The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1892-12-10
A PICTURE GALLERY.
An Amateurs Perambulations About
the Annual Display
Of the National Academy Paintings with
Piquant Notes. That give the Reader
Peep at the Paintings Themselves
"A Very Discriminating Criticism.
by An OBSERVING 1ADY.

"A Very Discriminating Criticism.
ny An OBSERVING LADY.
To the art critic who has the great gal
leries of the old world constantly in
mind, the modest collection, now open
in New York, will appear very meagre,
and as an exhibit of serious art even abb
surd in a way. For here there I'M
doubleday are great many very ridic-
ulous attempts at painting, by persons
who might have shone at the pillow or in
the mill, but who are dismal failures as
artists. Nevertheless to the amateur
lover of art, the citizen who believes in
his country and its possibilities, there is
always something OF interest in such an
opportunity for seeing the beginnings of
things artistic, and an enjoyment in
searching from picture to picture for
the first hint of genius. OF the Aca-
demicians themselves we expect much,
and they do not often disappoint us. A
small number only exhibit this year,
and their canvasses are veritable GASES
| in this desert of paint and color.
Thos. Moran has graceful little pic
ture "Napeague Beach L. l." with a
distinctive charm in its windswept
spaces of sky and foregroundof grey sand
and stunted grasses. Equally dainty in
size and of jewel-like completeness is
Percy Moran's "For the Marquise." The
Marquise, evidently belonging to the
period of hoops and patches, reclines on
a garden seat while the maid presents
bouquet of roses to her mistress. Such
scene as belongs upon the cover OF
some old jeweled snuff box, or Vatican
| fan.
Palmer's venetian Night and Ter
gerson's ''Venice from the Lagoon" are
both good though the former suggests
the blue print photographs OF Venetian
SCENERY with which we are familiar.
Indeed blue In very indigo hues seems
quite the rage in some of the studies
one, blue elephant in blue lake look
ing at blue lotos, is calculated TO make
the spectator feel blue.
Walter Satterlee has large canvass
''Toilers By the Sea" group of women
spreading linen ON the clean sand of the
seashore to bleach. The drawing and
atmosphere are excellent. j. G.
Brown the friend of newsboys, has
new theme. 1t il called Morning De-
votions" and represents grandmother
(no one could look so good who was
not grandmother) sitting by an open
window at her early devotions, with the
peace and calm of the morning in her
face.
Dolph sends one or two of his furred
friends ga Bad Neighbor" being the
most interesting, pussy rudely inter-
rupted, while drinking her saucer OF
cream, by troublesome pup. Hart
has study of cows going to water that
shows his usual firm touch. Curran in
'Haying" admirably caught the glow
summer day on hay field where two
children are raking hay.
| In 1.-THE Difficult Lesson" H. Loop
shows one of the few good figure pieces
of the exhibition. A young girl, violin
in hand, is apparently perplexed by the
try, and leans back in her chair in hall
despairing way that Is quite natural.
'Memoria," by Loomis is an ideal
head delicately and clearly painted.
The pure purple of the drapery about
the bust, the soft flesh tints, and the
gentle beauty of the face make a very at
tractive picture.
Three small canvasses holding the
cool tint of the woods and the chana of
quiet works in their narrow bounds are,
the "Wood Road" by G. W. Eaton
"Monadnock" by Z. Warning and coo
tober' by Ochbruon.
DeHaas has bit of New England
coast and Thos. Moran "Moonrse" on
the beach at East Hampton.
Early Evening Madison Square" by
Guacceminni is suggestive Of what can
be gotten out of familiar scenes if only
one has the eyes to see: it represents
that early hour of twilight, when the
lamps are Just lighted and flicker family
through the fog, while cabs and pedes-
TRANS move homeward across the misty
square like figures in dream. A great
artist could have made the scene immor-
tai, but even in this simple picture we
may read moral for those American
painters who prefer to give us the La
goons of Venice or the canals of Hol-
land, in neglect of our own great water
ways and picturesque thoroughfares
Childe Hassom sends a"Corner of Cen
trail Park in Springtime, which is indi-
vidual in his own peculiar way.
| 1t must be confessed that those stu
dents who have chosen figure painting
have loved mot wisely but too well. !"
Why the student always chooses such
homeless and melancholy models for
these single figure paintings is one of
the mysteries. She is either a nerveless
creature in a short WASTED gown who
contemplates her image in a hand mir
ror, or scrawny maiden of uncertain
age swathed in greeny-blue draperies,
and holding Tyre in her hands, with
couture "a la Gree She is ALWAYS
named, either "Wood Nymph" or "Sap-
pho' or perhaps Contemplation" and
is SO sad that she is absolutely fllnay.
| Not that this exhibit was worse in this
respect than many others, indeed it was
distinctly better. These nymphs did not
look SO cold, and some were metamor-
phosed into society girls in Greenaway
gowns, but the type was there, and the
Greek lettering on the canvass, and that
melancholy stare in the eyes that only
genius" can evolve. In still life few
examples were particularly good.
Roses" in a glass with fern, by
Driekouska being delicately true to ma
ture. peppers" by Miss Clark. ''Jon-
quils'' by Ella Pell, and Roses" by
Mrs. Esther Coffin all well drawn and
interesting.
Josephine Wood has promising land
scape full of sunshine and Letitia Hart
shows good work in "Winding the
Skein. OF portraits there are one or
two worthy of mention. That of "Sena-
tor MORRILL, by T. w. Wood, ''Eiaia-
ture of Madam NJ" by VIM. Wust, and
"Lenore" by Eleanor Bannistep and a
study head by Moeller No. 269.
1t would be impossible to enumerate
in these limits all the canvasses thai
possess interest; there are several large
| ones which seem by their very size to
insist upon notice, but which lack the
harmony and charm Of less pretentious
work. OF these "Playmates' by R. KIuth
and Grabbing" by H. Hamilton are the
best.
The outlookforAmerican art in thefuture
is bright, though the studenthere suf-
fers from the lack of opportunity to study
the great masters, and not little also
from the intense practically of the ma
tional mind, which regards the pursuit
of tart for arts sake" as simply throw
ing time away.
But as in Chicago we have begun to
show the world that we can produce arch
itects when great occasion offera, so it
will be in the sister arts of painting and
sculpture, las Mrs. VanRannsalaer says in
recent article, "When, as nation, we
are convinced that art is indeed thing
of first Importance, and priceless value,
then American art which has done so
marvellously well under hampering con-
ditions will have an unhampered path
before it, and. will lead us whittier, to-
day, no man dare predict.
Certain it is that our best artists al
ready possess spirituality of insight
which the English school has uniformly
lacked, and it is most natural to suppose
that in future this faculty will grow and
blossom until it equals that of the con-
tinental artists who are at present the
world masters.
NUynLN0 nnDATJl