The times., 1899-08-13
ARTISTS love OF TREES
The Painters View Not That of
the Arboriculturist.
Murphy's Poetic Landscapes and
Fitch's Great Portraits of the Mon
PainstaIsing Detail Not -hout Its
AttractiOn-An Early Experience.

AttractiOn-An EARLY Experience.
| Thirty years ago there lived in Ohio one
of those bright, mature and very sensible
| girls who read Emerson, Carlyle and
Ruskin Understandings. She was a very
| pretty girl, but she Stunned that society
where such prettiness is valuable asset,
preferring the company OF a little coterie
i Of students who were interested in mat
| ters literary, artistic and musical. This
girl, possessing most intelligent appre-
citation of nature, was one day picturing
yiyidly in words, her enjoyment of the
woods. The writer was an eager listener
I love trees" said she, "and when
wander in the woods alone / love to put
my arms around their great rough trunks"
The grass has grown green for many
year above her grave, but he still thinks
| OF her with feelings of gratitude, for she
1t was who opened his eyes to the real
beauty and wide significance of things
| taught him to love Thorreau and Bryant
] and to appreciate John Burroughs who
was then just looming up on the literary
| horizon. This was the beginning of his
intelligent artistic observation of nature
| and special fondness for trees
AS to the trees, the artists point of view
| is never that of the horticulturist, but
| rather that of the painter and poet, who
detects in them a conspicuous feature of the
Almighty's plan 10 make this earth very
beautiful to those who have the eyes to
see There is beauty in the revelations of
vegetation seen under a microscope some
| specimens OF which present geometrical
forms of wonderful exactness. Among the
flowers also the dahlia is the most perfect
example of mathematical exaetness in
form. There is less interest however. in
that symmetrical beauty, for there is an
other kind of beauty which is defined as
picturesque, and which depends upon ir-
regularity, character, and many other
things This beauty 1t is which touches
the heart of the world, and which 1t is the
mission of the painter as we'll as the poet
to find.
individuality in Trees.
While trees of the same species have a
marked family resemblance. there is al
ways that individuality and accidental diff
ference which one finds in people. Therein
lies the infinite mystery and interest In
the study of trees one must first master
|
then he Is prepared to search for the in
dividual one and deliver his message. If
he possesses the true landscape painters
| instinct, he will find his search for char
acter among trees quite as delightful as
does the story-teller on his hunt among
people for individual character and local
| color.
Il j. Francis Murphy.
| When J. Fancis Murphy, n. A., the dis
tinguished American landscape painter,
went to Arkville, in the Catskills, some
years ago, and established a studio and
summer home near Wyant, that venerable
poet-painter who so recently passed away,
he knew he should find in that secluded
section trees undlsturbed and natural, and
place to find out the truth about trees as
well as about those many other forms of
nature which enter into his attractive
; compositions. No painter, perhaps. takes
greater liberties with trees than Mr.. Muir
ply The commonly accepted facts, which
the photograph gives without sympathy
or interest, are subordinated to other
and quite as distinct-facts which the
poet-painter sees; those qualities of tone
contrasts and color -harmonies; impress
sions of the beauty of the scene unham-
pered by any external considerations be-
yond those which reveal that particular
: beauty which appeals to him.
Two consequences follow this course ol
Mr. Murphy's, who has been Influenced
more perhaps by Innis and Wyant than
, any other masters. The utilitarian and the
uninitiated find 1t often incomplete and
l over their heads. They call it 'unfnish-
2 ed because it does not map out and cata-
logue the familiar, commonplace facts
about trees. The intelligent observer, or
the other hand, gets thrill of delight
from such pictures. To him it is the sou
I of nature, the poetry, that lovelines.
which makes a good picture "a Joy for
y ever" Pictures like this, be it remem-
! bered, which seem not to present these
/ facts, are never quite what they should bS
If one does not feel that the artist eoult
paint Photographic portrait of the scene
S If he cared to.
An Obsolete Form of Art.
This is true of Mr.. Murphy. 1t would
: be impossible to say with certainty wha
e trees those were in that fine example OF
a his work in the Corcoran Gallery, and the
. artist did not intend that you SHOULD
l know. His whole concern was that yoJ
d should be charmed with the music and
z not be distracted from that delicious mel
. ody by curious interest in the yariou:
Il instruments Of his orchestra. When al
: artist succeeds in painting individual por.
traits of his trees and all the various de
!, tails of his picture, you may be pretty sur,
:, there is no unity of impression or motive
. A picture of this character all worked ou
: in detail, sharp and clear, becomes an in
S teresting diagram, but never poem-no
necessarily bad, perhaps.
There are people who like this kind o
: thing, and students seldom go astray wheI
: they begin to study in that way, but 1t il
II certain that the road to the highest thing
e in landscape art does not lead in that di
) rection. There is very little painting o
trees today in this pre-Raphaelte fashion
If The English school of thirty-five years
: ago proved with infinite pains and patienc
+ that this line of endeavor was veritabl
X cul de sac. That form of art died lin
a gering death and is now happily a thini
of the past.
N Some OF the landscapes of Asher B. Dur
y. and painted in the ifties, are among tn
10 best American examples of that schoo
u There was a sincerity and nobility of pur
pose about his work which make it still yer
attractive, but even the best of them ar
conclusive evidence OF the mistaken poin
of view. There was, however. one painte
s. of that school and period, and the last c
them whose work will live because b
ST never thought to paint landscapes. HI
pictures were mainly portraits of bits c
forest and individual trees, now and the
ie with stony brooks and glimpses beyond
u but these were only accessory. His can
t. vases were portraits OF trees This wa
,e James L. Fitch n. A, well-nigh forgot
al ten now, but he is certain to be brougf
j. from obscurity when the next generatio
I'd begins to rake around in this century fc