New-York tribune., 1903-03-29
ART EXHIBITIONS.
The Society of american Artists.

The Society of American Artists.
Within the pale Of the Society Of American
Artists If rumor is be believed, there has been
& certain suaoun: of excitement over the with
GrzwaI Of the three WhIstlerS which Nr- Freer, OF
Detroit lent fog the exhibition. noT open at the
Fine Arss Building. To outsiders the episode mas
f. hitherto been only Of amusement But
when one goes to the collection as 1t STANDS the
absence Of these pictures becomes serious matter
Works having the quality which it IS legitimate 10
assume that they possess are soreiy nee0ed' Aor
this Of the weakest and dulest collections OF
pictures the society has presented Tins was
when the work drought forward from year to year
by this Organization stood for the best that was
being done in American art. The societys e1ntoi-
tons had vitality: they invariably in the van
The latest in the list lagS far behind Inc oio
standard is in fact much in the OF that nus-
trated only few weeks ago at the Pennsylvania
Academy OF Fine Arts, ia Philadelphia OF COURSE
good things are On the walls. out stF1kLns
some Of these are, they cRnnot seriously rhoaiiy
the broad impression left by the exhibition which
is one OF rnedlocrfty and routine.
At the head Of the few really interesting cah-
vases ts Mr.. Abbott Thayer'G Winged Figure.
which be inscribez to the memory OF the Ieee hoo-
ert Louis Stevenson L1ke all Of Mr. ThayeFs
works 1t IS uneveniy painted, picture 70 e1as-
pe-ate while It rIeaEes but there Is ne DOUBT ABOUT
iea pleasing. The figure Is seated upon q great
rock with tropical foliage dimly Indicated IN tne
BACKGROUND. Though there is dslicate!y PAIneuc
rather than an heroic note struck in the expression
in the face Of the angel, there s grandeur IN tne
composition. There IL Imagination ana tosi0 Is
beauty In this symbolic design; II looms ~itn Poei
tive majesty above the huEodrun level OF 1ae eA-
hibitiou at large. Naturally IT has been given tne
place Of bouo- One erniles at the Idea OF making
it give way TO the Whistlers aforesaid ne nS1ter
how great they may be- The winged F1Sure
could not have been hung anywhere else. *he next
hest MACE in the gallery Just as inevitably goes 20
Mr Sargent's portrait OF Mr.. Chase II Is orlAi-
tant performance. hrimEaing over with chaTsctei'
deIshtfuuy pictorial. and. In every sense o. Inc
term distinguished To look for other cohuioH-
ttons here to which this last epithet might De Sp-
pIfed is to engage in a rather fettgulns search
The figure pieces certainly do not anoro one tne
opportunity to indulge IN laudatoTy Terms 1dAo'
for example Mr.. Isha1n's large painting. Ine com
ing az sprtng' It is decorative, II Is not oao IN
color and the standing figure in the group repre-
sented is not ungracefU!Iy donS. But tneFe Is no'n
ing In the work lift It above the ordinary p1A1e
Mrs. Hcustons Indian summer almost but not
quite deserves to be mentioned in warmer ternH'
As for the pictures IN this department OF the ex-
hbitien which first blush give some pleasure tne
pictures by Mr.. Nora, Miss AumfoTd MI GacA-
ems Nj walcott, Mr.. Lowe and MI buTEouEnS' III
every case close scrutiny sends the observer away
dissatisded He ands here and there clever bit
Of technique but that b all. One man. MI Al. h
Sterne gives promise IN his Reflection . cna1 ~
ing beach scene with figures. of doing good work Ii
the future, but the Society Of American ArosS
has accustomed in the pest TO expect something
more than promise 10 figure compositions
II it is anywhere suggestive Of Its carrier sflo
better estate IL Is among the portraits QHe heA1s
much Of the dePleEabls tendency OF AEs@T1c@ns 90
have themselves portrayed by forelgnsrs' tne
fashion must ultimately be abandoned Meanwhhe
it is plain that native painters get AFTER s14' q
great deal Of this work TO do. The galleries at the
Fine Arts Building abound IA portraits. ano TnAnS
ef them are admirable There II ny. Ale1AndeTs
charming portrait OF G lady; there II the same
artists decorative pteea. "A Flower; there Is Tne
obes Player" by Mr.. Thomas EAktns. a capital
profile; there Is the portrait Of MI AoWeIs pv MT
Frank Fowler; there are other equally strong
stu0fes of masculine subjects by MT. Chase, MI
Kenyon Cox, Mr. Beckwith and Mr.. Hopktnson-
we must particularly note also the interesting
little portrait OF N Paul eaoafier. the great au-
Shorfty IN Franciscan literature, by MI John =
Weir There is the usual imposing company OF
portraits Of women, and though Q great many OF
these are rather shallow, there are seVesal wnlcn
possess indubitable merit We may cite rhe LAUy
with NSr&" by Miss Adelaide Chase: the 0edcare
study ''Ctrl with White FIowers,' by Gr. E. J.
Steichen; the circular panel family suggestive OF
Mr. Brush, by Mr.. PHri Moschcowftz. Mother
ana Child and divers e4nveses By MF. BeF0e MI
Iysnowski. MI. Loeb and Mr. Henri. The land
scaps men, who iule do 30 much to make an
sxhIbtticn Of American pictures worth while. are
not on this occasion at all remarkable FOR thesr
achievements We have noticed 8 dainty Septen-
Der Afternoon" by MI Edward Dufner' q sensi-
lively painted Fodder Stacks" by Mr. w L
farhrop; q Summer Night" romantic IN sentl-
ment If somewhat artificial in color, by MI Emil
carIsen; and q fine picture by Mr.. shurtlen. THE
Big Rock" But for these and & few other land
soapes. this part Of the exhibition is notable For
poverty Of inspiration and coru1onplaceness In e1-
ecutton There are two powerful sea pictures by
Mr. Homer. Early Morning and "CanncH ROCK
both strong IN movement in coteT ard IN at-aoH"
phere Add to these two three excellent marines
by M4 Rein. Mr.. Bosert and Mr.. Woodbury. ana
we come to the last picture in the collection on
which IL Is profitable 10 pause This is Mrs Dew
inR's Among the Roses an exquisite piece OF
painting as superior as Mr. ThayeTs winged
F1s11ra'' IN to The bulk Of the work shown nur-
her Of good examples Of sculpture are scattered
through the gallery. including bust Of MI Me-
haus By MI WsuDau q bust OF DT. Rainsford ey
Mr.. French q bust Of Mr. De Camp By Mr Crafty.
and q nude figure by the last mentioned. TN Much
wisdom" which would be very eeguiung indeed II
II were not a little We leave the galleries
resretting profoundly thAtSwe have not besH able
m etvs a more favorable account Of what they
contain The show II not violently bad Others
much worse have been seen IN SSw-York- But
this is IA the nsatn. 90 conmonpt&ee. 60 untater-
estiuR. The society VIII have to besttr itself aud
seek Improvement next year II It is to regain its
former prestige