New-York tribune., 1899-11-17
AN AMERICAN SALON.
PLEA FOR A THOROUGHLY NATIONAL
ADMINISTRATION OF ITS AFFAIRS


ADMINISTRATION OF ITS AFFAIRS
To the Editor Of The Tribune.
Sir 1 with great pleasure in to-day's
Tribune that the creation Of an American Salon
was discussed last evening at dinner Of the
Architectural League trust the movement will
not stop there, for It would produce the only
fair and National exhibition in this country. If
1 remember rightly the jury Of the French
Salon is elected by the votes OF all Frenchmen
exhibiting at the previous Salon. and con-
sequently is as fair jury and as truly repre-
sentative a jury as could be chosen.
The art of country should be national. and
no society composed OF a small percentage Of ex-
hibitors make 1t clique OF painters
in younger society really choose jury
of its own. while older body ordain that
its jury shall be chosen from its members in
alphabetical order Neither wSuld be fair
representative of the large body Of American
painters. OF course every artist wishes to
hibit in New York, and really must to gain
National reputation. but there are only two
public exhibitions open to painter in oils. the
National Academy Of Design and the Society
of American Artists, and for sculptors and
decorative painters there are especially the ex-
hibitions of the Architectural League and the
National Sculpture Society
The Salon should combine the exhibitions Of
all these artists into one OF several depart
ments; paintings in oils and water color sculpt-
ure, engraving and etching. and architectural
drawings. The several juries could be chosen
for the first year, for oil paintings, by ali the
exhibitors at the last exhibitions of the Acad-
emy and the Society of American Artists;
for water colors, by all the exhibitors at the
I roe ~ he Apoe VAT
ciety and the Water Color Club and Such
a jury would be fair and representative. and
not be the outcome of any movement of the
moment or tradition grown stale. We do not
! need novelty and therein l disagree entirely
| with Mr.. Beckwith; such an idea savors too
| much Of the show. We have had too much
| novelty" and have gone searching after some
| butterfly movement to attract and make a name,
forgetting that greatest Of all present novelties
the striving after what is true and lasting in
! art.
The present societies in their day have done
! great work, but they are societies OF few,
! and have a bit more of mutual admiration
than breadth OF Judgment. The National Sculpt-
ure Society alone at present deserves the name
/ OF National, for by its splendid work on the
/ arch 1t has spread the strength Of American
art further than all the other societies combined.
| But In time its sphere OF National usefulness
shows in the end narrowness 1t Is 30 hard for
the old to keep fighting for ideal, and
II
! turbed, and they are slow about adding younger
and consequently more progressive influences
10 their number. or course there will always
be heading in such juries OF men whom the
gods love, and who will die young at any age
because they strong, and the young men
will always adore and honor such. Really
strong artists have time for the fostering OF
movements and clques be they young or old,
and while some will always work for favortes
the knowledge that any narrowness will be
called TO account the next year by d truly Ma
tiona body OF men will tend toward breadth Of
/ judgment COUNTRY ARTIST.
Hanover, N. H., Nov. o. 1899.
! Tour correspondents plea for a thoroughly
National management OF the American Salon
II indeed to have such an institution
IS deserving OF attention and support. Anxiety
lest the members of any clique should impose
their will upon the majority should not, how
ever. be carried too far An American Salon
would not be possible without the cooperation
OF artists all over the country; and II may he
taken as a self-evident proposition that they
would not share in the enterprise without ade-
quate representation in the board OF manage
ment, juries and Furthermore ex-
perience shows every year that our artists
from Maine to California, more and more work
together in perfect harmony whenever occasion
demands.-Ed-l