Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1878-01-26
ART NOTES.


Tuesday evening was pronounced a great sue
cess, as well in the display of pictures on the
walls as in the large aSsemblage of apprecia
tive people gathered together to enjoy il. All
the active members of the Club at present in
the city and some who are absent We're repre-
Sented by one or more pictures Indeed. with
the exception of some excellent and charac-
teriStic examples contributed by Miss Searie.
of Dusseldorf, and by Mr. Thomas Moran and
Mr.. +. Waller, of New York the exhibition
was purely local one, as it was intended to be,
in contradistinction to the late loan collection,
from which pictures by members of the CLUB
We're purposely excluded. With the work of
the two artists first named our people are
already more or less familiar. MI Walters is.
however, a comparatively new name here thaE
IS to say, none of his work, SO far we know,
has ever before been exhibited in Washington.
But il is TO be hoped this is not to he the last
Mr.. Waller has fairly caught the charm and
mystery of the orient, and his treatment of
his subject is So sympathetic and truthful rs 10
make his canvas fairly radiant with the poetry
and sentiment Of that ever attractive region.
Although member of the Club and now a
resident of Washington, the work of Mr.. An
drewS is nearly as little known here as that of
Mr.. Waller. But he is destined to be a favorite.
His French Peasant Girl is accorded what may
he termed the place of honor in the gallery
and Justly, while his full length portrait of a
lady, hanging opposite, also finds many warm
| admirers. The advantage of a long residence
abroad with facilities for drawing from life
models, is clearly to he seen in Mr. Andrews
| pictures. Want of room forbids a lengthy
reference to anything else in the exhibition, or
| even a mention of The contributions of the
| been said before. that the display is OH the
| whole III the highest degree creditable all
around. and well worthy the attention of the
| public. As the club room will be open free of
any charge) for the balance of the season. all
v I'll have an opportunity to see and Judge for
! themselves, and no one al ali interested in the
| subject OF art should fail to improve it.
Why is it that SO feW-we NAV almost say
nO-EnpllSh n3lDtjnpS hrnurbt fn
county for sale? The exhibit made by Eng
llsh artists at our centennial exposition last
| year was so large and fine, and made such a
| favorable impression upon all visitors withal
that one would suppose they would at once
tahe advantage OF the excellent market thus
| opened up, and seek to gather at least a share
| OF the rich harvest reaped in the United States
every year by their continental brethren.
been made to that end, either by the British
| artists themselves or by any one else in their
behalf The art stores OF New York Boston,
| Philadelphia, and other cities are crowded
| With the works of French. German, Scandina-
wan, Italian, Austrian, Belgian and Spanish
| artists, all of which seem to find ready sac,
at good prices, but anything by an English
man, except now and then an unimportant
! DIT OF water color Is great rarity. This
! anomaly is particularly noticeable in the gal
| !ery recently OpeHed by Messrs Cottier & Co,
| i'll New York. AS this is an English house
! and, par erccUcnce, the representative in this
! country OF English decorative aud industrial
art on one ''; would suppose that here at least an
| British artists are doing Yet, strangely
! enough, while the walls Of the gallery are re-
| Splendent with the best efforts OF modern con-
| tlnental artists, the art of its own country is
! conspicuous only by its absence. Why this
should BE SO is little hard to understand, es-
! pecially in view of the close business relations
! and warm literary SympathieS which have SD
| long existed between the two countries. The
| only explanation that suggests itself is the
theory that the artists of England are 50
| highly appreciated and SO well patrOniZed al
nome that they have no need to seek mar
| ket abroad But this hardly seems to be full
| or satisfactory solution of the puzzle. when we
consider that rich Americans are among the
most liberal buyers in the world and when,
also, the universally of art and the natural
ana MeilknoWn desire OF artists to enjoy rep
| utatiOn and patronage outside of their own
| country are taken into account.
The "Keramical Kraze,'' aS1he fancy for
china ware, etc, is irreverently termed, has
! fairly invaded Washington. but the disease
| may be regarded rs prevailing in a rather
! hight form. Such at least is the conclusion one
would draw from the result of the sale Of bric-
! a-bac, which took place yesterday. The at
| tendance was quite large, and included Il good
| many collectors and cOnnOiSSeurS but as a
rule the prices obtained were as nothing to
those such articles bring in places where "they
| nave 1t bad" As is apt to be the ease ut an
| auction of that kind where fancy and the eN-
| citement of competition take the place of cool
| Judgment and intrinsic values, some of the
! small things went very high and some OF the
more important objects went very cheap: but
on the whole, the prices may be said to be loW
| as Sucll tnlnSS go now days.
! - Mrs. Thompson, the donor TO the nation of
! Carpenters painting cOmihemoratng the
! emancipation proclamation, is the widow of
! Mr.. Thompson. formerly of Boston, whose
/ immense collection of pictures was sold in
| New York shortly after his death. few wears
| ago. He was very wealthy, and was rather
| eccentric, particularly in the matter of accu-
mnlating and boarding upaway from view his
never seen fully explained, he prohibited from
| ever being exhibited or sold in Boston. Mrs.
Thompson, who Inherited the greater part if
not the whole OF his large estate, is remark
able, not less for her charitable disposition
than her ability to put all her kind intentions
| into practice.
Washington seems to have been during
The week quite gathering point for artists
from other places. Among those who were
here-Some of them being still in the city
may be named Messrs. Brown. summons and
| Meade. SculptorS, and Messrs. Berstadt, Mo
ran and Waller, painters; 1T is needless TO
| add that they are all deli igh ted with Washing
! ton, and regard it as in many respects better
| adapted as residence for artists than any
American city, In short they seem TO agree in
| the OpiniO ion that, with proper encoura gemeut
OF a national school OF art and design ON the
part of government, supplemented by the ex-
cellent facilities and influences of the CorcO-
| ran Gallery, it would soon become, as it should
| be. the art centre of the country.
| -"The POrfOliO''-the January number of
which is sent us by J. w. BOuton, the well
! known New York importer of OfbOOks,-prOmiseS
| TO be more valuable and attractive this year
| than ever before. Unusual prominence Is to
| be given to contemporary art, and etchngs
| from pictures by some of the leading English
| artists are promised. Although the Portfolio
| is somewhat technical in character, and rather
! better adapted for artists than the general
| public. yet Mr. HamertOn, its editor, is recOg-
| niZed as SO competent an authority on art and
| such a charming interpreter of everything
| relating TO it as to be great fayOrite with all
! intelligent readers, and the reduction i'm price
from $l2 to $40 per year will tend to still farther
| populariZe it.
The trustees of the COrcoran Art Gallery
have recently purchased for that institution
| Bierstadt's large painting of Mount COrco-
| ran, which has hung for some time past in the
| southeast room. The price paid is not stated,
! but 1t is believed to be somewhere i'm the
/ neighbOrhoOd of ten thousand dollars.
| A lending library of handbooks on sub
! iects of decorative art has been established i'm
| New York for the Use of contributors and
other persons who, living out of that city, can
not have access TO the city libraries. These
! books Will be sent by mail, and the terms of
! borrowing are one cent day for use, and the
| prepayment Of return postage by the bor-
rover. Applications should be addressed to