The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1907-11-30

The man with the camera is reach
ing high for his laurels, and modern
Photographic art to-day does with the
lens and plate what the old masters
did with palette and brush.
Exhibits of the clossic in picture
taking are found all over the world,
and none illustrated the remarkable
development Of the art more striking
ly than did the Royal Photographic
:societys show in London, which has
just come to close.
There in the beautiful rooms of the
new gallery, thousands crowded about
the prize winning pictures, hung and
arranged like the canvasses at an
academy exhibit, and those who I'M
derstood realized that new type of
artist had arrived-the man with the
camera.
Perhaps the most striking among
the pictures were those studies of the
human form divine" which were
shown in large numbers, both draped
and in the nude. Men, women and
children, chosen for their 1.-the and
graceful figures, posed in many an an
rcient Roman or Grecian scene, on
flower-strewn benches or by silvery
waters and with the warm sunshine
bathing them in a wealth of light and
shadow.
A remarkable fact in connection
with all these photographs was their
absolute purity. Scarcely one Of the
nudes could give offense to the veriest
prude, SO absolute was the artistic eff
feet which pervaded each example,
and so thoroughly was the mere phys
ical aspect banished by the photogra-
pher who had caught the inspiration
Then there were hundreds of prints
made on the lines laid down by the
great masters. Lovely figures which
suggested Michael Angelo, Tintoretto
or Raphael were reproduced in gray,
white and brown by cunning hands
and eyes which knew how to manipu-
late the little black box and how to
make the most of light, shadow and
expression,
Notable among these was Mrs. G.. A..
Barton's portrait of herself as st
Catherine, an excellent example of
very striking figures and groups st.
Catherine shows the stamp of the
Italian school, and contains a sugges-
ton of Lippi and Raphael.
Misty harbors showed sails fading
from light in the dying day, calling to
mind Turner's masterpieces. Gay.
cavaliers. with fierce mustacles and
sweeping plumes, suggested Rem
brandt. Still others recalled Gaines
brough, and here and there were land
scapes, groups or still life, all repro
'duced from model to glass and from
glass to paper, counterfeiting in the
twentieth century what great WELD
'ers Of the brush and palette did at the
easel in other days.
Then, too, there were modern exam.
pies, recalling to those who attended
the exhibit the great names in the
world OF art to-day. Modern Venice,
basking in sunshine or mirroring gon-
dolas from it's canals, was well repre-
sented. Stately cathedrals reared
their spires in many print, while the
desert, the plains and the sea all fig
ured conspicuously.
There was only one thing lacking
color. Absolute examples of life and
natures own handiwork though thew
were, the gray, white and brown linn
itations drew a sharp line between
them and the gorgeous ,canvases on
which the man with the brush exerted
eye and hand to express his thoughts
in rich pigment. l.-
Of course there were many, exam
pies of "color photography" an art
which is advancing beyond the expert
mental stage, and which is being de-
veloped so rapidly as to encourage the
hope that the camera will one day re-
produce nature in her every hue.
When that day comes photography
may we'll wear the latrels for which It
is reaching out now.
It is interesting to note the fact
that behind the classic in photography
lies the camera craze" For the most
part, the various exhibits are contrib
.uted by amateurs.
Several years ago when the develop
ment of the camera had progressed
sufficiently to make it popular toy
men, women and children of all ages