The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-04-15
KlTCHELL In NEW YORK
HIS PICTURE OF THE
WELL RECEIVED BY ARTISTS.
MIR. kitcheII Writes of an ans
ment to CoIlaborate with n
Painter Daingerfeld.

Mr.. Joseph Gray Kitcheli, of this city,
whose composite picture of the Madonna"
has caused so much talk among artists and
others, is now In New York, and has ar
ranged to collaborate with the celebrated
painter. Daingerield. in developing the
work. In a letter to a friend here Mr..
Kitchell gives an interesting account of
what he is doing and proposes to do. He
says:
you may be interested to learn of a
little maneuver L am executing with a
view to develop from the composite Ma
DONNA" which in its present stage is mere
ly the interesting result of scientific ex-
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES in its suggestions,
but palpably out of ~drawing-by collabo-
ration with one of the great American
painters a Madonna that will embody
the significance of the composite blend,
with features brought into correct drawing
and that tinge of individual interpreta-
ton that characteriZeS the work of my
associate in the task. L have found among
some of the ~beSt-knOwn artists here a
surprising amount of interest in the COM
positively obtained image of the Madonna,
and L soon saw that 1 would have no diff
ficulty In enlisting the services of several
to carry out the idea to a successful finish.
Almost every one realized the peculiar
value OF the opportunity to contribute his
work as a final unit to a sum represent
AGo tAC 91A u 81 ALdA ~ tAC
years before, n Ii then became a matter
of extreme care to deputize the commits
sion to the man most signally qualified to
undertake 1t. Mr.. j. Wells Champney, L
felt, would have handled it with exquisite
delicacy and finish, and he wished to do
so immediately after his return from Eu-
rope. where he is about going, but that
would be too severe a strain upon my pa
work completed. H. Siddons Mowbrey was
another artist I conferred with and one
specially suited to the work, and so were
Beckwith n Blashfield, the latter stop
ping his work the greater part of one morn
ing to outline in pencil his idea of the
necessary corrections.
Kenyon Cox. with whom I had three in
terviews, adopted the idea with avidity,
and I obtained great benefit from his sug-
gestions and was interested to observe that
even in ordinary discussion he employed
with perfect ease and freedom the same
virile, careful and scholarly method of con-
veyance that m such generous
compensation for his critical writings. But
Daingerfield was the man for my work, the
one by nature and training the most adj
mirably equipped, his entire life having
been a preparation for just such an under
taking, and his interest and zeal for it
were such that he put aside two important
works to undertake this at once, and Ii is
now under way. When studying the large
platinum photograph ] handed him during
our second interview, and after he had
declared his willingness and eagerness to
redraw the image, L asked him whether he
thought ii would be a truly beautiful face.
He held the print far from him. half closed
his eyes, from which the tears had started,
and said slowly and quietly: Beautiful?
All, yes. very beautiful; already this is
beautiful, but when it is corrected it will
indeed be wonderfully so.'
1.-The greatest Madonna ever painted by
an American is the famous "~Daingerheld
Madonna" of which hundreds of thou
sands Of prints have been made. but he
has never yet painted a full-face view of
the virgin, and this will be a distinctively
new forte for him.. In this picture all the
characteristics of my composite will be
manifest-features and expression and all
but the eyes will be brought into true draw
ing, the nose refined. the heavy head
drapery Ightened and the element OF de-
v~otional feeling carried i'm the composition
will be developed and intensified by the
individuality of Mr.. Daingerfield's own
STYLE"