New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-11-03
AUTUMN EXHIBITIONS.
THE PORTRAITS AT THE ACADEMY OF
DESIGN


Loan Exhibition Of Portraits at the Academy
of Design will do we'll to remember that In
matters OF art the further away one gets from
the personal elements in work trimming over
with them. the nearer one gets to It's true
character and it's legitimate sources OF pleasure.
| No doubt this collection Of over five hundreu
portraits would yield to the careful cleaner an
abundance Of anecdote but the real merit OF the
show is that 1t contains so many good pictures
! that 1t has so much to say irrespective OF tne
/ biographlc considerations which are bound 10
| present themselves. moro or less, to every on
| server. The fact is illustrated nowhere VIII"
more emphasis than in the large fuii-iehs'"
Of Miss Consuelo Vanderbilt by Carous DURAN
which in social significance happens 10 DE "'
! the moment peculiarly conspicuous SUBTRACT
| from this. at the outset. defect winch oie
wants to forget. the lack Of firmness, OF elastic
| ity, in the carriage Of the figure, ana there 10
/ left a great deal that Is admirable. This paint
ing belongs among the first of the portrai's
| here which are also pictures Duran has pain'eu
! his subject in character finging aside those
| predictions for pure costume which make MIN
to modern portraiture what NJ. Worth was 10
! modern society. and he has depicted MISS VAN
| derbilt in the environment and mood OF early
English art. He places a long walking SUCK III
her hand. a conceit more French than Engnsh
but she stands in one of those pillared scenes
dear to Lawrence and Reynolds and against
background Of landscape introduced in just the
same way that those painters cultivated so as
to combine hint OF nature with the stately
lines OF their somewhat architectural compost
! lions. 1t is surprising to see Duran In this
vein. The veteran Salonnier is more his reg
uar humdrum and mastery self in the BIG
group OF Mrs. Calvin s. Brice and Her Daugh-
ters." or in the smaller portrait Of Mrs. George
Gould" There you have his straightforward
brushwork and his unremarkable but har-
monious color on their habItual level. But the
color in the portrait of Miss Vanderbilt has
tenderness and quality. the brushing IS more
suave than usual. above all. the portrait Is a
design. a composition. 1t has dignity and pic
torial interest In this latter direction it Is fit
company for the portrait by Mr. Sargent that
Is as pre-eminent now as it was on Its first APP
pearance in New-York. the portrait OF the child
Beatrice"
Mr.. Sargents work oftenest invites comment
on his astonishing technique but the Beatrice"
charms by virtue of that quality which IS SO
attractive in Duran's new canvas, the quality
| OF pictorial distinction. 1t Is a great picture
great in its sympathetic Interpretation OF In
fancy. great In It's illustration of executive
power, but greatest Of all in its indehnabe
artistic felicity, the group of the little young
lady and her parrot forming a compact but
most expansive design, one which fascinates
you by its unity of line and at the same time car
ries the imagination far outside the limits of
the frame. 1t would be pleasant If we could
speak as cordially Of the portrait of Miss
Rehan by Sargent. the large canvas which
has been so much talked about on the other
! sid Of he
ment, however striking in some of it's technical
passages, but strangely empty in every other
respect This portrait is scarcely composition
at all, but just a fu-length figure with a tapes
tried background hurriedy brushed In and the
whole confined in space by the four lines Of a
frame not endowed within itself with the quail
ty OF balance. Compared with the Beatrice"
or with the ever delightful portrait Of Miss
Helen Durham" the portrait of Miss Rehan'
is mere overconfident audacty and careless
ness. Mr.. Sargent seems too much disposed to
trfe with his public. The same thing might be
said OF Mr. J. W. Alexander If he were only
represented by the strdent study of costume
! which is numbered in the catalogue a por-
trait Of lady which is far too restless to leave
pleasant impression. but this artist redeems
himself az Mr.. Sargent does and the charm Of
originality combines with that OF delicate color
/
OF the quite successful things in the show.
Even better. perhaps. is the portrait OF James
I w Alexander" thoughtful strong work,
| showing that the painter Is really able to
mount the shallow caprice of the canvas to
! which exception has been taken 1t is a happy
circumstance that In this exhibition the serious
mood predominates; that is, the prevailing vein
is more that OF Mr.. Alexander's masculine por
trait than OF his frivolous piece This is one
way of saying that there Is more OF solid merit
/ on the walls than there Is of chic. The latter
| is here. Three portraits of ladies by Mr.. Will
| lam II. Hyde. one by Samuel Isham. others by
Mr.. Witt and Miss Case. represent that clever
style which means bright color spirited feel
ing and manual dexterity Mr. Chase raises
the same style TO a somewhat higher power in
several entertaining pictures and Mr. Zorn's
two brilliantly executed portraits of men pre-
sent his ndvdualzed art in It's most virile and
dashing aspect. But all these fail TO give the
exhibition its tone. That comes more from the
sturdy portraits of Cornelius Vanderbilt" and
/ Charles Lanier." by Frank Holl; from NJ. Bon
mats hard but powerful portraits Of 'Mr. Full
ton Cutting" MIR. Bayard Cutting" and Gov
ernor Morton; from Mr. Eastman Johnson's
beautiful heads OF Edwin Booth" and Mary
Devlin. First Wife OF Edwin Booth; from Ray
mundo MadraZos fragment OF mastery bra
vura-the portrait OF IS. p. Avery" painted at
one sittlng-and from Mr. Brush's noble por-
trait of Henry George.
Curousy this list includes only one woman.
and az 1t is extended. as Chartrans gaudy, but
! nevertheless authoritative portrait Of the Pope
is included one finds Mr.. Beckwiths portrait
| Of John Murray Mitchell" better than any OF his
portraits OF women, as Mr.. Dewng's picturesque
study Of Mr.. Chase Is encountered. and as Mr..
Alden Weir Is seen TO be at mis- best In his old
portrait OF Richard Grant White. at his worst
in his new PORTRAITS OF Two Sisters" It begins
to look though il would he necessary To reckon
with personality after all The temptation Is re-
sisted. but this much may be said. that the in
terest of this exhibition hes been Incl ed largely
| over that Of last year by the widening of its
scope. Men and women divide the hOnors this
year and though gallantry might grow whimsical
/ at this, the student of pictures must be
content. The inclusion Of children has brought a
third and very desirable element OF attraction
into the show. Many Of the childish portraits