The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-02-03

artists credit that he has been able to
! paint few small pictures which rank
! with any landscape canvases, however
masterful md imposing they may be. 1t
cannot be said so truly of any other
American. fit companion to this, was
shown at the Kirkpatric sale in the
American Art Galleries last week. So
| lovely in tone and charming in compost
ton was this idyllic thing il stands out
in memory as one of the pictures alone
worth going 10 New York TO see. curl
Gus fact about this picture was that, al
though ii was a summer time scene, and
altogether effectively true and normal; il
still glowed like a pale topaz. II was not
yellow. II was green picture. but
so glowing was Il, that | looked toward
the skylight, expecting TO find the rea-
son for its wonderful color in a skylight
covered with unbleached muslin; but
there was nothing there to intercept the
cold, white, honest light of MONDAY.
There was another extraordinary little
landscape of this sort of truth at the
Academy which makes one entirely obliv-
ious to its size. This was a tiny moonlight
by Clark Voorhees,, The Homestead" This
humble little whitewashed house, with
the moon shining full upon 1t, is without
exception the most perfect thing / ever
saw of moonlight, as TO rendering of the
of color and tone which comes from tenn
peramental and very personal interpreta
ton
1t is not possible here 10 mention all
of the things that were worth going TO
see and worth studying earnestly Only a
few OF those landscapes which stand out
as new and distinguished can be referred
to here.
AT Philadelphia, the Lippincott prize of
$500 was won by Charles II. Davis His
truly great landscape easily deserved it.
PhiladelI hia writer 1.-THE paper In which
the notes appeared | cannot now IDENTIFY
says: Charles H. Davis No. 81, Sum
mer Afternoon Gains and delights by it's
serenity of nature and assured ease OF
artistic achievement" This Velasquez of
landscape is well measured in those lines
The picture describes graphically. as
perhaps no other painter can. the simple
beauty of the hills about Mystic, Conn.
on one OF those perfect summer days when
a cloudless sky is overspread early in the
afternoon with a myriad of little curlu-
ious clouds which float so peacefully in
the upper air only TO melt away and dis
appear with the twilight and leave the
same cloudless heaven which smiled when
the morning broke. Those are precious
days and Davis has succeeded in paint
ing one as ii really is. But mystery of
mysteries how this same writer could say
of Arthur B. Davies Newfoundland
Coast: Perhaps Of the landscapes and
marines the deepest highest pleasure Will
be found in Arthur B. Davies 'Newfound
land Coast which is first in number and
hrst In that subjective treatment of ma
ture which gives art its reason for ex-
istence." don't mean to ridicule Da-
vies, for | am sure | appreciate his power
as a colorist and his skill as a drafts
ma N In 10 GVa I'D;
doing as great work as George Fuller and
William Morris Hunt did to bring the pub
lie TO clear understanding OF what art
really is, but there is no earthly excuse
for making two hills a bit of sea. some
sky, a cloud and a COW in so utterly
childish a fashion. Don't condemn this
criticism hastily if you have not seen the
picture. for /. too, have pictures by this
artist as deeply satisfying in the highest
artistic sense anyone can paint. but
this picture in question is another matter.
l am merely protesting against unques-
tioning support Of any man who becomes |
illogical and unreasonable at the begin |
ming of the twentieth century.
Mr.. Ranger shows six pictures very beau |
tiful in color and tone. They possess in a |
high degree pictorial quality. but are lack |
ing In that knowledge OF nature objec- |
lively which was the foundation Of Wyaut's |
great work because he tWyanD gave his !
whole life to that material and could |
safely play" with IL. Ranger mastered |
Dutch material, and no American painter
has ever reached him In that field There
are great things in Philadelphia by Wins
low Homer. 1wachtman. Bruce Crane. Ben
Foster. Scoheld, Voorhees,. and Woodbury.
1t is distinctly painters exhibition, ard
especially entoyabls to the professional
and student on that account.
JAMES HENRY MOSER