Arizona republican., 1904-02-29
\ WHISTLER EXHIBITION
Boston's Celebration in Memory of
 the Great Artist.

Boston, Feb 2s, 19O4.-The most im- portant single event of the American art season, houoring an American born painter, whose works, wit and person ality were for nearly half century tlIe delight of European capitalism exhi bition that brings to public view for the first time pictures and studies which had titherto been seen only by the priv ileged few who were intimate with the artist, besides the great majority of the most important of his masterpieces aeld by American collectors-that is what the Whistler Memorial Exhi- ton held at Copely hall last week was, thanks to the energy of the Copeley society, an association of artists and art lovers which each year arranges some loan exhibition of ma tional or even international scope, Bos- ton and the art enthusiasts from New York and other cities who will come over during the next fo IF weeks are tO see a collection of paintings. drawings, etchings and Autographs such as couId not possibly have been duplicated either +n London or in Paris. where MT. Whistler worked during most of his artistic career.
 It has happened fortunately for th. success of the efforts of the promoters of this great exhibition that no spirit uf envy of Boston has been shown: that people throughout the whole country who are interested m art have co-oper- ated enthusiastically with the manage ment of the Copley society. Compara- lively few of MT. Whistler's works of ,t
 ern Massachusetts, and most of these not especially famous, but New York, Philadelphia. Baltimore, Washington. Detroit, Chicago, St. Louis, Montreal and other cities have generously yield ed their treasures to make the gather ing in Copley hall not only the most notable Whistler collection that has ever been held but that is likely ever to be held. Such enthusiastic art col lectors as MT. Charles l. Freer of De- troit, Mr. Howard ManTfield of New York, MT. Alexander J. Cassatt of Phii- adelphia and many others have let the management of the Copley society have about anything they wanted from their private galleries.
 However much New York or Chicago might have liked to have this exhibi- tion there was unquestionably certain appropriateness in bringing it to Bos- ton. MT. Whistler was born in Massa- chusetts at Lowell, Boston's big cotton manufacturing outpost, and, further more Boston may probably fairly claim to be the American city that has been most appreciative of the general move ment in art of which he was crown ing figure. MT. Whistler together with the technical accomplishments of q lr,a1 T L II French art early cut loose from aca- demic ideals. and learned like the great Japanese craftsman. to be true to the limitations of the materials he used, to be dramatic in his use of light and dark and to keep his color pure and un- sullied.
 Now Boston, strangely enough, when one considers it's Puritan ancestry and traditions, has always been singularly open to the art and thought of the ori- ent, and Mir. Whistler has consequently found here perhaps more congenial popular appreciation than anywhere else in the country though the. leading collectors of his original works are in other cities. At any rate the New Eng land city has long wanted a. Whistler exhibition and it was the societys gen. eral knowledge Of the situation-infor- nation as to the most important own CTS of MT. Whistler's pictures and Of the means of securing their interest as well as the wide reputation the society has gained from having successfully handled great loan collections in pre- vious years-that enabled the exhibl- ton committee after MT. Whstler's to start in and to secure practically the entirety of his works MT. Holker Ab- bolt, the energetic president of the so- ciety, spent several months in Europe last fall in securing the necessary per missions from the Whistler estate and from other owners of his pictures and in arranging various matters of detail The notable achievement, of course, In the whole matter was getting the estate of MT. Whistler to recognize the Cop ley society as it's authorized agent in displaying for the first time works oe art from the artists studio which have never before been publicly exhibited. MT. Whistler's native land has thus been honored.
 So that this great gathering of pict- ures from the galIaries of two conti- nent really means much more than that one American city has got d lchance to see a lot of works of art. tPictures-why the country is full of them. You run across them good, bad and indifferent in every town-most of them luckily being better than the ones