Evening star., 1903-10-24

Pduei rises from branches or tuup-trce
blossoms, and the device of the background
| is conventi6naiy architectural. The wood
| is burned to- rich deep shade Of brown.
the entire figure of the Virgin is gilded
a mosaic of gold and brown blocks. 1t is
quite different from anything that Mr..
Curtis has done heretofore and shows the
peculiar fitness of burnt wood work for
ecclesiastical decorations.
Mr.. Walter Paris is still in England, but
purposes returning to this city In a few
weeks. and is making arrangements to
hold an exhibition OF his watercolors in the
hemicycie of the Corcoran Gallery the last
of December, directly after the close of the
Water Color Clubs annual show.
Miss Marguerite Downing is planning to
spend the winter in New York. Her unique
poster portraits, which were deservedly
popular here last season, have proved
equally attractive to the summer colony in
Maine. and she has, it is said. received
more orders for them than she has been
able to fill.
The Salmagundi Club, an organization of
art students, the majority of whom are
former Corcoran School pupils, has opened
classes for instruction in the various
branches of art at it's club room on New
York Avenue. The club intends to hold
an exhibition of its members work in De-
cember which will it Is thought. give the
pubic an opportunity to judge of Its
character and aims.
There will be quite change in the make
up of the Pennsylvania Academy's exhibi-
ton this year. as it has been decided to
restrict the exhibits to works in oil, sculp-
ture and miniatures This will exclude
watercolors pastels and architectural and
illustrative drawings for which, it is un-
derstood, a special exhibition will be held
III the spring. This action has been taken
on account of the academy's somewhat linn
tied wall space. The seventy-third annual
exhibition of the Pennsylvania Academy
will open to the public on Monday, January
% and close on Saturday, March ), 1904.
Entry blanks must be in by December 10.
*s
On Tuesday evening of this week, in
connection with the opening of the six
teenth annual exhibition of oil paintings
and sculpture of the Chicago Art Institute,
the Blackstone Memorial Hall, containing
the Blackstone collection of architectural
casts, was formally dedicated. This hall,
the gift of Mrs Z. B. Blackstone, is said
to be one of the finest sculpture galleries
In the world, and the collection which it
was constructed to house is of remarkable
and unique interest. With the annual eX-
hibition of the Art Institute special eXhi-
bitiOns of works by John w Alexander and
Ben Foster are being held.
A large extension is being built to the
Carnegie Institute at Pittsburg which. it
is said will increase the capacity of the
institute five fold 1t includes, among other
things, an eleven-story book stack for the
library and six new picture galleries.
One of the first sales announced by the
American Art Association for the coming
season is the works left by the late J.
Wells Uhampney. The collection will in
clude his original drawings and paintings
and a large number of copies in pastel of
| French portraits of the time of Louis XIV.
| made in the Versailles Gallery. Mr..
| Champney was well known in this city,
| both personally and through his work, and
| a sympathetic interest will be felt in the
disposal of his paintings
The newspaper artists of Cincinnati are
| holding exhibition of works at the
Grand Hotel in that city Each exhibitor
| is allowed to enter fifty hra awnings half of
X
| .,-r.- X X rt.ls.U -s4r.
Baltimore is setting her sister cities a
good example not only in the possession
| of an art commission to pass upon public
| works of art, but in the personnel of this
| commission. According to the mayors re-
cent recommendation to the city council it
| will for the coming year be composed of
| Messrs. Bernard n. Baker, Mendes Cohen
| Ferdinand c. Latrobe. Joseph Evans Sper-
ry, Richard M Venable Henry Walters
and Noel Wyatt who represent, respect
| lively, the Johns Hopkins University the
| Maryland Historical Society the Maryland
| Institute the Charcoal Club the park
| board the Peabody Institute and the Arch
| itectural Club.
| The venerable English artist George F.
Watts, who is best known here by his
painting of Love and Life" which is
now hidden in the White House, is re-
| ported to be modelling colossal statue
allegorically representing Dawn, in which
| he is striving to express "a sense of ma
| jesty, of breadth and hopefuness of early
morning. Mr.. Watts has recently pre-
| sented the National Portrait Gallery a
| likeness of Lord Salisbury, which he paint
ed in 1884. the trustees of that institution
! having some time ago agreed to make
| in his case an exception to the rule which
| requires that ten years shall pass after
the death of an artist before his work
| be accepted.
| X y
| The many friends ih Washington of Mr.
Peter Baumgras, who was for a long time
| identified with our local art colony, will be
sorry to learn of his death, which occurred
in Chicago on the 18th instant Mr.. Baum
gras was a graduate of the Royal Academy
of Munich and came to this country in
| 1853 He lived in Washington for many
wears and was recognized as successful
| portrait painter, although his special forte
was still-life painting, in which he did
| some very successful work. He went to
| Illinois several years ago, and was en-
| aged in teaching art in the university OF
| that state but latterly had lived in Chi
| cago. where his studio was one of the art
! show places of the city, containing as II
| did many unique and rare objects. He was
| seyenty-six years Of age at the time of his
| death.
Peacocks as Watchdogs.
| From the Philadelphia Press
| MI. fo,o' org are DredictiDf, a ashton fol