The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-01-12
Bah TALKS ON HIGH ART.
The Observing Woman Writer
Admires It's Develop
n1ent.
SEEN ON THEATRICAL POSTERS.
The Unhappy Lot of Those Children
Who Live in Boarding
Houses.

NEW YORK, Jan. 6, 1896. = No
body ever accused me of being de-
voted to high art. A study that showed
a mauve lawn, green sky, a bright scar
let rock and two yellow ladies with white
hair-I say ladies because they both had
petticoats on-was once displayed to me,
and Twas told it was called Glove and
Death" You could take your choice as
to which was love and which was death,
but each of the yellow ladies looked sea-
sick: the result probably of gazing too
long on that purple grass. The young
man who showed me this picture said it
was one of the finest examples of high art
| that had ever been painted. Then 1 was
convinced that high art and L were two.
Hence my liking for art which is ordinary
and common. Some years ago, longer
| than like to remember, l used to stand
on the street and admire art as developed
on the fences and also on the ash barrels
Ii IS true 1t was crude.
The first appearance of the realistic
poster was made about two years ago,
when an enormous fence was covered by
a procession of perfect ladies, whose shapes
were exquisite, whose faces were fair, and
who were, evidently, believers in health
IN costume. They told by example that
| the greatest health was gained by the
least amount of clothing. But this was
fine picture. Up to the time the aver
age ballet girl had been represented with
enormous calves, twelye-inch waist and
forty-two inch shoulders. The result was
startling, not pleasing, and the looker-on
might have called the pictured person any
thing but woman. However, the new
school painted magniticently shaped
woman. [ q U mi
Venus, but her foot was in proportion to
the size of her body, and, while she
rounded In at the waist, she did not pre-
sent an unhealthy look or impress you
with the idea that she could not take q
good long breath That atfiche measured
l should think, at least five yards by four
The consequence was it could not join
my collection, but used to go and look at
II, and one day W hen | was gazing man,
also gaZer, told me all about it. He
said: This is the fine st picture of women
i'll group that has ever been done, and
the reason it's good the women are real
women, real women In more sense than
one. Not only real in appearance, but
these women exist, and each one was
chosen a little slenderer than the
one before her so that the process
sion might be effective in contrast.
After the women were grouped the artist
had models OF them made IN wax, and
from these wax models the poster was
painted" From that time on had more
respect for them, but soon | noticed there
was change in the poster.
The atilche began to represent a young
lady with thin face, green eyes, burning
red hair, clothes that were fired on her
with pitchfork and sine caressed either a
rabbit, or bunch of lilies or a red UNI
brella. Nobody knew what it meant. This
Titian-haired young female might have
written under her go and See the Gay
English Girls Tonight or the sign
might read Hear Tommy Atkins Sing
the Patriotic Songs of His Native Land, )"
or her only explanation might be, Buy
the April Tuner 1t Is Just Out" You
never knew what she meant; she had to
explain herself always, and the explana-
tory letters were very queer in shape and
very odd in color. When the magazines
began TO send around these delightful and
most artistic posters, then there was Joy,
because one could always bully ones news
man into giving them away.
By the by, isn't it curious how the inter-
est in Robert Louis Stevenson has con-
| tinued? To be quite honest, l care for only
one of his books, but there seems to have
been something more than charming
about the man. for women who have
never seen him shed tears bitter
tears for him. He fought so hard against
death; he seemed to have found so much
| in lie that was good that it was pity
ne COulu not nave Hau more OF the lie
which he drank as eagerly as if it were
the finest Burgundy. But the book? 1t
! is none OF the learned ones, it's none OF
| the tales of adventure, and vet it is the
one l like. 1t is called GA Child's Gar
den of Verses" and it is quite as good for
| grown-up children as for little people
The lines themselves are most wonderful;
the pictures are joys, and, we'll, if you
want to know exactly how good it is, | will
quote you one whole poem called GA
| Thought:
It is very nice to think
The world is full OF meat and drink,
With little children saying grace
In every kind of Christian place
Then here's another. Short and sweet.
It is called The Whole Duty of Children -
and if more children were raised on it
there would be more better behaved ones
in the world:
A child should always say what's true
And speak when he is spoken to,
Ard behave mannerly at table,
at least far as he is able.
These verses are so much better than
those horrid books about the angel chill
dren who trot around and say impudent
things to their elders under the guise of
religion. There's Fauntleroy. He was
lovely in book, but / should like to be
preserved from living with children who
know such an awful lot, and who are so
beautiful, so meek and mild, and so very
ready and willing to run the affairs, not
only of the earth below, but the heaven
above.
Speaking OF children brings to my mind
those that live in boarding houses. | often
yyonder yyh y hasn't haan on odJit;o,