New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-02-27
WHISTLER.
rzs Memorial Exhibition of His
Works IN Boston.

Il
n-.-,zed by the Copley Society. Of Boston, IN
-, Vail Is that Il is very pious tribute
-, nainters memory. He made much OF
-. and backgrounds. His own exhibitions
= -.onsou. whether Of paintings or prints, were
-. so arranged as 10 possess a peculiarly
1--we character, and the members OF the
..,f..e IN charge OF the present enterprise
- ho,e their best 20 show Whistlers work
-.-,.e,y as. IN their opinion. he would have
-, n himself Copley Hall has been
.,,bed IN pearly grass cloth. especially pur-
- for the occasion; the paint has been re-
-. the smaller rooms. IN which the etchings
= autographs hang. have likewise been pro-
- with ''v-histlerian" wall coverings. and.
= ,Ao-t every effort has been made to give the
-.u.ctiop q perfect setting. AS for the collec-
-, stses Il Is the largest that has yet been
-..se OF whistlers works in this country. or
.,rzhere else. and by virtue OF this fact alone
a. en- claim to have certain importance. Two
,so ruuseurns-those OF Boston and Pittsburg
hsv. contributed. and many private collectors.
,.-. and abroad. have freely lent their treas
- The two greatest paintings by whistler
4. no-trait OF his mother. in the Luxembourg.
80 the Carlyle at Glasgow. are. OF course
,hssut and numerous other productions OF his
srs missing. Nevertheless. the full length por-
.-s,ts here include the Sarcastic Cfrom Pitts
hr-ra. the "Coulte Robert de Montesquiou-
rszsussc" Gent by AIr. Canfield). the Miss
Ro.s corder" Calso lent by mr.. Canheld), the
pr Jacket" Gent by Mr.. BurreID. and several
,.se-s. forming altogether a sufficiently charac-
,sristic group. The famous white Girl" OF
vnlsters earlier days is present. and so like
xise Is the equally famous "Princesse du Pays
a. IA Porceiaine" The show contains many OF
hs uocturnes sea pieces and miscellaneous
,s.,shes ana studies. the catalogue Of the oil
rsntlngs. water colors. pastels and drawings
-uur,ng 70 nearly two hundred numbers. There
an more than two hundred etchings and dry
rdru shown. chiefly lent by Mr.. Howard Mans
bsE ana eighty Autographs are hung.
obviously the enumeration OF even the salient
fsnrs exhibited would constitute a task by
User ana one that at this distance especially
ccrld serve no useful purpose. But the truth is
Tia; the whole point OF the show lies not in its
embracing this or that well known or little
known picture, but In Its curiously drastic re-
cpening OF what may fairly be called the Whist
lsrizn question. For his headlong partisans. Of
course no such question exists. For them
Whistler r. simply and conclusively the mas
ter and the exhibition IN Copley Hall IS only
so-t OF spectacular ratification OF his principles
and his fame The observer who is not given
over TO unreasoning admiration OF the painter
cannot but feel, on the other hand. as he goes
carefully through this great body OF work, that
here is a man who does not belong among the
Olympians. clear eyed and sure headed. know
ing Just what he wants 70 DO and doing Il with
unwave-ng authority. but Z who was
Feeling his way all his life long. and only pro-
duced q masterpiece when he happened to have
q happy moment. The happy moment, Il Is
you may come here simply 10 admire. and while
you VIII ind much 70 command admiration and
moreover. profound respect. you VIII stay 10
question. to revise old Impressions. 70 strike a
new balance. one feeling must remain IN
changed. Nothing can obscure OF IN any way
modify the fact that Whistler belonged to the
race q men OF genius One thinks OF Balzac's
poignant exclamation, Sans genie Sc suis
hams~ Without the fame OF inspiration that
Has n him Whistler would have been lost But
THIS exhibition. 50 enthusiastically and even rev.
srenfly put together. does more than was ever
cone By any OF his foes 20 suggest that the
lame did not burn from beginning 70 end with
steady glow; il was ftful. sometimes smoky, and
sometimes reduced TO a feeble flicker. II would
not be surprising IL the reaction against him
which has been gathering force for some time IN
divers quarters were TO be dated by future his
iorianz from the opening OF this exhibition.
Merely 10 cross the threshold OF Cooley Hall
Is to be confronted By a doubt as TO the validity
o. ore OF Wtistlers most cherished theories.
The very care which the committee has taken
&c prepare the walls. as for Z solemn ceremony.
mas served to expose the weakness OF a princi-
pie which would make the effect OF a picture de-
pend largely upon its frame and its surround
ings II Is true that the grass cloth selected for
the Wrflr fr L
has too much Of iustre. the wavy lines in it
give an aggressive accent to what should have
remained an essentially neutral background, and
thls sheatEing has been carried so far toward
NE ceiling. there are such vast expanses OF 1t
% be seen that Il Immediately attracts attention
1of us own sake The frames, too all eloquent
y MINISTER'S rigid ideas on the subject. figure
AZ 700 oonzpicuously on the walls Perhaps they
N0eio nos have been SO noticeable II the pictures
nae not been hung so close together as is actual
'He case. The matter Of hanging. indeed, IS
0''eioously important where Whistler's works
oonoerned- Last Tuesday afternoon. when
- Ni''Ahlng touches were being put TO the ar
eeNien OF the collection. there were two
pain''nes that clanored TO have their positions
,e'sea The Princess du Pays de la Porce-
- paced n the middle OF one OF the long
--A with small marines and portraits
- y was deprived by it's juxtaposition with
- ne paintings OF half its effect and
- 04'nfy fun length OF a lazy in red,
-. -. y i1sef al the end OF the han. raised
- Icy above the main floor level had its
- similarly diminished. In the evening.
- ne positions OF these canvases had been
-. --e''eea eaoE gave an infinitely better ac-
- - q Itself Now. this sort OF thing might
WIN the works Of any master. but 1t
-. almost too much with whistler. It is
-, wing to require the right light for your
- II Is another TO attach such significance
- .oI lfafns OF your background that the most
80 80 nilshap TO one OF TO the other means
-. 4itian's Man with the Glove would