New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-09-24
ART BEAUTY, AND PUeIElNS INAMERIc4
From The Lonioa TeIopaoh.

From The Lol,iOa TeicgJGDh.
There is n deep artistic element IN the American
character; but art culture has not 10 any appIc-
clabe extent reached the masses, and tho KIM ol
art most useful and most beneficial is that winch
would enter into the daily me OF t1e people anu
make common things beautiful There IS not the
slightest NE in blinking the fact that 10 European
eyes the external aspect of most Things American Is
intensely ugly. The country To- befln Win, Is as
a rule devoid Of hedges, and the wooden fences
winch divide the iiolds-Whc hon they are tlNlded az
all-are thickly plastered with advertisements OF
quack nosiruHN and ." lahheo nol9ns. iheie Is
u general Appearance OF untrilt ana Hntl'lih'SS IN
American rustcity In the Sodth the negroes are
mainly in rags What we term gentlemen seats
are few and far between, The railway dcpots IN
the large towns are a rule mean ana dingy-
looMng places, and the country railway stations
are usually tumhe-dOwu shaniles. There ~
scarcely a cty IN America that Is well paved.
Splendid pubic bindings abound throughout mo
'nion; but there are no settled cauons OF arrhl,
terturl taste. there Is no central authority ana
each architect builds as he plcascs ana scattei5
about his " COnnthian hXinGs IS his own sweet
will dictates Finally, there is % considerable
quantity of really hrst-mtc statnaty mere anu
there; but the cool examples OF sculpture are
often 10 De- found either occupying the paitrrst
sites placed side by side with the 'erest artistic
rubbish.
There Is reason. and decp-seatcd enc, tor all
this The foupdrrs OF tie communities which
have developed into the graudcst Republic IN the
world we're not only indifferent to art. but actively
and lmpacably hated 1t. They had lett this coun-
try because they would no longer submit 10 the
politicA tyranny OF CHARLES /. and the spiritual
ccnnOl,scur III art, ana q muhlhcrnt lLichh 10
artists. The latte-, mad he lived in tins age,
would probably have been 50 rndid patron OF Mir.
William Morris and Mr.. liurne Jones
The Paritans who landed at Ply mouth Rock
hated the "prolane ANA idolatrou7 pictures and
statues together with the stage-pays of ono
William Shakespeare in which the man Charles
Stuart took nuch delight, quite As bitterly IA
they did the stained glass windows, the carved
rcredos the splendid altarclotS and the broidered
vestnents which were 50 dear to the Eeart of
Iauh. Art TO the Pilgrim Fathers was practically
SYNONYMOUS with POpeN. They took Hith them
I'm, stately and sonorOus language OF Milton and Of
the transiatOss of tho Scriptures. They took with
them multitude OF quaint Ole English obScrY-
ances. ana there are even dishes aud beverages
which have long since become obsolete IN old
England, but which are still popular III MaSsachu-
setts and Connecticut There crossed the Atlantic,
however. with these stern. laboriOus, quck-Wltted
people not one artistic teAdency not one artistic
tradition They established commonwealth. they
enacted laws, they built M theocracy from which
the Art OF Idea was wholly eliminated; ana COMA
they revisit the scenes where they preached 40
many sermons, hanged 80 many nputed witches
and whipped many Quakeresses, they would
probably be lost III blank amaloment 70 ma mat
Boston the PuTtanlcal city 3" par excellence, had
become the Gentle OF intellectual and artistic cul-
turc IN the United states. still for many genera
tons-almost down ~ our own time. IN fact
NeW-I GLAND was a centre Of quite another KIND.
II the seat Of domestic Holy once winch TOOK
cOgniZ tnce not only OF the faith but OF the morals OF
the people and exercised the most rigd linguistic
Ial sway III the most popnlous OF the states no
Constitutions OF those states might vary but their
domestic institutions were nearly Identical ana
almost exclusively Purliancal. ms condition Oh
things has been changed. within the last haf-cen-
fury, To an astonishing extent. Tbs Roman CathO-
lie population of the Union has been enormously
increased, and Catholics are fond OF arr anu 0t
amuscments on Sunday after mass. New-1ork has
become as cosmopolitan as Old Rome was III the
DAYS of JuNenal The great cities OF the West nave
Immensc German populations art-los ing. passion
dtely fond of music, and seeing no KIND OF harm IN
going to the theatre sunday evening IcrlltOrles
largely peOpled 10y communities OF spanish descent
have bren annexed 10 the Union. and have added
strongly picturesque features o. southwestern life
the development of railway facilities enables ale
tudinarlan Ncw-Euglandeis to winter among the
orange groves OF lorda or the pamcttoes OF south
Carolina while peasure-seokors from all parts OF
the Republic pour into New-OTleaus at carnival
time. Finally, the Golden State of California.
while politically she IL staunchly loyal to the stars
and Stripes. has socially altogether -pieced oil
from the Eastern states She will accept no dicta-
ton or example whatever. either from New-YOrk
or from New England; and in the internal
economy Of California art holds n very high place.