New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-02-12
ART EXHIBITIONS
THE ARCHITECTURAL LEAGUE-A NOTE
ON COMPETITIONS - MATTERS OF
STYLE SCULPTURE AND DECORA-
TIVE ART-OPENING OF THE
FULLER AND DANA EX
HIBITIONS-PRfNTS
HIBITIONS-PRfNTS

FULLER AND DANA En-
HIBITIONs-PRINTs
The exhibition Of the Architectural League oo.n.
this morning at the Fine Arts Bui ding. The col.
lection Of some eight nine hundred exhibits n
made up as usual. from various sources. The Van.
derbilt gallery Is hung with purely architectural
drawings and contains on the floor few pieces Of
sculpture. The south gallery is devoted 10 decora-
tive art designs for mural paintings and the
like and the three small rooms between filed
with sculpture stamped leather. bookcoyers and
sundry other objects. As whole, the exhibition
leaves a pleasant impression. but close examination
discovers few things of importance.
At the head OF the few stand the fruits 81 three
competitions. They provoke some odd reaec-
lions In the first place. n is surprising 70
find how poor Of the work can be that is sub
mitted in a contest for a large public building. The
architects who submitted studies for the rev Acad-
envy OF Design all followed the classical tradition
in an academic spirit. and, with the exception Of
Carrerc g. Hastings who won the prize. they all
produced dull and mediocre designs. II Is plain
that the noble scheme planned by the successful
architects permitted no hesitation on tho part o.
the Jurors. II is OF great dignity and beauty,
academic in feeling. repeat. and therefore indie.
alive Of less personal force than VIC usually find in
the work OF these architects. but fine IN It's po-
portions and for all its stateiness 40 graceful IN
its lines that it's rivals look more than ordinarily
weak The Public Library competition was pro
ductve Of better results. and the successful design
made in this also by carreTe Hastings.
has some worthy companions notably those de-
signs sent In by G. {. Haight and Howard 81 Caad-
well. but here again. with the best Will I'm the
world II is impossible 20 feel that the opening o.
the lists in a great cause has brought forth an
abundance Of capao bic work Between the beautiful
building contemplated for the Public Library by
Carrhre e. Hastings and the buildings that seem 10
have satisfied most Of their competitors there is a
IT, at..fpa ,.A.. lr lrfrfr
architects for the new buildings OF the College Of
the City of New-YorS stand in the same situation.
one competitor has sought the French style. an
other the English Gothic. another the Colonial and
so on. Mr. Post, the winner, has contrlVed pct
uresque ada ptation of Tudor motives and MS build
ing promises to have charming effect, but the
rival designs are on the whole. distressing
The upshot Of 1t all is that tho public competition
does not SEEM itself TO be ialismanic and bull
wark Of strength The subject is large one. and
cannot be analysed here We merely point out that
three most important competitions have recently
produced satisfactory work from few men and
bad work from a greater number the proportion
being somewhat surprising and depressing The
situation concerning. it does, buildings OF con-
siderable magnitude. may perhaps De 70 some ex-
tent explained by reference 10 tho general work
illustrated by the present exhibition. Have any
new men arisen to share the distinction Of that
very mali group that is at present qualified 70
build on a large scale? We fear not The designs
for large buildings and hotels mostly bad
There are exceptions. OF course. The tall business
premises by Clinton * Russell at Fifth-ave. and
Thirty ninth-st. may be commended Tor dignity
Of mass and refinement OF detail. and Green &
Wickes have handled their large building tor the
Syracuse University with some taste. Bat note
how much more interesting these lasi-nsntionea
architects are when they come 10 TIE planting ~
smaller edihce the Buffalo SAVINGS Bank ms
building cleverly adapted to capital site. ~ ore Of
the most attractive things shown hofard q
Caldwell fail TO secure in their Newark HIsh
School" and Providence Armory" anything Ike
the charm which they have put into their Newark
Public Library" The latter is captivating WORK.
compact graceful and indivdualized The larger
structures lack beauty. though the armory is not
without certain massive dignity fitted TO the pui-
poses of the building.
In the main the small buildings are the buildings
that count in this exhibition. There is little here
comparable 10 those exhibits OF previous years-the
Madison Square Garden the buildings OF the 'ni
cago Exposition and other great enterprises
which revealed our architectural genius put tri-
umphantly 20 the test. The fine achievements OK
Carrere e. Hastings stand upon this occasion very
much alone Among those less ambitious designs
10 which We have alluded we would especially sig
nalize Mr Tubby's strong "Wallabout Market
Tower. Brooklyn" the various recreation piers
planned by Mr.. f H. Kendall-which are simple
and very tasteful. II they are not perhaps, as re-
stricted in inches the works with "hich we
group them-the "Fre-Engne House of Mr.. Z. T.
CASEY Mr. Beatty's Apartment House in West
Eighty-eighth-st" and the severely beautiful
Courthouse Worcester" projected by Andrews
Jacques and Rantoul. Good country houses hgIre IN
The show too. bearing the names of Little o con-
nor Howard q Cauldwell. J. a. Schweinturth
Lamb & Rich William A. Bates and Hi & Turner
There is a miscellaneous group of buildings Also
neither big little in which some merits are
conspicuous. Hancock Court an apartment
house designed by Messrs. Glover, Carrel q sum
merville is attractive in it's clever combination OF
brick and stone in a simple, artistic design. linen
there is the spacious scheme or MessIs feihs
Lafarge for the Geological Park. set forth in some
admirable drawings which nevertheless fall HttIe
short of conclusive eoquence. The design. as
whole. is not TO grasp. II promises however
n brilliant effect II the work is ever carried 10 COM
pletion. Other interesting contributions are no
lands Court and Franklin Court by J. l.
Schweinfurth and G. F. Newton respecu'ey'
schemes for handsome quadrangles more or less III
the Tudor style. the conventional but "eN-h@'u'.H
Hotel Brooklyn" sent by Messrs. c. W a. a.
Stoughton. the larger hotel. also for BrookIsh "
Messrs Lord. Hewlett & Hull. ana 'he
Office building by Messrs. Lamb a. Rch Inc "' -,
not long, and turns not unwlllnsN " ~, ~,
plastic and decorative exhibits. yet the aren'
tectural contributors may be said 10 nav 49,
tanned very fair average compared WI" s0"'
previous years.
The subsidiary collections in the galleries su'e''
like the main one. from the absence OF many 49,
works Of exceptional merit. but there Is 1i"''
much tn admire in these annual medleys or all mo
arts The sculpture for example. Is often eNces'
sively bad and among the larger designs Only Va"
Soldiers Monument of Messrs. Brite. Bacon 49,
Niehaus and the similar production by Mr r"'P
Martinv are of decided significance. hut there Az
some charming little fragments by MI heh's H'
der. tiny figures modelled with elegance and hh'Sn'
and We may indicate further the piquant fthon
Bowl" designed by Miss NJ j. Cornwel' U'
Weather yane" OF Mr.. Paul Wehle and the re'e's
in burnt work which appear AT various points tro"'
various hands Mr. Fosdick who revived IN New
VII, tho art ~ dro wing with red hot poker = nor