New-York tribune., 1908-11-29
PORTRAITS OF ANIMALS.
The Bronses and Dra7cings Of Dir. A..
Phimister Proctor.

An exhibition which takes the student out of
the beaten tracF is boon by itself. Such an
exhibition has Eeen arranged by Mr.. A Phlrnls-
ter Proctor at the MOntross gallery, where ne
shows some fifty-odd pieces of sculpture, Win
quantity Of water colors pastels, pencil sketches
and ellis 1t is good to them. Only last year
an interesting collection of medals and small
bGonzes was brought forward by a group OF
artists in one of the local galleries. but we see
far less of the SCULPTOR than of his brother the
PAINTER Very rarely, inueed, do We see hlm IN
such wise as on Tie present occasion. Ey dlnt o.
assembling both sketches and completed WORKS
pictures as we'll as bronZes, Mr.. Proctor makes d
thoroughly personal appeal, exposing MS arlstlc
character as it were at full length. 1t is an at
traetive character. full of the vitality WHICH ail
artist deve!opes when he has ability and Is IN
tensely interested in the material with whch he
chooses to deal.
The true portrait of wild animal must De
conceived from within it is lifeless as a bit
,f rari,r 1,,o, he Tie observation of external
cbora,r ,reristics alone will carry the artist no
further than to a kind Of bizarre picturesque
,css No doubt it is u mistake to talk esoterl-
rally of getting at the soul' OF the beast lor
That way lies the pitfal into which the natural
lists vic would humanzc the furred objects OF
their study have so often been betrayed. But
Iaryc .ong ago demonstrated the fact that IL
you master the structure OF animals, get as close
rs nassiII, t,e the secrets of movement, the play
of muscle anG ,i.5 like, you may almost leave
sha subtIer clements in the nature of the car
eiycrs. to take care of themselves. These will be
declared IS you truthfully portray The substance
end W, -eht the action and the carriage of your
model as YOU make your lion panther not
SIM " a bulk of ngeniously composed, but
veritablc quNering bundle Of nerves, Il sentient
thing of bone and snew, all force and danger
lt is rrodgously hard to do this. Barge him
self was a kind of portent, whose like has not
Tct appeared. Mr.. Proctor, we dare say, would
be among the first to admit this, but he IS
among the few who worthy OF the French
master
How far he has carried his researches, whether
they have embraced long hours over the dis
secting table. ii is impossible to state But 1t Is
main from internal evidence and from his num-
erous drawings that he has not confined himself
70 the ZOO He has pursued his wild creatures
In their native haunts. His bears and panthers
buffaloes and moose, fawns and wolves. have un-
ristakabIv been surprised in the wilder ness, and
their traits recorded with the eye of understand
lag and an adroit hand. There is one water
ro!or here. the Grizzly Bear Among the Cliffs, "
which would alone give sufficient warrant OF the
authenticity of Mr.. Proctors impressions. 1t
carries instant conviction. Considering the eX-
hibition at large one observes that its merit is
traceabie both to instructive gift and to
patient study. The drawings especially denote
the artists solicitude for truth in details of
form. The bronZes, which naturally fill the fore
ground and represent the elimination of Mr.
Proctors art are admirable for their realistic
quality and for the energetic simplicity of their
modelling He has learned the lesson of breadth
In the treatment of those curious planes which.