New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-02-24
ouRIs7NAs-OARD COMPETITION.
AWARD on THE JUDGES.

sord wniteMr. White having been Gao sen 70 aot III
-. .hsence OF Mr. Louis Tifany-the gentlemen III
s,,ed BY Mr.. Prang as judges In 'he ont,st
s.oard Competition, came to oeclslo"
.a.,srsay morning. aud made the follow
49,. awards The frst prize OF $1,000 rSiis 10 M'
r,u yadder the author Of No 3d. The second pr'zo
ssoo "a r,ysn to Miss Dora Wheeler for her desgn' NO
~ rss third prize of $500 goes TO Mr. C.
% co,aman for No. 81, while Miss Rosina
-, receives the fourth prize OF goo
dou,en numbered 442. The judges added to their
s.,.,on a recommendation 10 Mr. Prang TO make tne
for the third award equal to that onereu ior
80 seeond and with bis usual generosity Mr frane a.
80. accepted the suggestion go that instead OF Sooo
ou0o !, Goldman will receive $500 for his design.
A " r,6 he difficult to find in this community three
,ren better fitted, whether by natural gitIs OF oy
sa,,op and training, to decide IN matter OF ar''"
ssm presuuptuous in us to express the opinion that
,ha,r award in this instance Is open 10 cricS' "eu
~ ADMIT however that they win give as good reasons Tor
ho,ce "A we can offer for our dsapproyal OF IT, ana
"a we understand they intend to explain the principles
- b,ch they have founded their decision we may safely
,.sve the matter to the judgment OF the pubic III
nm, opp,on, then, the first prize should have been
GIVEN to No. 442, by Miss Rosina Emmett We 90 not
tsuk that No. ST. by Miss Dora Wheeler ought 10 nave
naa a nrize at AL and say the same OF Nos 30 anu
"a nv Messrs vedder and Coleman, though Tor very
a,fsrent reasons And now let us try 10 explain WHY
Ne take this position.
nrzss were offered expressly for designs suitable 70
rbr,atnas cards They not to be NewYears carus
nor Valentine cards, nor birthday earos'
but Christmas cards, TO Do PuVhsheu
AT Chriatmas time and hkely to be chosen by people
visbne 10 send to their friends greetings especially
smiled to the Christmas Would 1t not seem very
odd IN look over collection OF designs for valentines
and and no illusions 10 them 70 love-maknR, neither
hearts nor darts but only, say prettiypanVeu coeo
ton Of brcs-brac. or an alegOry OF the Invention VI
.teams We are not In Mr. Prangs councils ana DO not
know how lenenty looks upon the diversions OF DIS
competing congregation; but, speaking In the interests
q, art which we have the least dotot IN the world
he IA as much in in serving as we or We
maintain that contestants In these games ought u oe
held strictly TO the verbal terms Of the wager Ana
this for reason quite apart from tDe Quss
tion whether the public will not IKE
one thing as well as another, the reason namely
that one Of the main conditions on which the peeco
of any art depends that 1t shah conform TO TIE naura
lava that It, and we look at what is accepted py
artists critics. connoisseure all the European world
ona we are mart OF Europe as good design we shall
Ana that 1t is always suited to Its place. and really not
suited to any other place, nor to any otner
service than that for which IL was or1gE
nally made. Does any one suppose that IL
leonardo or Durer Raphael or Blake OF Hogarth or
Prudhon, or Jean Gouion, had been commissioned 10
make design for Christmas card no would not have
optryed somehow hook crook TO get In something
that would suggest that Christ was born on Christmas
Deys Yet here two prominent artsis
Messrs vedder and Coleman, who have entered INTO u
competition for designing Christmas card ana In MI
yedders deslgnhe has two, aud the same IS true OF
botbthere s not the fainest auson to the Christmas
SEASON nor for that matter TO any season. while In Mr.
olemau's there IL stuck In with all the air OF an after
thought wee picture Of the Nativity put INTO part OF
the design where only does not belong but where
Il really interiors; with the balance Of the composition
Now to our thinking, it is not only to be regretted
that two of our chief artissone OF them Mr. Coleman
professedy decorative desgner-should have had no
ulster Gea of what demanded OF them on this occa
sion, but still more regrettable Is the tact 'na'
they should be upheld in their error, as
ora must persist In thinking It, by this
award Of the Judges For now the rising generation
OF designers and students OF art are distinctly olu oy
men seaking with the authority OF Messrs' Laiarge
and Conan, and by that OF Mr. Stanford Whte' the
Magnus Apollo of the school Of architects aud dec
oratiye desgners-our young aspirants are distinctly
hold We repeat that when they are asked for design
for special object they may SEND IN
somehipg that will for any one OF dozen pur-
poses that may be mentioned but which under no cir
numatanees can serve for the particular purpose pro-
posed Howeyeras there vulgar notion ahOat that In
Amertcs We pride ourselves swapping our fingers at
thngs the rest OF world believes in perhaps this
may be only one more way of showing independence
Of "smug routine, and things allowed"
But, II the judges were not hampered In their de-
eon by these considerations OF fitness then. we think
they should have given the first place TO Mr.. c. c. Cole
man and not to Mr Vedder For Mr.. Colemans drawing
Daring the little Nativity picture smuggiedin too
te) well composed and prettily executed design aud
sonyeys meaning of sort to the average human
,pectator. 1t Is we have already described 1t In
rBs TRIDUER O collection OF objects, maolica jal
with branch Of some towering shrub Lutte, music
book a Venice glass ned with wine, and string o.
beads grouped upon table, covered with clotn OF
which are embroidered some words OF welcome an'
placed against wall which hangs the picture of th
ah and
TWO windows filed with the opalne glas
which Mr.. Louis Tiffany has introduced and made 81
popular. In the middle Of eacn OF these windows Is
mail head In stained glass; purely decorative or In
tended to be and without any Significance whatever
true. that sn this has relation 10 Christmas
and therefore we think 1t ought u
have been sternly ruled out Of the compel
ton altogether But admitted, it IL 30 well eom-
posed 90 skfuily executed and 20 easily adapted L
naease great many people who be reached by
artist of Mr Coleman's ceverness in ordinary tina
Il seems TO usit ought to have been allotted highe
place
For Mr. vedders design not only has no appropriate
aes whatever the OCCASION but in our eyes 1t has
meaning and no beauty Like By far the greater part
this extremely popular, not to say fashionable artist
psoauctiops there is an Immense pretension to mysti
profundity Of meaning. to weird significance
and to that intensity Of which we hear
mech, and when we come TO reckon WIZ
his preension to look at In the light OF common day
We hud IL out OF all proportion 10 the rea innings ~
which II set itself up. One true b. OF imaginative wor
Mr. yedder has never 20 KNOWLEDGE produced He ha
made some fancfu suggestions, and few OF them OF Oh
iaring power please. but this is all that we ca
riously allow. The present design has all bis merit
md very good example Of his own conspicuous Dc
tects
Inelosed in rectangular frame flied in three side
NTH heavy conventional ornament and at the bottor
With panel containing motto, THY own wish wish
nee In every place." Is the kitcat. figure Of a woma
apparently cssping unclaspIng her girdle, aud lool
ns oat 81 the spectator with expression whatever