The Topeka state journal., 1899-07-01

art in the school room is rapidly be-
coming an essential feature Of a child's
education. True. it finds no place in
the regular course of study, but with
suitable decorations and a very few
minutes spent on the subject each day a
great deal may be learned by the pupils.
Clubs all over the country are inter
ested in this work and our own city fed
Grafton has decided to make it part of
its work next year. It may be interest
in& to Topeka women to know how this
work is carried on in Denver. 1t was
commenced there about two years ago
and in that time has made great pro-
gress.
Mrs. W. s. TiIton, an active worker in
the Denver WOman's club said An art
league of which a member of the WO-
mans club is chairman. is formed in
each school district and the work is
conducted in a systematic manner.
The art of one nation alone is used
in each room; samples of the finest pic
lures, sculpture and pottery are used
to decorate the rooms artistically. The
lives of the masters whose works are
represented, are studied thoroughly and
the history of each bit OF sculpture and
pottery is taught
The pupils look forward eagerly to
their art lesson each day, and by the
time they have finish ID the grades, they
have acquired a comprehensive knOwl-
edge of art of all the nations.
"A speciality is made of the schools
IN the poorer parts Of town, as it is
there that the influence of good pictures
is most needed.
Committees are appointed for the
purpose of mounting the pictures and
schools; this is by no means a simple
task as it takes thousands of them. The
Perry pictures are used until something
better can be Afforded; they are mount
ed on card board and some times entire
screens are covered with them.
AT the River Front Park which is
located in the poorer part of town, there
Is good collection of pictures which are
loaned out just as the books are and it
is wonderful the influence these pictures
have on the children in their homes.
Mrs. Laura Heron Hahn, formerly
of Topeka, is chairman of the art league
of the Corona school,
In order to foster a feeling of pat
riotism in the pupils. the halls of all
the schools are decorated with Ameri-
can flags and the pictures Of some of
our American heroes"
A Minneapolis Kansas, Club.
The Atlantean Brown club of Mime
apolis. Kansas. finished a successful
year Of study last Friday and disbanded
for the summer after a very pleasant
meeting at the home of Mrs. H. H.
Jack.
= few guests were present, but the
usual programme was followed, the les
son being upon some of the great mas
ters Of music. a paper was read by
Mrs r NJ Gonther, on the lives of
Bach, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Schulz
ert. MendelssOhn. Verdi Chopin, Wag-
ner and Strauss and selections from the
composition of each were rendered. The
use of German Opera, was the subject
of a paper by Mrs Christie Midgley,
after which the roll was called and each
member present responded with some
fact about a noted composer. After a
short business session. dainty tea was
served and the goOd-byes were said for
the summer.
The first week in September the club
will reorganize, and begin its work upon
the new course OF study which has been
in preparation the past few weeks.
Their year book for '9S-'99 shows that
they have studied. principally. litera-
ture, though occasional afternoons have
have been given to music and painting
civil service reform and domestic econ
omy. They devoted four meetings to
Tennyson, two to Shakespeare and an
other to George Eliot. Many of the
modern writer's were taken up. and the
late popular books read and discussed
The year book which will appear for
$500 viii follow similar lines for their
principal study viii again be given to
a course in literature. Before Christ
mas they will take the English writer's.