The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1891-12-10
TN WOMAN'S BEHALF.
WOMEN IN ART.

Have tho ADlSty onO Energy
In the rush toward things artistic to-
day, too many persons untitled for the
career adopt the profession OF an artist,
with light heart; that. as years roll
on, too often grows to be a very heavy
one. Before deciding whether ones
taste for dabbling IN paint or plaster is
likely to outlast the necessary drudgery
OF the first years Of study, it is well to
be quite sure that not only the will but
the power is there. Usually the first
efforts of a girl, who shows some
knack of handling brush or pencil. are
greeted with chorus Of praise; those
who know better withhold the sharp
criticism the prentice's attempts de-
serve: while those who do not know in
sist that with such genius it would be q
shame to remain content with mere
common. place pursuits. So the victim
to circumstances listens greedily to
prophecies of future fame and fortune,
and decides to become another Rosa
Bonheur In rare cases the decision is
right. and both the individual and the
world e ain thereby. But in the large
majority OF failures one wishes that
some kindly friend could have stayed
the waste of time and energy by telling
the truth in time.
To decide whether clever girl has
or has not the talent-without which
success is impossible, or. at best, dis
honora ble-is not easy. II she turns to
friends and acquaintance, their polite
ness forbids plain speaking: If she APP
proaches local teacher, the chances
are that the natural eagerness to secure
another pupil makes him discern hidden
talent where otherwise he would fail
to find it. Nor is it easier to obtain
valuable advice from a stranger: it is a
serious responsibility to stay the career
of one who may be great some day,
and so, mindful of the romanccs of un-
appreciated genius, we all shrink from
saying-"You have no shadow OF a
chance of eminence as an artist; aban-
don the attempt wholly
To begin, with, their is no royal road
to art; genius alone can not paint q
great picture. knowledge of drawing
and anatomy: skill in technique, in
brush work and the laying on of color
are all gained only by hard and seri-
Gus study. To copy good paintings is q
help; but nothing replaces the teacher.
A serious objection to many art schools
Is that the level of the class is lowered
to avoid showing the utter incompe-
tence Of the worst The first steps are
made too easy. and when spurious ia
cility is gained, the young miss Tor
mastery sallies out TO conquer the
world Possibly a dealer buys few
sketches: personal friends offer small
commissions, and the students head is
turned. Ignorant of her own want OF
knowledge-the deepest of all ignor-
ance-she paints daubs that defy every
law of art. but attract a certain class OF
admirers; and SO, content with her be-
ginning. goes on to find a younger
novice forestalling her, and the ap.
probation of those worth having, lost
| forever
What has been called 'divine dis
content is at once the artists sorrow
and crown. The ideal aimed at must
always be far ahead of the result; salts
faction, beyond a certain point, with
ones finished work is the deadliest in
dication of all. If before great paint
ing young artist secretly feels she
could paint as well, in one case out o.
million she may be right; but in thu
others it is dead certainty that both
the humility of real genius and the
genius itself are lacking.
But besides the lack of that supreme
talent men call genius. there are Other
secondary qualities that must be hers
who would succeed in art OF these, q
power of steady application, q keen oh
servance of natural facts, love of ma
ture, and real delight in color and The
beauty of things seen as well as thing.
painted. arc among the most important
but energy, patience and study car
alone make them fruitful
Difficult as it is to ascertain whether
a beginner has solid reason to hope fo1
success, there are q few rough anG
ready tests that if untiinchingly ap
piled, would weld out the most hopeless.
incapables Note first whether the
would-be artist is clever at copying. or
tries to invent her pictures If hel
sketches are full of every technical
fault and yet show honest attempts t.
draw or paint what she sees, there i!
room for hope. If. however, her pic
lures IRE all mere copies of the work o
other artists, though done ever SO well
they prove nothing; beyond the lower
faculty Of imitation, that is only ,
small part of the equipment Of al
artist.
Such an one may go to nature ant
yet paint her scenes after q previously
learned formula. II all her sketches
gray days or sunny days, autumn o.
spr;ng-have a similar chromo-like col
oring. it is proof positive that the vision
of the real artist has been denied her.
The choice of subjects is another
test. A real artist makes everything
paintable; the most unpromising scene
has its rare moments of beauty, and
like the smile on homely face, may
be lovely at times The amateur is al
ways trying to make pictures; the rea
artist is satisfied with half dozer
rough lines, if she grasps the essentials
of the fact she wishes to note. Tht
study needed is not to be put away
with the easel and palette at the ar
school, but continued always; jottinl
down stray memoranda in pencil o.
color, noting the effects of atmosphere
and color under every condition. Tha
q course of tuition at good school O
art is essential to success, goes without
saying. In default of working in the
studio of first-rate painter-almos
impossible in this country-it is thu
only way. If, after this some years o.
study at Paris or Munich is not within
reach, it should be made SO, for thu
energy that overcomes the apparently
impossible, is, in itself, not far of