The San Francisco call., 1896-07-05

Mr.. Lavery is canny Scot, and so very,
very eanny in his portrait OF Miss Mary b.
The usual white satin is revelation OF
pearly shimmering air. The ribbons, the
vase, the roses, all are forgotten when
looking at this remarkable woman, with
features as strong as those of man and
high and serious dignity. If it suggests
Whistler it suggests Watts no less, and
certainly Lavery more than either.
Edward Arthur Walton and James
Guthrie are two men of the Scotch school
who contest with Lavery the laurel OF
greatest excellence. Walton has land
scape, powerful and grave. 1t is not quite
fair to think instantly of Constable In
looking at it, any more than of Mesdag
and Israels; but there ls a community of
spirit between them all. 1t is rather hard
to think Immediately of Manet's wonder
full woman in pink, with the green parrot
that drives the Philistine almost insane,
when confronted by Mr.. Walton's tall
woman in yellows and browns.
Mr.. Guthrie, who is the son of Scotch
minister, is perhaps the most versatile.
Whether he chooses to paint young girl
under the soft light of lamp, or monu-
mental portrait of q man on horseback,
whether he uses the gay freshness of pastel
to express his quick impressions OF lie in
the streets OF city or village, whether
he paints landscape or marines, he uses q
broad and vigorous brush Franz Halls
himself might have approved OF. His
three portraits. all male, one of Sir Edwin
Dawes and two of two young boys, have
something absolutely simple and large in
their effective and sober handling.
Anders Zom has a portrait of himself
too clever and ultra modern. There is a
nude model in the background looking
out from under her hair; the side of the
figure is washed out in that flowing use of
paint Zom uses with much effect. 1t is
big sketch and an interesting sketch-but
it remains sketch-and not representa-
tive one from so good painter.
Agashe, Binet, Miss Nourse, Gros-how
many painters show much reasonably
good work!
There are twenty Japanese landscapes
by Louis Dumoulin which actually reek OF
Japan. The day has long gone by since
the artist painted his impressions of
country from traditions in q comfortable
studio at home. All these laughing, chat
tering women, smooth haired and dark,
with their shaking fans ana soft silken
costumes, the movement in the light
streets, the people who pass and meet and
pass again-how it all vibrates with light
and life, and the charming gayety Pierre
Lott and others have written of!
There are pastels galore and there is sculp-
ture-there is head of Verlaine. like the
head of a satyr, big, broad, ugly, sad and
wise, truthful as truth, most probably, and
as unreservedly brutal. The drawings of
Paul Renouard have the instantaneous
quality of kodak-and such strength of
humor. His view of the English people
is as Enthusiastically French as the late
drawings of English life by Charles Dana
Gibson have been characUeristically Ameri-
can.
With that generosity that fills us with
renewed respect we observe that an entire
room has been fitted out with the draw
ings of Edwin Abbey, prince of penmen.
Here we have Olivia and Ophelia, Hermit
one and Viola, Falstaff and King Hal,
Rosalind and Audrey and Touchstone--a
triumphai procession; never did the hum
BILE medium OF pen and ink work greater
wonders. lines as fine as spun silk, spi-
der-web network of shadow, and then the
quick, sharp stroke of an instrument that
has grown suddenly as hard and as as
sured as the steel point in the hand of an
etcher. @H M
And all this while have said nothing
of the old salon-perhaps the less said the
betteri VAN DYCK BROWN.