New-York tribune., 1896-11-01
THE CHRONICLE OF ARTS.
EXHIBITIONS AND OTHER TOPICS.
TIT, PROSPECT FOR THE wrNTER-PossibLE
rf.s,rcrs OF THE ELECTIoN-soME An
xorxcrsESrs- NOTE on THE ADoRN-
M,:Nr OF BRIDGES.

.NVtsNN~''''f.'''
MrXr OF BRIDGES.
inst vba, tho coming art season will bring forth
Is more of n mystery than 1t has ever been at the
same date in preceding years There VIII De- oi
course tho regular formal exhibitions by the vari-
ous established societies. ond some OF these nave
already made their announcements as no'eo oe,
Iov. There will be also number OF the smah
shows arranged by the dealers which always Ill
an important place In the winters Catalogue
But whether there will be any great safes OF "o''
whether there will be any auctions a' al, arc
things which no man knows to certainty. IL III
depends upon tho election. Next WEDNESDAY inc
dealers will begin to arrange dates ior S"'e'
some of them extensive afiairs-or they Will pesin
to put up their shutters. When rich man Was
asked the other day If he didn't want to puy
certain painting he replied "If I had sO,W 10
spare lust now I would give 1t to the Republican
campaign fund rather than buy the bese |ofot
ever offered for tho money" This gives d hiht VI
how the material fortunes Of art are peihg al
fccted by the political situation. Shrewd coiIec'-
ors, and dealers with pictures to SELL wouio Do
glad Of any transaction that came their way
whether it brought large small profits, but those
who can afford to wait would rather keep thelr
possessions than sell them Mt any Price lust now;
A sale to-day would be abnormal. What Is wante1
after the election OF Mckinley. II Bryan were to
succeed there is scarcely a picture merchant IN
business until chaos put under FOOT 1our
years hence In the mean time they wait h,. her
night and Wednesday morning. They nave Deen
doing very little business. they do not know
there is nothing definite to be said about any OF
the enterprises which they are accustomed u
launch about this period
OF the larger exhibitions that Of the New-York
Water Color Club promises 20 be the first In the
field Yesterday afternoon the last contributions
were received at the Fine Arts Building. and the
show will open to the public on Monday, Novem-
Der g. 1t will close about November q. The au-
tumn exhibition at the Academy or Design VIII
open on Monday, November o. and will close on
Saturday, December 10. The Society OF American
Artists and the Water Color Society have not yet
issued their programmes for this season. Three
exhibitions OF the "one-man' sort are among
the early events. At the Avery Gallery there may
be seen n number OF Du Maurier's original studies
for the illustrations to 'rrilby.' They were
shown once before at the same place, but even II
the artists death had not directed attention 10
them anew they would be sure to interest the pub
lie. They possess all OF Du Mauriers Characters
tic fun and grace. They are also specimens OK his
technique In It's frcest, most flexible and most ex-
pressve FORM Next Thursday the Kcppel Gallery
will inaugIrate a series OF exhibitions with ono
of dryponts and drawings by VI. Paul Helleu.
Tho collection OF this facile etchers works VIII
presumably be complete. He Is a man whose art
OF being known more II Is not great. Heiieu was
a capricious draughtsman TO begin with, ana
turned his head. But he has an instructive sense
OF style he ia refined 10 the point OF enquisitenes5
Il gcntler and more sympathetic toHch than any
French painter or draughtsman before nm mas
drawn from the keppeI Gallery they VIII be i9l-
lowed by exhibitions OF work by Mr.. {. ID. Glib.
son and Mr. Joseph Psnaell These gentlemen VIII VIII
draughtsmcn whose work 1t is good TO have ex-
plotted in the midst Of all the modern work pro-
iu cd At the American Art Galleries Mr. ". De l..
Dodge brings forward tomorrow his decorations
for the new congressional Library and number OF
shows are as yet in sight. but the large collection
and Albert Moore is st on tho walls, and still
makes OF tho most beautiful exhibitions in
town.
our attention has been called by an editorial In
Garden and Forest TO a paper read by Professor
Frank o. Marvin. of the University OF Kansas at
tho recent Buffalo meeting OF the American Asso-
ciatlon for the Advancement OF Science Professor
Marvin is vicc-prcsdcnt OF the Section OF Me-
chanical Science and Engineering l. .-e body. and
his paper consisted of "A plea for some artistic taste
IN engineering for some aesthetic instruction IN
cncinccrins schools. He points out that those
schools do nothing TO teach the student that a
serviccable mattor-of-fact piece OF work can also
be made beautiful 1t appears. IN fact thai so far
from suggesting 10 student that use and beauty
could and should be combined whenever possible in
the utllitaran walks OF life. the schools never so
much rs hint him that beauty eXists AT
all. The very word is forgotten. Bridges. rail-
way stations ferry slips canal locks. roof trusses
these and a thousand other practical constructions
nre left In a state of barbarous ugliness because
the designers have been permitted 10 take 1t for
granted that they could not be anything but ugly
IL Is a curious situation. The story Is told OF an
aesthetic student Who protested to an engineering
expert that tho walking beam OF a steamboat
might be rendered very picturesque and beautiful
IL the metal cast IN moro artistically con-
sidcred form than that familiar 10 our day. The
exlcrt told him the thing absurd. that even II
IL could be accomplished which seemed unlikely.
there would bo something incongruous in a beauti-
fed walking beam. 1t was meant TO stand out in
bold angularity he sad that its dignity.
There is truth In the last point. but II is most
cmphat!cally not true that walhing-beams and
bridges and other mechanical constructions could
not carry any beauty. that they must remain for
ever marked by a gauntly hideous dignity. AS Pro-
fossor Marvin observes, II Is as easy TO make these
things beautiful as II Is to make them ugly. and
we may add that when the pubic sees ths iact
ard tho engineers have II borne IN upon thein IN
the shape of a public demand the Improvement will
quickly come. In the mean time me soul must be
trance To IN, BIooilyn Bridge. though the builders
OF the Bridge itself showed us that the lines OF q
great piece Of engineering could be mfde extremely
graceful and artistic S9oner or ater tnis SORT OK
hnE n "st r,ty o1 IKE Sewyork or any other city for
that matter to be dlsfgurcd 10y the narrow convic-
ring have often such grandeur about them
that Il seems anomalous that they should be at the
same time unioVcly.
The deaths which have recently occurred among
the DISTINGUISHED artists OF England must revive
Interest in ono striking characteristic of English
art It's frequent evolution of strongly marked
Individuality Sir Frederick Leighton was an Aca-
dcmic painter. II ever there was one. from MS
youth upward: but the Academic training which Is
.,,nosed to make all artists alike has nevertho-
lcss failed 10 bring forth his successor. Millais
succeeded to Lclghton's office. but no one takes up
the lattcr's brush. Brilliant or mediocre-and 1t
was never the latter though 1t may never have
been brilliant. either-it was wholly his own NIL
LAS himself who was. indeed. mediocrity In many
r,oys uas n strong painter at his best. and
whom his fellow Academicans are now finding 1t