Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-01-09
ART NOTES.

In spite of holiday distractions, slippery
Sidewalks and frigid weather, there was
Standing room only in the improvsed
lecture room at the Corcoran Gallery when,
on Monday afternoon, Mr.. James Henry
Moser gave the third of-the series of art
talks which was instituted this year for
the students of the Corcoran School and
others who might be specially interested.
The first of these talks was given by Mr..
Messer. the second by Mr.. Brooke, and the
large attendance on Monday was in a meas
ure compliment to both of these gentle
men, well as TO the lecturer of the oc-
casion. Mr.. Moser's subject was water
Color Painting" but he spoke almost alto
Gether from personal standpoint. He set
forth first the technical side of the art, and
later it's almost fmitless possibilities. He
traced briefly and Interestingly the history
CT water color painting from it's feeble be-
ginning many centuries ago to the splendid
state of development which it has reached
in the present day, when, as he declared, it
must be considered On an equal footing with
Oils or pastels. The rapid progress which wa
ter colorists have made in this direction in
the last thirty years Mr.. Moser illustrated by
reading extracts from a pamphlet written
! in defense of the medium in the early
seventies, which, at the same time that 1t
defended showed in what low esteem the
medium was then held. The chief charge
was their lack of durability, and this both
the writer of the past decade and the paint
er of today indignantly Fefuted. That they
should not be more. durable, indeed, than
oils, when care is taken to avoid fugitive
colors, Mr.. Moser argued, was alike I'M
reasonable and improbable, as in aquarelles
the paper is actually dyed by the color and
the medium by which it Is transferred
eliminates itself by evaporation.
In order to insure this durability, how
ever, he urged upon the students the use Of
a simple palette. declaring that he himself
painted four-fifths of every picture with
cobalt blue, yellow ochre and light red
Among other helpful leaves from his book
OF experience the speaker recounted how
he had first learned from little book to
copy the water colors of a well-known mas
ter. How in this he had met with consld-
cradle success, but. turning to Nature had
utterly failed until he realized that each
truth demanded its own interpretations and
that no set of rules would fit every emer-
gency. He told of how he had studied each
new phase of water color painting as 1t
had come to his attention, striving in this
way to make his equipment complete To
thus increase their vocabulary he urged
his pupils, but he bade them not to forget
that the thing after all of paramount inn
portance in painting even the simplest pic
ture was to have message-to have some
thing to say. AS an example of the power
of the medium, Mr.. Moser cited the work
or the Dutch school, and as an instance of
its versatility the Domingo sketches which
were recently exhibited al Fischer's
What has been done in this medium"
he said, lis wonderful But what will be
done VIII, l believe, be yet more remark
able. With all my years of study and ex-
perience, what have been able to learn is
IN comparison to what is yet to be learned
as tiny island in the great ocean," And it
was on this ocean that he babe all of his
hearers Bon voyage" From start To
finish Mr.. Moser spoke with enthusiasm as
a man who not only loved but believed in
ms work; and none who heard him could
nave failed to be impressed with his ear
nestness, his good judgment and his sim
cerity.
preceding this art talk, on the afternoon
of the same day, in the topmost class room
IN the Corcoran School, belated holiday
festivity took place. There, amid camp
stools, easels and studies of many descrip-
lions, the members Of the water color
class gave their instructor Mr.. Moser. an
INFORMAL luncheon In honor of his fftieth
birthday. Mrs. Moser was in league with
the schemers, but to Mr.. Moser it came as
q great surprise, and it is doubtful If
more elaborate and less bohemian party
ever met with heartier appreciation or was
more genuinely enjoyed.
II X
A portrait of General Miles by Mrs Car
oline Thurber has recently been hung in
the lower loan room at the Corcoran Gal
lery. 1t is a three-quarter length and
shows the general standing with his left
hand resting on the hiIt of his sword and
his right clasping the edge of the cane
which Is swung gracefully over his Shout
der He is, of course, in full uniform, but
the portrait as whole is simple The
mead Is well drawn and strongly modelled
and the expression Is excellent Less skill
is displayed in the treatment of the cloth
ing and accessories: the left sleeve is APP
q pa 1y x.fnfxy Ar.1
the whole is Photographic in Character.
but. on the other hand. there is much to be
said In Its favor-much in the painting
which demands both respect and admira-
ton. This fs day of novelties, q time
when technique is largely considered, when
clever handling Is often mistaken. for good
painting and allowed to pass mark Of
genius. For landscapes or even for genre
pictures this may do; doubtless II does do:
but for portraiture 1t is rar from satisfac-
tory. The old Dutch painters. the great
Engitshmen and even our own early Amer
lean artists did not make of their por-
traits miniatures, but, on the other hand
1t was not necessary to view them from a
distance OF twenty feet to comprehend or
enjoy Them Mrs Thurber has recently
painted a portrait of Gov. Garvin of Rhode
Island for the Providence state house,
which is said to be botn an excellent like
ness and an admirable painting. but this
portrait of General Miles is far ahead of
any which she has previously exhibited In
this city.
In the upper loan room at the Corcoran
Gallery there Is now on exhibition por-
trait which Mrs. Alice Barney the. vice
president of the Society of Washington
Artists, has lately painted. 1t is presum-
ably portrait of herself. and It is as
charming as It is artistic. A coarse abb
sorbsnt canvas has been used. and the color