Evening star., 1908-01-21
ART IN PHILADELPHIA
Everett L. Warner Takes the
Sesnan Gold Medal.
EXHIBIT OF THE ACADEMY
Many Accomplished Artists Repre-
sented This Year.
STANDARD SLOWLY IMPROVING
Display of Sculpture Is Not Par
ticularly Notable-some Mis-
takes of the Jury.
STANDARD SLOWLY IMPROVING
Special Correspondence of The Star.

Special Correspondence OF The Star.
/ PHILADELPHIA. Pa. January 10. 1905.
To Everett l.. Warner of Washington.
D. c., has been awarded the Jennie Ses-
nan gold medal for the best landscape in
the Pennsylvania academy's 1O3d annual
exhibition, which opened in this city yes
terday with a private view and reception.
This is indeed a great honor. for the
academy's exhibition is one of the most
important of the annual shows, and in it
a majority of the foremost American
landscape painters are represented. There
are few-fve. in fact-who on account of
! having previously received the award
were not in the competition. but even so
| there was no lack of worthy contestants.
| The picture for which the prize was
given is entitled THE Brooklyn Bridge in
a Snowstorm" and shows a Characters
| tic portion of downtown New York on a
winter day. To the left is row of plain
brick dwelling houses which have been
converted into shops and tenements, in
the foreground is a street filled with
trucks and drays, and looming up to the
right through the gray snow curtain is
the first tower of the Brooklyn bridge. 1t
is homely scene-one which the layman
would not suspect of pictorial potentiality
but II has been handled with great cum
nlns and made to yield splendid returns.
/
markable, and win from the painters who
visit the exhibition, as well as from the
| jury OF awards. warm expressions Of an
probation. One artist a. the press view on
asl'hiqay 90 his n was heard to say to group
OF MS colleagues whom he had brought
10 see IT, Here is a man who paints snow
"lthout making it either pink or purple"
For other reasons, likewise. this exhi-
nitlon must have more than usual interest
| for Washingtonians. Mr. Richard n
| Brooke. the president of the Society of
| Washington Artists and vice PRINCIPAL of
/ tne Corcoran School. was a member of It's
Jury OF selection and awards; Mr.. Hobart
| Nichols of Washington, as we'll as Mr..
| afner. Is represented. and admira bly,:
and no less than twenty examples of ami
NAL sculpture by the late Edward Ke-
meys. selected from the memorial exhibi-
ton recently held in the hemicycle hall Of
the COrcoran Gallery of Art, are con-
spicuously placed. here.
| Mr. Nichols picture was presumably
painted last summer at Buzzards bay. 1t
| shows a stretch of blue water in cove.
beneath sparkling. breezy sky-and Is
| colorful and also charming in tone. Never
has Mr.. Nichols done better work than
| thls-or, IN truth. have many others. AS
substantial evidence of the esteem in
| which the picture was held by the hang
| ing committee it may be noted that a
place has been given to it in the room
set aside for works of peculiarly subtle
and suggestive character such as those by
I'ryon. Dewings and Twachtman-the lit
tie room which was redecorated few
i years ago to accommodate some paintings
by Whistler.
Artists Are Improving.
The average of the exhibition this year
is high, higher. some think. than formerly
for while there are fewer really important
| canvasses shown than heretofore there
are also fewer works included which give
token of immaturity. When the director
/ of the gallery was asked whether he
/ thought he should be able to continue to
| raise the standard of the exhibition year
| after year his response was. Yes. for the
| artists are each year painting better pic
| lures"
That the artists are learning better how
to paint is certainly demonstrated in this
exhibition. but whether or not their
| work Is growing more artists. has more
significance and better feeling may be
! questioned. though on the whole in this
| also there is some evidence of progress
| A great annual exhibition like this in
which there are between 400 and 500
paintings and works in sculpture con-
| tributed by 2o6 artists partakes some
| what of the nature of an annual report
rendered by those who make art a pro-
fession to the lay public and serves at
| the same time as an arena in which may
be measured strength. 1t cannot be COM
pared justly TO a selected gallery exhibit,
and If In II are to be found but few great
/ pictures, complaint should not be made.
/ for the proportion is normal-great lights
are kindled most frequently by multi
plicity of small ones.
Work Of Edmund Tarbell.
1t is impossible to see and accurately es-
innate the value Of such an exhibition in a
single day. but even after comparatively
| hurried inspection some of the pictures
will be found to have taken firm hold on
the memory. One Of these is Girls Read
ing," by Mr.. Edmund C.. Tarbell, who at
| the present time has thirty paintings on
at Washington. This is of the same type
as the Girl Crocheting.' Girl Mending'
and New England Interior and if not
better than any of these is equally as
good. The same davenport and gate-legged
table which MIR. Tarbel has painted SO
often appear in this composition. but the
light is more diffused. the quality Of the
painting more atmospheric than common
ly. Accomplished as well as subtle in
handling, it demonstrates the possible
trend Of genre painting in America. and
occupies field which as vet is neither
oyercrowded nor overworked.
Mr.. Tarbell is also represented by a
portrait of Mrs. Ames. which. in its
treatment. is suggestive of his well known
danvas. "Girl and Dog" and one of Presi-
dent Seelye of Smith College. which is
creating discussion on account of Its novel
arrangement Of interesting accessories
There are two portraits by Sargent. one
a full length of Mrs. Buckhardt, called
Lady With Rose" which was painted
in 1882 and is said to have brought the
artist to fame: and another half length
OF Mr.. A. Augustus Healy. supposedly a
very recent work. The former is painted
with great gravity and studious effort
which. while less startling than Sargent's S
later manner. are of enduring slgnifi-
canoe. The latter is interesting, but more
commonplace.
Miss Cecilia Beaux is also twice repre-
sented, and possibly never better than III
her portrait OF Mr.. John Frederick Lewis
the president of the Pennsylvania Acad-
emy.
Memory Of Lambert.
The place of honor this year has been
given to 1.-THE Tragic Actor by the late
John Lambert who for years had been
associated with the academy and active
in furthering it's interests. Last sum-
mer Mr.. Lambert was painting in Spain
when he found that he had some trouble
with his eyes, and going TO a physician
there was urged to hasten home and con-
suit a specialist. This he did. but not I'm
time to save his sight. About the same
time that this calamity befell him he re-
| ceivcd through the will of a relative, a
large fortune. but nothing could compen-
safe him for the loss of the work he had
planned and pursued. and few weeks
| ago. before he had been able TO adjust