The Portland daily press., 1895-12-20
|1FNfA Is @R-FAHNRN g. @0s9 MONUMENT

story, OF more often preach a sermon.
We do not clearly understand why what
to the uninitiated and indeed to many
artists themselves-appear painfully
like bad drawing-a distortion uf arms
or legs-should be thought to teach a
finer spiritual lesson than a more correct
presentation of anatomy. But the pres
ent picture less offends in this direction
than the startling representation of
Godiva of his last exhibition, and has
much in it that can seriously commend
itself to the mere art-loyer, who still
clings to some of the old fashioned no
tions about beauty, and does not see why
a moral lesson in colors should not charm
as we'll as edify ms. Adam and Eve are
less successful, we think, than their an
CELLO spectators. Why might not accom-
plished Eve," as Milton, we have always
thought, rather hulnorously, called our
first parent, pc represented with some
of the graces with which tradition at
least, has endowed her? Perhaps the
artist would say that the moment wom-
an begins to work the question of beauty
it. ruled out of court. From the cata-
logue, and after three somewhat careful
studies given to the picture, we presume
that Eve is singing at her work-to
presence OF the conventional bird on the
very conventional tree. Indeed, there is
evidently some purpose in this use Of
the oonventionalized forms, in the trees,
the flowers, the stiff figures of the angels.
the thistles that cut of the human beings
from their angelic visitors. Here We
think we recognize return to the pre-
Raphaelite paintersa delight in simplio-
ity. even at the risk Of stiffness and
angularlty. Is there also some symbol
cal quality in his introduction upon the
walls of the figures of old Egyptian or
Assyrian Kings, with their straight robes
and stiff1y claspei hands? Undoubtedly
in Adam, Mr.. Fox wished to represent
the sorrow as we'll as the dignity of la
bOr, and there is some genuine poetry in
the sadness of the face OF the huge figure
too huge it seems to us. But the best
work, artistioally speaking, is given to
the angels, where the management of
the light falling upon them from the heav-
emily places they have left-one just
allghting from her downward flights
really effective. Aswe have said, though
there is much that will lead the observer
to scoff, possibly to ridicule-for some
OF the figures are amusing in their sim
plloIty las we may remember are the fig
ures OF Giotto, Cimabue and Botticelli,
there is also here enough for serious con-
temptation a and even. as in the case OF
the early Florentine artists, something
OF charm. The legend. of course, is not
hard to read-suggested by the emblems
on the frame as we'll as in the picture
the lesson that this artist has for several
years been trying to teach-the need OF
faithful work consecrated to the service
Of humanity, as something more beautl-
ful than even beauty itself. 1t is untor-
tunate that too often the lesson is lost
upon many by reason of what seems like
the inadequacy-or let us say the unu-
sualness-of the means by which it is
conveyed.
We can give but word to the water
colors, the black and white work, and the
admirable collection of photographs
which, with most praiseworthy care, have
been gathered here, and which would real
ly furnish the art student with most val
liable materials for the study of the his
tory of art Among the water-colors the
pictures of Miss Mary Longfellow are
perhaps easily first-though the work OF
Miss Burgess, Miss Carpenter and Miss
Talbot is always charming and full OF
delicate insight In Miss Longfellow's s
"Marsh Pool. {" we have some of the delie-
ious golden browns in the salt grass and
stacks that she knows SO we'll how to
give. In the "Cold Day in Autumn"
you feel the cold in the air, as we'll as eee
1t in the steel gray light; there is sense
of coming storm, with the boats tip
ping in the wind. 1t takes SO little for
a genuine artist, like Miss Longfeliow,
to make real poem out of the barest