The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1882-05-13

denny of Design and Its Old Fogy Man
agement-The Cooperative Dress Asso
citation and what they do-The Vanderbilt
Suicide-Patti's Departure, Stocks, Etc.
New York, April Is, 1882.
EDITOR CHIEF:
| As l intiMated i'll my letter few
weeks ago, there has long been bite
feeling against the ancient fossils VIII,
control the destiny of the Nationa
Academy of Design. Don't understand
for a moment that the National Academy
of Design is not eminently respectable
for it is. Whatever Of real old genuine
blue blood there is in artistic circles
centres in this eminently respectable
institution. The trouble with it is thai
it is altogether too respectable-se
respectable that a membership was about
equal to an italian order of nobility
there was about as much chance for a
young artist to get a decent hanging fol
a picture as for camel to dance horn
pipe in the eye of a needle. Such pipe
laying, such plotting, such maneuvering g
was never seen to keep the old fellows
up and the young fellows down. Instead
of being an association for the encourage
ment of American art, it was milestone
Oh it's neck, and a clog before its wheels ;
protests and complaints were all in vain.
Year after year matters grew worse until
it finally began to be understood that in
academic promotion a man had better he
any thing else than an American. Five
years ago, out Of the elements of artistic
discomfort, the Society Of American
Artists was formed, and to-day it is one
OF the most fourishing and respectable
associations to be found on the American
continent. We are now in the midst Of
its fifth annual exhibition ;; and it is
gratifying to every lover of art to see
the grand steD we have taken in advance,
which looks to the possible time when
our young artists will not he compelled
to go abroad to study but in the grand
collections of the Empire City find
ample subjects for their pencils. The
present collection is particularly noble
and inspiring, aud the prices realized at
the Wolf sale Of pictures, during the
past week, must have been an immense
incentive to those artists who look for
fortune as well as fame. Forty pictures
brought nearly $56, 900, an average hardly
ever reached in America before. Several
went for what may seem to be fabulous
prices, comparatively small canvasses
bringing five, six and seven thousand
dollars; the bidding in many cases was
of the most exciting character, and the
applause at each sale was about equal to
that given to Patti or Campanini. I
dou't know that we are growing in
grace, but we certainly are in artistic
1t is hardly possible that
knee breeches and sun flowers will rule
as the prevailing styles during the
coming Spring. We may laugh at Oscar
Wilde and jeer at aesthetics and @stheti-
cism, but there is no denying the fact,
that love Of the beautiful in every
form is rapidly growing among our
people, and the man who would attempt
to repress it is little less than fool. Of
course there are exaggerated abomina-
III, 0,o nlo ,1,o$o
taste, and those are proper subjects of
ridicule and condemnation.
4 brother quill, writing fashion
article for one Of our enterprising dailies,
speaks in the most gushing manner Of
Miss Kate Field and the styles at the
of the Cooperative Dress
"Oh!" he exclaims, "they
are lovely, beautiful robins egg waist,
= tally-ho hat, and a terra Gotta skirt!'
Oh, my! To complete the dress I would
suggest an oleomargarine hustle and
telephone sleeves. A new vocabulary
will have to be invented for us poor
fellows There are lots Of new things
about dresses now to which no existing
furnishes the slightest clue.
One of the great advantages of the pre-
gailing Spring fashions is that "a half
lozen old dresses, if properly adjusted,
may make very respectable turnout.
A few yellow and green bows, red or
blue ribbon pinned Oh here and there-a
variety-buttons, say five or
six; a very nice dress may be got up. A
young lady, if she wants to be up to the
,ip-top of the style, must comb her hair
Town over her. forehead until every
sestige of intellect is extinguished. It
would seem that the young ladies are
to impress their male ad-
nirers with the entire absence of brain.
# this is the object, you may announce
,he prevailing styles rs a grand success.
the young men are not far
behind them.
Bold robberies are now the order of
he day. Monday evening at eight
o'clock, while loaded express wagon
vas driving along one of the most public
streets in the city, with a driver i'll front
nd guard behind, two ruffians ap-
the back of the wagon, one of
hem seized the guard and eholsed him
he other took large bundle of knit
FOODS and with it the robbers made off.
0azed and confounded by the sudden
lttack, the guard made his way to the
ront of the wagon and informed the