New-York tribune., 1908-02-12
ART EXHIBITIONS.
The La Fmge and Wills Collections,
and Some Old Prints.

ana y ONE Qua 1f1NtS.
The collection Of Orieutalia formed by Mr. John
La Fargo, which Is exhibition at the Amer
lean Art Galleries is especially interesting III Ile
| illustrations it contains of japanese craftsman
| ship and painting. Though the examples SHOWN
not all masterpieces. many Of them are OF hlsn
| quality. It is noticeable, that even among
| the minor prints there few pieces tnat are
merely dull Nearly always the work exhlnils
some note Of picturesqueness, or some sUohe ot
technique well calculated to appeal TO the student
who is concerned with the general drift or eastern
| art. The salient characteristic Of that art is
curious oscillation between realistic interpreta-
ton of life and essentially formal MODE OIL eA-
| preston The Japanese painter seeks the truth.
but. having found it, he reduces it to ITS Simplest
elements. He makes two three lines SIGNIFICANT
of many subtIeties Of FORM and, at the same
time. he places these lines upon his surface IN sucn
wise that finished picture is above all things.
decoration, a well balanced arrangement OF line
and form within given space. The odd ana the
fascinating thing Is that when the japanese mas
ter has done all this, following well established
convention nevertheless stamps his Individual
ity upon his work
The less chronological arrangement OF
the unusually well written catalogue will assist
the reader TO clearer appreciation or MI La
Farge's prints and paintings. It emphasizes the
character of Hokusais art as, in some Sort cul-
nination. He gathers up the threads OF Japanese
technique, using them with greater strength and
freedom and making them serve a richer pictorial
purpose is the frrner touch, the bolder grasp
upon the mysteries Of perspective and OF move
ment His color Is delicately harmonlzed- He
has keener Of beauty, he has a keener
feeling for life. Compare, for example, the paint
ing of by him CNEo. 3Si) with the cartoon by
pupil of his, Taito the Second CNo. $500, which
represents the rescue Of a drowning man The
pupils work is Justly praised in the catalogue for
It's dramatic point, but the design as design mas
nothing like the unity the charm which find
in the painting by the master. Mr.. La Fargo was
fortunate in his search for examples of the great
Of Eastern painters. He found souvenirs of his
different periods, all OF these souvenirs being OK
admirable quality, and OF them, like the one
Just mentioned or the military subject (No- 32),
possessing the added interest of great rarity. AL
lusion has been made the light this collection
throws on the technique Of the Orient Here you
may study that absorbing matter In all its phases
You may follow the movement Of Oriental
draughtsnanghip along the most exquisitely deli
cate lines, as in Hokusafs Diver" you may
observe 1t at its broadest IN such cartoon as
1.-The Devil Killer (No. 570) It is interesting
note that In obedience to the law which appears
to govern every school of art the Japanese in
creases IN freedom and with the passage Of
time Some OF the earlier eighteenth century de-
signs are extraordinarily minute. hundred years
later the school produces drawings bold as the
Ghosts" by Gozan (TGo. 649). From beginning to
end Mr.. La Farge's collection, beneath all the
mutations OF style the groundswe Of truth is I'M
failing One Of the mysteries of the Orient is the
marvellous skill with whI III the last secrets of
gesture and carriage revealed within the limits
| OF a rigid and seemingly iunulObile convention
This comes out only in deliberately pictorial
compositions but IN those purely decorative
schemes which worked out against the golden
background of vast skiold screen. Look ct the
specimen (No. 67D attributed to Shoi-katsushige.
! The SPACE is filed with close s0icftude for
strictly decorative effect as you will discern any
of the screens adorned with simple floral motives,
yet artist contrives to give extraordinarily
vivid impression Of his subject number OF Japan
ese ladies and children watching street per-
( be h
ing could be better adapted to the purposes of a
screen. Tt is hard 10 turn from Mr. La Farge's
pictures to his other works of Oriental art though
there Is plenty invite the transition His
tunes are superb, and among the objects ot
ceramic art there very distinguished
pieces, notably quartet of Han vases The lac
quers. though interesting. do not form particu-
larly memorable group. This collection viii be sold
tomorrow afternoon and at afternoon and evening
sessions Friday. Connoisseurs are fortunate in
its dispersal.
The three collections offered for sale this week at
the Fifth Avenue Art Galleries vary in interest.
The one composed of paintings by the late George
H Boughton and the late Henry P. Smith Is not
OF exceptional value Mr.. Boughton. sincere and
painstaIing artist. exploited picturesque vein,
and occasionally, in some such landscape as his
Autumn. Isle Of Wight he to striking
twelve There is pleasant quality, too in Of
his unpretendng little sketches in water color.
His technique, however, never brilliant,
was his style and his pictures in general this
occasion are uninspiring. Mr.. Smith was a facle
artist in whose work the influence Of more than
one foreigner be perceived His woodland
studies recall the earlier manner OF Rousseau. In
other canvases Of his there echoes of the Vene
tan pictures painted by the Spaniard, Martin Rico.
All OF these landscapes are carefully executed pol
/ ished almost to hardness. They wanting in
quality and in personal force. The Azeez Khayat
collection is chiefly valuable for its Greek and
. Roman iridescent glass. These include
ishing bits Of color. The Wills collection of old
Wedgwood shows the celebrated English potter at
full length His pure blacks, blues and whites he
made doubIy effective through ausere simple
tty OF his forms. He used without pedantry the
noble lines of classical art and in his decorations
he was academic without being stted- IF his
IIres were not as fine those of the Oriental pot
ter, they had at all events. a character of their
own. 1t is the originality Of old Wedgwood which
constitutes the principal charm OF the ware. 1t
appears to full advantage in this collection which
Is made up Of about three hundred pieces Mr..
Khayats belongings will be sold this afternoon and
tomorrow afternoon. The Boughton-Smith pictures
will be sold on Thursday and Friday evenings
The Wedgwood IS TO be sold Friday and Satur-
day afternoons.
There is on exhibition at the Grolier Club a
collection of early American prints the works
of I47 different engravers who hour.shed in the
period from 1727 TO 1850 These plates are Of
considerable historical significance. Portraiture
dominates and q rule It is the subject that
counts rather than the engravers proficiency or
individuality Few of these pioneers were artists
in the full Of the term For who.
like Edward Savage, the engraver of the hand
some Benjamin Franklin (No. 237) could
scrape e mezzotint with feeling for the
qualities OF his art there were in earlier
days dozen whe could do than turn out
a commonplace and pedestrian print The best
plates in this collection are those of the French
St Mernin whose views of New York City. etched