Richmond daily palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1905-1906, 1906-03-13

In the February number OF
BRUSH and Pencil" q magazine de-
voted TO art and artists, there ap-
peared sketch Of the life and
works Of John A. Seaford, formerly
OF this city, who is now one Of the
Leading artists of the country. The
article was written by Miss Esther
Griffin White of this city, and in it,
she spoke of the other well known
artists who form the Richmond
group" as Bundy, Girardin, Nor
dyke and several others. There are
several fine cuts of scenes in Rich
mond-some Of the old houses and
taverns, which were reproduced from
some of Mr.. Seaford's work.
Miss Whites article was as fol-
lows:
More and more are American art
lists recognizing the artistic posi-
bilities Of their own country-its va
red landscape, its wonderful atmos-
phere, its luminous skies, its rare eff
fects of light, resulting from these in
ensemble. The statement, current
much Of late, that Americans lead as
contemporaneous landscape painters,
is no mere blatant Haunting of ma
tional spirit-its substantial confir-
nation was in evidence, for instance,
at the great exhibition Of art at the
st. Louis Exposition. !. These inter
national expositions are incompara-
BILE for comparison, notwithstanding
the fact that representative work
from every country is not, in each
instance, to be found.
1t is not only the painting Of the
woods, the fields, the water, and the
skies, however, that the artists of the
United States are now celebrating on
canvas. 1t is the mise EN- scene of
our human activities that is begin
ming to make its appeal-the delight
full paintability of certain phases Of
urban life and architecture filtered
through the fire of the artists imag-
nation. Pennell has found that the
alleged hideousness Of the sky scrap
ers of New York offers as effective a
subject for the etcher's consideration
as many of the foreign scenes he has
SO wonderfully depicted. Colin
Campbell Cooper has leaped to fame
through the charm and virility of
his treatment Of much the same class
Of subject. Childe Hassam is known
more widely for his New York street
scenes than for any other form his
art has taken; Albert Fleury has fix
ed on canvas many of the stirring in
cidents of metropolitan life in Chi
Scago as seen in its surging brick and
stone canons. But it has remained
for John A. Seaford, an Indiana art
list resident in Boston, to celebrate
an Indiana town by brush and pencil
in a more comprehensive fashion
than hasperhaps ever been done for
one locality in this country.
Mr.. Seaford IS summer home being
near Richmond, he has spent much
time within the past year sketching
about this, one of the Oldest and most
historic cities in the State, known as
"The Quaker City of the West" ow-
ing to it's early settlement by people
of this peculiar faith and to their
preponderating influence in its his
tory. Curiously enough one of the
earliest artists in this section was a
Quaker portrait painter, Marcus
Mote, who made many excellent pic
lures of citizens of the early portion
and middle of the last century and
was the first instructor of the now
well known artist, Henry Mosler,
when the latter was lad resident
with his parents in Richmond. Mote
was an eccentric character, but had
a great influence in fostering an art
spirit in this part of the State, which
has only been accumulated by time.
For here was not only the early home
of Henry Mosler and one or two 9TH
er artists, but of persons who have
become known in other forms of en-
deavor, among them Robert U. John
son, a poet of distinction and one of
the editors of an Eastern magazine.
Here was the home of Oliver p. Nor
ton, Indiana Is famous war governor,
whose statue by Niehaus has recent