The Washington times., 1895-04-23
ARTISTS ALL STIRRED UP
Aftermath of the Recent Exhibition
at the Cosmos Club.
They Charge Uufair Dealing on tho Part of
the Society-Vice-Pres
Vieles Explanation.

Numerous disappointed artists and a
much pestered committee are the aftermath
of the art exhibition which closed at the
Cosmos Club ten days ago. The Society
of washing ton Artists invited all residents
of Washing ton who make pictures to send
in canvasses for the exhibition.
Their purpose in making the call general
was two-fold. They wanted as attractive
a show OF paintings as possible, and, more
than this, they are al ways glad to discover
new merit and add the possessors of it
to their organization.
There are persons who do not accept the
latter proposition, but the officers assert
it and say in confirmation that they have
only about fifty members, and OF course
want to add others to strengthen their
hands for the work they are attempting.
When the artists whose work failed to
secure a place in the recent exhibit began
to drop around to see members of the com
mittee on hanging these gentlemen were
frequently driven to great lengths to find
what they considered tactfui reasons for
not putting the rejected paintings IN the
collection.
One of them, it is alleged. grown des-
perute, said 10 lady who has done some
really very meritorious work, that II was
ali the fault of the way in which the selec-
| tion OF pictures TO hang was made.
They laid aside, he said, all the pictures
| offered by members of the society. These
! were to be hung neutrality-suspicious. TO merit.
| Then all others We're divided upon their
merits.
| a measurement OF space was taken and
| it was found there was not room 10 hang
4 KrayN oil fha orr Of taar 10
| cordiugly all caDvasses by outsiders were
| laid aside and the pictures offered by mem
bers were looked over for the first time
! and the least worthy rejected; the rest
| We're put upon the walls.
Ofcuurse, any suchproceeding was wholly
unfair to artists who had been led blythe
! advertisements OF the exhibition 10 expect
| that II they sent their work it would be
| entered upon competition When the lady
| was told, or thought she was told, this tory
j she was indignant and told 1T to Others.
a great stir among artists would naturally
| result from its general circulation.
a Times reporter called on Mr. Herman
| K Viele. vice president Of the society re
! carding it. Mr. Fiele said:
"Ob, no; we did nothing OF the kind
| Every picture was examined by the com
| mittee and hung, as far as we could judge,
| iHaccoTdance with its merits There wa:
| no fayortism SO far as it was possible tt
| avoid it, / don't know what may hay'
been told. but doubt if any of the com
mittee made that statement. He maI
have said something that was so misinter
| preted.
I'VE are bound, of course, TO pass of
| the rejection of any work as quietly anC
| kindly as possible. II. sometimes happen:
| that we reject really very good pictuTe
because we think the artist will profit b.
a year or two more of study andwil. pro
| duce something really of high value, where
as if the offering before us is hung, it vii
receive only casual notice or perhaps b
roundly condemned. The artist in sucl
J case may be made lazy or careless by ap
| parent success, or If told Of the advers,
i criticism may be wholly discouraged"
The report of hanging members pic
lures without question was Joined Will
the statement that it was just such actor
by the New York Academy of Design tha
led to the organization of the Art League
Prof. Viele said that is true. The men
ber Of the academy who has once takeI
prize had his pictures hung always afte
| without examination. AS result ther
came to be so many pictures that hardl.
any room was left for any other. Th
outsiders formed a society of their own
and that is the league. There is no dan
ger, he said, of such close corporation
methods in Washington.
When asked if it would not be possibl
to hang pictures without knowing who's
work they are, Prof. Viele said In,
names of artists Were not usually consid
cred by the committee, but even if the.
were not appended TO the painting tn
work would usually, especially if it ha'
merit, be known by the painters charac
teristics. The only way to avoid thi
would be to get a committee from som
other city, and even then the brush o
man of any celebrity would be at one
) recognized by bis brother artists.