Evening star., 1899-04-01
Annual Show of the Society of Wash
ington Artists.
GALLERY OPEN NEXT WEEK
Some Very Attractive Works of Art
OF Public View.
FROM LOCAL EAS Il S

No art event in the city is anticipated
with as much eagerness as the annual show
Of the Society of Washington Artists, and
the ninth annual exhibition, which opened
! at 10c0 Connecticut avenue with private
view today. will not disappoint the interest
l that has been aroused Today the exhibit
ors and their friends have had the privilege
OF a first view OF the collection, and the
reception tonight promises to be a notable
gathering of artists and art lovers. On
Monday the gallery will be thrown open to
the public without charge for admission,
and for four weeks the exhibit will be open
daily except Sundays from am. to q
pm. and in the evenings from to TO-
This new policy has not been inaugurated
without misgfvings on the part of some
members of the organization, but the Gus
tom of charging admission has not proved
! very successful in the past, and the new
plan has much in its favor. The general
public Will certainly WELCOME the announce
ment of a free exhibition, and there is no
doubt that the gallery will be well attended
during the entire month. In view of this
fact there is good reason to hope that the
sale of the handsomely illustrated cata-
logues will prove sufficient to cover the
running expenses, and not leave the society
to bear the expense of the display as wen
as the great labor involved in Its prepara-
tiOn.
The division of the gallery into three con-
Meeting rooms is a most noticeable improve
ment. and the exhibit has never before pre-
scented such an attractive appearance. In
selecting and hanging the entire collection
the jury has shown good Judgment thougn
il is claimed that a number OF pictures thitt
do not add TO the value of the display nave
been nung in many cases for purely per-
sOnal reasons However. it is Impossible 10
exclude the personal element entirely even
from the best managed shows, and 1t Is un-
reasonable to expect the members OF the
jury to he rigidly impartial, without per-
sonal predictions prejudices. Honor Is
due them for the courage they have shOWn
n maintaining a nigh standard even ut the
risk of offending some. and for the man
ner in which they have performed task
that is as thankless as it is difficult
Steady Progress Evident.
Compared with previous collections the
display shows no unusual advance, but
steady progress is evident everywhere and
the serious aim of majority OF the ex-
hibitors il manifest. There are few pic
lures that may really be called remarkable
but most Of the local artists who have been
important contributors in the past are rep
resented by works which are in every
way worthy Of them, and the same healthy
tone of the entire display is strongly felt.
In only one respect is the exhibition de-
ficient this year-lt lacks the array of strik-
ing portraits that has usually been such an
Interesting feature in former seasons. The
portraits are compare lively few in number,
and only two or three can be considered
important works, though there are several
small study heads that merit high praise.
From u certain timely interest which the
theme possesses the battle picture painted
by Gilbert Gaul a1d loaned by Mr.. Allen c.
Clark will undoubtedly attract a great deal
OF attention, and II is work that will un-
queSt!Onably make d vivid impression on
all visitors TO the gallery. 1t was awarded
a gold medal of honor at the second prize
fund exhibition of the American Art AssO-
citation in New York and though ii is one
of the artists older productions he has
since done few things TO equal it, The COM
position Is We'll balanced and the figures are
nne IN action. ana painted with accurate
knowledge and mastery skill. The thin
blue line supported by other soldiers hur-
Tying up from the rear suggests in very
dramatic way q close range combat with
the enemy stubborn contest over every
foot Of ground. Battle scenes have always
been popular. and will doubtless always
MAINTAIN their present favor, but how the
war painter Of the future will contrive to
thrill the admiring public is something of
a problem Ever since the days of armor-
clad knights war has been growing less ro-
mantlc and less pictuTeque from the paint
er's point Of View, and with the adoption of
sInokelesS powder and long-range rifles il
affords fewer and fewer first class srh-
Jects- To be shot by an unseen enemy sew
eral miles distant is almost as prosaiC as TO
De laid low by ration of canned beef and
White tIe nanu-tO-nand conflicts which hes
furnish inspiration for the artists brush
viii never be entirely eliminated pictorial
material promises 10 become rather scarce
Hanging in the same gallery with GauTs
Firing Line is notable contribution OF
three canvases by Florence Gotthold an
artist who resides in New York but who is
widely known in Washington. In eXamin-
ing pictures most people unconsciously di-
vide the works that appeal to them into
two classes, those that they admire in a
cold. judicial sort of q way, and those that
they at once take into their hearts and like
without asking themselves the reason Why
Mrs. Gotthold's paintings surely belong in