The Portland daily press., 1895-12-20

Miss Wilkins's stories-is in the bare, half
furnished room, with the little Pickering
fire upon the hearth, and the poor rug
lying upon the floor. The aim in all this
lively rendered. There is much vigor in
Mrs Fox's copy of the embrandt in the
Louvre. and it is certainly we'll painted,
with something of the original light and
shade effect, but, though far better than
many copies, without the golden glow of
the Master. The eyes are we'll done, with
that peculiar 1ntroverted look of one who
sees vision by all others unguessed.
Mrs. Fox's Portrait Study shows, also,
much good work. 1t is genuine person,
with real flesh and bopes-not a lay
figure. The silken robe, with the light
on it's folds,i painted with extreme care,
and such details as the cord around the
lady's waist, the star In her hair, and
the satin slipper are finished with nice
elaboration. The same cannot be said of
the figures right arm which seems un-
tinished the left arm is much better.
As to the woman's face, opinions might
differ. 1t is not exactly a "speaking
countenance. There is much OF
mystery, of inscrutableness i'll it. 1t
lacks something that is found in Mr..
Curtis3A. Perry's Portrait Study, where
there is an excellent harmony of thought
and color. The red velvet of the gown
is veIvety, the face has that dynamic
quality which comes from tthe abysmal
portraits of Mr.. E. G. Jordan and Mrs
Morgan will attract much attention.
That of the lady seems peculiarly suo-
cessful. judged merely as artistic work,
and without reference to the likeness, of
which we cannot speaks. Although the
likeness in the portrait of Mr.. jordan is
undou btedly there, it occasionally eludes
~ hi. 80 k,I>r l.
nos" ss"-something which seems to be
special knaok or gift-like talent for
music, or for acting, or for fine converse
tion-Mr. John G. Barrett strikes us as
particularly happy. His portrait of Mr..
Hermann kotzschmar gives US the very
man sin his habit as he lives" Posi-.
bly, there is just slight lack of anima-
tion in his rendering of that expressive
face, but it is very good, though we wish
he had omitted portion of. the blue neck
scarf. Mr.. J. E. Bradstreet's Boy with
Watermelon remin ds US little of some
of the New York Browns street urchi s.
The boys face is spirited, but the cut
pieces OF melon are perhaps little
woodeny.
Passing to some of the landscapes: Mr..
George Morse's Woods in Winter quite
The snow which lies thick between the
trees is genuine snow and not cotton
WOOL The birches are those of which
Emerson tells us that they glitter like
iron, and believing all that we have heard
Of their anciently reported spells, we
would be glad to escape from the haunts
of men to live with the incommunioable
trees. 1t does not strike US that Mr..
Charles L. Wilson is fully successful in
his presentment of the subject he has spec
tally chosen to render-cows resting un-
der the trees; unless we are to take hint
from the catalogue as to "the odd posi-
ti0ns they assume when resting at mid
day." The oddness is certainly there,
and it may of course be our bucolic igno-
rance that leads to criticism. Certainly,
however, the grass of I'm the Lowiands"
is rather too pre- -Raphaeliteish. In his
"Tour lmaginaire" he is We think far
more felicitous. Is the scene Italy or
France or Spain? No matter, it is a
charming bit in the study of the harmony
eXisting-Or which may exist-between
landscape and architecture. The brig ght
effective color in the building repeated
in the girls cloak and the sky itself, the
harmony in tone, give the effect of an old
world poem. Mr.. George Mcconnell has a
delightful sea picture, A Bit of Old Or
chard, so small that it might be easily
passed over; but the surf in it is genuine
surf-one of the hardest things to render
and the old boat on the shore is nicely
painted.
Miss Alice Farrar in her Street Scene
has succeeded in giving a sense of the
neighboring sea; the houses have a sea-
shore look. while the light green of the
grass by the wayside, and the green clay
look' trees about the doors somehow
suggesG the near presence of the ocean.
The hard-working man passing down the
street on his homeward way lendsa hu-
man element to the scene There is a
sketch Of the same street by Miss Addie
Lawrence, with darker greens. Mr..
Charles M. Jenckes gives genuinely
oriental effect to his Old Street in Cairo,
with its crowd of swarthy- faced people,
some of them with half veiled faces, and
a few brilliant dashes of color. We much
like his English River, where the trees
are like trees, with a certain Corot sug-
gestiveness.
Mr.. Charles Fox's large picture, "And
Adam and Eve Labor while Angels Mar
veil" will undoubtedly attract much
attention, some sooffing and little earn
est consideration. For many reasons, it
would seem that the artist wishes il to be
regarded as decorative work rather than
as what the public calls for as pic
ture' - He has evidently been very much
influenced by the painting of Purvis de
CheyRnnes in the line of decoration. In
all of Mr. Fox's later work the allegor-
ieal elment, the moral Of the picture, is
always of first importance-the execution,
it would often seem, becomes secondary.
He WILL give US figure fairly grotesque