The sun., 1895-02-15
PORTRAITS AND POSTERS At THE
UNION LEAGUE,


the gay posters Of the end OF tho century The
committee has signalized its advent by prepar.
ing very unusual and, II may be added, a very
interesting show Mr.. Harry w. watrous 4.
Chairman, Mr.. Il. V. Connect Is Secretary. aud
their associates are Messrs. William B. Dnwd
John II. Flagg. William u. Harper, 10.
seph II. Stout and Howard Willets. In
ARRANGING this collection Of portraits 10y
American artists who were bora before
the beginning OF the present century end IN
cataloRuing them, they have shown consid-
cradle industry and research. The chief paint
ers OF the period are excellently represent
ed, from the ancient John Smybert with his stiff
metallic portrait of MARY Flagg" in n zinc
gown. to the more recent Ingram, an early =. n.
A.. although born in Dublin.
Considerable interest will be felt IN the fine
portraits of Gen. Washington. hardly two OF
which would appear to the casual visitor with
out catalogue, to be of the same subject. Dr.
Depew has loaned one of the several por-
traits by Gilbert Stuart-the one, in fact,
from which our common idea OF Washing
ton with his expression OF beatihcation Is de-
rived. The Washington OF Charles peale Polk,
In uniform, loaned by Col. Daniel +. Appleton,
Is of altogether another man, less plous In as
pect and more in accord with what one might
fancy OF soldier to whom the expletivcs that
foreign. Then there is the Washington of
Joseph Wright, loaned by Mr.. &. w. Bowen
which would pass well for II portrait Of
Thomas jefferson. The face IL beautifully
painted, but the figure, and especially the
hands, are not In character with the rest OF the
work. Mr.. G. II. Savage has loaned portrait
that suggests more nearly the Washington OF
the stuart portrait, and William Birch's enamel
portrait, beautiful as u miniature. represents
the esteemed Father Of his Country as very
much the sort Of man in appearance that Gilbert
Stuart painted.
Among the other portraits, which cover pref
ty completely the period of American portrait
painting comprehended in this exhibition.
are n rare old one by Jonathan Blackburn of
William INLAY, number of representative
Copleys. and several works of interest by Ben
jainin West, who had large an influence
upon the art of his day. There a fine half
length portrait OF himself from his own BRUSH
large group, strongly painted and rich in color in
which United States Senator Ralph lizard in red
coat, occupies central place; u HAT, thin study
for his large picture of The Death of Gen.
Wolfe" and turgid " Expulsion from Eden"
Among the Gilbert Stuarts are his strongly char
acterized Alderman Boydell," loaned by Mr..
j. p. Howard; the portrait of Robert Thew, the
ongraver loaned by Col. Appleton. and his last
loaned by Mrs Joanna Browne. BY Trum-
bull there is one picture. that of Mrs. Peter
Lanman, a kinswoman, loaned by Mr.. William
Lanman Bull
BY Robert Fulton, best known as a steamboat
man, and the namegiver OF Fulton Ferry. is q
portrait of himself. BY Rembrandt Peale is a
portrait of Charles Carroll OF Carrollton, loaned
by Mr.. c. w. Bowen; and by Washington ALL
ston a portrait of himself. one of Mrs Siddons.
loaned by Mr.. Charles Scribner his mother,
and The Angel Liberating st. Peter from
Prison." a strong and luminous work, loaned by
Mr.. Cornelius Vanderbilt. :. F. b. Morse, cleo
trician ard National Academician, is repre-
sented by several portraits. including those of
his father and mother: and there are other por-
traits by John Wesley Jarvis F. Williams.
Thomas Sully, Samuel l.. Waldo John Para
disc, and James rockingham.
In the large assembly room adjoining the art
gallery are arranged the posters in that I'M dc
steele manner Just now so much the vogue. One
of the best of them is the cover for the cata-
logue, designed by Mr.. William Martin johnson.
somewhat in the Aubrey Beardsley manner,
but with II superior grace, beauty. and inge-
nuity of invention. Under the impulse of rage
for striking advertising designs in ingenious
swirling lines and tints more or less fiat.
number of very clever artists have per-
movement 10 it's passing advantage. II not
purpose of these posters is to attract at
tention. they fulfil their function admirably.
Some Of them can be almost seen in the dark.
and their echoes rebound throughout the vast
halls of the club house. They are original and
imaginative Often these examples OF the art of
the dead wall but in single bound they seem
to have reached the limit of extravaganza be-
yond which the most feverish and morbid i'm
agination cannot be expected to go. The Japan
ese fances. which lie at the base Of many of
these designs of the Beardsley- Bradley school,
are sicklied DER with pale cast OF vivid color,
past all resemblance to the original example,
and. while the product is unique, it is more
nearly suggestive Of an excess OF absnthe and a
need of bromide than Of anything else.
The examples shown in this fairly comprehen-
sive and extremely interesting phantasmagoria
are of French English, and American produce
tion None of his followers has, as yet, excellcd
Cheret In the deft and spirited expression of
wantonness. There Is an abandon and chic to
his figures that his imitators and contemporaries
have but feebly caught. Moreover, the drawing
in Cheret's posters is dashing and excellent and
the spirit OF the whole is inimitable. Aubrey
Beardsley is sufficiently striking but hideously
ungraceful. and in his color often dscOrdant
w III DrHulty tnlp bOOh uCSIeHS bttttr
essays in the same field because he has not over
looked the element Of beauty as Beardsley has
done.
Many OF the American designs hardly belong
to the school founded by Cheret, for they are
pictures pure and simple. Edward Penfied has
been the most successful, perhaps, in his posters
for Harper's, antPLous Rhead, while contrast
ing colors that set ones teeth on edge, Is fine in
his lines and sufficiently reasonable in coInpo-
siton.
One ofthe cleverest and most appropriate post
ers Of all is that by Steinlen, "Lait pur do 10
Vingeaume Steriise," in which delightful
little girl in red drinking from bowl is sur
rounded with a group OF cats as full and sug-
gestive OF cat nature and cat structure as could
have been put into picture by Doph. Gras-
set, who did the admirable Napoleon poster,
with which every ono is familiar. has largo
sheet, "LibrRirie Romantique," that is not
much for color, but the young woman reading
is a dream OF delight. Appel's "Folies-Bcr-
OAra ~ ,,nstar with its two red, iire-eAtnR dew