Evening star., 1899-03-18
A R T AND ARTISTS

At the meeting of the Society of the
Army Of the Potomac, recently held In
Troy, steps were taken to raise money
enough to erect In Washington an eques-
trian statue of General Mcclellan, the first
commander of that army. Quite a respect
able sum was subscribed at the time and IL
is proposed to raise at least fifty thousand
dollars, by voluntary subscription, when,
1t is thought, Congress will appropriate as
1t has appropriated in other like cases, a
sutncient amount to provide the pedestal
considering the great popularity of little
Mac as he was affectionately termed by
ms soldiers, it is strange that this tribute
has not been paid to his memory long ago;
ana, now that active measures are taken
to that end, Ii is believed that the deserved
honor will not much longer be delayed.
X *
Even more unaccountable than the alb
sence of a Mcclellan statue here is the
strange circumstance that no statue of
Grant has ever been set up at the National
Capital, and that no really serious effort in
that direction has ever been made. Whether
or not there is need of any more military
effigies here, when SO many men in other
walks of life deserving of such honors have
not received them, is beside the question.
The fact remains that while Generals who
occupied minor commands have had recog-
milton of this sort, the Great Captain of the
civil war has not been so honored. Thomas,
Mcpherson, and Hancock we have; Sher-
man. Sheridan and Logan, we are to have;
but no Grant! Why is 1t? Can anybody
tell? The case as 1t stands is very much
| like the play of Hamlet with Hamlet
| omitted.
There has been exhibited a striking study
| from still life in the windows of Sanders e.
| Stayman, the last few days, by Mrs. d. c.
| Grose formerly Miss Hattie E. Smith of
| this city,. The subject is interesting to
| music lovers as well as artists-an old vio-
| lin, tattered music, a photograph of Wag-
ner, and in the foreground sheet Of music
| from that famous composers die Meister-
| singer" Mr.. and Mrs. Grose-the former a
| well-known English artist-have but re-
Gently returned from four years sojourn
abroad, bringing with them many interest
| ing sketches of Australian and eastern life
and scenery, and are located temporarily
| at 1889 14th street, where they have many
attractive canvases under way and al
ready finished. Mrs. Grose confines herself
| to portraits and figures in oil, and minia
lures and dainty bits of porcelain in min
eral and water colors, while Mr.. Grose
| paints marines and oriental pictures. They
| will spend the spring and summer sketch
| ing in the hills of Virginia, returning in the
| late autumn to Washington. where they
will join the colony of Washington artists.
All contributions to the ninth annual eN-
hbition of the Society of Washington Ar
lists must be sent to the gallery. 1920 Con-
necdcut avenue next Monday between the
hours of am. and pm. Original works
in oil, pastel, sculpture, black and white,
burnt wood and miniature, that have not
been publicly exhibited in Washington are
eligible, and all contributions must be
1
ito limit governing the number of pictures
which any one artist may exhibit The
jury this year is composed of the follow
ing artists: W. B. Chiffon, Robert Cole
man Child, Jules Dieudonne, L. S. ]. Dun
bar, Samuel HodgkinS f. c. MeSSer, L. H
Miller, James Henry Moser and E. L.
Morse Saturday, April /. will be varnfsh
ing day, and the exhibition will open to the
public on April 8, and continue to April %
One very important change is to be made
in the conduct of the exhibit this year
Il is to be entirely free to the public, and
the artists hope that with the increased
attendance the handsomely illustrated cat
alogue Will find sufficient sale to cover the
running expenses. In other cities the COM
mission from the sale of pictures is one
Of the principal sources of income, but un-
fortunately the amount realized in that
way here is usually very small and can not
be depended upon. AT the meeting held
on Tuesday evening three new members
were added to the rolls of the society, Miss
>. r.
Early.
Mr.. Henry Floyd has been devoting him
self exclusively to portraiture of late, and
he shows a very notable advance in the
portrait Of Mrs. Hopkins. which he placed
on view at Fischers for a time In moth
ing that he has previously exhibited has he
shown such confidence of handling, such a
complete
and this new product of his brush is full of
dignity and character. He seems to be cul-
tivattng a more and more direct way of
painting, and that simplicity of style which |
gives a portrait by Sargent its splendid |
vitality. Mr.. Floyd seems to consider each |
brush stroke with the greatest care, but |
when 1T is finally applied it is laid on quick !
ly and is intended to stay. The costume /
black relieved by a few touches of pale |
blue, is executed with delightful ease and |
freedom, and taken as a whole the portrait |
is bound to add greatly to the artists repu-
tation. |
Among the works now in Mr. Andrews |
studio the three-quarter-length figure of |
Miss Sheridan is easily the most striking, |
and the brilliant red dress which furnishes |
the dominating color note insures its ef- |
fectiveness when seen from almost any dis |
tance. The picture does not make its ap- |
peal by any subtle harmony of coloration, |
but rather by a series of telling contrasts. |
Another canvas that has been claiming the |
artists attention of late Is the head which |
he has just finished of a Mrs. Rogers of /
Ohio. In this work the very skillful cos
tune painting in the fur and velvet of |
the cape adds much to the agreeable eff |
feet of the whole. Just at present Mr.. |
Andrews finds it hard to give as much |
time as he would like to his own work, |
owing to the fiourishing condition of the |
Corcoran Art School and the consequently |
large demands which teaching makes upon |
lis time. Mr.. Andrews estimated that on /
March II the attendance at the school /
larger than he had ever known.
The long-talked-of Society of American |
Miniature Painters has at last been formed |
in New York. and is composed of the fol-
lowing artists: 1. A Josephi, president; |
Miss Laura C. Hills. vice president; Mrs. |
l.. F. Fuller, treasurer; w. ]. Baer, secre-
tary; Miss A. Beckington, Miss Lydia Field /
Emmet, Miss Thayer, Miss Lucy Trowbridge /
Miss Virginia Reynolds, John Macdougall |
and W. j. Whittemore members. The So
ciety intends To prepare a diSDlaV of