New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1876-02-19
THE wATER-CoLoR EXHIBITION.

The wish has been expressed th1t al ioi :
sgn watprcolors had been excluded rom 'ho po'0.'
exhibition and tho field left open for American
ton alone But, in opinion, this wonid hNo peon :"
serious mistake Our artists need NOT ohiy an '''o
healthy competition they can get nut All inc e'P .e'
ran oct from artists in other countries. working Is ese
are ON basis OF tradition, study, ana experience %
nm hv the generations behind them To begin all over
seaio nc II nothing had been learned, n0thhg eahoi
from the past, would be imposSiOle Io' US '' '
Corth while, were it possible
Our own regret Ia that th0re arc ho' inoIo "o w
these walls by foreign in the art Ihe oest er
fists wo have in water-cOcrs VIII not on! o".oiI"iy
Acknowledge the excellence of such era NinIs IN '
"Satsfed Florist" No. as; Defales 'Hi'asSc'' w.
oso and Persas "strcet In Toledo" No 2oo' bw VIII
acknowledge that there much Ia them from when 'ney
csp learn and much that them 10 claual'on Mt
Kl lmgvorth JOhnson's "1he lnruferS' Is another OK
ample Who whether artist or lay man, VIII not DC ue
lighted with this English garden, with this lush horuer
of old-fashOncd flowers, with this aif EnSsh emu
Is drawing not satisfactory as WHOLE ana Without
any particular meaning point but Tor the nedu ui
way in which the flowers and the trees p'ih'eu IL
xroua he "a easy to stand before f0r an hour III iran
uuiI pleasure 1t would be before the ramoo" wreath
of flowers itself. .
At the same time cannot but express surprise hat
nm ar st so clever not only in painting flowers an trees
but In giving EXPRESSION to human faces as we learned
by his Rival Forss should have left us in DOUBT as
to the action of his principal figure in the present draw
ing. we find no clew TO what the old gentleman is doing
Is he asleep or thinking or studying some OBJECT @" 'e
table before Lin, or only little gf0Egy sMeV MI
johnson need have made II necessary Tor us 10 uIAe
ourselves.
yibers Satisfied Florist" is not only clever pece OF
character panting but t is what also relish spec
mon OF pure watercOor. So far as we can discover
there is not on of body color employed in IT, Ana
no one can say that it Is not brilliant AMI as sofa as
INV Of the works body color that abound on these
iftnrty arfl Ip'
son use bodycoor to such excess that IN many cases
seems to have been laid with palc;.e-knhe The
French and Spanish artists get the same sOiicy Win
washes aud biottings Of pure watercolor We are OF
opinion that between the two methods, there can be no
doubt the greater probable durability OF drawings
In pure water-coor. We know several cases where
drawing. BODY have blackened and spotted but
we know no drawing in pure watcr-col0T mat has SUI
fered any greater injury than fading slightly and that
only with improper exposure TO the sun Drawings In
bodycolor do not need exposure they carry the prin
ciples Of change and dscooration in themselves
Mr. Perry's a Months Darnins" No is is the best
pfhisrumerous drawings here though "The Quilting,
No 1856 is also excellent in expression not 81 attract
I've as a subject sorry that the sweetfaced sr
In No Is should have such largef0ctcd menfolks to
darn ior for a family Of such would almost he able to
make in yarn by their yearly demand Tor STOCK
ings However this is mere detail the stockings are
well painted and that is enough And what is OF more
imp rtanco STILL tb, gfl's head is the best pa Of the
drawing Another pleasant bit OF wotA by Mr. Perry is
"Anne Hathaway Kitchen" but We wonder non we
zoe this artist wasting his tune and ours with such
lumpish boy AS IS in SIX and Carry one No 30 Even
an artist so clever Mr. Perry cannot afford 10 use his
pawns too often.
MIL c. Slcoll's large picture in the North Room No.
60 On tho Gulf OF IT. Lawrence has good drawing In
It, and Is not badly composed, but II Is FOO du ana
sonber which q very different thing from bong srri-
Gus or grave. One does MT object to being told that
day is going to be stormy, or mt h hae been
stormy. but don't like being set ont in bad
weather actually present, to stay there There ought
10 be light; o CLEAN Of hope, OF gleam Of memory
somewhere in the drawing but III tins there IS no
hint OF either Better aud strOngcrs thc same artists
"Cearing on No l92, where lac has not been oompet-
ing with OF his brother artists as TO VINO shqnld
sling the smOothes waves but has tried 10 express tho
bang the breakers the rocks aud has succeeded In
getting good deal OF sound and fury.
Mr.. r. Swain Clifford has much good work in this er-
hbition subiec s rather inonoionously East
ern but he hammered aud does not Try for stun
ming effects we feel II he gave the look OF the places
To our thinking the best his drawings is No l57,
"The Month OF the Sahara Desert" This is not only
agreeable but there is an air Of nat"rdn 50 ABOUT
IT, and an impression that the artist has mastered his ma
tersls made OF his subject, and yet not made
too much Of (which j. not 10 DE said OF 81 hc drawings
OF foreign places one sees.
Mr. Winslow Homer was more interesting as a whole
with his drawings Last year Those OF this season are
neither 40 many taking. There Is atendehcy VIC
hope this clever artist will not cultivate top Inuch 10
choose quasi funny or fantastic sujecis-his OFPF~
from a Railroad Train." No 5O2, boys bathing their
bodies In shadow between and the fading day
light Flower FOR the Teacher" No 235. monkeyiSh
little darky-bOy with huge sunfowcg; and 1.-THE Busy
Bee No IA, another darky-boy, OF the same,
fighting of the bees with his straw hat IL
ia true that Mr nomer's subjects rarely anything
IN themselves tits all in the way he treats them but no
hrnad mai.
1ects as these permanently interesting We may as wen
remark here that it 10 hoped Mr. Abbey will not DO
D. oil that In spite Of all Mir Uonos deficiencies,
the time for him to sit on a stoo! ~ Nh Abbey
feet and take OF the younger The 1uGsos
ton importing enough and that should have been
made In respectable quarter IL much TO be regretted
Mr.. Homer Is easily the first have in figure
subjects, ard Mr. Abbey is young besnncr who,
though promising enough we do not doubt VIII
Inodesy acknowledge that he would be glad TO have
q 1.-THE OF what Mr. Homer could teach him.
We shall always regret that Mr. Homer will not give
us more finished drawings. or NJ any rate skeche he
pleases OF IuOre interesting and important SUBJECTS
But for what he does, very grateful II" 10 rarely
stupid and never dull he loves his work ana commun
Gates hi own interest TO US. Let him keen hs drawings
away from our exhibitions aud shOald soon hnd Ont
what we had lost
Near Mr. swain Chords drawing 0; tic Arab Enoamp
ent No 1877 il one OF the most notable 81 tue foreign
water-colors, small bit aud easily Passed by Inc
Soldiers Story" No no. BY L. Adam. This little piece
IL thoroughly charming in design In drawing ahd Ia i's
way In color. Whoever has bought it has shown MOI
only good taste good and disernuaon Tor the
artist young fellow probably and not kn )~n, Is sure
no lives, 20 make name. Let tie reader study the
action Of the figures in both 1t Is equally good and
wOmanly in The woman manly Ia the man
note the way which the little scene j. set before us
and then In the Of execution, zee how clearly and
Nr,oiv the colnr mt IN: how every touch tcilo.