The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-08-26
bY cHAsLEs sATrnL too,sis,

o1DSt 1AAS bAhOu
IN by good Americans In London IL q visit
to the National Gallery. II you want to
renew shipboard acquaintanoeships 70 to
the National Gallery and wait. just az
In New York all people sooner or later
pass the F1atiron building, so sooner or
later all Americans who have Tor have
mott a love for art come TO tho gallery to
offer up their admiration before the works
Of the great masters Of all countries Except
Amerioa).
in his voice -There's the Raphael that cost
s25, 600 At the risk Of offending him /
hurried away from it without more than
glancing at 1t. as the mention Of the price
seemed to cheaper It,.
I know a painting by Hogarth that I
wouldn't swap for the S26, 900 Raphael,
and I'm no blind admirer Of the caricaturist
either. It's his delicious Shrimp Girl
that is painted with a freedom and a Joy.
BUSINESS that Raphael would have envied
him the possession Of.
Because oftentimes when Raphael was
painting for the smart set Of his time he
painted because he had to and not be-
cause he wanted to-, while Hogarth did
that Shrimp Girl because he couldn't
help IL. II Is so much better than the much
bepraised -Rake's Progress series. which
was painted with q purpose.
Please excuse me for foisting my views
on you in this soandalous way. What l
started to say was that the visiting Of the
National Gallery Is O part (and Outlines
the only part LETT Of the religious observ-
anoe Of travelling Americans.
It's o harmless foible, but II Is laughable
none the less because ninety out Of q hundred
Of those who patter glibly about the merits
OF the landscapes Of Constable and old
Crome,' and Gainsborough, and who take
the noble and sincere art Of these men %
seriously. would be surprised to learn
that when they left the shores Of their
native America they were leaving behind
them q native landscape art just as noble
and sincere and quite as worthy to be taken
seriously.
It's q huge Joke on the travelling Ameri-
can II be car point out to you with the aid
Of the useful Baedeker) the merits that lie In
o Constable and u unconscious Chat George
Innees ever existed, or II he raves over the
quality Of q Crons and never heard Of
Wyant or gases, guide book In hand. at Q
Wilson and b ignorant Of the fact that
HUGner Msse4a Was an American painter
al such supMik4fvs parts that he Ia worthy
10 hang alongsade Of Constable and Rous-
seau and Coroe snd-and any lAndsoapist
who ever handled . brush.
oprsadeegleism IL Q horrid thing; but
recognition Of the good thinks as home
nhould come before aduistion abroad.
Am I not right
Before you 60 abroad again on q shoe-
wearing haunting Of English and CONT
mental galleries. look up your Winslow
Homers and your Keiths, and learn to your
lasting astonishment that American art
% recognized In Europe lin Paris, for In
i~nstanoe) and then take Of your shoes land
s~tooidngs) and 60 wading In superlR-
tives before the shrine OF ono Of the great
and admirable English masters II you wish
10.
Remsmber that We have had; and strl
have, masters IN America; and that 1t 10
only o question Of time when they will
become old masters. .
Think Of me- talking right out In meeting
and saying all this. OF course lots OF you
knew It already, but more Of you didn't.
It's not very many months ago that I
had the pleasure Of introducing the editor
Of an artistic New York monthly magazine
TO American art. Didn't know there was
such q thing.
Doubtless he'd taken Of his shoes and
walked softly before the examples Of the
Darbison school to be found In 30 many
American galleries, but that there were
living and dead Americans who had looked
With love and their own eyes IN nature
and had painted her with assurance and
authority and dignity and sincerity that
was Q revelation to him.
Tho beautiful American woods are full
Of men lfKs him.
I suppose every writer who has come
10 England has had his say about the custom
OF tea drinking, but after all there are only
a certain number Of customs in a country,
and With people saying things about them
all the time one must either cover old ground
or elss invent new customs to write about.
Ono ree idly falls into the tea drinking
habit and I wish that It could be introduced
into America. OF course swa gger people
do II now, but I was thinking more especially
Of real Am~erioaps-and they don't do It.
But here II flls In 30 many ga pc.
The other day I was spending q week
end along with Messenger at the country
home Of a we'll known literary man.
We had a hearty lunch (pra ctically q
dinner) at 1 o'clock and then went out to
play tennis on a full stoma oh. Whether
this sa widespread English custom or not I
don't know, but it's fact that one generally
has a full stoma Oh, IL you will pardon my
saying 30. beoau use the English air gives one
a tremendous appetite and English hos
pita lily plies you with food, 80 to speak.
We we're all tennis enthusiasts and We
played ~strenuousiy for some time, flying
around the oourt quite as II we didn't re-
member when Lincoln was shot and had
no recollection OF the Reconstruction period.
English air makes one feel young.
While we we're preparing TO change sides
tbe thought occurred to me that q glass
Of lemonade, or even ioeiwater. would be
refreshing. As II In answer to MI thought
a bell rsn from somewhere In she house, |
and mine host said with gusto:
sAh, It's tea time"
Down went the raokets, on went the
jackets, and we all went into the dining
room we had left 30 short O time before
and sat down to tea and bread and butter,
and I accounted for my liking 1t from the