The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1901-12-22

nate sun and shadow, that inexpaustible
mystery OF natures peace that passeth
mans understanding. We have all felt i,
and know how far 1t Is from our everyday
lives and We look to word poets and To-
poet painters TO create an Illusion Of II.
Surely no American painter has done this
more irresistibly than Wyant. Nor is there
wanting TO the peace of his pictures at
times a more solemn suggestion. While
30 many of his twilights breathe simply IN.
ineffable loveliness of quiet others are astir
with persuasion 10 spiritual reflection,
with the gentle admonition 10 sadness that
itself IL purifying, or with deeper, fuller
suggestion of the infinite mystery Of ma
lures recurring sleep that swallows up the
littleness Of man in its immensely. ] re-
member. too, a little picture Of darkeucd
earth and rather turbulent dark sky in
which a large boulder alone glistens in the
fading light; a rock of illumination and
strength in the surrounding uncertainty
of gathering night, Brimming over with
the suggestion OF an elevated melancholy
sustained by faith and painted with an
extraordinary earnestness OF simple and
direct conviction, II seems like a symbol
OF Wyants own art life.
But almost everything that he painted
Is expressive of some phase, at least,
OF himself. His work is more than ordin-
arily personal; perhaps. for the reason
already mentioned. that he 20 deliberately
~ nv lAlN W. @hAh' ~, AAtAAAN
OF his poetry was lyrical. ! have seen Il
called idyllic, hut that Is to miss it. higher
and deeper qualities, The idyl, ",rnyso',
Notwithstanding, Is too much identified
with the little pastoral poem that hreatlI"s
the simple gladsomeness of the meadows.
but a more serious strain IL interviewer
with the gentleness and lovableness Of
Wyant's muse. He was passionately fond
OF music and. before his illness. could play
the violin, not learnedly, but with true
fAnltnn And tho music nf Ila naInfttn
IL that of the violin; tenderly vibrating,
searching home TO ones heart, by turns
lightsome, melancholy. caressing, i'm
petuous, but with a tenderness in all.
He did not play on many coIorsi but
ing as it is soothing. The bewilderment
will be aroused as much by his shadowcd
fairgrounds as by the family luminous
sky. They defy analysis and are triumphs
OF impressionism. lmpressionism Of the
true kind, ] mean; pregnant with suggestiou
and Invested Of aught that would clog its
directness; not exhibiting knowledge bat
the fruit Of knowledge and especially its
tact Of omission. To the careless and
commonplace eye his landscapes have
nothing to them approached with a
little understanding, they mean so much.
and the measure of their meaning IL the
technical knowledge involved: IT there
was any doubt OF this, Il could he disposed
OF by an examination OF his earlier work
HI WHICH lie ItLt OlAt III Nbc tTNttA - lh'
love OF form and construction. Admir-
ably sure and full OF character is the draw
ing of the ground and itS features. hit hv
bit receiving its due share OF individuality
so also with the trees and their anatomy
of trunk and branches and with the strlc-
ture OF the sky. Everything has been
studied, 10 that later out OF the abundance
Of his technical skill he could he signlti-
cantly spontaneous. Yet increase OF IA
cility did not lessen the self-exacting CON
- - HE xrarE Snnna of Irg
most impressionistic pictures were the
result Of trying to reach a fuller exactness
of expression. when, finding confusion
growing, he would seize another canvas
and return TO the simplicity OF his original
thought. and let IL form itself: Few
painters are better represented in their
works, The fumbled canvas or
the one that. however sketchily, did not
attain to his intention, never left the studio,
and after his death. Mrs. Nysnt. with a hne
regard for his memory and with honor
TO herself, destroyed them. So the real
Wants for | am told there are sham ones
the market are invariably worthy
So truly did he retain the spirit Of the
student that IL was not until "A little before
his death that he allowed himself to feel
that he had mastered the grammar Of
his technique. Then, with the conscious
ness of his end before him, he would ex-
claim: Had 1 but five years more In winch
10 paint. even one year, i think could
10 the thlng tH6t loiB 70 Draw, hioucSs
,oull What lac might then have done We
never know, but what he did do we
xnow to he very good. Fol another nature
1oet Of our race, OF ike simplicity ana
.inglenoss Of love for nature, Of a. choice
and elevated a spirit and as lyrical in ex-
preston we mus, GO back tn Wordsworth.
who also in his ~cOmmunings with nature
her message
truth, OF grandeur, beauty. love and hops.
And melH nCholy feHr subdued by falth,
blessed con,olations ~ distress,
N moral strength and intellectual power
& II. u