The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-05-15
FIGHT INDEPENDENT PAINTERS
70 GIVE AN EXHIBITION or
THEIR OWN NEXT WINTER.

as they sec IheHi-NV'
ono sciioOl-One Exhibition Before
vroup OF eight PAINTERS who have been
.,nressinr their ideas OF life as they see / In
ute their " manner, and who therefore
hoye been referred to often as the apostles
- uOlinessT by a larger group OF brother
o,,ists WIZ paint with e I square and a
nLnmb line, have formed themselves into a
hody, il wasannouuced last evening without
loader, president or formal organization OF
nv kind further than the necessary secre-
,arv and treasurer. Those OF the eight VINO
vvere seen Yesterday laid stress on the stete"
,,,ent that they have Lot organized because
,heir piotures in many instances have been
rsiccted by the staid jury Of selection OF tho
N~stional Academy OF Design.
The eight will give their first exhibition
re1t winter, perhaps in February, at the
80 llcries OF William Macbeth, the Fifth
venue art dealer. Even last night the
carving picture show OF the new group was
referred to Ivy a vol known picture buyer
as tine salon Of the rejected, but the paint
e,s ;bclnselves, WHO should know all about
!, disclaimcd the Inference.
these are H., eighv who will exhibit
aide by SlGe ispt th'y !" NS"
,,rni,nhlv In o,hcr cities as we'll: George
tnks. who sends pictures to The academy
.bow every year religioussy, but 60 Tar
Las had only one accepted; Arthur Dawes
Landscape painter, ranked among the very
highest rs a c~olorist. who always refuses
,o ACCEPT the academy's invitation to
,.nd in pictures; Ernest Lawson, who sends
riotures TO the academy jury with inditfer-
an, .ncccss. Robert Henri, an aoademician,
hnt Who never boasts about 1t to the extent
or signing N. A." after his name; William
Glackens. who painted a picture OF
children in the park, ranked big which
rho academy threw out; Maurice n
cast, who rarely sends TO the academy,
and John Sloan and Everett Shinn, both
Young men in years and experience, who
,lready have made their names as illustra-
Tors and have done good work OF late
Shinn in mural decorations especially and
Sloan in landscape and figure work-that
has brought them commentator on all
sdes-north and south Of but not including
Fiftv-seventh street.
But, AS the painters say, they nave not
organized TO exhibit with any Thought
of the treatment they have received from
The academy. And attention has al
ready been called TO the fact that they
ought 10 know. -.;.L
the exception Of Shinn and lawson, held an
exhibition in the, galleries OF the NaIionai
Arts Club, and the mark OF. individuality,
the virile departure from the plumb line
PICTURES of newsboys with prettily polished
and academioally pathetic patches on their
knlcKere, was so noticeable that everybody
docked to the show. New York is talking
about hat show even yet.
The idea OF forming themselves into a
hody took root after that exhibition and
has been growing slowly ever since, 1t
would nave blossomed long before this,
say the eight, only for the difficulty OF find
ing a suitable gallery in which to xhibit
During the next two years they expect to
secure a gallery OF their own, large enough
10 display 200 cauvases or more. Also
The little society hopes to grow in number
by taking in anybody who has something
TO say about life in his own way n doesn't
paint by algebraic formula. -,
None OF the eight wished to be quoted
Yesterday, but they said things:
unlike was the gist of their statements,
we don't propose to be h only American
~pinters by any means but w do say that
our body includes men who think, who are
moi academic in the hard, ~unfeeling sense
Of the word, and who believe above all
that ART oil any hlnu b al CAPiCoSioh u
Individual ideas Of life.
.We often are called devotees Of the
ugly," said one Of the eight with enthusiasm.
We'll, the trouble with a lot OF artists,
so called, ia that they draw an arbitrary
line across Gods works and say: In this
half Of His works He has been successful,
but over here in the shadows and the misery
81 lie, the seamy side, He has failed We
mustn't paint hat seam side. It's vulgar.
Your portraits, for instance, must be only
Of the rich, and always see to 1t the lady
il seated on n gold chair. Ever notice the
gold chair in those pretty portraits? That's
mart Of the formula.
thing Of prettiness, noble knights on pretty
horses and goddesses driving chariots
through pink clouds, a thinker left the
coddesses Of Paris and wen into the sogRy
country. All day long he painted dirty,
higoted. i'll smelling, narrow minded peas
ants digging in the black mud. shearing
mud spNttered sheep or driving chickens
debssing his art, this young nan who had
given so much promise during his early
days Of painting the pink clouds with the
goddesseR disporting across them. To-day
nobody knows where the goddessee Of his
day have gone, or cares. But Mhlet 6
dirty peasants are counted among the
most splendid products Of the human
mind,
'The eight who have banded together
have done 30 only because they think their
exhibition at least will make for an ad-
vsncement in American art. They are not
followers Of a creed OF a school only in
10 FAR as every earnest student tries 10
learn from the best work Of those who have
gone before. But nowhere could you
find eight men 20 absolutely dissimllar
except that they are all agreed that paint
drawing, tone, canvas, composition. color
are hut parts Of technique and that tcch-
nique is not an end in itself but a means
10 the great end, which is life.
The subjects Of each Of the eight diner
not only from the subjects Of his seven
colleagues, but eaoh man will display at
the coming exhibition a variety OF subjects
Henri, for instance, paints the river fronts
Of New York and Paris and he can hang
laced officers, fashionable girls and Italian
apple women. Glackens has painted the
ballet girls in their pink tights, the children
IN the city parks or a wonderful picture OF
a bullhght in Spain. All are men who
stand for the American idea. II Is the
fashion TO say the skyscrapers are ugly
you. No, the skyscraper is beautiful
Its twenty stories swimming toward yov
are typical Of all that America means. II,
every line is indicative Of our virile young
luEiness.'
Ana it is ont OF this determination &c
ueepict things as one sees them and not
after the formula OF everybody else that
American art 10 going 10 grow. So, IN
eight have banded solely TO do their LITTLE
hest toward helping American art 10 de
Velop. The organization viii possibly
very probably, in fact, become much larger
Just low 1t isa question Of finding a gallery
~ m~en-young only in their purpose e
work in their own Way rpmambeT. fol