New-York tribune., 1906-12-02
LONDON ART.
ci;m pses Of Old Masters and Nesc
Painters.
London, November Il.


..euing after long sleep in darkened
r..tshire country house. but there are two por-
- nv Frans Hale the Bodolphes each as
~, alive ss the Velasquez dancing girl. and
g Van Dyck OF the Genoa period, the
- .hfldren which was once the pride of the
liners al Panshanger. Art critics here frank
:. .5oit that the Bodolphe portraits. which Mr..
-.,,,ont Morgan is to send TO the Metropolitan
...,,r, after Christmas, are superior 10 the
.-or, the same hand at the National Cal
These masterpieces of realism were paint
=. 1912 when he was working upon the Won
81 no-trait groups for the Haarem Museum.
- old woman has perhaps the stronger iudi~
.s,srtv but the old mans sense of humor is
- irresistible charm. and there is as much
,,rscter in the hand as in the face. The Balbi
-o,p was painted during Van Dyck's early
.snhood when he was living in italy and
,-saking away from Rubens's influence With
-bat naturalness and simplicity IS childhood
o-r-ave6 Yer with what nobility OF style!
--porous and fresh as II is. without a stroke by
- enprerlice hand 10 lessen the value OF the
z,ark il Is fairly matched by Sir Joshua's Brunl-
,sl children the younger one. Beau Brumrnel
si77sef with weak chin and silly mouth, as
.bougb he were destined TO make a fool Of him
self in after life. Opposite the Van Dyck is one
n GeiasboroUgh's portrait groups-the TomkIn-
son chiIdren-which has recently been sold to an
american collector. The other Gainsboroughs
snd the Romneys and the Hoppners may be less
,sticeable but there are two brilliant Rae
burns-Mrs Bel and Mrs. Colin Mackenzie-and
there is the most vivscious Lawrence in Eng
laad-Eliza beth Farren. Countess Of Derby-fron
Mr Mo-gan's house. There Is also Constable's
Hampstead Heath'-s picture which helped to
transform French art when exhibited in Paris
with The Hay Vain seventy years ago. and
beside it is an old Cror1e Return Of the
Flock" perfect study OF evening light and the
sererity OF English rural life
With old masters Ike these-and one OF the
best, Sir joshua $ nlatchIess Lady EgIingten. is
reserved fcr next year-as gracious almoners of
charity, The ordinary art shows become a mon
Of mediocrities. Yet there is ere that may be
singled out Tor freshness Of observation and
youthfuiness Of feeling, although II is made up
almost exclusively Of an old mans work Mr.
Brabazon eighty-four when he died. and.
according 10 Mr.. Frederick wedmere II vas
not until he was seventy that his water color
drawings were publicly exhibited on tie advice
cf Mr.. Sargent and AEr- J. J. Shannon Yet those
vho hs6 been watching during recent years his
charming notes Of color st the New English
AT Club might easily have been beguiIed into
ing or. While his work had fairly been dragged
into The showroom gainst his will he had al
ways been painting, and was never out Of prac-
tice. He had. perhaps. toe much good luck TO be
really great painter for he Inherited an Irish
estate when ne vas twenry-siz. and lovely
Sussex property when he was thfrty-seven and
he vas spared the anxieties and vcissitudes OF
At artists career \ courtly country gentleman
Of the old school. he was neither a sportsman
rc- Z POLITICIAN. but an artist with ample means
Tor long sketcning tours far afeid and leisure
f9r waiting for the right mood for painting A
friend OF Ruskn. z companion Of artists and
learned student Of masterpieces OF a-t-the
works Of VelasQuez. Tintoretto and Turne--he
rad much 10 say when he finally became pro-
fessional painter, and the memorial exhibition
at The Goupn gallery with over two hundred ex-
amples of his work shows how terse, vivid and
epigrsmmatie was his way Of saying It.
NJ. Brabazol's work is missed IN the cool
.wa1er color corner OF the New English Art Club:
but Mr. Alfred " Rich does much TO brighten
II with a varied series Of drawings. and there is
much other work OF ane quality. It is among
ne oils however. that the visitor locks each
year for some fresh motive from Mr.. Will Roth
ensten. who sets the style for many Of his asso-
Gates \ few years ago he devised the red
haired heroine Of a dull, ugly room. and sue
oeeded IL making The lighting Of the plain face
and the commonplace furniture more or less in
teresling. There are "reminiscences OF her now
on the walls IN M Dodd's Little Woman" in
Mr.. Mary McEvoys lady playing plano IN a
yellow room, and in Mr. David Muirhead's
auburn haired girl II a blue gown toying with q
string OF beads and peepiHg through a window
curtain. The earlier convention required the
presence 81 an uniateresting woman engaged in
in zF7ah
new fashion involves an equally unpromising
environment out OF doors. II ''Thrashing in
Burgundy Mr.. Rothenstein portrays with pains
taxing realism z barn and shed and agricultural
implements with a screen OF trees behind them,
and tries 20 make these dull objects interesting
5y z sunburst OF high light. On the opposite
wall he repeats the experiment. by throwing a
eod and unpicturesQue abbey church into deep
shadow and toning II into a murky green under
5lue and gray sky Another year there may
he Silent quest for the ugliest churches and
he most commonplace farm outbuildings by the
sun worshippers OF the club Indeed. the paint
ere already seem 70 be deeply pretudiced against
beauty in their choice Of subject. Even Mr..
erDen selects for his nudes ungracefui models
ana Mr.. Francis Bates "Masdalen" has hardly
trace Of good looks; and the landscape painters
ron sfr wiison-steer IN the yellow and green
Bend O. the River to Mr.. David Muirhead in
he sombre End OF Summer deliberately avoid
any approach To loveliness in nature. Mr.. James
Henry Is an exception 10 the rule. His world is
worth living in. His Autumn Morning IN
Wensieydale" is g beautiful work. full Of seren-
ity and parhos
It is az the water color show that the CONNER
cal Spirit of the time is ordinarily disclosed.
ior there IS an increasing public demand for
minor works In this medium, land buyers are
lot always discriminating IN their taste 80 long
Is he coIorr are bright and the subjects are in