The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-01-17
SUNDAY At ART EXHIBIT
PROPYLAEUM CROWDED AT ALL
TIMES YESTERDAY AFTERNOON.
Nearly n Thousand Saw the Pictures
Between L and o'CIOck-1Ir.
SteeIe's Work.

Throngs of people focked to the Propy-
laeum yesterday afternoon to enjoy the
pleasure OF seing the pictures made by In
diana artists last summer. 1t was free day.
From l o'clock until o'clock nearly a thou
sand visited the exhibit. At times the large
hall on the upper floor was often so well
filled that there was little inconvenience
about getting distant view, so necessary
to soften the coors and heighten the beauty
of the pictures, many done in the most pro-
nounced colors of the Indiana school.
Nevertheless, the visitors found the occa-
sion enjoyable and the Indianapolis Art AS
ISOLATION was complmented for its cour-
tesy The crowds were just about like those
that attend big galleries like that in Cen
trail Park, New York. on free days, and
showed how much pleasure the people OF
this city would get out of a permanent art
exhibit, if there were one.
A good many bought catalogues and there
was a constant rustling of pages to discover
the subject of some work that was particu-
lary striking to the visitor. Most of the
visitors, however, were indifferent to labels.
SO long as the artists name was known
that was sufficient to crafty the curiosity
of such people as do not care to dissect
their rose to find its charm.
While the crowd was eager and restless,
it's appreciation of the great number OF
works was subdued Although there was a
constant buzz, it was in an undertone that
made it rather difficult to distinguish the
| tone of the comments. Now and then
visitor was betrayed into a louder tone.
| Taken thus unawares, some of the COM
ments were most interesting. Although the
ladies predominated, there were many men
and children among the stream of visitors
| that constantly flowed in and out of the
Propylaeum Some of the men seemed at
a loss what to do. Two, apparently oblivi-
Gus to the beauty around them, discussed
railroad business. A loud word or two told
that they were talking about ticket scalp
ers." They we're deeply engrossed, and, al
though their eyes roved over some of the
finest pictures in the exhibit, the walls might
have been bare for all the pleasure they
derived.
Immediately upon entering the eye of the
visitor is attracted to the wall opposite him,
on which hangs the years work of Messrs.
| Steele and Forsyth and Mrs. Forsyth. The
mass of colors is bewildering to the unac-
customed eye and the ordinary visitor
turned to some more subdued corner be-
fore doing, the more striking pictures
II don't like those colorS, said young
man to his companion. You never see any
thing like that in nature"
oh yes you doJ said the other, EVIL
IDENTIFY student; lit is the way you look az
things. Take that autumn scIle. Look at
it closely. forgetting everything else: After
a little close observation you will recall
that the air has just that purple tint al
some hours of the day.
There were three boys, without overcoats
baaf r tba apaye6 i6e exhibit as
much as any one else there The eldest,
perhaps fourteen years old, clasped a cata-
logue eagerly and scanned its pages, when
some picture.
what do you think of it.? asked re-
s'Oh. 7 think it's great" said the tallest
one of the trio, his large blue eyes lighting
beneath his unkemp,t IT., for rsns 1 wish
1t was hard to determine which artist ex
hibiting was the most popular. Gruelles
marines were surrounded by an eager
group but then the same was true of every
other exhibit in the nall, including tnat
of Stark hung above the stage, steele ana
the Forsyths on the north wall, as we'll as
the out-of-town artists. Some OF the Wis
itors clearly had some pretenslons to artls-
tic knowledge and taste. Others admitted
in low tones that they knew nothing about
art" but that they enjoyed looking at tne
pictures all the same, Occasional words
about drawing technique" and other
terms of the artists workshop We're heard
| from various young persons, evidently stu
| dents. but for the most part the conVersa-
ton was solely expressive OF the feelings OF
pleasure and commentator for those works
| that struck the fancy of the particular critic
| discussing them.
MR.. STEELE'S WORK.
| Mr.. Steele's landscapes, of course, arrest
the eye at once. especially the one named
| Spring Wheat" in which vivid green
wheat field occupies the center of the pic
ture-wheat in its period of most brilliant
| light green, the favorite color of Dante Ga
briel Rossetti and of many another paint
| er and poet-the green that stands in in
1 Of - tIa d.
| ows and forests around it. Another inter
esting work by Mr. Steele is called white
/ water Sands" and represents q circular
! sweep of sands holding a broad pool of wa
ter set back from the river behind the shore.
| The picture is decorative in style; the color
| falls into bands of blue SKY, renected py
| bands of blue water. with spaces OF me
| quiet tints CT sycamores, which are the
! plane trees of the poets, and OF the yelloWer
| shades of willows, those cheerful held trees
! first to look alive in spring, last to be leafy
! in fall. Indiana landscapes are Verdant IN
! autumn if rains fall after the harvest. Mr.
/ dant autumn scenes-''The Ford wide
| and airy solitude; 1.-THE Flood" the onward
rush of an overfiowing stream cam ana O. O.
! the horizon, are specimens.
Perhaps the most fetching ;, OF Mr. +,
| Steele'S pictures is winter on FAN creek,
| a view of clear bluefsh ice and of melting
| ice of the peculiar quality or bluelsn-greeh
| that such ice has, with pools or water re-
| Mr.. Steele shows several portraits. In that
! of Mr.. Horace Mckay the thoughts ana
| character of the man look out unnlstaKa-
bly,. A second portrait is a lady whose
| slightly acquiline face of the most extreme
| delicacy is well known and gives great
| pleasure to connoisseurs of faces. third
| portrait is of Mrs. Westfall, formerly Miss
! Jessie Bybee
Mr.. Brandt Steele exhibits a few pieces
! of pottery not many because his work has
been sent to Mr.. Kimball in Boston
| through the medium of Mr.. Joseph M
Bowles. editor of Modern Art. This pottery
is regarded as equal to the best Copenha,,
gen work is original in color, form ana
glaze, is individual. no duplicates being
made, and is all done by the artist himseit;
| he throws the wheel glazes and colors like
medieval potter. It might be well 70 men rel !,
! ton that Mr. Brandt Steele's two large wall
| decorations for the Industrial School are
very successful. One is the figure of a
| Youthful smith, a slender yet sinewy young
! man in medieval costume and wearing
green leather apron-nothing is so beautiful
as .treen leather-and having strong, calm
carable face. as BELTS the king Of all trades
The other figure is a SLIM quiet girl stand
ms. for Young womens work. The smith
stands for young mems work