The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1908-04-10
AROUND n GALLERIES.

$40 Fifth g Ia a relief TO both eye
and spirit. After the scarlet trimpets tho
still small voioeo Of the wood windl Lathrop,
without limiting at the bHlllandea OF the
~innovators OF the academic formulas Of
the past generation, is a man who never
theless should not be classified az merely
q negation Of both schools. He IL moderate
by temperament, but no painter reveals
more decision In the ~seleotiono OF his themes
That iS 10 say, he ls neither oolorleas nor
timid. A vein Of poetry runs throughout
his work, but It Is not a faoile one IL
ooInes quite naturally TO the surface wheh
IL IL needed. We once called this artist a
follower Of Wordsworth rather h OF
S~wlnburne. He IL reflective and masou-
line. A we'll defined rhythmic feeling may
be noted in his pictures. His CHIEF eK-
o~ellence Is his naturalness which must not
be COMPOUNDED with naturalism; yet We
wager that there are few among his con-
%temporaries who are closer observers OF
the essentials in the art Of landscape
that art at once so easy and 30 dificnlt'
You will never gasp or be dazzled before
his canvases, but surrender yourself to
their influence and their fundamental SIN
certify will win you notwithstanding the
absence Of glitter and bravura. Here char-
aoter, not externals. counts the heavier,
He is the gentle, intimate interpreter OF
nature.
At the first view his present show Ia less
sober than that Of last season, Inc Color
key Is higher pitched. The hlacs and
mauves and puppies Of the impressionlsts'
however, do not rule; when such tones are
demanded they appear, but you would
never think Of calling one Of these pictures
a symphony In lilac" Lathrop is too pre-
occupied with the spirit Of his scene to
allow the flesh 10 veil it's meanings AZ
paint goes his il not voluptuous, yet there
il a cool magnetism in his surfaces. As for
his brush work. its deGterity or lis decora'
tive disposition, one never bothers with
these technical questions; the picture Is
the thing, not the paint alone.
Fishers Island and his own favorite
spots in Pennsylvania are the subjects ne
has elected to show us in his oils, water
colons and Neutrality-suspicious. in all.
The sketches are leisurely enough without
abating suggestion Of primd ristd, by
the River for example (No. 19), Ia rich and
full; the greens are rich, the structure full
1t ia at once vital and reposefnl. That
long level path in the corn ileld-a water
color (No. Isis very tempting to the
eye; and there is delicious water In the
marine (No. 1877. Among the oils II is hard
10 make preferences. Gray Day (No.
100 is one Of ours. The sky with is yelled
silver is IA deHcately poetic as a CAIN
and less conscious in Is presentation.
Waste Land Fishers Island was shown
at Philadelphia last winter. Coast Road"
is on the same island; 80 is CLOUD Shadow,
which is perhaps the most sldlfully manipu-
lated ~ these canvases, the light hidden
from the subdued greens Of the foreground
but breaking through the cloud and falling
upon the yellowish sandy soil near the top
Of the picture. The strip Of sky above this
is most eloquently expressed al the more
eloquent because il ia not theatncaly ds-
pla we'd. White Oaks" is a new note in
Iathrop's landscapes, bolder, more brill
liant. more intense. BIT the chief impress
sion Of the exhibition is one Of a strong,
simple man mellowing steadily, display
ing a fondness for the bleak. arid aspects
Of seashore and plnin; sensit We TO discreet
harmonies, to the minor undertones OF
nature. but tonic, not pessim'stic; always
sane and often subtle. .,
For agility Of line, velocity in its nota-
ton and an uncompromising attitude in
the presence Of the human machine we
must 20 to the exhibition Of drawings,
Autographs, water colors and etchings by
Henri Matissc at the Little Galleries OF the
photo-Secession, ?al Fifth avenue. Take
the smallest elevator in town and enjoy
the solitude OF these tiny rooms crowded
with the phantoms Of Stieglitz and Steichen,
No n will be there to greet you, for Stieglitz
has a habit OF leaving his doors unlocked
for the whole world 20 flock in at will, And
Il is in Just such unconventional surround
ings that the work Of Matisse ia best eN-
hibited. The brown bit Of paper that does
duty as a preface tells US that this fierce
rebel is a leading spirit Of a modern group
Of French artists dubbed LES Fauyes,'
Durand-Ruel owns pictures by Matisse
and will probably show them here next
season. The French painter is clever,
diabolically clever. Lured by the neo-
impressionists, by Gauguin's South Sea
sketches, he has outdone them all by his
eT~trayagances His line, its zigzag SIM
pli6cations evidently derived from the
japanese. is swirling and strong. With
three furious scratches he can give you a
female animal in all her shame and horror.
Compared TO these memoranda Of the
gutter and brothel the sketches Of Rodin
Conce exhibited in this gallery are academic,
are meticulous. There Is n nude which
the fantasy Of the artist has turned into a
hideous mask. The back Of a reclining
figure is on the wall opposite. and 1t Is dim
cult not to applaud, so virile and mastery
are its strokes. Then a creature from
God knows what Partisan shambles leers
at you-the economy Of means employed
and the results are alike signihcant-and you
fee into another room, The water colors
are Japanese in suggestion, though not in
spirit. They are impressionism run 10
blotches. mere patches Of crude hectic
tintings. What Maltese can do in his
finished performances We shall poe later
His sketches are those Of a brilliant. cruel
temperament. Nor has he the saving
cynicism Of a Toulouse-L autrec. To be
cynical argues some interest; your pessi-
mist Ia often a man Of inverted sentiment.
But Maltese is only cold, the GOODNESS Of
the moral v~ivisector.
A subdued concert il the exhibition Of
the Woman's Art League Club at the Bauer