The Portland daily press., 1881-04-11
WATER COLORS.
A Superb Exhibition at Davis Gallery.

| To-day, Mr.. Cyrus F. Davis will open to the
public at his gallery an exhibition of paintings
from the studios of the leading American
water colorists, most of which were shown in
the recent display at the Academy of Design
by the American Water Color Society whose
headquarters are in New York. Except upon
special occasions, like some popular fair when
pictures have been loaned by our citizens, and
few artists from abroad have sent contribu-
lions to get up an art gallery, Portland has
never had any great public exhibitions of works
OF art other than the receptions from given
time to time by our local talent, and OCCASION
al sales. The latter however hardly rise to the
dignity of an art exhibition, as generally I'M
derstood. We think we can truthfully say
that there has never been better collection
of either oil or water color. gathered together
in this city, in which there were choicer or
more representative pictures by American
artists, as in the one now offered, including as
it does Mr.. Bellows celebrated picture "Little
Thistle Down." owned by Goupil & Co.-and
by many con sidered the finest water color ever
painted by an American artist-Nicolls Rap
ids of Niagara" WANTS Summer" and
works by Colmon, the two Smillies, Abbott,
Clifford, Miss Bridges of Salem, Mass, De
Haas, Quartley, Champ, Van Elten and
m any other equally prominent before the peo-
pie
Water color painting as understood and
practiced at the present day is of comparative
ly recent origin, dating no further back than
the first of the present, and latter part of the
preceding, century, Mhen the impetus that has
in our day made it the rival of oil painting was
given it by Turner and Girtin, the former
working almost, if not entirely, in this way
until his election as member of the Royal
Academy in 1903. Though water color, as
now practiced. is of such recent growth yet
the use of water as a medium for mixing col.
ors is one of, if not the oldest, known processes
of preparing pigments for application and was
universally employed by the earlier masters up
to the time of the Van Eycks, who are said to
have been the inventors of oil painting. The
modern method of using water color differs
from the old in that now the pigment is APP
piled in thin washes, one over another until
the requisi tie strength and color is obtained,
whereas the old way was to mix up the paint
in ''body" thick like cream, laying on the de-
sired tint at once Water color painting has
its strong advocates, and equally strong oppo-
nents, among artists, and arguments ON both
sides have at times waxed warm; too often
we are sorry to say, founded on comparisons,
which, in such case, are about as sensible as
it would be to argue that peach is not as de-
sirable fruit as an orange because it DOES not
have the flavor of the latter. The truth is,
both oil and water colors have their own spec
ial characteristics and advantages, each
ruler in its own domain, which may not be in
vaded by the other.
Mr.. Stephen Berry has prepared very neat
catalogue of this exhibition. Among the land
scapes that will appeal to every artistic eye, at
once, are Evening by George HI. Smillie,
and "Cloudy Day in Autumn" by Agnes D.
Abbott. The lady also displays some lovely
peenies Quartley's "Old Shipyard" and
"Old Saw Mill'' exhibit some wonderful eff
fects. Colman's warm, rich "Pine Trees of
Bord ighern," with the Mediterranean in the
distance, possesses sensuousness and a care
ful detail, worthy of the closest examination
Fidelia Bridges 'Snow- BIRDS are lovely
These are but a few we have space for notice
his morning
We hope our readers will see to it that Mr..
Davis receives proper patronage for the la
Dor he has been put to in order to secure this
admirable collection; collection that will do |
more to educate proper taste in art than can |
be estimated. Especially valuable will it
prove to our public school children now that
they have so far advanced in drawing.