New-York tribune., 1901-12-10
ART EXHIBITIONS.
.BREYs DECORATIONS FOR THE
BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY

ss-lv seven years since Mr.. Abbey brought
.t ci,v and exhibited in the galleries of the
,can " Art Association the first five mural deco
90. IN the series of fifteen which he was COM
f.toned 10 paint for the Public Library Bos-
In the mean time, readers Of The Tribune
iO %. ,ovv from its London correspondence the ar
". ,as been steadily at work upon the remaining
-,bers Of the set. and these may be
- American Art Galleries for about a fortnight
e find upon this occasion the difficulty in
-.isfre the canvases that made itself felt in 1925
~ decorations are crowded into compare lively
eu room and the imagination must help the eye
.-rfve at q proper conception of the effect which
a. ABBEY will achieve when his paintings put
= their permanent place But il is obvious now,
!. vas obvious before, that he has produced
o-,elv interesting and valuable work. and.
srnherfnC the for which the series has been
.crted and the impression left ny the decorations
-eady the walls. it is legitimate TO analyze the
rr1n now exhibition il stands
II is group that. for all its brilliancy. exc:tes
o-,a dubiety the II is plain that in the
,,-se of his labors Mr. Abbey has, consciously or
-,ronscio1sly, been led in direction and
,oU in another the general tendency Of his
sas-- In one pane he is distinctly formal: in
cher the dramatic force Of his motive has inspired
,,-7 70 much more elastic scheme Of composition
.npreciation Of this point will spring at from
COMPARISON Of canvas No. : Illustrating Sir Gala
bad's conflict with the seven knights Of Dark
ness al the gateway Of the Castle Of the Maid
sns~ with canvas No. L, in which he rides across
me scene on white charger. Another comparison
souaIIy interesting for the purpose may be
made between canvas No IS, showing Galahad
crossing the seas TO Sarras and canvas No. 10 rep
-esenri-7g him his knees beside the Golden Tree
On the one side we have design that is not only
free but as full of vitality a professedy real
jszc" picture On the other we have something ot
The frrnoblity. something of the conventional ef-
feet which associate with illuminated manu-
sc-ip- of the Middle Ages OF course. il might pe
hat he
himself TO the spirit his theme; Yet il must not
be forgotten that the art OF mural decoration mas
laws Of its own and one Of first of these is that
series Of compositions carrying single idea
should possess unity Of treatment In the present
case the artist strikes two notes. and therenS
threatens the homogenety which is indlspensanle
10 the success Of his undertaking. Final judgment
must be suspended this point as on the question
As 10 whether in Of his details (notably Gala
had's chain arnor and the sail and rigging q MS
srinl he has not been too ulinutely exact The ar
rangement Of the work in Boston Will douotless
have q good influence upon the adjustment OF It's
relations Still we shall be surprised If the dis
cordant elements which We have alluded are
co-upletely counterbalanced-
IN one other matter. too, even less hope
ful and that is the absence Of atmosphere Where
atmosphere is indubitably needed. We miss II sore
u in the panel which should in unnllstakaole
terms strike climax the series. the panel IN
which Sir Galahad at last beholds the Grail An
gels Ill the background the leaves Of the Golden
Tree forming a pattern against their whiteness'
before this sacred company Galahad kneeIs' rap1
and breathless and the bearer OF the Grail towers
stately apparition. above the mortal man The
significance OF the moment the character Of the
tors everything indeed that is either shown or i'm
Piled. demands that this panel should be the one
altogether awe inspiring member OF the entire series
But IT is the one really feeble composition that
Mr. Abbey has put forth. We overlook the
fact that the head of Joseph Of Arimathea is per
haps shade inconspicuous: the artist very
probably intended enforce the herophantic char
acter of the Grail bearer in this way. But II is an
Inadequate expedent especially in view OF the fact
that in no other respect does il appear that any
other effort has been made TO imbue this scene
with the grandeur and mystery which would natu-
rally belong tremendous vision. There is not
the dnrnest suggestion OF atmosphere the thing Is
as cold as uninagnative in feeling, unspIrftual
as il could possibly be Mr. Abbey is too conpe-
tent painter to leave any canvas merely dull and
commonplace, but he has come perilously near to
dong so upon this occasion
Regret is the keener because elsewhere in this
room he has accomplished great things The repre-
sentation Of Sir Galahsd sailing TO Sarras with
Sir Bors and Sir Percival. and with guiding angel
in the bow q remarkably beautiful and i'm
pressive painting. Some of the details. We have
said are perhaps too clearly emphasized but they
are powerless TO injure the essential strength Of
the coruposition The frafl and shallow vessel is
borne swiftly dark, turbulent sea: the dis
tant horizon is marked with a sword Of ruddy
4
single tiny patch Of blue, hangs like some sinister
curtain over the closing stage OF the great Quest
Here there is imagination in full force, here the
artist rises TO the level of his high theme. and
builds up com position which has haunting
power Perhaps IL is the proximity OF this mastery
work that makes the illustration Of Galahad's at
tainment look so weak: the picture is such an
extremely vigorous and impressive production that
Il might easily cast d fairly good painting IN
the shade The scene Of the fight with the knights
S1H der %v1r-e CF
the valiant knight is poised in deadly struggle
assns, q compact mass Of infuriated and burly
warriors and the tense emotion of the crlsls Is
fully expressed Mr.. Abbey succeeds, too in i'm
parting peculiarly thrilling note TO this decora-
non by placing his group against the vast ma
tonry Of the castle: and, in fact, again and again
in these pictures We find him using the same
xsghty background the most effective purpose
II tells delightfully."- where Galahad receives the
keys Of the castle from a seated monk in cool
gray chamber d scene charmingly quiet and sim
pe II lends inst the grave quality that is needed
70 the huge canvas in which he is greeted by the
imprisoned n1aidens long line OF graceful hsures
IN Picturesque robes Of colors; and these an
Cert stones play their part again with admirable
force in the of Galahad's parting with
Bancheheur wherein the deserted woman has
environment precisely suited TO her mood In short
Ny. Abbey has preserved generally a scheme Of
color which il would difficult praise highly.
Il is Illuminated always, sharply but not sarish-
" BY the red robe OF the perfect knight. and
around this central point the artist plays against
a usually quiet background with touches OF green
and violet Of tawny orange or pale blue, OF dark
er red lighter gray. until he produces an en-
sennbe OF tapestried richness often sumptuous and
brilliant but always harmonious and dignined 1t
true that when the color is closely scrutinized one
misses the melting modulations, the deep trans
parencies. which we have been thinking Of in
sidering the deficiencies of the work regards at
nosphere Whether painted in studio light or not,
lark he eio he