New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1906-01-30
ART EXHIBITIONS.
Landscapes and Portraits by 4meri-
can and Foreign Painters.

can and Foreign Painters.
The pictures at the American Art Galleries this
week are by two American painters. the late r.
Swain Clifford and the late Gaylord Sangston Trues
dell The contrast between the two collections is
interesting for it illustrates the tremendous nlu-
ence Of environment upon the artistic tempera-
ment. Both these painters born In this coun-
try but one found his inspiration in his native soil
and the other found his in France. In each case
this meant more than choice Of subject-it meant
significant developments as to method. Although.
as Mr.. Millet points out in preface the
logue. Mr.. Clifford received instruction from tho
Dutch painter Albert Van Beest and was later in
huenced by the works OF the Barbizon school his
style remained practically uumodihed by European
example. Something of the simplicity which
would naturally expect in man born on the Mas
sachusetts coast stayed with him down to the day
OF his death. Mr.. TruesdeII on the other hand.
VINO was born in Illinois. studied under Partisan
masters. and formed himself along the lines char
acterlsic Of the Salon. Looking at the two careers
one Is struck by the gains and losses on both sides
and one specuates idly as TO what might have
happened if the painters had. from time TO time.
changed places. Both sprang from the same parent
stock, and both might have achieved finer balance
by making the change in point of view which
have in mind
We wonder. for example If Mr. Clifford would not
have prohted by coming in contact with the i'm
pressionist movement. 1t might have led TO a
greater luminosity in his work, to a greater rich
'' Va ioOdl tolOI On the OlnST Ndnu, the Key
established by Monet would not improbabIy have
confcted with the sentiment which it was his
peculiar gift to express His favorite subjects were
round amid the New England dunes. sandy or
marshy stretches, marked by stuuted trees and
showing perhaps more of their true nature when
studied under heavy skies There were moments
III "hlch he liked 10 interpret a sweeter pastoral
note as in A New-Engand Farm CNo 80. a
picture charmingly composed and fun Of good al
most unctuouS. color The tawuy haystaCks i'm this
landscape offer an admirable specimen of the
painter-like quality which Mr. Chords color some
times had. But his work, taken as a whole Is not
rich IN such passages. His technique rarely attracts
attention for its own sake. It's merit was rather
that OF an instrument cultivated as TO do ade-
quately what he set out to accomplish and that
was Just to paint straightforward portraits Of the
intensely American scenes he preferred. He threw
no glamour Of handling these. as he enveIoped
them in no imaginative atmosphere Ii was enough
for him TO make his impressions realistic 10 show
MS senslveness TO poetic elements in his material
in nothing more than in the sombre tones BETTING
rather melancholy pastures. Again and again in
pictures like his Shores Of Vineyard sound Go.
~ Near the Ocean" tNo 49, Near the
swamp (NO. So. respect MS truth and I'm one
OF the landscapes just mentioned. the Near the
ocean, we discern something more-a sensuous
beauty which raises respect to admiration. But
more often we find ourselves wishing that Mr.
CTlnord might have widened his range that he
might have freshened his color and made his brush
"ok NJ once more elastic and forcibIe. Curl
ouslE, there are one two trifng sketches the
loosely painted Trees I'm Autumn (No 49, the
Rocky Pasture CNo So and the delightful Early
Summer this last q note suggestive of Daubiguy-
"hlch go nearer than any of the larger more i'm
portaht canvases 10 show that the artist might
have covered a wider span had he chosen 10 do So
what Mr. Truesdeu lost I'm his detachment from
American scenes was a certain quality of atmos-
phere a certain strain Of feeling. His landscape
backgrounds have not that tang of truth which he
might nave secured if their spirit had been so to
say IN MS blood. They seem rather the back
grounds or a painter looking at from the
outside, and what IS more essentially studio bred
Mr. Truesdeu practised the fiat brushwork Of the
salon and loved tho gray light which has long been
so popular there. After all. Monet meant no more
to him than he meant to Mr. Clifford But the very
conventions Of the Partisan school 10 which we
have referred brought something rnerirorfous into
his work, sophisticated thoroughness which may
not warm the imagination. but at any rate salts
mes one as with a sense OF things well done These
large pictures Of peasants and their sheep are put
together in a workmanIike fashion. Take, for in
stance. Tile Shepherds Lunch tNo SOD While
we may miss from this the personal touch that is
so precious in art, there is no denying the capable
planning OF the design, the effective placing Of the
kHeehuE man and his animals and the fashiouinE
Of an the details into d picturesque and consistent
whole. That SIS what Mr.. Truesdeu gained i'm
France self-possessed pictorial way Of working
II is not surprising that mis- Cows by the Bank Of
the River jNo. Sd received a medal of the second
class in the salon of 1892. II has precisely the
virtues Of construction and craftsmanship which
official France delights TO honor. Mr. Truesdeu
frequently attained TO the excellence Of this cattle
piece. This and The Shepherds Lunch" "A
Savoy Pastoral" Through the Autumn Wood"
Wandering Homeward" and There's the Shep-
herd" all disclose the same well controlled talent
Occasionally the artist gives US a more intimate
glimpse of the country he loved well. There is a
beguiling element in the ''Lengtheuing Shadows
(No. 49,, picture i'm which follow a goose
herd as she goes slowly down the hill toward a
group Of pOpIars, beyond which the roofs of
village are deity indicated. There is some good
color. too, in The Village in Winter" 90. 36.
which, in fact would select as the most individ-
ualized Of all Of Mr.. Truesdells paintings But in
the main he peases by his clever exploitation of
modern French methods