Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-05-08
ART BY AMERICANS.
Some More of the Pictures to Be Seen
in New York Just Now.
HOW TO LOOK AT THE CANVASES.
The Paris Critics Have All They Can Well
Attend TO This Spring.
SOME DETAILS OF MERITORIOUs WORK
rconnEsroNpENcr OF THE DISPATCH, :,

| ,CoRREsPoNDENCE OF THE pIsPATCH.I
NEW YORK, May 7.-Why is it that tn.
exhibitions of the Society of American Art
lists are not more truly popular? Artists
are deeply interested and greatly pleased by
them; all the critics praise them as far the
best of the year; and all other people who
profess to know about art, as we'll as to care
about it, are just as well content. But the
public which focks to the Academy doe.
not flock to the Society's galleries. II
comes in greater numbers every year, but
not yet in such numbers as we ought to see.
Perhaps it is because the public thinks
that such very good things must be too
good to be beautiful or charming; that such
progressive" things cannot be easily COM
pretended; that such "artistic" things must
be all paint and no picture. So whether
you are artist or connoisseur or just plain
man who 'likes pictures" please, if you
live in New York or chance to be here be-
fore the end of May, stop in at the society's
exhibition. It is in very convenient
| place, No. 966 Fifth avenue. There are
only two rooms and they are pleasant
rooms, well lighted and with many comfort
able seats. And you do not have to 60 up
stairs to get to them.
A Picture That Attracts Attention.
I have already told you few of the
things you will see. Chief among the
others is Mr.. Thayer's madonna De-
throned," which will enchant you by its
rich and beautiful color, impress you by its
dignifed yet not academic arrangement,
and do you good by its nobility, serenity,
refinement and depth of feeling. Perhaps
you will say that it is painted "queerly."
So it Is in some places, and in one or two
places it is queerlv drawn as well. But
these blemishes really do not detract from
Its power and charm.
1 may add, however, that you will never
appreciate his work, or that of many of his
present companions, if You look at it close
at hand. You must stand across the gal
lery to see it we'll. More than two cent
uries ago Rembrandt told the public that
pictures were meant to be looked at, not to
be smelled. But the public has not yet
learned the lesson, although the more
modern the form of art, the more likely is
distance to be demanded for its proper
understanding.
Look, for example, at MI. Robinson's pic
ture called "In the Sum- to which the
society's committee gave the Shaw prize of
81, 900. Near at hand, you will call it,
probably, vigorous but trough" study of
a peasant girl in red bodice and blue
skirt lying at full length on very green
grass and holding up a straw hat to shade
her head from the sun. 1t may not impress
you as very true, it may not charm you as
very beautiful But go across the gallery
and look at it again. You will think you
are looking at the veritable thing, and a
very beautiful thing it will seem.
New Brush at Fifty.
And again, as a very extreme instance.
look at Mr.. Niemeyer's autumn landscape.
Mr.. Niemeyer is more than 30 years old and
lives under the walls of Yale College, where
we might fancy that the "progressive'
forms of modern art would not be highly
valued. But he has lately thrown away all
his old brushes and grasped the new i'm
pressionistic brush. Look at his canvas
closely and it seems bit of 1unacy in paint.
There is scarce suggestion of form, there is
not real piece of color There are only
little blots and streaks and quiris of paint,
and they are of every other possible color
as we'll as the colors one might expect to
see in an autumnal landscape. But get
away half the length of the gallery Every
thing clears itself now, asserts itself, ex-
plains itself. It is well-composed, well
rendered, we'll colored landscape in which
the vivid hues Of New England naples in
October are given very truthtully and much
more harmoniously than We might imagine
possible.
When you have looked at these two pic
lures and at Mr.. Thayer's in the proper
way, I think you will not be in danger
again of saying picture is nonsensical or
ugly when you have merely passed your
eye-glass upon its surface. You can look
at Mr. Brush's Portrait" or his "Ossian"
closely, if you will; at Mr.. Beckwith's
small portrait of "Lady in Black" or
Mr. Thorne's beautiful little portrait of
"Lady in Gray" at Mr.. Cox's fine nude
figure called "Echo," or Mr.. Denman's
''Ode to Aphrodite," or Miss Macomber's
naive and charming little "Annunciation.
But even the most delicately handled of
this still looks well at distance. In short,
"When in doubt, 60 to the other side of the
gallery"
Coming Exhibition of Art.
When this exhibition is over the same
gallery will be used for a collection of
pictures contributed by New York artists
for the benefit of the Grant Monument
Fund. They will be shown from May 81
to June 6, and they will be sold at auction
BY Mr.. Depew and General Porter; so the |
sale promises to be lively on the |
auctioneers' part at least.
One hundred and ffty-fve thousand dol |
lars were in hand for the monument fund |
when General Porter took control of it. In |
the four weeks that elapsed before the lay |
ing of the cornerstone by President Harri- |
son more than 5000, 900 additional had been |
promised, and the remaining $3.50 900 will |
probably be nearly all secured before Me- |
mortal Day, when there will again be ft- |
ting ceremonies around the tomb.
1t is highly amusing to read the many ac-
counts which have come from London with |
regard to the great popular success" Of |
the recent Whistler exhibition. Can such |
a phrase be applied to Whistler, and |
really refer to Whistler in England? Of
course, one knew that the recent purchase
of his portrait of his mother by the French
Government would put him up peg in the
estimation of the British Philistine. And,
of course, one knew that in matters of
art this Philistine is more sheeplike than
any veritable eve. But, even so, the re-
ports are surprising. The whole flock of
Philistines seems to have taken the Whist
Ter fence at one jump
The Popularity of whistler.
It means that the British public have left
- II Il