The morning news., 1889-02-05


to me that Jne object of her life, for the
time being, was accomplished. when she
reached that goal of league ambition, the
famous life class.
"Why do women come here"
81 come because | want to be profes-
sional artist"
What does that mean"
1T doesn't mean little pink Jugs, TINS
with the utmost scorn.
at means that / want to do worthy art
WORK and-earn my own living
The model hadn't come. Models are dis
appointing sometimes. The life class was
in a hilarious mood. 1t put a Byzantine
costume on the skeleton and marched IN and
out among the plaster Venuses and Apollos,
under the skylight, round his skull ana
Gro -sbones majesty.
"Most of the women who come here are
verv serious in their ambitions" said the
girl with the brown tresses, blocking out a
pair of charcoal feet with quite black toes,
''but we have to have Taxation sometimes,
this with quizzical glance at me and then
at the procession.
"What becomes Of the women studentsF
/ asked Mr.. Davis, the curator.
"Well, there are something like 300 col
leges to supply with art instructors and a
great many are swallowed up in that way v
Are they successful as artistsW
From pecuniary standpoint quite as
much SO as the men. Women can do so
much TO bring in money in decorative art,
from which men are shut out. Yes, it is
easier for them to support themselves than
for men,"
"Why don't they make regulations as art
istsln
"Some do, but not many. For one thin z
no body ever did much that was worth
while in art with less than ten years study
and whilo many men go abroad to
pursue art after taking the course here
comparatively few women can do So"
"Is the work of the women equal to that
of men while studying at the leagueP
Not in the life class. Do you sketch
from the human figurea Nol | was going
to show you some of the drawings done in
William NJ Chase's classes to let you see
the difference. OF course there are excep-
tions but the work Of the men is better as a
rule"
For fame and for gold they work, de-
voted to Kenyon Cox, and Chase, and
Beck with, and Walter ohirlaw and E. H.
Blashfield and others of the few really
clever American artists who live in New
York instead of going abroad; and women
win half the gold if less than half the fame.
Miss Edith Mitchell, the lady Vice Presi-
dent, is a designer of stained glass for
Tiffany, whose church windows are spoken
of highly. Mary Kollock, the flower
painter; Miss w. d. Hawley, who does
landscapes and water colors; Mrs. Condie
Lamb, and Miss Dora Wheeler, perhaps the
best known of Americanwomen artists, are
all league people, Miss Rosalie Gill, Miss
Frances Hunt Throop and Mrs NJ. R.
Dixon, of Brooklyn, have exhibited in the
Paris Salon as well as at the academy.
And the National Academy of Design,
arbiter of painters fates. What of women
theres One hundred women are studying in
the galleries of the Academy this winter
They say there is no place like them for art
atmosphere
"W nat are your women aiming at~
asked Mr.. Richards, the Secretary.
''Some, like Fidelia Bridges and Mrs.
Grossman, become artists of repute," he
answered. Every many teach An art
instructor thoroughly trained-and we ad-
nit to our classes by competition only-gets
high remuneration, you know. 1t Is a
paying profession for a woman"
"How does the work of women in the life
class compare with that of men@'
"Women have taken first prize several
times for work from the nude. But that is
exceptional. The work of men is better on
an average
And the Associated Artists. With them
art pays for its basis is a business one.
There can be little question that this society,
with Mrs. Candace Wheeler at its head. has
carried embroidery aud needle-woven tap
e try to point beyond that reached by
any other branch of art in this country.
1.-THE Winged Moon" and the Birth of
Psyche" portiers designed by Dora Wheeler
for Cornelius Vanderbilt and valued at
$1,000; "Hilda in her Tower" valued at
81 900, designed by Rosina Emmett, now
Mrs. Arthur Sherwood; and the fine tapes
tries finished for Mr.. Carnegie are as beauti-
full as GObelins and as readily paid for
The tapestry is an invention of Mrs.
Wheeler, who has patented and copyrighted
the process and designs. All the dainty
stuffs used by the artists are designed by the
association and woven to order by different
silk firms. The designers are women who
are supporte by their work. and occasion
ally an artist who shows exceptional origi-
nahty is sent to Paris for further study. A
Mrs. Clarke is now studying there under
the society's auspices. The designs of the
artists meet with exceptional favor for
house decoration. Without reference to the
Decorative Art Society, or the Gotham Art
Association, or the Metropolitan Art Sch oil,
think have established my point that
women artists have developed a wonderful
lv practical bent and find a market if not a
name. ELIZA PUTNAM HEATON.