New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1905-05-09
LONDON ART.
a Refuge for Wandering Lycidas-
academic Sculpture-Spring Shoes.
London. April %.

= during the last two years. Yet It makes
-. especially as Sir William Richmond is ex-
'-.ised about it and the Academiciaus are re-
+ed 10 be at variance respecting it's merits
~ it helps TO advertise summer show which
:. less varied and attractive than usual No
..-3etv IS dangerous. Spectators drawn by curl
.sIty into the New Gallery may wonder why
: much has been said about this wax model
end why 1t was not set up in a dark corner OF
.ha lecture room at Burlington House where it
orld not have attracted much attention Mr..
tIavard Thomas's work is extremely nat
,,-slistic study Of the nude. 1t IS physical man,
sted and unashamed, of life size. with head
INT and arms upturned from the elbows; and
bfe there is vitality in line and muscle, and
=. hears its weight well, it lacks grace and
harm. Of which the Greek masters never lost
sa,bt when they were working. Yet it is de-
,rribed BY hysterical enthusiasts as a marvel of
.3snce and a masterpiece Of the grand classic
,vIe: and artistic Chelsea is reported TO be con-
missed with indignation over its rejection at
,r-lIngton House, and the Academy itself on
"a verge Of dissolution from annoyance and
s5arrin. Partisanship may become more dan
.rous than notoriety TO Mr.. Thomas's reputa-
,on. He may well pray for deIiverance from in
s;s,reet admirers, who are quite unintelligibe in
.,,,r raptures over the rhythm of life in form
.,5 muscle, and the thrill Of exaltation which
,bis wax model excites in the spectator. Mean
While Lycidas. expelled from the back door OF
harrington House and dragged by the neck into
.bs cool corridor of the New Gallery, takes HIM
.s,f seriously as an old style Greek Of the same
,,onlsxion as the bronzes in the Museum at
.-.rIss and wonders why there is so much ado
about anatomy and classicism.
The Academy, under stress Of competition
from the International Society has rallied its
foroes and given the best exhibition of sculpture
,bicb has been seen at Burlington House for
general years. In the central hall there are two
,-pressive figures in bronze: Mr.. Hamo Thorny-
croft's Gladstone, with the brotherhood group
Cor the memorial which is TO stand in the
strand. near ST. Clement Danes; and Mr. Pom
e-ozss Lord Dufferin Mr.. Paul Montfords big
e-our for the Cardiff town hall is conventional
tu- Nj Johns model of drummer boy of the
7,e-+irgen period. which is TO be placed at the
hack Of the soldiers monument in Liverpool, Is
most spirited; Mr. Derwent Woods Cain IS a
vigorous work; Mr.. Pomeroy has noble marble
statue Of NIonsignor Nugent, the good priest
WIN WAS beloved even by Protestants in Liver
roo1 and there are fine figures of Milton. Endym-
ION and Hagar and Ishmael. The lecture room
Is also crowded with sculpture in marble ana
bronze Mr. George Frampton's marble statue
of Sir Antony MacDonnelI, which is TO be erect
81 III LUCKNOW, IS Il6 lIlQSL PROMINENT WI n
and il is surrounded with ambitious sculpture
such as Mr. Bertram NacKenneIs figure Of
Glory for the Islington War Memorial, Mr..
David McGiIs Herald Talthybius, Mr. Mervyn
Iawrences Hebe and Sir ". B. Richmond's
master Homer, with an antique harp. Mr.
Pagram's Death Angel bearing the body Of
Young girl into the Silent Land is a poetic work,
Il less satisfactory than the plain prose Of his
bugts Of Charles Dickens and Sir William Her
scheL executed for Mr. Passmore. There are
also busts Of Sir Edward Elgar, General Booth,
Lord James Of Hereford and Mr.. Seymour
Hicks; there is a sketch model Of statue OF
aIr Lecky for Trinity College Dublin, by Mr..
John and there is a little group in bronze by
Mr. Frampton. symbolic of maternity, with
relief Of the same subject by Mr.. Albert loft for
the Nottingham memorial 10 Queen Victoria.
Altogether there are nearly two hundred works
IN the two sculpture galleries, and so many Of
them are Of high quality that Mr.. Hazard
Thoras's example of naturalism and 'muscu-
lar rhythm is not seriously missed, even if it
be quite Greek"
Apart from the portraits, which I have de-
scribed in a previous letter, there are few works
Of marked originality and superior craftsman
ship in the spring exhibition at Burlington
House. Neither Mr.. Abbey nor Mr.. Brangwyn
has anything on the walls, and the veterans are
mainly below their average work. There is one
exception, Sir L Alma-Tadema, whose Find
ing Of Moses" is the most important picture ex-
hibited by him for long time. The child in
papyrus cradle is lifted high by two women as
tie princess is carried along terrace in litter
gorgeously decorated in blue red and gold
There are nine figures in the train Of bearers,
palm holders and musicians, and their faces and
costumes are painted with animation and brill
fancy. Beyond the blue waters Of the Nile IS
E high yellow bank, where Israelites are making
bricks under taskmasters and in the foreground
there are blue and purple flowers painted with
exquisite deIicacy. With this learned work, on
which the great painter has been laboring for
TWO years Mr.. Cows Roman Triumph" with
its blaze Of crude color cannot challenge COM
psrison; and beside it Sir Edward Poynter' 5
Cup Of Tantalus" with two girls in classic cos
tune in corner of the gardens Of Villa D'Este.
Como IS inferior painting. Mr.. Frank Dick
sees Ideal" a waxIike fresco. with man on
q rock stretching out his arms toward a shad-
oWy nylnph among rainbows, is an ambitious
but unsuccessful work, and Mr.. Waterhouse' S
LAMA" with Keats's serpent woman at the
feet Of her lover. lacks the inspiration Of high
imagination. Mr.. Diapers 'Ariadne Deserted
by Theseus' has his refinement Of line in the
senni-uude figure, and Mr. Macbeth's "Nightin-
gales Song" is a beautiful work, with a girl in
white opening window toward the blue sky
and dreaming Of her lover as she listens. Mr.
sgismund Goethe has 2 large Crucihxion pict-
IRE in half light which has much religious feel
Ing and not a little dramatic power.
Mr. Alfred East has a series Of fine landscapes
the most beautiful one being a symphony In soft
greens and tender light. Dance and ProVenca
Song" with trees, which Corot would have
loved His chief rival. Sir Ernest Waterlow
has e midsummer view Of the Thames from
I2ichrnora IItl Odd a., e,,erino Scene at Wark.