New-York tribune., 1901-03-30
ART EXHIBITIONS.
THE SOCIETY OF AMERICAN ARTISTS


hibition Of the Society Of American Artists Wnlch
opens TO the public to-day at the Fine Arts Build
ing Three hundred and hfty-hve OF these offerings
have been accepted The proportion seems NO. uh-
fair; IL suggests resolute wedding But IN thsse
matters figures after all, mean nothing Ihe OoDS
Of work shown may seem small considering that
greater body from which it was detacheo' OUT ~
in no captious spirit that We ma ourselves "isIs
that it were even smaller CertaihIy 'he sai'e. -
leave curiousIy analogous impression Ine nrst
rapid survey is promising. The walls are Wen
hung: here and there are some particularly oFign'
spots and on all sides there are examples OF lair
workmanship. But examination OF the show III de-
tail tells rather discouragtng story. There are
Iarnentably few pictures of interest fewer
by far than have appeared in some Of the societys
earlier exhibitions
One member of this small group hangs In the
place Of honor in the Vanderbilt Gallery-Mr.
Rr,sb,s Mother and Child circular panel deftly
composed, and very engaging in its artiess ex-
pIoitation Of atmosphere more characteristic o'
the old masters than OF recent American painters
The tawny olive tones are capital Mr.. Aexander's
Autumn previously seen at Paris and Phtladet-
phia and already sufficiently described In this
journal has a conspicuous corner here The Car
nege prize OF 500 been awarded TO TINS plctule
a wise act as there is abundant merit In the work
Mr. Alexander sends two other canvases. ooth
clever studies of gracefully posed. out
neither comparable to the Autumn The Two
pictures TO which the Webb and Shaw prizes nave
respectively been awarded are not other"lse 10 oe
distinguished
geant Kendall, the winner OF the Shaw prize uH-
doubtedly shows some originality in his work; and
a year ago he the heartiest praise for MS
Mother and Child an exquisite piece OF Worh.
But his prize picture. "A Fairy Tale is as strained
and awkward in composition as its predecessor was
natural and charming; the crude purples and
green's in the color scheme set the teeth on edSe'
the execution is hard and inert and the wnole
work is disappointing. Mr.. Ben Foster. VINO WINS
the Webb prize with his ''Mists of the Morning.
To-,
picture but IL is essentially commonplace. both IN
conception and in style.
Mr.. Sargent is certainly not commonplace In his
small portrait sketch. Dorothy" This spontane-
Gus and authoritative fragment strikes welcome
rote in the show as does the portrait Of a small
boy by Miss Cecilia Beaux Miss Beauxs other
contribution portrait OF man. painted IN very
dark tones Illustrates her vigorous attack ana hri
facility. but somehow it leaves us cold There is
refreshing touch in Mr.. Maurers Whistlerian study
of a feminine model in white and black, which ne
calls An Arrangement" and Mr.. Kenneth FRAZER
in his portrait OF lady, No. 1873. achieves elegance
and even hint Of distinction. though the color Is
wanting In quality. The portraits and costume
studies however are not often of very stimu-
Iating character. Clever brushwork in Miss Chases
Portrait of a Lady: suave execution IN the
Sophia of Mr. Fromkes: interesting characterize
tion and capable workmanship in Mrs. Cox's Fla
via and Portrait Of Mrs. L.: dignity and thor
ouchness in Mr. Eastman Johnson's portraits OF
Mr. Parke Goodwin and the late Senator Evar's'
similar merits in Mr. Beckwtth's portrait OF man.
No 25 and In Mr.. Moschowitz's portraits OF
Frau l. Fl. r." and Mr.. Valentin Loewt, attract
attention and command respect. But there Is too
much work in this field which has nothing beyond
a modest measure of decorative taste and OF smooth
craftsmanship to recommend IT, MI carr New
mans big Helen and Bos. for example IS eN-
acty typical OF the tremendous effort that ts con-
stantIy made without any profitable result en-
suing We may bracket with this the Mother
hood Of Mr.. Bryson Burroughs. in which there Is
a certain amount OF good work discounted oy the
artists inability 10 escape a grainy and opaque
surface.
The large painting Of a seated woman with
bowl in her hands and deer at her side. which
Mr. Isham calls a Fairy Tale" discloses some
technical power. but is on the whole. empty OF the
imaginative significance which should be there.
AIr Cox has aimed high in his "Annunciation. and
if design alone were sufficient the picture would be
Of signal importance. The two figures are admira-
bly, placed In a scene Of great charm, reminiscent
OF the early Italians and Yet with a sunlit fresh
ness OF its own. The drawbacks 10 the painting
are three: The virgin and the angel are not clearly
realized. they have spiritual significance; the
execution Is nelastic. communicating an unfortu-
nate immobility to everything in the scheme. In
Guiding the angels drapery. and the color. though
pure and handled with evident anxiety to obtain
sensuous effect Is lfeess and cold What survives
the gravity Of the idea, and the constructive pal
ance which the arrangement of forms reveals II
seems pity that there could not be in this some
thing OF the freedom and fuIdity which make Mr..
Cox's Portrait of Lucia Fairchild Fuller really
delightful performance; but at least this Annun-
clation' is plane OF thought rarely reached oy
any of the painters represented here. A work along
kindred lines Is La Vierge aU Roster" Of Miss
Sadie Waters This picture of the Madonna en-
throned is hurt by excessive detail II wears the
air OF an illuminated missal done on large scale.
and there unhealthy shadows in the flesh paint
ing there is a nerveessness in the handling Of the
contours Nevertheless the painting is sincere. 1t
has feeling tenderness and touch Of fragile
beauty which is appealing. Beauty Is plainly what
Mr.. Loeb has tried for in THE Breeze. and IN a
slight degree he has attained IL. The landscape
through which his classical figures scattered is
well put together smacks less OF nature. though.
than Of the studio and Is void Of the poetic mean
ing which apparently the artist wished express.
IL is full of promise II will be interesting TO see
what Mr.. Loeb does in the future, cultvattnS this
vein Of inspiration. Mr.. Barse as usual. sends n
couple of his excellently drawn symbOical figures
Smell and Touch are very like dozen other
figure subjects which he has sent to previous ex-
hibitons but. though il would be good 10 have
something newer and fresher from him. the mere
fact that he shows himself competent
draughtsman and modeller in these latest proiuc
tions Of his atones for their trtteness.
The pictures in which trteness is most frequently
avoided are OF course the landscapes Mr.. Dessar.
Mr. Dearth and NIr. Schofeld are apt to be novel
al the cost of truth; their paintings have interest
ing color and even some suggestive atmospheric
effects but not the vitality of wholly frank spon-
taneous studies from nature Mr.. VIII Robinson,
in his Hillside In Picardy.'' Mr.. Frederick 3.
Williams. I'm his Landscape No. 25s can show
them how TO set sensuous charm without losing
firm grip facts. Mr.. Reynolds Beal. in his two
marines. Entering the Bay and Morning. Gardi-
ners Bay" which recall Dupre, but have a SAVIOR
of originality assuredy disclose technical a2ti-
tude, offers similar example. But the best out
door work is that which Is sent the show by
Mr. w l. Lathrop Mr. ochtman Mr. Gardner
Symons, Mr.. Potthast, Mr.. Bruce Crane, Mr..