Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-02-11
ART IN SCHOOL AND NURSERY.
influence Of Decorations ON the Minds
OF Children.

From the Upholsterer.
The room where the childs lessons are
studied is. in more senses than one, that
in which he receives his education. His
whole view OF what he is set to learn, and
OF the necessity and advantage of learn
ing anything at all, is tinged more often
than people think, by the appearance of
the room in which his studying is done. In
the minds Of such children, curious and
lasting associations are early established
between the appearance of certain rooms
and the daily occupations connected with
them; and the aspect Of the school room
too often aggravates instead Of mitigating
the WEAKNESS of lesson-learning.
There are of course, many children not
naturally sensitive to artistic influences
ana the parents of such children often
think that no special care need be spent
on their surroundings curious miscon-
ception of the purpose of all aesthetic
training. To teach child to appreciate
any form of beauty is to develop his intel
hgence, and thereby to enlarge his ca
pacity for wholesome enjoyment. 1t is
therefore. never idle to cultivate a child
taste; and those who have no pronounced
natural bent toward the beautiful in any
form need more guidance and encourage
n ent than the child born with sense of
beauty. The latter will at most be mo-
mentarily offended by the sight of ugly OBJ
1ects, while they may forever blunt the
taste and narrow the views Of the child
whose sluggish Imagination needs the con-
slant stimulus of beautiful surroundings.
Children suffer not only from the number
OF presents they receive, but from that
overcrowding of modern rooms that SO
often makes 1t necessary to use the school
room and nurseries as an outlet for the
overflow Of the house. To the childrens
quarters come one by one the countless
objects too good to. throw away but
too ugly to be tolerated by grown-up eyes
Qd.Wn hat hav sfoc
ciations," the widowed Landseer prints of
leaning, dying animals the sheep-faced
Madonna and Apostles in bituminous
draperies, COMMUNICATING a paternal visit
to Rome IN the days when people bought
copies Of the "Old Masters" Those who
wish to train their children's taste must
resolutely clear the school room of all
such stumbling blocks. Ugly furniture
least possible to remove unsuitable pictures
and knick-knacks.
1t is essential that the school room
should be cheerful Dark colors besides
light, are depressing to children, and conse-
quently out of place in the school room;
white woodwork. and walls tinted in some
bright color, form the best background
for both work and play.
The question Of presents is one of the
most embarrassing problems in the artis-
tic education of children. AS long as they
are In the toy age no great harm is done;
T. Is when they are considered old enough
to appreciate something pretty for their
rooms" that the season of danger begins.
Parents themselves are often the worse
offenders in this respect and the sooner
they begin to give their children presents
which, If not beautiful are at least use
full, the sooner will the example be followed
by relatives and friends. The selection Of
such presents, while it might necessitate
little more trouble, need not lead to
greater expense. Good things do not al
ways cost more than bad. A good print
may often be bought for the same price as
a poor one. and the money spent on a
china Ornament" in the shape of a vel
low Leghorn hat with a kitten climbing
out of it. would probably purchase q good
reproduction of one of the Tanagra stat
uettes, a plaster cast of some French or
Italian bust, orone of Cantagallrs copies
of the Robbia bas-reliefs-any of which
would reveal a world of unsupported beauty
to many a child imprisoned in circle of
articles de Paris.
The children of the rich are usually
the worst sufferers in such cases, since
the presents received by those whose par
eEtS and relations are not well off, have
the saving merit of usefulness. 1t is the
superfluous gimcrack-the ornament
which is most objectionable and the more
expensive such articles are the more like
ly are they to do harm. Rich children suf-
fer from the quantity as well as the quail
ity of the presents they receive.