The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1904-08-08
MASTER PORTRAITS
BY MASTER SEcESSI0HISTS.

Ub1O
Two masterpieces I'm the American SEC
ton. both portraits Of women. are SOURCES
Of constant delight and interest you
surely will guess which they are. IL you
have been often to the gaiierieCWhist-
Ier's portrait Of Rosa COrder and A'exan-
aer's portrait Of his wife. Strangely al
lied they seem. and yet wholly dineren';
deeply convincing and completely aulfac-
tive.
To the artist or art worker. the Two
wonderful paintings Will prove fnexhnush-
BILE In their artistic meaning TO the ART
lover they contribute a memorable exDe-
rience RS the hest expression OF the pos
tive. individual strain which each Of these
great painters has developed For they
are Of the strongest work Of the two
American artigts, big enough 70 dare nrig-
inality: who grappied with that great body
OF the public which lives and moves AMI
has It's little being in traditional eonyen-
tlons. and wrung its bull neck
And 10 the art ansIyst-this creature
belongs in a class by hinseIf- these pie
tures shouId DO treasures beyong eompsT'-
In them is the basis FOR endless talk: yon
can a~naIyzc from them from any whsrs Z"
anywhere, TO any old conclusion ID
eyer; yo,. can ana!yze the painters mn
the very pinnacIes Of art achievement, or
you can anaIyze them into ANIMATION
everias.ing. II you don't believe II start
analyzing with somebody o Whistler
and Alexander, and see where you Aro
The Whittier has been discussed time
and again In art reviews snd art col
umns. usually az THE Woman in BiaG
With the Brown Hat" Some have sajo
that az for the brown hat. sptebdid, bus
az for tie womnn-WcI really! Othen
have written Mt great length ard 1Soiden
committing themselves to n dsnnite
opinion. A few have Ysved
Tirne has pa.scd. WhisaIes n dead FER
hairs ;rany Of iaose Gpou whom he uaed
the gentle srt" are stIn alive. and pr-
haps rIany others stiii asTee vitb them N
thei. estimates of whisiIeTs art Hui
now. whether for the hat, whether for
the black gown. whether Snv the pcrtrait
or whether for them all blended tuta =
picture. the WORK hiss bseom~ ven-ntsh
prie.iesa. so the sraI Judgment Is apraI-
ent and no appeal 10 op>p TO tbs eaypess-
II is interesting 10 watch h psopis I'm
cunnection with this picture. F<v pass ia
ny YdnuuU ~ R%AN Seo e 49,
even a majority Of the average crowd Of
visitors to the gallery recognise his style
and the attention drawn b. % plain .
canvas Is testimonial to b ccm2eIhnG
power Of his hush. Not an comments 1t
random are favorable. not by q kong shoA.
but practically everybody stops 10 hob.
j. One pompous Who had that haht
Of holding his glasses to HIS eyes with
his hand, a u eonnotsssu. bent over with
read the t~ypewritten card beneath
.'whistier-ohF" be exclaimed He bscksd
away and assumed that attitude which
says: II Am row engnsed IN making
critical examination 81 this p6cfure-
What he finally uid was: T1ha10-
nary man. Whistler" Eyffenty ~ did
not know what to think 0f r. But tho
Extraordinary thing about this osr6nar'
citizen was that he turned glanced ~
SarEent's technically marvellous picture
on the opposite wall. refused it q secpnd
look and walked out. Whistler. ut kass.
had interested rim where Sargent fatSsd-
The Alexander style MAJ be directly
compared with WhistIers in the same
gallery. two of the formers works brig
hung on the game wall Bot IS the p~-
trait of Nrs. Alexander 10 portrafture. IL
would he better TO go to the adjniniug gal
lcry where This canvas u displayed
The link between the painters hes I'm
their feeling for quiet color h~arrnnrtee
But Alexander lays great emphasts upon
another element Of art-shAI1 We My the
poetry Of line? The result 70 . wholly
different picture. The eye follows the tues
and they contribute the first fmpresdoa
and the last. the one carried away
II is after you are at rest in the %
Of the lines that color impressions
are derived: and, as compared With
Whistler, the coIuring 70 more daring.
more decorative. more Japanese
The woman whom you meet IN the pie-
ture II a woman Of character. and tbs pic
ture is a picture Of character.
If Il be not too private . mstter. theys
is suggestion here also Of the laddO
climbed by the painter into that s1vfed
Of an artist with Q style Of his
own" Alexander married irto wealth.
He was enabled to develop himself ut
TO court and win the highest d.
Now bis h perhaps the ideal
among American artists in Amer
lea. The finest studio In New Torh, more
commissions at his own prices than he can
execute. a life spent in the Inner literary
artistic circles Of Gotham and Of Eu-
are his: and none b~egYudR.s
of the man Who paints 50 veil -