Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-02-17
ART NOTES AND GOSSIP.


A ANUMBER of pictures from the School Of
Design have been placed. on exhibition 1t
Boyd's.
Mr.. D. B. WALKLEY is engaged upon some
water-color studies from sketches made during
his stay in Holland.
Mr.. JOHN ]. HAMMER has had possession of
Mayors window with display of water-color
sketches and some more finished work in oil,
two notable examples being a painting noted
in this column last week, and a study of the
head of young girl
Mr.. GEORGE HETZEL is now painting mid
summer landscapes of the style which he is so
well known to favor, and like many other art
lists. he is also engaged upon works to be sent
TO some of the exhibitions which take place
later in the year. He has nearly completed
very cleverly executed upright picture of
characteristic bit of American forest scenery.
SAMUEL F. B. MORSE, the inventor of the
electric telegraph, was at one time studying art
in London and he took a drawing he had made
TO Benjamin West 10 ask his opinion Of it.
West praised it and told him to take it home
and finish it. The young student had thought
it was already as complete IS 1t could be made,
but he spent another weeks work upon it only
to be met with the same advice as before, and
this was repeated number of times until he
gave it up in despair. declaring that he could
carry it no further This was what Mr.. West
wanted, and illustrated the lesson he desired to
teach. He held that the highest human skill
was incapable of the task nf doing justice to
nature, and that an artist should not rest con-
tent until he had exerted all his energies and
exhausted every means to attain his end.
SOME years ago art interest in this vicinity
centered about few paintings possessed by
our citizens, many of them rather indiferentiy
executed. with occasionally an odd one or so OF
somewhat greater merit exhibited for sale.
But little attention was paid to art in other
forms, and there is. perhaps. no more striking
proof of the material progress made by this
community than the change tnat has come over
us in this particular Nov every art is called
upon to furnish for Us forms of elegance aud
beauty. Rare and valuable specimens Of Ma
ture's han(liwork are fashioned into ornaments
of pleasing and artistic design. We are now
met upon every hand by the finest examples OF
the potters and decorators art, while costly
marbles splendid brDnzes, art works in various
metals original works and reproductions of the
art of other days and of races long since passed
away are every day becoming more and more
numerous.
A MARINE view. by Mr.. A. Bryan Wall. which
hung in Gillespie's art gallery last week. is q
decidedly unique and original work. The view
is taken looking Straight out to sea, over
beach strewn with boulders half buried in the
sand. In hullOws on the beach. among the
rocks. small povls of wafer still remain. reflect
ing the light tone of the sky in striking contrast
to the dark rich green of the vegetation
with which many of the stones
are more or less covered. The beach itself
where it shows in places left smooth and clean
hardness and solidity conveyed by the scattered
boulders. There is in this work no appearance
of artificial grouping or arrangement; it has
evidently been painted with truth and fidelity
to nature and the color scheme of the whole is
both strong and pleasing. The sky. however,
is rather dull and unin eresting. perhaps it was
rendered so purposely with a view of centering
the attention upon other portions of the
picture but a slight break in lis mOnotony
would scarcely have injured the general effect
BEFORE an artist reaches tie stage in his life
at which he produces his best works be will
have spent the better part of lifetime in the
study and practice of art and even then he will
in all probability only be able to do good work
in one particular branch of art, and in all his
pictures there can surely be traced certain
mannerism or style of execution which is pecu- .
liar 10 himself and in a great measure beyond
his control. This being the case It need
occasion no surprise II people who have
never studied or even thou.ht about art
are lacking in the capacity to discriminate be-
tween the good. the bad and the Indifferent ex-
amples of works which require such vast and
slowly acquired knowledge 20 thorougly under
stand and appreciate. II it takes time and
labor to- make an artist it alSo takes fair
share of both tn make an intelligent art critic,
OF one whose appreciation OF the work Is based
upon something more substantial than mere
feeling or haphazard opinion. In any COM
munity public opinion, upon this as upon other
matters, requires time to grow, and
upon and to all young and rising communities
this must be largely brought from without. as
IL does not spring into existence spontaneously
wherever the need of it is felt, but results from
the labors of various peoples and many genera
tions. OF late years this want has been in
great measure supplied by Illustrated maga-
zines and periodicals., which have resulted from
the wondrous advances made in the art of wood
engraving, and the improvements in the various
methods of photographic reproduction. Al
though to mannerISmS and technical differences
is due much of the variety and interest OF
art products, they are greatly misunderstood by
the general public and To some extent by the
artists themselves. Oft those who may
chance to admire carefulness and elaboration
of finish are prone to condemn works executed
in a broader and more vigorous style as daubs,
and on the other hand, the advocates OF the
broader method of handling sometimes fail to
see any virtue in what they consider an unarr-
istic, mechanical and workmanlike degree OF
finish. When the master minds of art, men
who have made the subject life
study, thus hold such diverse opinions
and occasionally fail to recognize the good in
that which does not appeal to their own
and pecUliarities. there is little
cause for wonder that the same divergence OF
opinion IS found among those whose apprecia-t
ton for art is mainly based on their innate love
for the beautiful. and whose knowledge OF the
subj ct is only such as may be acquieSced in
tn leisure moments of a life busily occupied
" ith other inteTes ts The whole range of art
is so vast, and comprises such INFINITE variety
of feeling and method of expression, that
even those who may fairly lay claim
tn refinement and to the posses
5 on of a cultivated taste need not hesitate to
admit thai they are incapable of fully appre-
ciating the merits of every art work which may
be submitted for their inspection. 1t is only in
the more ordinary and common place works
that any great degree of sameness will be
found; masterpieces are invariably stamped
with the indiv duality of the men who produce
them, and thus Is caused as much difference
between pictures as there is between artisrs
This being true it of necessity follows thar a
particular class of works will appeal tn certain
individuals with great force, while they may
be comparatively blind 10 the Claims of Others
Df perhaps equal merit. There are certain nm
varying features which all good pictures muss
possess, since they are iDObedience to the hxed
laws Of nature and art. and these every ind.
Vidual of refined and cultivated taste should
know and understand, ouy beyond this there IN
room Tor considerable difference OF opinion
even among persons Of intelligence and sduca,
ton.