The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-05-23
WALL PAPER DESIGNERS
Their Work lis Now n Recognized De-
pa rtment of Art.
New York Evening Post.

New York Evening Post
THE day for smattering in any kind of
art work is over; only well-grounded
knowledge and thorough training eff
fectfve; the demand for a higher grade of
excellence having steadily advanced, all SUI
perficial effort is barred out of the mar
ket," This is the gist of opinion as set
forth by the manufacturer, the designer
both practised and aspiring-and the con-
sions from long acquaintance with both
sides of the question. Il get all out of pa
thence with. schools that try to teach girls
how to design without first teaching them
to draw" said the artist in charge of the
designing department in a wall paper fac
tory. He had just bought a design from a
young woman, had put it into stout
wooden box and shut the lid though he
did not mean soon to lift it. THAT IS the
fourth student [ have seen to-day who was
trying to sell designs Every day from No
Vember until the end of May ] go through
the same experience. Where one design Of
Tered is worth having, ninety-ntne are mere
variations of older styles, and the work so
poor that but for the coloring it would rot
pass at all. Out of four hundred designs
submitted | buy, may be, ten and eight
out of that ten 1 buy simply because they
are so much like the designs we are using
not to let other manufacturers get hold of
them. The design [ have just put in that
box is one of that kind. 1t is almost
facsimile, except in the shading, of paper
we have just had set up. l don't want any
other factory to get it. l have ninety
- 49, --NNA'oCN
tive.
Nov, here" he continued, sis a good
design. This is done by hundredth anna
teur in Cincinnati and he held to view
square of mounted paper The design was
conYentionally unconventional, and was dis
t1nctlye. The large flowers and blade-lke
leaves were perfect and artistic, but they
We're interviewer into figure. The color
ing admirable. A womans figure was
this, either" said the manager but / told
the firm that it was so good we ought to
own it, have two others from the same
source, and have written the young woman
that l shall send her designs to London
they will find sale there.
For a moderate degree of talent in de-
signing there is a steady demand. The best
firms possibly four or five in the city en-
ploy individual designers They pay them
well and get good work in return. The fac
tories that cater to the average trade do not
employ their own designers they rely on
Their demand, then, is the practical field
for the design maker, and his, or her. ar
tstic possibilities must necessarily be linn
tied. They must draw well and design WELL
but they must understand their market
Girls come to New York with a strong
bent for drawing, and possibly some crude
their imperfect knowledge. 1t is obvious
that they must be disappointed. Those
who have pluck and genuine talent get
over their first enthusiasm and learn to
take practicalities into consideration; then
they do better. Taking it all in all, men
succeed better than women. They are gen
orally trained regularly for what they I'M
dertake to do and patience and technical
knowledge are required well as talent
practically first Of all; a special design
for the special adaptation. The width of
loom is distinct consideration, and the
demand for certain kinds of paper.
Women have not done much in designs
for chlntzes and carpets. Of course, the
chintz printing would be as easy for them
as the paper; a smooth surface and only
shown on one side but the carpet weaving
and the practical knowledge involved put
different phase on the matter. The warp
md fhn fIra1 dc 4toAa r1.o,yr
the possibilities of the loom and its limita-
lions, give the designer in tapestry silk or
carpet texture much more to take into con-
sideration than he would have to consider
for cotton fabrics
THE country is full of so-called design
ers and sometimes the question resolves it.
self not so much into survival of the fit
test of the least unfit" said a woman
who is the best-known exponent of her art
in New York Il see so many girls go into
the work in a half-hearted way that / am
compelled to warn them frankly that they
are wasting their time Designing is not an
art by itself. 1t includes a vast deal of
general all-round knowledge and calls for
as much special and creative work as is re-
quired of the legitimate painter. A success
full designer must have personal feeling
for composition, and must understand the
laws of harmony, and particularly in rela-
ton to literature and historical epoch and
happening. What is needed is style that
is unhampered by precedent, originality
that is not eccentric, and above ALL deco
ration which aims to beautify. There is no
limit to the amount of thought and study
involved in art designing.
For the first ten years after American
designing was first introduced, there was a
good living to be made out of it by what
might be termed amateur talent; / mean
amateur in the sense of unframed Within
the last four or five years there has been
distinct advance in the grade of work de-
manded, and the dabblers and dilettantes
have gone to the wall, because all over the
country the average taste has come to be
more cultivated. People will not put up
now with what they once not only toer-
ated but really liked. The art schools have
done this. and the standard of art in this
abroad. In the West-Chicago, st. Louis,
Cincinnati-there are splendid art schools
and the public taste has been elevated dis
tincty by their influence. There is a
higher tone in house decoration now, and
people demand better, simpler and truer
ideas in the way of furnishings and APP