The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-04-07
Talk Among the Artists About
the Double = Ended
Committee.
SKETCH CLASSES GOING OUT.
Activity in the Studios and What
Some Men Are Going
to Exhibit.

more OF common art feeling there would
be better pictures in the drawing-rooms of
San Francisco.
With the coming spring exhibition, now
only two weeks distant, there is more than
likely to be made evident decided dis
satisfaction over the action of the Art
Association in making the jury the hang
ing committee. Each side of the question
has friends, but it is by both sides gen
orally admitted that the lights in the Hop |
kins Art Institute galleries are not so good |
as they might be, taken all around as the
home of an exhibition. Now the enemies
of this new plan, which makes the jury
lso the hanging committee, say that II the |
jury accepts picture the first one VIII get
the best light and the others Will take |
chances.
There are many exhibitors who do |
not belong to the association. They cry !
''favoritism." But favoutism or no favor |
itism the fact exists that the good lights |
are few. end many contend that as a
natural result the men who admit a pic
ture should not be the men TO judge
where that picture is to be hung.
At the Portrait Loan Exhibition some
good pictures were killed by bad hanging,
and pictures that had been 'hned' in the
National Academy of Design in New York
and the Philadelphia Academy gallery
were practically "skied" in the institute
gallery. Hence the talk against allowing
men to admit and at the same time hang
picture.
Against this is the position of the Art
Association, which declares that the Jury
should be not only the best judges of the
acceptance. OF a picture, but also, being
familiar with the lights in the institute
galleries. the best judges as to where that
picture should hang. One OF the strongest
advocates of the Joint committee and jury
plan admits that the method of reflective
screen backgrounds, such as We're used at
the exhibition in the White Palace at
Genoa wear before last, should be used at
this exhibition. The authorities seem to
fear expense and as a result there will be
much grumbling, no matter how the pic
lures are hung at the spring exhibition.
There is consid cradle talk in art circles
about the awards made by the jury Of
selection of the National Academy. The
Clarke prize of $500 for the best American
figure composition painted in the United
States by an American citizen was awarded
to Henry Oliver for his "a Morning Vir-
gin" Strangely, although Oliver is a
Western man, the award is anything but
popular among those who ought to know.
The Halgarten prize awards are COM
mended, while among the Paris students
of seven years ago Edith Mitchelfs $500
prize for the best picture painted by
woman is thought an unusual evidence of
appreciation on the part of the academy
jury.
In all the studios there is a general
touching-up and washing of pictures to be
exhibited. Arthur F. Matthews will send
two or three new portraits. a. T.
Nermocken, who will send three or four
pictures is busy looking things over as
he says. Latimer is thinking about light,
nd ~ frfr, vr-ba aho hScrl
light wood scenes will stand if put in a
dark corner. Joullin has rather decided
to send an impressionistic work full of
color, and possibly one or two others.
Jorgensen. who is hard at work with his
new studio, will send some strong examples
of his work in Italy during the last two
years. Keith has innumerable landscapes
to choose from, while Stanton, Kunath,
HILL Pissis and the rest are only fixing
things, being already satisfied as to what
they will send. Mrs. Chittenden and Mrs.
Richardson. with the Misses Froelich
Wall, Mccormick, Morrison and others,
are hurrying to finish up their work. The
weather is the only enemy they fear.
This is the season of the art students
low and sketch classes without number
are starting out intent upon outdoor eff
fects." Every artist who has a class is
planning Tor two or three days among the
lights and colors of the hills across the
bay, so that no one need be surprised to
run across half a dozen young women
wearing picturesquely soiled aprons in the
center OF a picturesque spot within radius
of ten or twenty miles of the city. The
spots on the aprons are from paint, and
the young women are industrious and
earnest art students.
If the gossip of the studios is credible,
then from a commercial point of view the
portrait men are not doing so badly. Be
sides these, half a dozen landscape sales
were made from studios within the last ten
or twelve days, and there are further
"orders" in the air.
The exhibition of the pupils of the Hop
kins Art School promises to be more than
usually interesting this year, and it is
thought that the work of the school in
general will be above the standard set by
preceding years.
In all the studios in town there is heard
a bitter criticism of the action of the
authorities of the Deaf, Dumb and Blind
Asylum IN Withholding Douglas Tilden's
bear Hunters" from the coming exhibit
ton on account of an alleged loan for Mr..
Tilden's Paris student expenses. It is
declared that the Durham fund met those
charges and that the ASYLUM advanced not
a cent of the 5000 save the $500 loaned Mr..
Tilden by the board of directors of that
institution. For that sum they threaten
10 sell at auction piece of work valued by
competent judges at $4,000.
II the asylum board OF directors could
hear half the comments made by the
artists on their action it is likely that they
would feel a trifle uncomfortable. Arthur
+. Matthews voiced the general feeling
when he said yesterday: "It is shameful
but I am not surprised. That is just what
a native artist has to expect. After man
with talent spends five or six years hard at
work in the art schools of Europe, where
he receives recognition, he comes back
here to his home and is met by lust such
treatment as Tilden has received. 1t is
enough to make every California artist
leave his State and look for some place
where art receives some decent encourage
ment and appreciation"
Recent articles in the CALL are by artists
credited with good effect on their prospects
This is as gratifying to the editor of this
paper as 1t is to the clever artists of this
city.