The times., 1898-11-27
AMERICAN ART INDUSTRIES.


Refinement of daily surroundings is
the most important among TIE dement's
needed for the superior education of the
individual boy nurtured and brought
up under the influence of good forms ard
harmonious colors woud when he
reached the adult period OF life. be per-
fectly certain to select the most artistic
productions for his own home. TIE
knowledge which enables him to do this
is the result of direct contact. but il
comes imperceptibIy without effort or
special teaching. These surroun irgs
make man and woman more co1side-ate
kind and reserved in their intercourse
with each other and help TO give refine
ment to the transactions of everyday
life. Prize fighters and wife-beaters are
not results which ho9 from the source
that irrigates the arts. No doubt the
salon has furnished its share OF charac-
ters whose names are to be found in the
worlds record of crime" (GoveInmsnt
report. 1855. of the Universal Exhibition.
Paris)
Since this was written we have had the
great Chicago exhibition. which aston
ished the world by its vastness. by our
show Of endless resources. and our bound
less vitality. The honest critic of the pc
riod has characterized in a few words our
efforts. which. while plagiarized out OF
school records. nevertheless fit like 4
glove as showing the highest ability and
intellect. but little application Not
withstanding these, the exhibition opened
the eyes of the world with envy and fear
Rival nations saw powerful young coun-
try arise which in time Will outdo them
in one of their so far unapproached
strongholds, Industrial art. \ newspaper
article can hardly go into a lengthy essay
on the subject. but | may mention three
important American manufactures which
without boast are unrivaied in the whole
world: Stained windows. the Tiffany
favrile glass and lockwood pottery
Stained windows are made by John La
farge and Louis c. Tiffany and are not
equaled in the world in range. depth and
! brtiliancy OF color. BY a secret formula
| Tiffany is able to produce the now IA
nous favrile glass. which is a glass hav-
| ing an endless range, depth, and brilIian-
/ cy Of color, together with a greater d.
I versity of tone and variety of texture
I than any heretofore known. Its intrinsic
! beauty and the readiness with which all
I varieties combine with one another color
| with color texture with texture glass oy-
er glass, in union with its inherent artis-
| tic suggestiveness. opened new field for
its use outside OF windows and mosaic
work, and led to the production Of vases,
lamps. bowls and many other objects:
and these were made doubly interesting
by uniting the colors and textures, metal
| lie iusters and iridescence with original
and unusual forms.
The Tiffany favriIe glass has attract
ed much attention in the art world
that the famous museums of the world
have seen fit to purchase collections OF
the same in order to have permanent ex-
nib b-tiens of the glass
About Rookwood Pottery 1t will be
best to let Mrs. Storer the charming wife
of our present minister TO Belgium, speak.
She says: Il was constantly discouraged
by the fact that the hard fire of the
granite-ware kilns destroyed nearly every
color l used. except cobalt blue and
black Mr. Bailey Chen superintendent
( of the Dallas Pottery ard later on one
/ of Mrs Storer's chief helpers at RoOk-
wood added dark green. and l found
claret brown that would stand the
heat. Lastly, we obtained a light blue
and 4 light green: but we had no red
and no pink or yellow. and the effects
were cold and hard.
Then in the midst OF diseoura cement,
ner father with his wealth and gen
erOsity. came 10 the rescue. One day in
the Spring of 1850 he said to her: ''ff you
are really In earnest in wanting to have
a pottery of your OWE, you may take an
old schooIhouse that l bought at a
sheriffs sale last week, ard 81 it to suit
yourself" And so the lockwood Pottery
began. and the first kiln was drawn in
November 1SS0 in 1888 Mr. ". W Tay-
lor assumed the active direction OF the
works as the partner of Mrs. StOrer.
The pottery IS managed on lines opp0-
site to the prevailing factory system. as
the effort is TO attain higher art rather
than cheaper processes Absolutely no
printing patterns are used nor any dupH-
Gates made. A spirit of freedom and lib
crafty has prevailed in order to cultivate
in every way individual artistic feeling
among the workers employed.
The decorators comprise both men and
women. and are drawn mainly from the
Art Academy OF Cincinnati The decora-
tons are entirely on the moist clay before
any firing. the colors being mixed with
clay and becoming part of the ware it
I self. The pieces, after decoration. are
/ fired into biscuit and the various Slazes
/ are applied in subsequent firinss. These
, methods, while necessary to produce the
I beautiful underglaze effects of RoOkwo5d,
/ are rarely used elsewhere. as they in
I crease so largely tine risks and expense
/ of manufacture.
The clays in use for all purposes are en-
/ tirely American and come mainly from
/ the Ohio Valley. VICTOR G. FISHER.