The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1890-08-15
PUBLIC ART EXHIBITIONS.

The Good Done by One Of These In ST.
Louis-Argument for Sunday Opening.
Professor Halsey G. Ives, director of
the St. Louis Art museum and of the
art department of Washington uni
versity of the same city, was in
town the other day. Professor Ives
has devoted most of his time and ef-
fort for the past dozen years to the adj
vancement of art interest in st. Louis,
and as result the museum is the best
arranged and most intelligently con-
Quoted institution of it's kind in the
country, and the art school is one of
the most thorough. The art museum
is a handsome stone structure at Luz
cas- place and Nineteenth street.-The
fashionable residence center of the
city-and is one of the few buildings
thoroughly adapted for its purpose.
While its collections thus far are not
large, they are intelligently formed,
and every object shows not only a
phase of interesting historical devel-
opment, but is the best example obtain
able for showing this. The museum
has been chary in accepting miscellac
neous gifts. and has purchased with
the greatest discrimination. The art
school is equipped with one of the fin
est collections of casts in the country,
and from it have come a number OF
artists of ability. The school has sent
abroad several students, and has part
ly supported them there. Said Pro
fessor Ives:
I'VE have quite number of collec-
tons of fine pictures in St. Louis, but
most of them contain almost exclus-
lively works by foreign artists. | hope,
by q series of exhibitions of American
pictures, to interest our people more in
American art. | think that the best
work of the American painters of
today is equal to the best that is pro
duced abroad in certain lines. think
that it only needs introduction to Sc
cure appreciation, and | want to show
how sincere and strong much of it is
Our art museum is now beginning to
be we'll appreciated. Since we began
opening it to the public on Sundays
our attendance has increased on all
days, and many persons have mani
tested interest in it who for years
passed the building every day without
having sufficient curiosity to look in
side. 1t is particularly gratifying to
me that many workingmen visit the
museum on Sundays. generally man
age to be there myself on Sunday
afternoons, and enjoy directing their
attention to those things which will
suggest improvement in the character
of the work they do. Some of the men
who became interested in the iron
work from Nuremburg are now doing
very clever work in the same direc-
ton. Others have studied the old car
wings, and have gained a degree of
artistic appreciation that they have ap-
piled in their workmanship to their
very decided advantage But for the
Sunday opening many of these men
would have absolutely no opportunity
for visiting the museum, and from the
results that have become evident thus
far the wisdom of the plan has been
demonstrated to me very clearly. l
really think it is public misfortune
that any such museum in the country
is kept closed on Sundays. To the
great museums of France, so much re-
sorted to by the working people on
Sundays, is due much of that artistic
quality that you find in almost every
article of French production-even for
the commonest uses. The same op-
portunities opened for our own in
telligent, quick witted people would
very soon influence the character of
the work produced here. New York
Star.