Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1905-06-06

| TO buy statuary Cor the parks ana
| squares of the Illinois metropolis, sent
q wave of enthusiasm through the
| world of art. Artists and critics alike
| agree that the bequest cannot but give
an unprecedented stimulus to one OF
the hitherto neglected branches of the
| fine arts and that the outlook for
| sculpture in America cannot but be
| considerably Frightened. The income
| of a million dollars IS sufficient to keep
half a dozen artists busy year in anu
| wear out. 1t is also Sufficient to en-
| courage more students to take up
| sculpture, for the number of young
sculptors in America at present is rela-
| lively small.
| That, therefore, the outlook for
| sculpture in this country IL altogether
| hopeful, and that sculpture offers
| singularly good opportunities to Amer
| lean art students and that our schools
| of sculpture are fully as capable or
| developing strong artists as the Eu-
ropean schools is the opinion of Beia
| l.. Pratt, of Boston, wh".A Augustus
| ST. Gaudens the greatest sculptor TINS
| country has so far proddced, regards
as the most promising Of our younger
| men.
| One of the critics who went to New
London, Connecticut, to witness the
recent unwilling of the Winthrop
| Monument, spoke of Mr. Pratt as AN
| American sculptor Lar excellence.
This pleased Mr. Pratt, rot so much
because it contained praise as because
it called attention to his freedom from
| foreign mannerisms. There hangs in
his reception room at the st. Botoph
| Studios Annex in this city, photo
| graph Of his "Orphaus,' Il work that
he modelled for exhibition at the Paris
| Salon in his student days. and before
which Falguiere. the distinguished
teacher. used to sit for hour after hour,
as his pupil was at work On it, in I'M
disguised admiration. The "Orpheus
was one of the most attractive features
| at the Salon in the year of it's eXhi-
| bitiOn. All artistic Paris talked OF II.
Yet Mr.. Pratt says, Il wish it could be
| forgotten. 1t is distinctly French. Ny
| ambition is to be known as an Ameri-
| can sculptor. To be sure. truth in art,
| like truth in everything else, is uni
verSal; but 1 impress; urOn my pupils
| at the School of the Museum of Fine
Arts that there is just as much truth
| in America rs thrra = in France.
| What | deplore about my Orpheus is
| it's style, which smacks of France. 1t
| is a mistake to think that an arts.
| cannot be as we'll developed here rs
| abroad
| A writer in one Of our art journals
lately described the social attractive
ness of student life in Paris. 1t was
an alluring picture. full of the jollity
and the extravaganza that character
| ize the Latin Quarter. 1t was just the
1 6 1rt of picture, in fact. that has at
tractcd hundreds of American STU
dents to Paris. But. according to Mr..
| Pratt, il was to some extent mislead-
/ ing picture.
| Il studied both here and abroad" he
says, land l know from personal eX-
pericnce that the average of our Amer
| lean schools is just rs nigh as that Of
the foreign schools. or course some
| allowance must be mada in favor of
the artistic atmosphere, which, no
| doubt, is more impressV" III Paris than
It vet is in our American cities; but,
| Judging by the work done in tn
schools and by such opportunities rs
may be gained in the museums, the
| American student will do as well at
home as abroad. The fact is. the
| American student must, l think, he
disappointed by his experience in the
foreign schools and galleries. He sees
quite as much poor and indifferent
work there, both in studio and in
| museum, as he is likely to see here.
and he learns sooner or later that hard,
conscientious work. directed. of course,
bv a competent teacher. alone will per-
| feet his natural aptitude. Perhaps the
| work of the Oldrr students, tn"
| 'anciens' as they call tEcr in Paris. Is
Of higher grade than that done by
most Of our students i'm this country;
but even this rule has its exceptions.
for l can show you work done at the
| School of the Museum of Fine Arts
| that has high artistic value and that
in all respects is supcrio: to much OF
the work seen in Publ.
THE condition of sculpture in this
country today is healthy and promis-
| ing. 1t suffers to some extent from the
| work done by the contract sculptOrs.
who have far more executive than ar
tistic ability. and who are in fact, little
| InOic tiidH ildIIitS. SliIt' tut oIutiS thNs
spend so much time in securing are
| executed by their more gifted assis-
| tants. We have also here too much of
the sculpture that could as well he
done by nSaanics as ~ the so-called
artists. However, aside from these
regrettable features. sculpture offers
ample ground for the display Of talent
and industry. In the first place. 1t is
| the least over-crovdcd OF the artistic
| professions. For one student of sculp-
ture there are Il or - students Of
painting and architecture. Then. too.
when the student mas made sfficiant
| progress and has shown unmistakable
| ability he has the opportunity of be-
| coming an assistant 20 the successful
artist which is profitable thing both
aG regards experience and money. Or
he will find plenty of work to do
modelling things for architects. He
Fnlay, if he finds it necessary, go in for
purely ornamental work; but this,
though 1t pays, is distastcful to man
| OF high ideals. Then, too our sculp-
1 la1 NV