The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1901-11-17

any Dhck8Tounu Oh Dig Intention, their
interest Is merely local and they are no,
done with that ease and style which nigh,
secure them technical distinction. But
while waiting for the fountain Of his motive
to be again moved, how commemorate +, ia
that he did not set 10 work 20 repeat HE
success OF -The Prisoner From the Front,
as a smaller man would have been tempted
to do II Is characterize Of his ingrainod
sincerity.
At length, however. he finds again ia
fundamental motive which hc need, rbis
time in the inspiration Of the ocean Oy
and on for many years he has lei the Iila
of a recluse on a spit of land near Scar.
boro. Me whose brown rocks piled IN
diagonal strata have from time immenorlal
withstood the onset Of the Atlantic comhars.
an atom Of ~impregnable stability in pres.
ence Of vastness, solitude and the perpetual
fuX Of elemental forces. Grounded on NH,
own VI alw art individuality, he has kent
himself aloof from the truck and -cfim-
mage Of conventional life and filled MI,
soul with the vastness of nature. How
inst n of this isolation from the world
multiply In the story Of art; Vatican re-
treating into the impenetrahility, q hi,
own soul, DelacroiK and Puvis de Chay.
annes into their barred studios; Rous-eau,
Millet and the rest Of their brothcrhood
into the rocesscs Of the forest. Such i,,la.
ton seems TO be the road 10 greatness;
| partly. perhaps, because the man him,af
must nave the elements of greatness IN
him to wish to do without the cou-' ant
reinforcement of the world, where men
and women prop their shoulders together
and make believe that they are standing
independently.
Hencefor;h, then, the ocn1r -upp'.s
the ground-bass Of motive in Houors
art and the ma gnitude of it, influence
begins 20 inform his work Deepening
in significance, il becomes simpler I'm oy.
preston and the simplicity l. revealed
In a fuller synthesis of manner; it grows
in comprehension. in force and diroctu"-,,
gaining breadth and freedom Of cyecI'ipn.
greater purity and subtlrty of color. BIT
he does not al once realize the full ~
nifcance of the ocean itself. For a tins
he sees only its secondary significance "a
relation TO the life of the iisheriolk. 10
whom il il AZ once the means Of existence
and n perpetual threat Of danger lie
paints such Erandly dramatic picture Is
The Life Line. Eight Bells "Daug'','
ANS Well" "Undertow, Watching 80
Tempest" and "Perils of the sea, a ~nr -
Of dramas TO which the ocean l. tho t1rt-
ground How original they are. tine SUBJ
iect seen ~ individually and carving
itself out in the artists imagina'.Iu U'I
such incisive force! Moreover. VIVA wH"."-
some breadth in his Sympathy He Gu's
not, like Cottel, the eminent painter NJ 10
fsherfolk of Brittany, picture the lives \
his people as darkened by the pail Of an
irremediable fatality. He paints them as
strong men and women fronting with
strength the vicissitudes of their existence;
a point of view entirely akin to his own
strong force of character; for here ons
reaches he tap root Of his power. II is char
acter: a personal strength, not Of III" COM
pick kind that diTu-es itself over many
issues, but sclf-ceutred and direct. l. =
he actually Of things which perpetuG.'v
seizes his imagination and on which Do"
concentrates for the time being all -
energy. And, surely, il l. because th'
il 50 essentially the quality Of present
American civilization that he l. pre"ml-
nently tho most representative Of Amer
lean painters He is a product Of his '.ms
has sucked nourishment from IL and trau@-
lated it's nobler quality into terms OF arr
Blu il il in his marines that he seems -
reach the ripcs' maturity Of his genius,
aud most completely. perhaps. In ih"
Maine Coast. The human impori -
the ocean ha~ spoken home" to him at last.
in it, least local -ig Iifcance. 1his picture
involves a drama. but the players ar" 80
elements: the text. Of universal Language;
The theme. as old as time. ! will rot parse
upon the teChuICdl mastery OF tins
similar cauNa-cs. except To -ay that "'1
the enlargement 81 purpose has COM.
corresponding grandeur Of style. huI -lu.7
dwell upon The impre-slv"n"sH ~ '.'f
apueal They realize. a. no Other muf -
With which ! am acquainted. the m1I"-.T.
isolation. immcu-iry. popd"ruu- 600 %
mcu' and mystery 81 the ocrau.
-uouudi.ss. endless AID sublime
The mage Of Eternity the iHi"'"
thc Invisible
they seem to H. the -puI'af '... "
anor II q -lIl hI O." overflow e.
IA. magnitude - It, t%npuvnt-
4 word mtsJ b. -lii 80 %.
Do water color. They us,p fH. v
ai improvisation. snatchr- - |r r.-
ruug upon ~" paper in the li'.r
nlm-I, tuuoiui bite uf m.f'r"
cYlur glad~pmr a. the hgui a.d
tUs -p.ut Of tho uzrastu. uH .
,lY-r eco their author iutr.'iu. Cos
,lgui add d~in.sturrs all 900
a. INSINIIHN m iNb