New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-02-14
PICTURES by Z. A. FRIEDMAN.


and her thid have thncy followed these.
PICTURES BY f. A. BRIDGMAN.
EXHIBITION AT THE AMERICAN ARR GALLERY.
The collection of nearly three hundred pie
lures aud sketches 10y Mr.. +. a 'idSmLn which hes
been on view the first % the month at he Amei
can Art iery Madison Square. viii be bu, short
lime lo ger the exhibition ciosng the end OF tAc pres
cnt week II has with great pleas ny large
numb, r OF people perhaps exhibition OF pictures
10y an American artist has been popular ana GER
y, considering the interesting character OF ihc sub
iccts their variety. and tc crvrnc,' with which they
are treated, 1t would have en- singular Il they had
failed to interest people fond o. novelty and 20
sensible to external impress ions us Ourselves.
The colcciion though largely made M OF sketches
more or less advan Ell toward comIletion contains
dozen or more flushed PIC most Il them 'ancd by
the owners and Indeed IN the wuule chtaogu" only
twenty Of tie lit,s are marked with the nstrri-k,
which signifies that they for stlc. Two r three
ucturcs have been kindly loaned by their for this
exhibition since It oV ned. that the titles do not
aupear IN the catalogue; png them Is tile t'uhlry
CEcus " which was libcd IN the Salon at Pans TIA
1870 and winch lrst made Mr. BrdCiuln's name known
TO the French puzzle. WIS much p;li'cd at the Time,
and considered to show n great deal OF prom
tsc The present writer Ias ava,s re-
nemlcrrd II with pleasure mud was glad to
see ngain although must be confessed th as r!-
turc It appears to be altogether destitute ~ agree
able qualities; the composition IL scattered aud the
co'oriug is wholly wanting IN harmony. so;nrtlug OF
this may be OWING 10 change In certain
Of the pigments others, meanwhile, remaining
unchanged. 1hGs shodld suppose that tho
scarlet Of tie tights ia viii the boy at the fght ~
o,e d and which males violent not Ia the cpiot-
ing OF the picture nd remained unch mod, AMI also
the blue on the dress Of the woman riormcr III" the
slbtrrr pigments. the browns aud crIys. have Gulcd
or fad Whatever may be- tie cause. the
c,lnrs OF the picture at one u'O;hcr
IA an unpleasant way, AMI 1cirAct mucA from
the n,ymrnt Of what otherwise 81 yer ana in.cr-
cstlnc performances Tue group ?eaauts nnd cpdn ~
pcoile al the left IL Hlvn with mach chtrIcirr Tie
nrsu.ctivc ~ managed lie skill ANA the fore
shortening Of tie norres. their acon ami tie b"ahce o'
In, rid r. could b. better. In these rr3p'cts' ia"
picture Il Icm1fktb" cv.IcDcc III skill; aud "h"h II ~
remembered that Is tac work oi very Yoluc lin II Is
GRANNY not IL De wonde Il al that French critic VIA"
are much gwen To oong nj pic rrc, n cas; ~ modern
one. 100 much from the scicuih' pom oi view, the
academic side, should have sen remarkable signs OF
uro,ni.r IN performance Aat bore witness 10 - nucn
study AMI observation on the part OF the artist anu 10
such careful preparation Tor his work
since we saw ths picture Mr. Fri Lyman has been
laborousiy working at hi, Tr"'cSsion rrcing himself
IN hi. technics; has travelled, old been mot
| industrious I'm noting down the various pc,nr-
rsoue situations aud objects he has met WITH,
and has reached point where we may reasonable con
clude his powers and his Dacc In art nay he
Judged what these powers, and what Is this placer
The nrst thing strikes Is that not one artist IN
NJ among us tho technical skin, the knowledge OF
Ma tools that Mr. BrIdgman here shows. His drawing Is
always excellent; he shows for proportion.
and di4crimlnatcs with great justness between
the different tcxure3 OF the things lao IL painting, ut
least IN his sketches; and may well here, once
for ALL that Mr. Bsidgman In his aketchrs and Mr.
Bird oman his nm shed pictures IL often II not always
Two ,rent men. The general public. that other oc
| fh.Vh ly exhibited, uS
the present one, has remained cold and unmpressed
before his larger has taken an mmonse deal Of
satisfaction ont Of thr crowd OF sketches which the artist
contrary the practice OF tho prOcsson has generously
allowed us to Another thing that strikes us Is the
variety Of tue subjects chosen By the nrtisf
lie would seem TO have special taste, unless
1t be for horses, bit paints. with apparently equal
pleasure architecture land cape, objects " curiosity,
Vcnceglass, birds. old diligence. dOnkrys. camrls,
interior OF with groups OF n2ures-whLevcr he
sees In short-4O that one can spend several hours
here with pleasure in read ng this painted
itinerary OF the artists trivo.s. And it L.
not merely that tue things themselves aic
dd ron from another; the way in which they are
uted Is intrresn for variety, the artists handling
caangcs, though always OF course preserving nc'rlah
ndvidu ly with the nature Of the object to bo repre-
spntrd thu the lection does not weary with hat
monOtony which I'm similar exhibitions, where the work
f anne one artist has been running several
wears and a consider ble OF subjects, cOnfounds
all Inference Of asp, ct samoness OF handling and OF
color.
In these sketches we able 10 follow tho compost
ton Of nearly all pictures step by step In tho
assembling OF their principal details and the verify Il"
the sketches certainly al Is impression OF trhihiu
meas to mode Of treatment which In general has too
artificial air.
Thisis another point In which Mr.. Bridgmnn's pic
tur.s excel the skill VITA which no cOmpOses his sub
,ect- Let the visitor carefully over all these studies
and surely no study could BE- ess wearlsOmc-lnd hen
enuse himself by d covering them In the pictures INTO
witch they have been atetwlrd worked up. and he Will
See that he IL looking at process which can only Do
tic outcome OF thorough training. aud II Il only Just
now and only I'm tho minority ofinsances that We are
ae 10 acknow ledgo the presence Of this training; az
p,oplr so do not recJgnz the necessity for III we 40
not value IL enough To for It when wo see It, anu
we are 81 rady to applaud certain
aash and swIsger that usurp IT. place, young
artists are almost ashamed lorwa 1t hard study a.
a claim to con liberation. To confess That you nave
,uded to perfect yourself IN your art, whether it Dc
noiptlng scupure architecture writing Is to con-
fe.s Yourself no genius but Ounce, ior who but a
| Ounce ever needed 10 study
| Dut here we SEQ in this collection OF tho studous
ork oil years. what labor and painsthkDg can DO ior
an arts who is not preIends TO be- man OF genius