back upon, 1t Ii net
likely that he was much given, to introspection,
and his crude erorts at pantSay and sculpture in.
stead Of expressing some Subjective condition.
would have been purely objcTt3ve in character and
have lit upon Eve as their umost appropriate and
beautiful theme. And the First Mother had this to
recommend her, too--she had none Of the squeam.
ishness and tTrudery engnndered by what we call
civilization ;-she was naked and not ashamed, and
knew no necessity to blush and vince or ask to
wear a mask as she took the heavenly pose.
which we are assuming she may have been re-
quested to do by Adam. No premonition OF
the ng .aeaf embarrassed her, and, whet Their she
slept or worked, or walked or frisked around the
immortal co-gardener, whose divinely-stolen rib
she represented she was ignorant OF the suspicion
that apron, let alone coat of skins would ever
he desirable. Hence there was no necessity to
break the hrst model in. There were no c0nven-
tionasies to strip her OF before you persuaded her
to take of her clothes. Her naturaness was part
OF that organization which rendered her little
lower than the angels--so very little lower that
when Michael conversed with her in the garden he
might almost have been pardoned for thinking
Deity had made mistake IN giving her TO the em-
braces Of perishabe clay.
OUR LIFE SCHOOLS
The first life school, then, was that OF Eden; hut
humanity has, somewhat feeby, perhaps, perpetu-
ated the memory OF it, and handed interesting ira
ditions down Of the naked human form. The sub
ject Is an attractive one, apt TO be prurienty or
C0arsely treated, according to the hands into which
1t may happen to fall; but it shall be the endeavOr
OF this paper to give varied information with re-
gard to it and with regard to models in New York
in general, without overstepping the limits of good
taste and pure feeling. Why the outside world
should regard with q sensation approaching dis
gust those persons male and female, who, for pnr-
poses OF art and in the presence only OF artists and
art students, sit and stand as God made them, is
only to be explained by the fact that the outside
world is very ignorant world, q very prejudiced
world, q very obstinate world, ana world there
fore, dilncut to instruct and make better
There is in New York, we believe, but one regu-
larry endowed lie school-that which exists at the
Academy OF Design. 1t occupies two rooms there.
OF these the small lecture room is occupied during
the day, and the room beneath IL duringthe even
ing Three sessions are held ON three days of the
week-Monday, Wednesday and Friday Each scs-
sion lasts'rwo hours In the morning from ten to
twelve: afternoon, Two to four; evening seven to
nine The morning class Is attended by students
who, having their time at their own disposal. pru-
IDENTITY select the earlier portion of the day for im
evening cass-wnch is much larger than that OF
the morning-s composed Of young and middle
aged men, who curing the day arc employed in va
rious occupations that have fellowship VITA art,
and are DESTROYS OF perlectng themselves In the
accessories OF their business The afternoon class
Is composed exclusively OF ladies', and ne know
that thousands Of readers of tine will learn
with amaZement that there il
wOMANis LIFE SCHOOL, Io)
as well az mans. There is not very great deal
to he said under this head The femais class MINI
FLY two
years. The male ntlmoers Glty word may be
said to the many who cannot or VIII not under
pursuing ladies', presided over by gentle.
man professor, can occupy an apartment, the CEN
movably. Those who suggest this problem forget
that IN entering the Lie School the student male
and female, peels or these wretched convcntionai
husks with which our finer aspirations are en-
yeloped, so that the pure seed OF art alone re-
mains Nature IS not ashamed OF nakedness, and
Then, too professional habit has some.
thing to do with IT, and when the male
model mas ,s,a assumed par Of bataing diawers
class, even prudeIy herself cannot have much
more to say than she would at beholdng the same
spectacle infinitely repeated, any early morning III
Summer, upon the coast.
THE LIFE SCHOOL IN OPERATION
Is very interesting sight, especially at night.
Permanent arcs OF circles are inscribed on the
Moor to define the boundaries over which the re-
spectve rows OF students are expected not 70 tres
pass. Every Monday the students draw lots in
order to decide their respective positions with ref
erence to the model and The platform he or she &C.
cupies. The locale thus secured becomes the right
OF the student for the ensuing two weeks, the
pose OF the model lasting that length
o. Sh .e model meh ,n "gauea na aSotbGp an
tude selected; or, should the same model be re-
tanned, change, at any rate, is made i'll the pose.
and each session lasts only two hours, including
the rests given to the model, each OF the drawings
made In the Life School must be executed within
twelve hours, and the results vary greatly in the
relation they bear to completeness fne Depart
ment OF schools = under the superintendent Of
Professor l.. Il. Wtmarth who IN tile education OF
students has certainly done more for art IN New
YORK, and therefore, III America, than even the art
public has ever gwen him credit for. To see him
Ia the Antique and the Life Schools fitting from
easel TO easel dropping word Of praise here,
6ase there letting fan pearl Of an IDEA where
such pearls are most needed, tempering
enthusiasm with Judgment, and meiowing I'M
pulse with reflection is to see man utterly dc
voted To his art, recognizing nothing better worth
living ior full OF aspiration which no imperiection
and enjoying that calm delight which selt-dedca.
ton 70 whatever Is good and beautiful and true
alone can confer
now MODELS ARE SELECTED
Where models come from, how tney are selected,
And what are the conditions which prompt men ana
women 10 earn subsistence after this manner are
some o5 the more suggestive questions that will
arise III the readers mind. The models employed
IN the Life school at the Academy oil Design are
Careiuiy selected by a committee appointed Tor
that purpose. The committee consists OF Messrs
:. .. A. Ward, i. Wood Perry ana Seymour Joseph
the course OF the season a very large perceptaue
oil these being foreigners. Americans-at least
male Americans-do not take kindly 10 the bust.
ness, and the proportion oil English is small com.
pared with the Continental applicants II The usual
supply falls visit Is made by one OF the commit
tee or some other responsible academican TO Castle
Garden, where more than one Hercules Is sure to
be ioun1, aboundng ia thews which the ancient
world might not disdaiD, and only too glad to pose
IN paradisaic nudity at the terms proposed. But
The difficulty with models Ia this country Is that
they are not trained There are not more than
m an a Ne Nurk
who possess the slightest claims TO being consid.
cred proiessional--and even at these any artist
would laugh who has had experience among the
ateJiers and academies OF Europe or these twenty
Cnly lew follow IL a. a business, and even then
IL Is business they do not understand. The
models OF Paris and Italy grow up In an atmosphere
o; art They are surrounded from infancy by the
traditions OF the antique, are familiar with all the
attitudes and many classical ansions, know what
md flash out the desired pose upon 1t. In many
cases. abroad. there will be an entire family OF