Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1883-05-12
NOTES ON ART AND ARTISTS.


An art club, with long list Of members,
is in process of formation at Minneapolis,
MINI.
The White House has large oil portrait
of President Arthur, painted by Glisenti
in Florence on the order OF Schuyler eros.
by, late Consul in that city.
The exhibition recently held at Rouen
was remarkable for the patronage it &C.
cured from the municipality and some rich
amateurs. Ffty.seven pictures were sold.
Engravers are finding it difficult to pro-
cure good lockwood. The box forests of
Turkey, upon which the bulk of the sup
ply depends, are being wastefuly cut, and
few trees are planted.
A sculptor in Athens has recently sent
request to Queen Victoria asking her to
return to the Acropolis the friezes of the
Parthenon and other antiquities, which
were carried away by Lord Egin.
In Guatemala the Government is awak.
ening to the necessity of protecting the
monuments of ancient races from vandal-
ism. A decree has been passed forbiddlng
the ouarrying Of stone from the Old build
ings of the Mayas.
The sculptor Donohue, of Chicago, is at
work on The Transit of Venus, group
in which the sun ia represented by strong,
bearded man, who sits looking backward
over his shoulder, and Venus by the nude
figure Of graceful woman.
Joseph Longworth has made proposal
to the University of Cincinnati by which
the School of Design shall be detached
from the University and annexed to the
Museum, Mr.. Longworth's proposal in
wolves the guarantee to the Museum Asso.
citation of an annual income of $4,000 in
perpetuity for the support OF the school.
To stimulate public interest in more
thorough exploration of Asia Minor for its
antiquities and monumental art, w. M.
Murray recently lectured in London to
members of the Hellenic Society and 9TH
ers on Phrygia and its relation to Greek
art. Mr.. Ramsay suggested that the ORR
entail influence commonly traced in early
Greek art may have found its way to
Greece through Phrygia as well as through
Phenicia.
Forbes Robertson expects to have com.
pleted by the end of next month his
picture of the magnificent church scene in
"Mueh Ado About Nothing" which he
has undertaken at the suggestion of Mr..
Irving. The point in the action which the
artist has chosen is the moment when all
the peraonages are arrived before the altar.
There will be portraits of Miss Terry and
Mr.. Irving, Mr.. ferris, Mr.. Howe, Mr..
Fernandez, Mr.. Mead, Mr.. Glenny, Mr..
Tyars, Mr.. ]. Robertson, Miss Milward,
Miss Harwood and other members of the
company, including the artist, who, it will
be remembered, sustains tbs important part
of Claudio.
In London recently Sir Frederick
Leighton made the distribution of prize;
to the students at the Royal Academy o!
Arts. The Creswick prize, ESQ, was
gained by R. O. Rickatson. For cartoons
of draped figure, Bernard E. Ward took
the silver medal and EOS, Margaret
Dicksee taking the extra silver
medal. Horace B. Fisher took the first
Armitage prize, ESQ and bronze medal
Mary Drew a prize of f40 for the tresco
design, an allegorical illustration of music
William Carter won ESQ, first prize, fol
six drawings from life; Henry Alfred Pc
gram TOOK the first prize of ESQ for mode
OF the Good Samaritan r. I. Fallon
ESQ, for three models from life; w. G.
Blackmore, travelling studentship of EGO
for architectural design for public library
Three large pictures in the rotunda of The
National Capitol" Embarkation of thu
Pilgrims" " Baptism of Pocahontas, ant
+" Discovery of the Mississippi ARE being
removed for thorough restoration. It il
always possible that the restcrer exists IL
Washington who knows how to treat ole
pictures, namely, limit himself to preserv
| ing as much of the work of the origina
painting as practicable, but it is far from
probable in view of the rarity of that sor
of restorer in Europe and New York. Will
few exceptions the restorer cannot bt
persuaded from improving" the olt
paint to such an extent that tn
original picture disappears entirely or II
part. When one reflects that it is th'
commonest event with a painter tt
"restore" his own cracked or dilapidateC
work so as to lose its best quality, tina
which represents the mood in which it wa
originally done, one need not wonder
greatly that the ordinary restorer, who il
apt to be a somewhat unskillful workman
with the brush, should be unable to respect
the original of another. Restoring pictures
appears to be one of those minor sciences
like tea.tasting and choosing wine, fol
which man requires to be born
Unless Washington possesses a restorel
gifted by nature it would be better tC
let the pictures drop from their frames be-
fore intrusting them to the well-meaning
murderer of old masters who guarantees
to return them " as good as new.