The Red Cloud chief., 1878-02-14
Ian America Produce an Original Art!

The IMericdn Architect in its latest
number, comments very sensibly on an
article ia ats London namesake, witch
discusses the prospect for the prodac-
tion of an original art in America.
Taking Our country as the one in which
such . prospect would be the most IA.
vorable. the English critic examines the
evidence open 10 him as to the origin
ality Of u art work, and To a
conclusion by no means flattering ~ rs
from his point of view. What we
find in America" ne says, ia good
deal of national taste for poetry and
not much for music. a very moderate
knowledge At the best, Of painting and
sculpture, and, i'm respect Of architect
nrc, a remarkably simple condition of
things, which he describes in effect rs a
mere tumble Of passablc imitations Of
bastard Italian, English villa architect
urc, and very flair" copies of Gothic
We are not at all disposed TO quarrel
with this criticism Of American art,
though we might easily show il to he
too sweeping. or to defend our people
against the charge Of a want Of original
ity. On the contrary, We should prefer
to plead guilty ON al fine counts Of that
Indictment, and II the charge were one
which, being proved. must be followed
bv general condemnation, we should Ell
ter only one plea in mitigation Of pun
ishment. IL *, that there has never
been the slightest reason 10 expect that
thus early, if at all, in our national life.
the art of America would prove origin
al. 1t is barely a hundred years since
the nation declared its political indie
p~endence. II is but e~ighfy-cight since
its government assumed quasi national
form. The average life Of 3 single gen.
Grafton would measure the period dur-
ing which the really active forces of
general intcrcommunication have been
at work Ia knit the various elements of
our population into something like q
consistent whole. And il is only twelve
years since the close of the civil war,
which broke down the barrier That pre-
viOus to that time, had made the two
great sections of the country not only
different, but violently opposed to each
other i'm interest, i'm social customs, and
in habits of thought. Meanwhile the
country has been populated. How? Re
l~atively in small part by the descend
ants of the original Inhabitants at the
time of the Revolution, and largely by
immigrants and their descendants in
the second and third generation. This
motley population has been rapidly
spreading w a vast area, clearing the
forest, subduing the soil, building itself
dwellings,, workshops, factories, and
comparatively little else. To expect
from a people with such a history art
remarkable for excellence of any kind,
and especially art sufficiently homOge-
neous and complete To he called nation-
al. and sufficiently different from the
art which has gone before 70 be called
original, is absurd.
Moreover. it appears that the condi-
lions of life ut this epoch are not favor
able To the rise of an original art from
anv source. If Mr.. Tainc's theory be
accepted that enduring art can only he
reached by the complete and character
istic expression of the miIicH of the ar
fists, what can be expected when the
miIicH tends more and more, over the
face of the globe, TO become the same?
When Rome and Florence are falling
luIO u DlstT hGu ICSCIluldiiCC " I<oAAuOAs
and Cairo is a miniature Paris; when
the national costumes from Poland To
the Pyrcnccs are giving way before the
steady advance of the English hat and
French p~antaloons; and when in all the
intellectual inter of Europe art-edu-
cation runs back To the study of Il more
or less remote past, what is there likely
To he left, in a few decades, of essen
TALLY peculiar surroundings or national
ideas from which art can take its I'M
press of originality? We have but to
glance at the Orient to see the tremen-
duous effect which is produced by the
rapid spread of influences common 10
the European peoples. Every n rec.
ownizes i'm much of Oriental art a char
:lcter entirely its own. In color, in form,
in combination, in ideas and in meth
cd, Eastern art is clearly orr ginal. But
To get the full flavor of these qualities,
we must 90 back at least genera.
ton. Quantities Of work are now being
turned out in Asia Minor, in lndia, In
japan. and. to q less extent in China
and Persia, for the European market,
in (which European tastes are consulted
and European methods are followed
We see it in the flood Of so-cslled ORR
entail TART Objects which has been
poured upon the New York market du'
ring the past year; much of it has been
been interesting. and a very little of il
has been almost perfectly characterize
IT,. But a large part Of it has been poor
and barren in design. bad in workman'
ship. and vulgar and ''shoppy" in pur,
pose. The greater the demand created
here. the less the wares which are sen
TO satisfy it contain of objects really
expressing the characteristics of East
crn art.
If the old and sluggish peoples Of thu
East are su%rrendering to the influence.
which proceed from the commercial
centres, what can be anticipated from
the peoples who immediately surrOunt
those centres. and especially from TIT
American people. which has as yet nee
essarily always been the most CONNER
cial Of them all? Whether American
art may vet, in some indefinite future
have characteristics of its own sufh
ciently defined and valuable to constr
tute originality, is hardly a question
with which our artists or their patron
need Just now to trouble themseive
greatly. If the former are willing wit
all possible fidelity to seek pure an!
truthful ideal, and to pursue it witt
such patient skill as they a attain
and if the latter but make the best o
their opportunities to know and to pos
sess honest work in any department. Q
,rf to which their taste inclineS them