The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1893-07-06

The ornamentaion is natural, chaste,
severe, in contrast with massiveness
of background which makes it seem an,
accident rather than design. These
structures would be great for centuries
could they stand and even lie the eve
of man never rested upon them. The
Partisan architecture was that Of a gar
den to be admired among flowers and
perfumes, like what one might ina CINE
in the vale Of Cashmere. One could.
almost fancy those buildings erected
IN Imitation of the slender stems and
decorated from the brilliant colors Of
q flower garden. Ours is a classic city,
built like some ancient Grecian city to
be the wonder of the centuries
In the ornamentation of the grounds
the representation Of American forms
and American life predominates. The
grounds to start with have wonderful
natural advantages, possessing as they
do natural water courses upon which
can be run all crafts imaginable with
all their picturesque colorings and ro-
mantle associations. Natural beauty
supplemented by the art Of man will
combine to produce panorama OF
loneliness which the purely artificial
beauties of the Paris exposition cannot
equal. A characteristic feature of the
grounds of this exposition are the stat
ues and casts of animals and forms
altogether American, such as the bison,
the cowboy, heavy draught horses, cat
tie, etc. These are largely the work
OF A. ?. Porter a rising young sculptor
who came originally from the Rocky
mountains. The great fountain Of the
Republic by MacMonnies is not as mas
t0f 49, =, n
put 1t is a great work representing
the ship of state steered by time and
propelled by oars in the hands of maid
ems representing the thirteen original
states. Columbia occupies the seat Of
honor and the basin around about is
filled with the anegorical divinities Of
the sea. 49, a. 4
The most attractive work of art to
Americans is the great art palace built
IN the severely classical style of the
Ionic order. It contains the greatest
collection of pictures ever gathered to-
gether under one roof namely 1000 pic
lures which would require over one
months time to see, if three minutes
were given up to each picture. VII
American Fine Arts.
There is wide difference of opinion
among artists upon all points of their
profession, both as regards the philos-
ophy and technique of their art. 1t
is probable, however. that by far the
best way for a layman to arrive at
American fine arts, as displayed in the
art palace Of the Columbian exposition,
and that Of the other nations which
have made a very elaborate display
here, is by getting the opinions Of art
lists upon the subject who are known
to be qualified to pass judgment upon
works of art He will then be able to
allow for all prejudices incident to
artists as a class and draw his own
conclusions upon the subject.
One of the artists whose opinion
every resident of the Northwest will
feel great confidence in is Douglas
Volk of Minneapolis, who in recognition
of his ability, was chosen as one of the
national jury on fine arts for this
exposition.
Mr.. Volk, in response to your core
spondent's inquiry as to what rank
the American display of fine arts would
take, said: Il regret to say that I
have not yet see: the American exhibit
as whole, only having seen portion
OF the pictures while serving on the
national jury; so I am in no position
ITO give an intelligent reply to your
question. What pictures I have seen
have lead me to believe that the public
will be greatly surprised to see the vast
advance that has been made in Ameri-
can arts the last fifteen years.
''The country is yet too young to
have produced any school of painting,
new notes are being struck by individ-
ual painters and they are true and
beautiful. Perhaps the very diversity
OF life in this country and the indie
pendence Of the individual would make
the formation of a settled school I'M
possible, at least in years to come.
when life with it's forms of expression
shall have become more fixed in pur-
pose. But the tendency is in the right
direction. Study of the pictures of
the fair will show that most of our
painters are serious and honest in their
way of looking at and for things Of
nature, and that their attitude toward
art is dignitied one is sure to lead to
better and better results in the future -
/ The German commissioner of art
here claims that the American master
pieces show less individuality than
those Of other nations ande that it is
almost impossible unless an art critic
Of rare acumen undertakes the task,
to tell when he passes from the Amcri-
can exhibit to the French one, as they
are arranged in the building. so closely
have the Americans initiated the tech
nique of the schools in which they
have studied. One of the lady assist
ant commissioners in charge of the
American exhibit in reply to this makes
the broad statement that this is an
indication that the Americans excel in
art. The lady is fixed in her belief that
the French schools now represent the
utmost perfection i'll modern art and
that if the Americans are able to so
closely copy the French style, impr.s-
sionism and all the rest, it indicates
that they have learned their lesson
well. Miss Hallowell, formerly direc-
tor Of the Chicago School of Fine Arts
also openly maintains the Americans
have the best display of oil paintings
in the fine arts building, mainly because
they have exercised the greatest care
in selecting and the most thorough
means Of collection Of any nation repre-
sented here. Miss Halloweu in forming