Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1878-05-25

exhibition OF drawing and penmanship of the
public schools at the Franklin building, and
the fact that there was large number of yisi.
tors present. At three O'Clock the examina-
tiOn of the work performed by the special
drawing classes was commenced in the male
grammar school by Lieutenant Hoxie, Miss
Winnie Ream, Mrs. Fassett, Architect CluSs
and Mr.. Schulze, and they made very careful
inspection.
ADDRESS OF MR. MCLEOD.
About "A o'clock DR.. Reyburn, chairman of
the committee on drawing, introduced Mr.
William Mcleod, curator of the Corcoran Gal
lery of Art, who delivered the following ad-
dress:
must first take occasion to express my graf
iticatiOn with the specimens of the linear and Sc
verer style of drawing which have examined.
SO excellent they are, they do great credit 10
the skill of the pupils, and the admra bic SyS-
TEN under which their accomplished teacher
has trained them. Familiar as am with the
grand and beautiful works of the Corcoran
Gallery, feel none the less interest in these
samples OF that exact branch of art, eXempli-
fed in the drawings before me, which, after
all, has more than any other to do with the
work OF this practical world, and hope the
day Will soon come when such Skillful pupils
viii have an opportunity to enjoy greater
faculties in the proposed Academy of Art, 10
which Will refer presently.
BY request OF your Board of Trustees of the
Public Schools to furnish for publication
abroad an address upon the origin, progress,
ran Gallery of Art, SO identified with the
cause of art-educatiOn, ! have prepared this
paper, with the hope that much of its statisti-
cal details and information may deepen the
interest and pride of this community, of this
country, in that great institution.
Before entering upon my theme, j think il
proper: in order to estimate fully the magni-
tude of this great gallery of art, and its timely
benehcent effect upon our community, to
glance at the condition of art in Washington
up to the time when it rose i'm our midst.
rlN hnf firlnn Il
another city in the land was more deficient in
the means and aids of real art-culture than
this metropolis. notwithstanding its national
Importance, the "logic, the wisdom and the
wit of its yearly Congress, with its attendant
train of men of letters and people of fashion.
True, at an early period the Capitol had re-
ceiyed great governmental works Of painting
and sculpture, but the paintings of Trumbull
and Weir and the baS-reliefS and statues of
Italian SculptOrS, while appealing TO our pa
trlotlSm, were not of kind to kindle an en-
larged feeling for art. They stood apart i'm
historic grandeur-not kindling in our homes
that taste and aptitude for art which now
adayS animate our community.
The portrait painter is the pioneer of art in
every community. Hence, naturally enough
the great limners of the land, Stuart, jaws,
Harding. Healy and Elliott, in succession,
nitares of the Cabinet, of the Bench and Of
Congress: after which they disappeared, their
works passed into private homes, and no effect
of permanent artculture followed these vista
tons, save fading memory of the genius and
work of the artists. A few resident portrait
painters of lesser fame. and drawing masters
following the old method of instruction, of
copying from prints, were the only representa-
tive artists here until lS4l, when a new revela-
ton of art in the domain of landscape was
made by the visit of Thos. Doughty, one of the
leading landScapiStS of that day. Beautiful as
his pictures were, he had to
DISPOSE OF THEM BY RAFFLE
and take pupils for the means OF living. From
the seed thus SOwn sprung up. for a while
many amateurs were produced, but there was
no association eSta bished, no general interest
felt in art-it was looked upon as paStime
not as profeSSion-no schools of art deServ-
ing the name. doubt whether at this time
| there was in any drawing school one good
cast or model for pupils to draw from.
THE NUCLEUS OF THE CoRCoRAN GALLERY.
Such was the precarious condition of art
MIR: j. G. Mcclure formed private galleries of Of
| their own. that greatly reused and en-
| couraged art | will notice particularly Mr..
| Corcoran's, because his collection formed the
nucleus Of what is now the COrcoran Gallery
of Art He at once stamped his collection
with national character. The Greek Slave
;,,s was enthr9ned in it: Coles Departure and
| DOughty's Autumn on the Hudson, with Others
| graced it, and now charm the eye in the Cor
cOran Gallery. The liberal owner i'm time
threw his collection open to the public on
| certain days. The effect was immediate. Pub
| lie taste was stimulated: Painters of genre
and OF Indian scenery and customs, began to
of all art progress was now first thought of,
and met with encouragement from the pub
lie.
THE ARTISTS AND AMATEURS
here in 1857 by concentrated action, held the
first OF three successful yearly exhibitions of
pictures, which would have done honor to any
northern mort city. Many Of the pictures were from
are now in the COrcOran Gallery, and private
collections. The approach of the civil war eX-
tinguished this promising movement, and the
0infi nlxrnh pnfO f1,nt.l Al
period, however, Mr.. COrcoran proceeded in
1859 to erect building. which, in his own
words, was designed for the encouragement
of fine arts, and "for the perpetual establish
ture and the fine arts generally" The build
ing was Just covered in when the civil war
suspended its progress, and it was used by the
government for military purposes until its
restoration to its owner in 1869, who at once
appointed board Of nine trustees to execute
bis plans, turning over to them his private COL
lection OF pictures and statuary, the whole to
bear its present honOred title. Itwas incOrpOr-
ated bv Congress in 1870, and the recOnStruc
tlOn and finish of the building terminated in
ISL: In November, lS73 the organization of
the institution was completed by the election
OF officers for its personal management and
care, and on the 18th of January, 1874, all the
galleries save the sculpture halls, were opened
to private exhibition, when Mr.. Corcoran re-
ceived the congratulations of his friends upon
the auSpiciOus Inauguration OF his munifcent
gift after SO many years Of delay. In April,
in the following December the entire building
was open to the public.
In 1873, the trustees had taken vigorous steps
to prepare for this public opening by having
ready important supplies of art works in
paintings, sculpture, brOnzes, and ceramic
ware to supplement the private collection of
Mr.. COrcOran, so that small as the entire col
lection appeared, the public recognized i'm the
additions a guarantee that their task would be
satisfactorily executed in way to please all
tastes and meet all expectations.
THE GROWTH OF THE INSTITUTION,
now little over four years old, is unprece-
dented. l have here copy of its first cata-
lOgue issued at its Opening-a thing of eight
pages, and here is the present catalogue, a
book of sixty pages of which 80, 100 copies have
been disposed OF in three and half years:
In 1874, the number of paintings WAS, 90
In 1874, pieces of marble
In 1878, the number Of pieces of marble
Within that interval Of four years have been a9
received:
Ofimported casts in plaster, antique and mod
OF electrotype reproductions. Ia
~ t pionAco.
VI ceramic ware. 2
1t is Unnecessary to dwell upon the super
character of these works. Theyspeak for them
selves, but must specially alfude to the broa
1oundatlon laid by the trustees for the stud
and contemplation of antique sculpture,
the