The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-02-01
REVOLUTIONARY PICTURES.
An Exceedingly Interesting Exhibition
This Week.

An Exceedingly Interesting Exhibition
This Week.
The collection of Revolutionary draw
ings and paintings in the Baxter build
ing to which reference was made last
week in these columns is being exhibited
In Boston on Monday and Tuesday of this
week. The pictures will be brought to
Portland on Wednesday and the exhibition
will open in the Banquet hall of the Bax-
ter Memorial building, corner of Congress
and Oak streets on Thursday afternoon,
and continue through Friday. On Thurs
day afternoon and evening the exhibition
will be open to the patriotic societies. On
Friday the exhibition will be open to the
public generally. On both days the ex-
hibition will be free.
These are the pictures which early last
summer corps of artists-some of them
with well known names and some with
names about to become we'll known were
commissioned by Scribners Magazine to
represent on canvas and cardboard the
war of the American Revolution. Their
pictures were to be reproduced to Illus
trate Senator Lodges "The Story of the
Revolution" which many people are al
ready reading in Scribner's Magazine
with the deepest interest," and also Capt.
Mahan's "The American Navy In the
Revolution both of which are to run in
Scribners during 1898.
Some of the artists on receiving their
orders set out for various parts of the
country to make studies of old historic
buildings and quaint bits of color. Others
began the work of research among old
records and memorabilia in order to make
correct representations of famous historic
gatherings with portraits of famous men
settings, ect. The very delicate task of
making paintings of famous battle scenes
was undertaken by still another group of
artists. While Carlton L. Chapman. the
marine artist, was making drawing of
"The Stormipg of Falmouth" E. G.,
Peixotto. the rising young Californian.
was working his way down through
Princeton and Trenton to Philadelphia,
and H. G. Christy was up at Oriskany
making picture Of Herkimer's last fight.
Each artist is giving as much time and
care to historical investigation as to the
actual making of the pictures, SO that
when completed they are to he as accurate
in realistic detail as they will be excellent
from an artistic point of view. and to-
gether they will form a panorama Of the
Revolutionary War such as has never yet
been seen. The pictures already com
pleted, nearly one hundred in number,
will form the exhibition that will be held
in the Baxter Memorial building on Tues
day and Friday of the present week.
the artist whose work is hest repre-
sented in the collection is MIR, .Peixohses
His one oil painting is of sue'l SURPRISING
excellence that 1t is grratsly to be regretted
that he he's nn+ lone othN work of this
kind,1lt is entitled "The Retreat of tht
! british from Concord and pictures witt
wonderful vividness the redcoats fleeing
| in desperation down the lane with many
falling by the wayside, while the puffs Of
smoke come forth from the bushes where
the Americans are watching the retreat
ing foe. Among the most striking
pictures in the collection are tThe Battle
of Bennington, soldiers at close quarter.
doing fierce work with the bayonet; cat
| Valley Forge" a miserably clad sentine
standing shivering in the snow by CUR
carriage; "Arnold's Assault at Quebec, ;
spirited charge in the darkness and
driving snow; Prescott addressing hi
men on the Parapet at Bunker Hill, :"
.sThe Fight at the Bridge at Concord
and pulling Down the Statue of Kiue
George the Third on Bowling Green
The marine drawings illustrating the
battles on Lake Champlain by Carlton T
Chapman, are among the most interest
| ing in the collection. Especially worthy
of study is "The Running Fight ir
which the ships are coming down the
lake before strong wind and firing al
one another at the same time.
But one of the most impressive pictures
in the collection is "The Prayer at Cam.
bridge Previous to Throwing up In.
trenchments on Bunker HILL" This
pictures is by f. Louis Mora.
| 1t will be seen that from an artistic
point of view this exhibition should at
| tract the attention of our citizens general.
| ly. That it comes to Portland is due to
| the Maine society of the Sons of the
American Revolution, whose wishes in
the matter Charles Scribner's Sons In
New York have done everything possible
to meet.
FLOATING SOCIETY OF CHRISTIAN
ENDEAVOR