New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1874-03-23
FINE ARTS-THE DRAMA.
FINE ARTS.


yxHIBIIoN OF PAINTINGS FOR THE BENEFIT OF ST.
JOHNS GUILD.
A benevolent gentleman of this city, wei
known Tor the active he takes in Art being
Obliged 10 ud shelter for his extensive collection oil
psctures while his house IL ouilding' mas nv
upon tho kindly scheme Of lrnaking their lorceu
secusion useful 10 the public. and mas aoeolu-
iugiy placed a large number OF them III Tue
snmeryilIe Gallery (No. 81 Ffthave.), where they
are exhibited the benefit OF the rehet iunu ol Oh
Johns Guild After the payment OF the expenses Oh inc
exbitou All the money received at the door IL 10 De
handed over 10 this charitable society," These pcures
the propcrv OF Mr. Chas L. Frost, are $50 In NUMBER
and they have the names OF good artists al'acheu
20 mona fact which in too many in
stances is OF more advantage 20 tho pictures
than Il is Ike TO be TO the regulations of the painters to
whom they are attributed The visitor who should con-
tent himself with the obging but meager information
as TO tho authorshpEof the pictures contained In the
tablets fastened to the frames, would miss vast
amount OF information, and not little entertainment 10
be had by purchasing and reading the catalogue This
producton Is written with that genial ease that betrays
person OF artistic and statistical information
and Of preernaiuray acute perceptions, afAby letting
himself down TO the level OF the ordinary visitor. Ii
helps us won lerfuy 10 ENJOY Prof r Sohn's " Anti
quarian ia Doubt" 10 be told that the artists prce
Is among the highest and his patronage large as IL
"patronaCe" were "a sort Of bump u man might
be born with. Then we like TO know
Of Mr. GraeAe "a person of whom we
never heard bcore) that this great artists works are
very rare The effect of light the girl face is very
fine Heis now Painter TO Her Royal Majesty Queen
Victoria" And we feel really mortified that we don't
know anything about Famm of Dusseldorf Wheh we
read Of his yev an tho Isle Of Ischa" that this mag
nrdceDt picture IS supposed to he one OF ue
finest landscapes in this country" Where have
We been" We ask desp0ndngly, THAT we
bea~ 1of However.
Escosura, and here he 49, put down with grand sim
pci,y as 0. spain" with all his tes-becnning with
"Pup OF Gerome" and topping of with "Cheyalier OF
the order OF Christ Of Portugal and we are told that
this Indifferent picture by Indifferent painter is
"wIhout doubt one Of the finest Ecsosuras
In the world" There's a touoh-and-Go in
the use OF grammar in this catalogue that ought 10
encourage the dis5eevers in the necessity of that
branch of learning aud the spelling will commend
itself to the OF great photographer in his
first period" No 136, by MI Lagye, is "a rare and
wonderful painted picture" In No 1872 the light and
in this picture is equal TO any of Meyers works.
- Probably 10 painter of horses commends himself
40 richly as shreyer, Like the Elzabethan
men. the author OF the catalogue spells his
names with a difference; so. this one is sometimes
"Shreyer' and sometimes "Schreyer." Having ex-
pended your money for the catalogue you are entitled
10 make selection. The note upon No 118 has snap in
1t. "a magnificent picture that needs no comment;
simply TO say IT'S NehigS chez 0e GuVre." vi NO 70,
''Io see fine specimen of Henry Inman now is Utmost
a rarity" This statement seems TO threaten that
before long such specimens will be rare and No rs be
one OF them we are glad there's good time coming.
Mr. Robies name is to US, but wish for our own
credit not for be must be painter Of phenome
nal badness since of two cOnspcuously poor pictures
one by schaur (NO ~, the other by Bdau (No 12O-we
read in each case it is almost equal 10 Robbie" No.
we are mistaken-NO. 100 ais fully equal to ROBBIE"
There distinguished painter of decorative Hover
pieces named ROBBIE but surely the author of the cata
logue that either OF these painters comes
near himi There is a moderation in his statements
usually which would make such assertion impossible.
Thus in speakng OF No. &C, Feeding the Chickens"
by De Beul, no restraints himself far merely
20 say that "the expression and attitude Of the
young girl superb and the painting OF the chickens
fully equal to Lemmens" We wish to remark here that
the name OF Lemmens sounds like a voice from the
tornbs. Was there, in truth, painter named Lem
nens7 Yes. there was. and Lemmens still hives,
relieve. De Beul is dead rather deceased" and
grief for his loss seems 10 have made our author
reckless rs to his parts Of speech, for he says
that, "since the decease of this artist his
pictures have advanced double their former prices"
But bog the readers pardon the pleasures OF dis
cOvery in the reading of this catalogue have made
fOrgetul Of the pictures Our only excuse is that We
have found something to fan back in visiting this
melancholy collection. and that We have wished TO
communicate useful discovery TO our companions In
misery.