New-York tribune., 1901-01-13
ART in PHILADELPHIA
EXHIBITION OF THE PENNsYIy.x-,.
ACADEMY OF THE FINE ARTS


Philadelphia. January 70
The SEVENTEEN annual exhibition of the pa
sylvania Academy Of the Fine Arts opens be-.
with a reception tonight. 1t brings forward naa.
~ a thousand works. from which the fastidio,.
observer would be willing to deduct several bp,-
dred. That same observer however. voIs
have to admit that the good pictures ara -
numerous and so judiciously distributed thar
careful survey of the galleries is not in the Ion
run. fatiguing. There is always sometime, -
arrest attention in a pleasant and Suggestive
manner. The policy which has secured this con.
dition of affairs has it's drawbacks He VIII
comes expecting to mark tendencies to formu-
late the current endeavOrs of American artists
must proceed cautiously; for. with a commenda
BILE wish to make sure of edifying ensembla
the promoters OF the enterprise have accenta+
illustrations Of much more than the art OF th
mOmeat Mr.. Winslow HOmers shipwreck nct
ure. THE Signal of Distress which rightly 90
cupies a prominent station, is dated 1892 -ae
II is far mere fluid in manner and more subtla
in tone than the three new canvases by Mr.
Homer now at the Union League Club in Nev.
York which have just been discussed in TIL.
Tribune Mr.. Tryon's Dawn beautiful land
scape forming part of a decorative scheme IN
the hall of Detroit mansion, was executed n,
1893. Some recently painted marines of graa,
panied by a landscape Of his which was shown
in New-York several years ago. These i'm.
portant pictures. and some others. need to be
eliminated before one attempts to estimate the
final significance of the exhibition
When the list of old pictures has been made
single factor in the mass that is left comes
swiftly to the 'front.' the influence of Mr. Whist
Ter. 1t is always with us. but on this occasion
it is more obvious than ever; perhaps because
it seems to have reached few Of the younger
men. whose indubitabIe talent would in any case
mark them out for notice. In the big main
gallery. where Sargent holds undisputed the
place Of honor with the three-quarter length Of
General Ian Hamilton. reproduced in The Trib-
a fortnight ago-especiaIly powerful and
brilliant in the modelling Of the head and hands
there hangs The Green Cape of Mr. Robert
Henri. portrait of a woman. The low tones
are not without transparence; the figure has
life. But the essential thing is the point OF
view. and this. in the same painters Young
Woman in an Old Fashioned Dress" hanging in
the north corridor is the point of view of Whist
Ter. with. perhaps. in the second example. hint
of Manet Mr.. Henri is typical Inevitably as
sociated with his two portraits. in the last i'm
preston of the visitor. are Mr.. Augustus Koop-
mans Portrait of Miss o.; the Portrait of a
Young Woman" by Mr.. William Glackens: the
Portrait" by Mr.. Maurer and the cafe scenes
which both Mr.: Henri and Mr.. Maurer also send.
These canvases all disclose technical proficiency.
they all have the vigor Of youth; but it seems
incredible that any Of them could have existed
If Mr.. Whistler had not shown the makers Of
them how to extract decorative effect out Of
simple materials if he had not set before them
the example of fusing the carefully studied as
poets of animate and inanimate things into
restrained patterns of color His fellows catch
something of his idea. but none of the distinc-
ton of his style. There is of his famous
little river scenes here, the "Battersea," owned
by the Art Institute of Chicago. to remind US
OF his unique authority The penetrating magic
Of this. exerted within the limits Of a relatively
simple scheme. is almost rebuke to the artists
just mentioned-their efforts seem so futile
without the genius OF their model. But it would
ba a mistake to undervalue their work. which.
indeed counts heavily in the general excellence
Of the show, and stands for healthy reaction
against the gaudy arrangements of upholstery
and costume which have figured so blatantly in
recent portraiture. The Whistlerians if they
may be so designated for he sake of conven-
ience. moreover show that they have the stuff
in them for better and more original work in
the future. The artistic history Of Mr.. j. ".
Alexander, who has a group Of eleven portraits
and pictures in the exhibition. throws some light
on this subject. He has qualities which place
him in the debt of his celebrated countryman.
but he began TO discharge this debt number
of years ago; and now his work shows abundant
originality which is pushing the borrowed ele-
ments more and more into the background His
charming Autumn reappears. with it's COM
panions in the show a Paris The Mother and
the Portrait Of Rodin. The high opinion Of
its graceful design. luscious color and flowing
workmanship formed there is only deepened by
a renewal Of acquaintance with it.
There are divers otheC pictures, seen before
either in New-York or Paris. which have worn
Well and are perhaps doubly welcome at Phil
adelphia for that very reason. Mr. Robert
Reid's sumptuous. glowing Autumn" the big
picture of three girls standing in sunshine and
entwined with flaming autumnal vines. is ag-
gressively visible in this company. and also
are Mr. TarbeIrs decorative portrait The Mir
ror." and Mr. La Farges Study of Native Boy
of Samoa in which one does not know which 10
admire first, the grand simplicity and breadth
with which the bronze flesh of the boy is mod
elled the delicate Ioveliness Of the bosky.
sunlit screen Of trees against which he is placed
1t is delight to encounter again. too. the per-
feet sentiment and suave. distinguished crafts
manship of Mr.. Sergeant KendalFs portrait OF
a mother and her child. The End OF the Day
Old friends, however. need not be reintroduced
at greet length. while unfamiliar paintings
await consideration. There is the full length OF
a man by Mr.. Eakins. badly realistic. almost
trite in conception, but painted with such un-
derstauding and such dignity that il can bear.
without losing any OF it's effect. its close prox-
unity to Mr. Sargent's dazzling Ian Hamilton
That portrait is. on the other hand. dangerous
neighbor for the 'Halsey c.. Ives OF Anders
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