New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1907-03-21
ART EXHIBITIONS.
The Ten american Painters.


ther ups and downs they stin young and Wig
orous The exhibition which they have Just
onened al The Nonfross Gallery offers ample JUST
acation OF the appeal shey make an independent
rroUp. Il illustrates different indvidualitles and
these. while all clearly marked. are nevertheless
sympathetic &c another and unite on one point
q conviction. Mr.. Dewing and Mr.. Hassam for
example. are drasticay dssimilar in their outlook
mon the materials OF art but they agree as their
fellows agree, upon the principle that the useful
ness and the 10Y Of consist IN turning the ma
tsrials aforesaid into forms Of sensuous beauty
and giving those forms kind OF organic life. IN
theg solicitade fer the last mentioned process lies
the distinction between their Characteristic work
and the average fairly good picture. They do not
niRays realize their aims They are not consun-
mate masters, who never nod. But they are alive
fhsy have way Of making you feel that their
plciuTes have been produced with gusto Pictures
90 produced are bound be interesting whether
they completely satisfy you or not You cannot
bs Indifferent 10 painters who are eagerly trying
for something right and fine: who do not impress
you r. new exhibition having repeated them
selves. but start reflections as TO whether they
have not forced little ahead The present ex-
Milton IS especially provocative OF this line OF
thought
NJ. Metcalfs recent development offers singu-
larry suggestive case IN point The improvement
steadily shown IN his landscape painting as he
hrought forward one collection after another OF
new canvases was Improvement along lines
which ne had from the very beginning made IA
sn'ar There were always certain merits OF execu-
ton 70 he expected OF him asa matter % course
and his progress was largely affair OF increased
proficiency. Then. with greater command over
HIS Instruments. IL seemed as il he had taken n
positive ,esp forward and begun 70 say unforeseen
things, things resting upon technique as a statue
rests upon us pedestal His art has experienced
an ceiCresoence. and he not only commands re.
spect but touches springs OF feeling Thu evidence
% this IS 10 be found more particularly lin the
picture called May Night which won TIE highest
prize in fho exhibition at Washington. and has Al
ready been described in The Tribune. II is divided
by great gulf from the merely realistic tran
scripts from nature which NJ. Metcalf was making
few years ago. Those were accomplished and
thev sparkled. but this does more: II is an ;ntIa-
f.on into the witchery the night faithful as & is
- ponderable facts. were its earlier predeces-
sors. il endues tho facts with a new life. making
them the vehicles for a poetic impression Nature
and art speak together in this picture. Mr.. Met
calf enforces she point indicated above that good
painter is not always necessarily al his best His
Budding Oak is admirable for its skill and &C
curacy and for nothing more. But in his Par
fridge Woods" he is clearly the PAINTER of the May
Neat. working in another vein. and in the smaller
room he shows an uncatalogued snow scene. The
White Mante, which confirms confidence in
his emotional growth. Technique alone would not
have sufced for the translation OF very spirit
OF winter into the elements of this picture.
II Is with Mr.. Hassam it is with Mr.. Metcalf:
he achieves the finer beauty his mastery Of tho
tIlsA becomes so sure lh3r he can n for
get It, and lose himself IN the sheer delight 81
interpreting the charm lying latent what he sees
No doubt. when he began 10 paint The Bowl Of
Nasturtiums." with its engaging seated figure, its
bright flowers. and its vivid play Of Hight he was
conscious OF facing technical problem and pos
sibly a struggle TO conquer il went on until the
work was finished But by this time the effort had
been concealed. and the picture left spon-
taneoUs whole every note IN the color scheme sing
ing in perfect chord: light and air envelopirE
model. accessories and background as IN nature
itself: and the design bearing Upon II the broad
stamp Of original temperament. There is an
other picture here by Mr.. Hassam. The Alders,"
IN which screen of trees with the cool tiUts Of
nude figure set among the luscious greens. is
handled with the authority and conveys the
same felictous and personal impression. gu: else
where the painter misses his mark and carries US
lack 10 the seif-cOnsciOus mood which Is so peril
Gus. Handsome as THE Music Room IS in color,
= seems Fictitious beside The Bowl OF Mas
turtums"; and there Is even gTaver lapse in the
Dawn" Here the nude figure. stifly drawn and
modelled with curious Of subtlety. Is SGT
against background that IS itself unlovely and
poorly painted. and. what is worse. the relation
between figure and background seems furnbled.
though the artist could not fuse his motives What
survives is the SAVIOR Of world with the sky
above it, not a world cramped within studio walls.
j is made cenclus;vely effective but II IS there.
u Is indeed a trait OF the Ten 10 light as
Of their chief resources. whether Il is brave
outdoor light. flooding the scene represented, or
subdued indoor illumination II IS curious 10 see
how this comes out IN Mr. Dewing's pictures As
has already been said. he and Mr. Hassa:n are
poles apart and he especially eschews the sunshine
valued by his COLLEAGUES. But he does not. any
more than Mr. Hsssam deal in thai strange dead
light 81 the studio which is so common In modern
art Witness two OF his three pictures. The Stat
uette" and lie Jaseur'' They win you through
The charm OF seemingly unstudied composition. OF
exquisite tone, and OF a very personal style pcI
they win you also because the figures exist IA a
paluable atmosphere in tie pesrly unrippled light
OF an env,tosraent which mag be never SO delib-
ersteiy arranged" bu. still has the accent OF
truth OF life II Is the painters feeling for nature
reactng upon his treatment OF almost iminophe
themes Both these paintings BY the way are
rl,,,ter IN execution thar is usual with Mr.. Dew
ing: they seem almost thin in brushVork CON-
rsrea with Tho sGirror.' IN which he deveiops
rich ana beautiful harmony OF color and matches
& with broader. more energetic handing.
The question Of light Mr.. TarbeI brings it
up ,n rs unfinished New England Interior" "a
,,,u further blended with the question OF atnOs-
pbere Where Mr. Dewing's figures sit in sort
OF stiffness Nr. Tarbells figures are presented in
an element OF tingling. energiziug auaiity- Inc
fresh breezes from outside seem 10 enter 10 olI-
fuse themselves in the room ana IN some vague
way 70 animate the two women. The human Vi
tally OF the latter in turn dominates the compo-
sltlon 50 that once more the artist seems not
10 be following 81 che footsteps OF tho Dutchinen
hs suggests but 20 be working out problems.
akin 20 theirs IN an entirely modern vein One
ether difference between Mr.. TarbeIi and the old
masters he brings mind Is his coPleKty OF CO..
or as confrasted with their simplicity Perhaps ne
{, vsra IN MS choice who could recapture the
beauty Of those broad passages OF AaWiess grnys
and yeuous which rayish the senses IN the paint
inEs Of Terhurg ana Yer Nicer? Alfred Stevens
al but did IT, yet in the long run he was baffieo.
nrs s,u,ht -. triumph By other In
short. he was true 20 himself ana 30 likewise is
NJ nevb.Y That "a Why the series OF interior