New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1875-04-09
FINE ARTS.
TIE NATIONAL ACADEMY or DESIGN - FirriETH
ANNUAL NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. VIEW.

-
NewYotk scciety. ana coody portion too 20 potent
that 5ai weather has the sure eject Of dfaWis
erow-ed houses aGt tbCrc is never so nuca sOolSonb
and unwpgness 70 breuk up ~ on the evenings "o"n
iae Cemeu:s ale bender. So, on wednesday cVeh@'
wL!cn though no actively vi4ul,nt storm was raging
WAS one OF lie mOstsraw and disGSrecabie OF the year.
a coli TINT pierced 20 the and made man pain
fully OF all his shortcomings, physical menai
nad mora.-tc cvzy little Dnees palace on the corner
OF T~entytAirc-st aud F0urthive. wis all alight rs
usual a.d the comoandSo Of tho carriages as huslng
and brisk ever. aud WITHIN, tie scene Lad rh
Ma won,ei chccriuness aud animation There
was crowd. but not too dense Tor
COMFORT Die cTcGlatiOn and IL always t1e cese tho
u,ues received smallest share OF the visitors at
tuiiaa Il IS easy the people and easy TO ret IN
y,ived in chat aud have good rae hui IL Is almost
impossible 10 sec ;he pictures at all, and utterly inpos
Allie 10 see them we'll Commonplace" ls the word We
should oaoase IL hunting for
single one by which to express our impres-
sion OF the present exhibition az whole. There
gro aiy reasonably good pictures many moderately
Interesting ones few outragcOCsy bad ones Few lndi-
crous ones but we wander through the rooms IN vain
expcon. any roat delight. auy thrill any SOW the
exhibition dnas us expee:In; aud leaves Us Gis"p-
pointed.
THIS IA hlfieh anniversary of the opening OF ne
Academy Exhibition The plohc mas h"arG h'ueh OF
late OF the earnes.ness with which tie artists were
Lborng 70 make 4 good exhibition Last year the oHt-
SIDE world bci.t we'd only that the e4hihon WIS
very much better than II had leea for long iinp mn
,y,. upderstood that the attendance greater AID
the receipts far excess OF former years. ana
that mere p,ctnres wero sold than h'd ever
been sold at any exhibition. 1t Is trie lhA'
some persons fcnd Of paradoxss. AMI skilled n
splitting hairs insisted that last years exMht"n was
no better than any former one hui heen' but rAher
worse Yet the public WAS invnced, and The
artists certaiIiy seemed elItci 10y bad yea th"t
looked 50 exactly like a good year. So al WINTER we
have had the promise held ou5 that This strloc Inc
art,s;s were to do and that tic nu't 10
Anniversary OF Academy was 10 ne the occasion "a
new departure the old order WAS 20 Change, SlSins
place onrw.
Unfortunately there ia no fu0iment OF all these me
promises There only no sign OF progress 9Ht
there many signs OF reroGTcsson lac CIlcsGs q
IN, Acadey are Responsible Tor nllch OF this apIear
snc--we make haste TO say that 1t IA only an appear
snce there rctroGressIoa In AT in America oi'
decided advance ID feeling and in nethoG-out the OIL
GERS ~ Academy We repeat, are Responsible sior
making IL appear by their present. exhibition mat we
ara still IN N, old ruts that breath OF life has blown
into our parchod and sandy air aad that there Is e
hope We eau ever move these siaGnlnt waters
Tuls they have done in two ways Fr'', oy the en-
forcement OF the rule. not all unvhocsCme, that 80
work of art exhibited before can be ac-
cepiod for exhibition at the Academy This used 10 Dc
understood to aIpy onl7 10 works or art Lia'
I'D been exhibited III puho for pay. lat this year
tina rule has been extended 10 cover pictures
ana statues shown 10 the whole public IN c"Leres,
or 10 tho cirra artists friends in hs studio or at
his club. Now when considers what the s'o'c VI
The picture ms, has been curing The last year alI
how necessary &c mas. have seemed 10 the artists u
bring their pictures to the notice OF as many
people "a possible. IT seems an unreascnaoir
thug TO have pat forced corsttncl'A Oh
rule that at best does not Tass Vithoui
criticism to its wisdom in the present STATE CT our
culture But. wie or unwisr the enforcing OF lA'srnc
has cost the public few pictures, and al least one
work On scripture Mr.. Bartetrs vigorous, manly and
original Wounded Drumnar-By," which was de-
cliued because 1t was for fe" weeks IL the ofonze
room AZ .nJs The q this rae has pre-
dIced a great deal OF irritation, illfeens, ana hoe
tty adding another 70 those niernal troubles which
do { weak,n and perpsx the Acad'in5 the ts-' 1'r
being waDlly unnecessary, sut easily remejed
Bat a more serious difficulty ia the increase CT me
AGA emc spirit official direction OF the Academy
or rather the aggressive mat this spirit has taken
1t seems odd 10 have chosen Tor the display
OF tls spirit: i. m ;lt have been expected tnIt lhe
fft,eA anniversary would have shown us Low iar We
have got on not how Obstinaeiy we are tolG-
ing fast to starting post. II makes one
sympaih.ze with RIP Van Win&le TO enter the
South Room and Mr. Bcrstadts picture at one ehc
md Mr. Henry Peters Gray's at the otber-Nr Grayf
al honest, respectable performance accorGln: 10 MS
weIFuown recipes and rules, bat with no more relation
20 the nineteenth and 10 America than stuffed
Dodo would have; M. BierstadPs, performance
for him incredibly bad landscape IN Berlin WOO
yet the Academy these two pieces, put in It's places
OF hOaoT records is subsection 10 its own crude past
There OF trace OF the younger artists and
their your thought but 1t will be observed that most
OF those whose works have succeeded IN winning place
OIL these walls are living abroad and working .lere IN
der Influences that rather dominate them IMAM feed
their ind vIduai growth whle those who are VOTING
here at home, searching for fresh folds ard
pastures new, have been rejected almost il
body There would perhaps be compensation for
this II Older painters had all sent pictures and MAI
AL sent tier Bat this IS far from being the case
Not single one OF the artists names are assoc
nted with the best days Of the adcLy has sent WORK
tina: shows him his best And many OF
them fall far short Of the standard they
have themselves created for US to Judge them by Anf
then va have d small group CT artists, many OF tleul
wOmen who u Art circles 10 NeW-York and Boston,
especially among the yOunG TO whose interest III AT
the Academy schools aud the Cooper Institute schools
have given a great impetul-haye been the subject OF
much DISCUSSION aud Of great s:rvngs Of heart, who are
most snubbed and rejected, or only creep
IA between Examiners legs and take covering places
near tho door tlc doors. The result OF all ths
A. that the exhibition IS cold aud tame, aIi Will TAI 10
advance the reputation OF Art. TEis Is pity Tor
the exhibition ami Tor Academy. but Art viii not be
hurt by a. and the impetus that been given IL here
by i epcs at houe abroad viii make Itself fcli
spito Of The cold SHOULDER OF the Academy and It's
strp-rnOtberly con luct. As 1t Is IL must BE
uncomfortable for tue beads OF the lEs.Au ION
to discover as they will before many days, th1t
ell tie vitality % the present exhibition CONES not from
Them but from those who most opposed 10 them Ia
doctrine and most removed from them IL practice We
sincerely regret this for many the oder are slI
capable OF good and interesting work, and they had
potLng to fear from justice done 70 younger anu more
ambitious artists