St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-07-27
IN The ART GALLERY.
A Preliminary View Of the
Coming Exposition
Pictures.
The Superintendent Busy
changing Distinguished
People.
Some Fine American Art in
Water Color and Oil
Presented.
A Unique Feature to Be a
Sculptop's Working
Studio.

II tnere is any one III MluHedpoiiS
besides Sam Morton who is thoroughly
happy, the man is II. j. Smith, superin-
tendent of the art department OF the
exposition. Why shouldn't he be? He
has the biggest collection of art treas
ures ever brought to Minneapolis, and
he has nothing to do but hang them in
the exposition gallery. That's all. 1t
seems simple, but yet it is good deal
of work and takes time. If the public
could get into the art gallery now, it
would find dirty floors Uttered with the
evidence of carpenter work. settees mis-
placed, the walls fringed with pictures,
plumbers rushing about drawing salary,
picture hangers graSping picture,
here and another there, and in
the midst of all the seeming
confusion is Mr.. Smith, issuing or
derS as rapidly as sea captain in a
storm. Now. Brother Smith when he
sits down to talk art with reporter, can
and does use the most choice and ele-
CANT phrases to describe his favorites.
but when he directs the hangers how to
put up the pictures, he uses short, crisp
sentences like this:
Hang the old woman IN the corner,
little higher, there, you'll have to
squeeze her in.-Now stick the cows up
here, a little to the right; that's it,;
hoist the bridesmaid up higher; there
she'll do" and SO on.
Each picture must be held up in po-
sitlon until Mr.. Smith is satisfied, and
then it is hung there and nowhere else.
Nor are the pictures hung at random.
The superintendent makes a selection
nf tho r,iaturpc for zach room
and all others must be hung with refer
ence to them. The colors must shade
away from or to them, so as to leave
the
BEST PICTURES PROMINENT.
And this principle OF hanging has
made trouble this year, not because it is
a bad principle, but because Mr.. Smith
has too many good pieces for his space.
Certain rooms are being held for certain
schools of painting, as for instance the
east room at the head of the stairs,
which was last year devoted to Scan
dinavian art, will this year be filled with
examples of the French genre school of
painting. On the ground floor Mr..
Smith expects to have three rooms filed
with fine water color exhibit.
"At New York." he said, they had
last year the best exhibit they ever had
of water colOrs and have had my choice
of the unsold pictures of that collection.
Pictures are not obtained always for the
asking, but ! have had to finesse for
some of them. Take for example that
fine picture of Lolita, as the 'MarchiOn-
esS.' l knew Morgan was painting
her in that laughable character, and
wrote her a letter inclosing contract
and an order on the individual who had
it. for the picture. 1t was so easy to
afflX her signature that got the picture,
but if had written to ask her to see
me or to consider an acceptance of my
offer l should have got left. Several
other pictures came in much the same
way. But l haven't all my treasures
yet. There are twenty or thirty gems
still coming. Two you have already
mentioned, washington Receiving His
Supply Train and The Puritans'
First Battle The latter has history.
The painters, Mrs. Imogene Robinson
Morrell's, studio was riddled with bull
lets during the FrancO-PruSsian war,
and she escaped by hiding in the cellar.
The canvas was ruined, and she put in
two years more in the actual work of
putting the paint on the canvas.
ART CONNOISSEURS
will have plenty to admire and criticise
in the coming exposition collection. and
greater variety of paintings than they
ever saw before in Minneapolis. In
dimensions the pictures run all the way
from the gigantic 'Hors ConcourS'
to the tinieSt bits of hui
man figures, and still life-work.
Sturdy Roman figures in dancing and
battle attitudes are to be seen frequently,
and the nude has not been entirely ne
elected. The brilliant colorS which
nature INDUCES in the national park
will be illustrated in number of large
canvases by J. E. Stewart, who is here,
and will be during the exposition. He
has also fine picture of Seattle bay.
The water is as smooth as glass, and is
dotted over with Indian canoes. The
Indians in that country come down the
bay every fall and proceed to the hop
raising region, which is said to be the
richest in the world, and after lading
their canoes with the results of their
toll ply back to Seattle to exchange hops
for provisions. The picture will be
found an exceedingly interesting
one to all who have visited
the far West. and its dazzling
colors will be source of wonder and
remark to those who have not had that
DrlVllSSt. lSlLOlS VI d pOcblC
ament will find great pleasure in study
ing the large canvas illustrating one of
Tennyson'S idylls. 1t represents fair
Young woman standing by a rustic
fence: book in hand she gaZes across
the fat, somewhat sad landscape, in
which the artist has worked out the de-
tails of every leaf and grass blade, 1t
is a magnificent and reStful picture, and
is warranted by Superintendent Smith
one of the best places in the gallery,
where its beauties will not bloom I'M
noticed There will be in all
ABOUT 1000 PICTURES
in the art gallery. Changes have been
made in the entrances which will facili-
tate the handling of the crowds. They
are now arranged so that there will be
regular procession through the galleries,
ali the visitors proceeding in the same
direction through the picture rooms,
past the sculptOr'S studio and through
the gallery of ancient sculpture. The
studio of Mr.. Fjelde will be one of the
popular corners of the exposition this
wear. 1t is being fitted up in luxurious
style. and will give the people an idea
of the surroundings of worker in clay
OF marble. Besides the crowds will be
shown the artist at work with his
subject, model, materials and
tools in view. Mr.. Fjelde has
begun work on gigantic female figure
modelled in clay to represent the muse
of history, presumably. The figure is
eight feet two inches high, and stands
in an erect attitude, the head dropping
slightly forward. In her hands she
holds book, a page of which she is in
the act of turning, while the eye falls
on the top line of the next page. The
draping is ample and graceful, and re-
yeals in classic fashion the bust and
arms of the figure. The sculptor has
thrown the figure together in the rough,
and has promised to work out the fine
details during the exposition in the
presence of the audience. His sister,
Miss Fjelde, will pose as the
model. The statue is intended
for the public library building
and will be cast in bronze when the
clay model is finished, but not directly
from the model. The artist must. after
his first labor is completed, make
mould of the figure by sections and