The Sunday herald and weekly national intelligencer., 1891-11-29

Work-Rooms are Fitted Up-Oficers
of the League and Its Objects.
The unities are satisfied In the external and
internal arrangement of the new home of the
Art Students League. The League is located
in the building, No. S0S Seventeenth street.
it has low portal, a Dutch doorway, balus-
traded roof, and couple of dormer windows
peeping over it like heavily-lidded eyes to see
what goes on in the street below. The
Leagues new home is not conventional
house, but an old house remodeled and as
adaptable as tactful person to the uses for
which twas artistically designed. The visitor
on entering steps on the tiled floor of wide
vestibule. Turning to the left he descends q
few steps, crosses an entry, and finds himself
in pleasant Office with light red Pompeian
tinted walls. There is a warning ssNo Ad-
mission" on the door between the office and
the antique classroom. but there is an open
sesame for the initiated. On going through
the doorway one finds room well adapted to
It's uses well furnished with art material in
the shape of numerous casts Anttnous and
the Venus of Milo dominate the other figures
with their majestic lines of beauty, while
heads, torsos, busts, arms, and legs are ar
ranged in every possible pose to develop
technique. Students eager to learn these Sc
u Tk,
this instance young women's class. MIR. E.
q. Messer has charge of the day advanced an
tique class, and Mr.. R. N. Brook of the night
class. The material in this room is mostly
new and of great value to the League. Very
few Leagues are so well housed as this one
now is not even the New York League, al
though the latter expects to be better located
soon in a fine new building.
Folding doors divide the antique classroom
from the room beyond in which the life class
works I'm a6 NIT ,ipi,,
cloaks and hats leads to the still-life studio
which Is the water-color room and Is we'll
lighted from the north. There are many fine
specimens of material or studio properties on
hand from huge brass can to Indian Jugs,
glass caraffes, brass candlestcks, head of
caulifiower, and q bunch of red radishes with
green top. Each Of these simple forms looks
easy to paint but each has way OF its own
OF rejecting light, casting shadow or shin
ing through the glass in very delusive fashion
calculated to elude the cunning of the un-
trained eye and hand. Mr. w. H. Holmes and
Miss Bertha Perrie have charge of these water
color classes and Mr.. LIE Grande johnson OF
the still-life painting class in the same depart
ment. The life classroom lies between this
room and the antique classroom. tits looked
upon by the artists themselves as the greatest
step In progress to become a member OF the
lie class and privilege to enter its sacred
portals, across which no profane foot Is ever
permitted to go. 1t is there they study the
human form divine, undraped. Mr.. e. G.
Messer has charge of this department. and
he considers his class one OF unusual talent.
In this room Mr.. E. @. Mcdonald teaches life
portraiture. The drawings of the artlstically
posed model are In every line of perspective
and every stage OF progress, and seem to
verify the professors opinion of the embryo ar
lists engaged upon them.
Going upstairs to the third floor one finds
the half-furnlshed room OF the preparatory
class. 1t is we'll lighted and divided by screens
| Into stalls so as to accommodate a greater
| number of students, and to facilitate the work.
| Miss Margaret Tones, the superintendent of
the League, has charge of this class. Mr.: U.
| 5. j. Dunbar has charge of a modelling class
| from life and one of the antique.
MIR. Parker Mann is the popular president
| of the League. The board of control consists
| OF good working staff devoted to it's interests
| as follows: Mr.. w. ii. Holmes, first Yice-presi-
| dent; Mrs. e. M. Gallaudet second vce-presi-
dent; Miss Aline e. Solomons, treasurer; Mr..
| William b. Chiffon, recording secretary; Mrs.
| Herbert X. Hess, corresponding secretary;
| Miss Margaret Tones, superintendent; Miss
Bertha e. Perrie, Miss Elisabeth Winship, Miss
| Mathilda Mueden, and Miss Anna NJ. Sands.
! In several respects the history of the Wash
! 1ngton Art League is similar to that of the
| New York League. 1t has always been kind
OF cooperative concern, each student having
| personal interest in the success OF the move
| ment and doirg all he could for 1t in the early
| days when 1t struggled for life. The League
| was organized some seven years ago, With the
talented ana lamented Mr.. John Il, Burnett
| as its first president The Washington
League like the New York, upon which it is
modelled, has had It's days OF despondency, and
its days Of reViVing life. Now, the member
ship is nearly II not quite one hundred, and
the number is Increasing. The building it now
| occupies was remodeled as to the art depart
ment expressly for the use of the League.
Mr.. Eakins, A. NJ, of Philadelphia, has
been engaged to deliver course OF lectures
on anatomy which began on the 18th Of this
| month and are to continue to the end of the
course in January emitting the two holiday
| Fridays OF Christmas and New Year.
There are several very bright women con-
| nected with the League as instructors and on
the board of control. 1t would be impossible
to give more than glimpse OF the League
within newspaper limits, but there is every
reason to expect good results from it in Great
ing an art atmosphere in the Capital City.
Several of the members have studied in the
| New Aork League and others have been
abroad for the purpose OF cultiyating them
selves artistical.y.
The Commissioners were closeted for some