Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-03-03
NOTES ABOUT ART.

THE testimonial from the fire department to
G. L. Magee was executed at the pen art de-
partment of Duffs College. The details of the
engine are brought out with great care.
THE New York Art Guild is endeavoring to
increase the number of its members and the
field of its usefulness at the same time. 1t has
now membership of over 200 well-known
artists, and is receiving additions to its mem
bers from more widely extended territory
than formerly In the course of a couple of
months it is the intention to establish Bureau
of Exhibitions, which will receive. care for and
insure pictures belonging to members of the
guild, which may be sent to it to be forwarded
to the various exposltions.
A PROJECT which is being advocated by a
Drmber of Eastern people, who take interest in
art matters, prominent among whom is Mr.. A.
B. Turnure, editor of the Art Age. is the estab-
Hshment of annual conventions of representa-
tives of all the art societies in the country The
scheme includes the holding of exhibitions and
the comforting of prizes, and would doubtless be
greatly beneficial, as it would tend to bring
various art associations together and develop
an interest in the subject in some degree COM
mensurate with its Importance The annual
exhibitions would then be reallyrepresentative
of the nations art, and result in the concentra-
ton of various energies which are now weak
ened for lack of united action.
ACCORDING TO the original intention yester-
day was to have been the last of the exhibition
of foreign paintings in the Gillespie gallery
but Mr. Collins has decided to remain until the
middle of the present week, and when he does
depart it is more than probable that he will
leave number of fine works behind him.
Several pictures have already been sold
and removed from the. gallery, and
certain Others are almost sure to fnd
purchasers. Quite number of new works
have been received and added to the collection,
taking the place of those which have been sold.
A striking and original work bears the sigma
ture Geo. Washington" a name dear to the
heart of every American, though the artist is
in nowise related to the man who first made it
A nicfura
Dispatches" by Beauquesne, is splendid
painting. though by no means the most expen-
sive one in the collection.
The celebrated French artist, Gerome, does
not like the idea of a tariff upon works of
art, and when it was suggested to him that he
send some of his pictures to tine United States
he emphatically declined, and rather irritably
exclaimed that the Americans viewed alike
both art products and sardines, and made them
pay the same tax, and then, after paying it, the
pictures might not sell and would have to be
returned Whatever else may be said
about the matter it Is extremely I'M
likely that any good pictures would be re-
turned for want of purchasers as the people of
this country are particularly liberal in regard
TO the prices they are willing to pay for foreign
works. There are number of Gerome's
pictures in this country, one of them having
been exhibited in this city recently in the
Reichard collection. The work in question
s., $50 will convey some idea of the prices at
which other works by the same artist are
likely to be held.
THE method of steeling etched or engraved
plates of copper, which is a comparatively re-
cent invention, is one of those instances in
which science lends its aid to the introduction
of fine art into the homes Of the masses. For
merly the first few proofs taken from plate
were 1mmeasurabiy superior to those which
followed, and the larger the edition of a work
published the poorer became the later issues.
The Introduction of the process of depositing
upon the surface of the etched plate
hir,a Of c@a hnc
this condition of affairs. rendered the number
of proofs, which may be issued from plate in
fair condition, practically unlimited guam
tity. The process, which simply consists of
electro-plating the copper with steel, renders
the softer metal as durable as the steel itself,
for when the surface begins to wear, it may be
re-steeled. Since it has thus become possible
to issue as many copies of work as may be
thought desirable without the plate showing
signs of wear, the price of good etchings from
plates in first class condition has been mater
tally reduced.
Two new etchings, "Eventide and '.The Edge
OF the Marsh . both by E. L. Field, are very
pleasing and effective pictures. 1t is worthy of l
note, however, that much of their effectiveness
must be credited to the skill of the printer and
is due to what is known as artificial printing"
In the ordinary or ''naturar' method of print
ing etchings the surface of the plate is wiped
perfectly clean, leaving ink only in the bitten
lines, and the proofs then show nothing
but plain line-work with a clear surface be-
tween them. The artificial printing consists of
method Dy wnlch aSllght coatlng OF ink is left
on the surface of the plate. and which appears
on the proof like thin wash of color, usually
of graduated tone, supplementing the line
work or pure etching. Many art critics insist
that this method Of work is false to the true
principles of art ana they contend that the
technique of picture should be as simple as
possible; that the etching should be pure etch-
ing; mezzotint should be pure mezzotint, IN
short that each branch of art should
be practiced simply, and that two
or more methods should never be combined for
the sake of effect. But, in spite of the critics.
leading men in every branch of art and in ali
ages have seen fit to violate this rule and have
done so with such skill and judgment that the
objections have been, for the time being,
silenced. Artists work for the sake of results.
not methods, and their work should be judged |
by its effectiveness. not by the process by |
which such result was reached. If one may az |
tain desired end by short and easy method |
1t Is folly to adopt longer and more laborious |
one