The sun., 1897-02-07
PICTURES At THE WATER COLOR
EXHIBITION.

| the exhibition Of the American Water Color
Society at the Academy. Some new rules put
In force by the Board OF Control this year have
had the effect Of greatly lesseninR the number
of pretty sketches that have been admitted at
some other exhibitions, and the walls show q
better average OF thoughtful work than in for
mer years. or course. n sketch may be
thoughtful work. and. though incomplete In one
| sense, sketch In water color 10 often the most
interesting kind Of q water color to look At.
But the sketch must be by q strong man.
On the other hand. IL q sketch by q
mediocre artist is hardly worth looking at. q
more serious work by tho same hand 10 not
much more attractive. The ideal exhibition
would consist of sketches and complete works
by the best painters. Tho present exhibition Is
not such a one. lfit were 1t would not please
half SO many people. The water color show isa
| very popular exhibition. Hosts Of visitors to
| the galleries would be disappointed II they
found that the pretty little bits OF land
scape and the storytelling pictures. neat
/ ~ aud carefully IL not over skilfully
| painted. had been kept out. Such WIS.,
| itors will hnd them this year. as before.
| They will hnd thcm next year, too or II q time
comes when they do not there will be another
| show somewhere else where they will hnd them.
The point is that the people want to see them.
and when the people who want to see them now
| are dead there will be other people just like
| them. Tho Water Color Society will be wise to
look out for this part Of it's clientele and satsfy
| 1t. Meanwhile 1t can ofer, as II does this year.
plenty Of pictures to interest that other public.
| the ono that knows or thinks II knows good
| deal about art and wants to see what It's favor
ties have to show them. what new men COM
| ing into recognition with work that Is promis-
| ing or 80 good AZ to place them at once with the
| best. what new fads have come up. II any; what,
| are n nh rel resi- IA a
| found In the annual display.
| Let It first be said that. taken altogether. tho
water color exhibition Is 40 good that 1t ought
| to be seen by every body who IL Interested in
| American art at all. The catalogue shows that
| a few well-known men do not contribute this
/ year. There is nothing from Mr.. Chase. Mr.
Weir. Mr.. Hassam. Mr.. Blum. Mr.. Homer. Mr..
| Tryon. or Mr.. Horatio Walker. On the other
hand. there are good representative pictures by
such artists as Ii. Bolton Jones. +. G. Jones'
w. 7. smedley, q. Morgan McIlhennry, J.
| Francis Murphy, +. s. Church, J. q. Brown,
G. c. Currsn. c. Harry Eaton. Charles
w. Eaton. w. II. Drake. r. swain Clifford
| Percy Moran. Leon Moran, Thomas Moran
Leonard Ochtman, J. G. Sicoll, +. X. NJ. Rehn,
| +. VI. Scott. William J. whittemore. and others
| equally well known as regular exhb tirs and
clever water color painters Their subjects and
| their work present the same Interest they al
| ways GO. rms 10 what makes The water color
| exhio'uon. Ihen there are some other painters
| VINO exhioit pretty regularly and this year
show something OF more than passing interest.
The names OF three or four others who do the
came are less familiar Two or three years ago
| nobody know the name OF W. l.. Lathrop. Last
year he exhibited n remarkable little landscape.
IL was mere olt OF common American couh-
| try' ihere Was ROAD winding up NH. some
heius' tree or two' ana SKY but IL was 30
well done that the Jury awarded the Evans
! prize 10 MI LHthrop Tor MS picture ana
lie became marked man Ihls year ne
SENDS Tour pictures. they are all well worth
looking At MT. Lathrop lives on farm IN
ONO and he hnds his subjects in his nsighbor-
hood There must be piece OF woodland on OF
near tue tarm' Mr. Lathrop must ioseit More
thah thls' ho knows now 10 look NJ u wheh ne
wants 10 paint IL In the Edge OF tho WOODS,
No :f4 ne mas set MS camp STOOL down among
the oushes ahu asaa ieaVes' where ne can see
the DIG trunks OF the trees Oh MS rIsht stAnaing
IKE seht'neis a'ohs the skirt OF the Forest with
theit arms stretching out TO those OF thelr
he'Rho"rs. Az the emu OF the lrreHu-
lar ihe he can see bit OF distance.
DrectY oeiofe MN IN tue ioreHrouhh
an open space grouhu thSt isn't
foheed In nor pioughed. oid ground with old
grass growing on IT, lie LOOKS up a. tho trees
anu MARKS p'hee oh the trunk OF tue nearest
one Just ABOVE tne lowest "i the ew'ue'spreadihx
pf"hches' lhAt Is the Top o, Tn" picture ana
th"' makes the composition iheh ne palhtseV-
et'th'hs that Is IN 'he Edee oil the oods anu
Asreat ueA' 'hst other people DO not see AZ ALL
no uoesh ara" single oade OF grass nor
single 'wis AS such' Inc great trunks anu other
important factors ne gives win true proportion
ana Outline bS cong u MI IN Vmpathetc'
CLOSELY "oser'ihI' broadly eomprehendins way.
with ralher sothore' quiet color ne succeeds IN
putting on MS piece OF paper the silence and
pIshess OF the wo"ds' the s'iih"ss OF the gray
atmosphere ana the uhpretending but i'm
preSS'Ve picture inade oy nature on the nina ora
man VINO KNOWS no" 10 see "hA' her rear beauty
Is This 10 not mAsterpiece ike one OF the big
pictures oy Corot or Rousseau IL Is not dra-
matte nor eHect'se' nor particularly scduc-
tive as composition; out IL Is poetic inter-
probation OF nature IN the iuiiest sense. ana any
master OF landscape painting wouia IKE II Tor