The San Francisco call., 1905-03-23
BY LAURA BRIDE POWERS.

Over at the Bohemian Club-the good
godparent of Western art-Robert
Aitken C''Bobby" ON occasions of lesser
dignity is showing to his townsfolk
the product of his brain, his heart and
his sensitive, nimble fingers.
Yesterday afternoon the elevator
which moves with well-bred delibera-
tion-bore loads of femininity and as
many men to the jinks room above,
there to look upon the work of this
lad-of-a-few-years since.
And, fellow citizens, yesterday mark
ed the first dignified exhibition of
sculpture in this Western burg-where
sculpture was the thing, not a back
ground to the thing, and where every
piece was allotted its full valuation.
And for this let us sing hosannahs!-
for San Francisco has to-day awakened
to the fact that sculpture is art and
that Robert Aitken's-nuch of it's
high art.
Around the room, forming fetching
background for the fiuted white col
umns bearing their burden of art, is a
dado of FIR and pine, pungent with the
odcrs Of the forest, while overhead is a
Iatticed canopy of green-a fit setting
for some of the most virile work that
has yet come out of the West.
"Virile?" Yes-and masterful, ex-
pressive of the highest flights of the
human soul-and the deepest deeps;
sacrificing at times the cold facts of
anatomy for continuity's sake-for the
sake of dramatics; but of his own
work, the work that terminated under
that shock Of black hair, is this true.
And because OF it this is the work by
which the young sculptor should be
measured, rather than that which he
does, as 1t were, according to plans
and specifications" And yet this, too,
holds its own high merit as is evident
in the Mckinley monument model, the
Hall McAllister and others, but they
lack the dominant element in the lads
chara cteristic work-that of intensity
of emotion.
And it is through this all-powerful
medium, good friends, that this young
Bohemian will some day make the
world know his name-and it WIFI
Among the notable groups that show
his splendid emotional power are THE
Flame" THE Family" The Release
of Soul,'' THE End of the Journey
Mutual Sorrow" elf-Conauered,' -
THE Clutch of Destiny" THE Curse
of Beauty and THE First Sorrow
And of these strong things, some of
the noblest are of his earliest work,
notably the two last. And while lack
ing somewhat the flnesse of his later
work by bearing unnecessary detail,
the same ideals Of pose and continuity
of line are there almost without varia-
, ton.
BLESS Uncle George Bromley's s
heart." say the ladies that stand be-
fore his portrait Of clay. Bless him,
indeed for the JOY he radiates even
! from his bust OF clayi-so near to the
real Uncle George as to be almost un-
canny, as witnesseth in the photo
graph.
For this exhibit OF what a young
Californian can do we are duly CRATE
full to the Blinking Owl.
And TO the clever young artist we
drink to his future-for the world
shall know him as a man who FEELS
and who knows how to express It
through his medium of clay. And on
that score he must win, since 1t is the
only gateway to fame, even as 1t is
with the poet and the painter.
The exhibition will be open to those
who hold cards next Saturday after
noon and on the Saturday succeeding.