The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-02-10

The art of Elihu Vedder is one of the
most unique and individual American
/ achievements. In the great international
field which is so gradually absorbing all
/ that is personal in the art of nations, Mr..
! Vedders work stands among the first.
From his serene height in the atmos-
| phere at Rome. he has gone steadily on
! for forty years perfecting a genius, not so
; startling as some. possibly, but quite as
pure and unalloyed any on which the
eye Fay rest at the beginning of the new
! century.
| : his artist has seen movements and fads
! rise and have their short day only to dis
! appear and leave behind them influences,
some good and some bad, but these have
never touched him. His inspiration came
! from an earlier period and true to some
! thing which told OF his genius at the be-
! ginning, he has turned neither to the right
nor to the left and remains today classic
and Vedderesque in every line and brush
mark of his notable work. The art of this
one OF the older and more deeply respected
of American painters may be narrow, but it
is narrowness which belongs to the
highest field of artistic endeavor Not mar
rover than the Greeks, and they be II re-
membered, are the artists about whose
feet the moderns seem content to move in
colorful pageant which time withers
away while the art of the Greeks lives
on. OF some such fiber as the Greek is
the art Of Vedder. 1t will live.
More than usually agreeable is the task
of reviewing the collection of forty-one
exhibits by this master now on exhibition
at the Fischer Gallery, continuing to the
18th of February. For here in Washing
ton is this artists masterpiece, an imper-
ishable mosaic wrought with such dignity
and skill it must remain a commanding
and monumental art work till the end of
time.
This great performance is the mosaic
Minerva, which. occupying that command
ing central position al the middle landing
of the west main" is the hub from
which that vast array of excellent decora-
tive art at the Library radiates like the
spokes of wheel, and supporting this are
his five tympanum painted decorations
Immediately below it on the reading room
floor These are easily the best art in the
Library, for, aside from any painter inter-
est, they have the rare quality of fitness.
w. A. CONN, the painter critic in
"Scribner's" for March '97, says of these
five panels: I'm the vestibule just before
pana painted by EIihu Vedder. The com
position over the door in the middle rep
resents Government, those to the right
Good Administration, and Peace and
Prosperity the two on the left, Corrupt
Legislation and Anarchy Mr.. Vedder's
capability and good judgment are well
shown in these works; for, unlike some
Of the other rooms given to the artists to
decorate, which are fully lighted, this
vestibuie is somewhat tenebrOus. Instead
of forcing the color scheme to high key
an expedient which might have been
adopted by a less experienced painter
Mr. Vedder has treated his compositions
in sober. modified tones Of an even ga
nut. They are in absolute harmony with
their surroundings, and the restraint in
color gives them depth and strength.
These finely conceived designs are exc
cuted in such a manner that they do not
appear as additions TO the establishment
of their site. but as part Of the place
itself. and nothing better in the way of
fitness of placing will be found in the Lii
brary."
Twenty years ago in the old "scribner's
Magazine" some appreciatiye writer
says of this artists work:
Coming suddenly upon an array of
paintings by Mr.. Vedder. the first sight
is overwhelming. There seems so much
thought expended upon them, so many
stories are told. such strange regions OF
heaven and earth, of the air above and
the waters below. have been explored for
motives that used TO the uneventfuI
frames hanging on the walls in ordinary
exhibitions, one is fairly taken OF ones
feet" And further pointedly remarks:
Another trait of this artist should not
be forgotten, out of gratitude. Because
ii is found to be both easier and more
profitable, many painters repeat their
pictures nearly. or after the same general
type, until their canvases become a
WEAKNESS to the flesh. The opposite is
true of this one. He has seldom repeat
ed himself"
No in the interesting catalogue of Mr..
Vedder's work shown at Fishers is THE
Keeper OF the Threshold Mr.. Vedder
says of this weird mystical thing which
might have emanated from the soul OF some
secluded priest in Tibet: ITO solve a
mystery is to destroy II" then follow
tn Sc significant words which are append
ed at the conclusion OF a series of guesses at
It's meaning but with all these maybes,
be it as 1t may, as in life. each one must
solve the mystery for himself The
pleasure of living is measured by ones
comprehensions of his mental limitations.
There is much in this collection which one
can fathoni with deep and lasting enjoy
ment and this added to frequent passages
it unnecessary to linger over riddles
Quite the most individual and interesting
for painter quality as well as motive are
THE Young Marsyas," No. s. with it's
charming winter landscape strongly sug-
gestive Of Bougbten and New England
THE Soul Between Doubt and Faith"
No. 4, which is also in this manner more
pictorial and less fiat and decorative than
many of the larger exhibits, contains three
dc .la~f oil
Spanish Smugglers." is a dark Dore-
esque thing of great force. 1.-The SPHINX"
No 10, is a fine close study of that silent
and changeless model which has posed
patiently for ages to artists of varying
ability. This canvas recalls a famous pict-
ure of Vedder, THE Questioner of the
Sphinx" in the Brimmer collection in
Boston, of which / have seen only photo
graphs. but which nevertheless has always
seemed one of the most impressive of his
works.
In No. 10, "The Old Well, Bardighera,"
and number of other outdoor studies of
landscape, and old building, Mr. Vedder
reveals the earnestness and fidelity with
which his work is always done. There are
no sketches here-nothing is knocked Off
in some bright hour when genius burns
as the immortal 40" would say VII en- the
mood to write was on. There is n thought
full deliberate quality In everything shown
here which is very satisfying to the or
Derby mind. In the Cloud" No. IS, is
some wonderfully forceful landscape
painting whose tendencies and tonal quail
ty are disturbed by cloud less interest
ingly done.
The reproductions colored by Mr.. We'd
der are black and white prints. eolored
in the most subtle and dainty fashion i'm
aginahle. They are in way, a reVela-