New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-08-11
LONDON ARTISTS.
MR.. ALMA-TADEMA's ADVICE TO YOUNG
PAINTERS-THE TWO NEW ROYAL
ACADEMICIANS-AN ADMIR-
ABLE CATALOGUE

ACADEMlCIANS-AN ADMiR-
ABLE CATALOGUE.
London. July 81.
The artists have nearly all gone into the
country. but before they went Mr.. Alma-Tadema
told them and ell whom 1t might concern some
interesting home truths about art training'
though to re sure. Mr. Walter Sickert, clever
follower of Mr.. Whistler. denies that they are
truths The occasion was the award OF medais
and prizes gained by the students OF the Ma
tional Art Training School, In connection WIN
South Kensington. Some passages from 'n''
carefully written address are worth quo'ine' DIS
must be every record Of the mature OPINIONS "a
30 individual an artist:
1t is a great advantage for an art teacher ,, 10
know the human figure as completely az poss,ui s.
To 'know"-a great word. Who Is there that
knows enough? And still so many OF the younger
ones Of to-day despise knowledge IN arr;
should like to insist the word trauluohs'
for art is not spontaneous Ar, ~ no ., e. the
the outcome of an individual brain as IL 10 ny '
continuity of experience. which, concentrate III
one specaly gifted brain. produces those lncom-
r 80 49, and country Therefore. go on In
study In order that YOU may know much OF
what has been done. in order mat you ma! oe
able 10 teach the new art. which is TRADITION re-
freshed by modern feeling and temperament
and the world will gain. and you Will gam the
worlds gratitude. II insist upon inns ~ - oe
cause see all around us kind OF paihtihs p,o
duced and praised as the highest ann oi alt,
whore one cannot distinguish an apple tree from
a near tree an Ion.an cap from Corlhthlah,
a world Of mist. a regular Dupoe-ahu- squean'
which somehow does not satisly me- nov
heard a youngster say that he was saVeu w a
visit he had paid to the painters at ST ives as
now he painted the mast of a snip win morn,
zontal touches and not. as everybody eise nav
always done with a stroke perpendicular ac-
cording to the formation of the wood surrey
1.yv han
or irving TO initiate Berlin WOODWORK, because
nobody has ever painted that way before.
Do not underrate the value OF what are ,'ie So
called minor arts. Art is everywhere, ana the
more il is considered the better for every one
the more you take your vocation au seneux tne
better IL will be; and the more you Know ABOUT IL
tho better II will be for those who have TO learn
from II. To know in art is of the greatest neces,
sity II YOU know how a plant grows you VIII
be able to render it. II you do not know you VIII
mistake forms for what they are not' ior Natuie
is much too complex and far too complete Tor an
unframed eye to understand without knowledge
For instance. a shepherd knows every lnolVluua,
In his flock. am afraid that rev OF us wouia
distinguish one sheep from another sheep. A
gardener In midwinter will tell you whlch is an
apple tree and which is pear tree. How many
landscape painters are there who would De aDie
TO do the same? You must not misunderstood
me do not mean that work OF art must give
everything the artist can see What is required
is that every touch. every line, shght as they
NAV be- must render the feeling of what 1t has TO
the necessary knowledge.
This doctrine, thus smartly expressed is nat
urally not to the taste of the impresslonists 10
whatever class Of the school they belong and
many Of them have been writing to protest tnat
Mr. Alma Tadema's idea of knowledge Is IN
adeou.tc and that what you have to know is not
only surfaces, but the behavior OF surfaces
under given conditions of light. That is per-
fectly true and Mr. Alma-Tadema would himse1
assert 1t; the worst is that he and they Will never
agree as to what that behavior Is And so we
come back to the old puzzle. puzzle as OLD as
the Greek Sophists-the impossibility of agreeing
upon an absolute standard; man the measure Of
all things. and truth what each one troweth.
ROYAL ACADEMY PROMOTIONS.
An occurrence Of some interest in the English
,rt world has been the promotion of two A. r. AS.
10 full academica dignity in consequence OF
vacancies caused by the deaths Of Mr.. Hodgson
and Henry Moore. The choice fell upon Onslow
Ford. the sculptor anG w. b. Richmond. the
painter both names fairly we'll known in the
world on your side as well as on ours. Mr. Ford
who Is about fve-and-forty, is one or our pest
sculptors coming, in general artistic estimation,
next after Mr. Gilbert and Hamo Thornycroft.
His talent is more akin to Mr.. Gilberts than 10
Mr.. Thornycroft's; that is TO say he shares the
modern French development and throws back 10
the Italian Renaissance rather than TO the
Greeks AS l mentioned to you a month ago, he
has just enriched the streets Of London with
really fine equestrian statue. that OF Lord
Strathnairn. which he has not been afraid to
heghten with little gliding here and there, with
the happiest results.
AS to Mr.. Richmond his election will be re-
garded by the advanced" section of the artists
especially of the younger men, as almost reac-
tionary. much does he belong to the school OF
leighton and Watts. and so wholly does he re-
fuse TO bow the knee TO more modern Idols l
suspect that hts election was influenced by three
causes-by the fact that his Countess Of Penn
broke" exhibited this year. is certainly very
fine portrait the best thing he has done for a
long time. stately and impressive in high de-
gree: secondly. the natural desire on the part Of
the older Academicians to crafty Mr.. Rich
mond's father, the venerable George Richmond,
who is still living and who till very lately was
an important member Of the Academy, and
thirdly and chiefly, the fact that though w.
B. Richmond has practically ceased to produce
work Of the usual kind II is because, to his own
great pecuniary loss. he has thrown himself with
the most praiseworthy energy into the task Of
decorating ST. Pauls Cathedral with mosaic
The first fruits Of this immense labor can al
ready be seen and judged. bat there is enough to
be done to fill three lives and to cost ten times
the money that is likely to be raised in our day.
THE NEW NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY.
The work Of arranging the contents Of the new
National Portrait Gallery. built at the cost Of
Mr.. Alexander. behind the National Gallery
fronting Charing Cross Road, is proceeding
apace. but have reason to believe that it will
not be open TO the public tin after Christmas.
though the new director. Mr.. Lionel Gust, has
every disposition to proceed with energy. The
National Gallery goes on making new acquis-
tions but none Of very great import II has pur
chased Mr.. Martin Colnaghis interesting group
Of life-size figures by Eeckhout. and one or two
early Italian works and the director has now
hung his acquisitions made a. three or four re-
cent sales--a very fine G. Berckheyden, most
brilliant example Of the rather late Flemish
dor md NO oh