The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1909-05-12
The WINNER
Distinction Won by Dun
more Girl
MISS GIBBONS'S ESSAY IN FULL

phia-Benjamin West, John
S. Sargent, Abbey, Ho-
venden and Other
Painters Viewed
by Their
Work.
Below we give in full the text of
Miss Eleanor Gibbons's prize essay in
the triangular contest in Scranton on
Friday evening, April 30th. Having
already printed the very creditable
compositions of Miss Abigail Baird,
Faith Clark and Grace Hanlan, who
competed for the honor of represent
ing Honesdale at the annual contest,
we round out the series with Miss
Gibbons's production, that Citizen
readers may have an opportunity of
comparing them and Judging for
themselves as to which of the four
shows the most painstaking research
and most promising literary merit:
"PENNSYLCANIA IN ART"
a country. like an individual. goes
through all the stages OF growing
up" II develops from the period in
which a few settlers hew the forests
from around their log cabins, and
are content with merely hand-to-
mouth existence. to Il stage when the
finer things. those more like the di-
vine nature within us. are developed.
Finally, from beneath the rude eX-
terror, the hidden artistic genius
buds out and blossoms into Il flower
of rare beauty.
Our country, young and vigorously
progressive, shows nowhere more ad-
vancement than in it's art; and here
Pennsylvania stands foremost. From
the beginning the center of Ameri-
can art was philadelphia. There was
born the first American painter,
Benjamin West, known not only at
home but abroad. He spent the
greater part of his life in London,
studying and painting. AS teacher,
however, he developed men whose
talent was far greater than his. Of
the Tribe of Benjamin." as Vests S
pupils styled themselves, was Gilbert
Stuart, whom his teacher called the
greatest portrait painter in the
world" To-day we have no finer
picture of Washington than Stuarts
famous Athenaeum portrait.
Through the influence of another
pupil, Charles Wilson Peale, was
founded the famous Academy of the
Fine Arts of Philadelphia. For years
the art in Pennsylvania as we'll as
of many other states has been nour-
ished in this institution, and students
from all over our country have flock
ed there Its splendid collection of
pictures has been the inspiration of
many Il budding genius, and the
names OF many brilliant artists are
in it's long list Of pupils.
All Pennsylvania nature painters,
except Birge Harrison, were educated
at the academy. Harrison is famous
for his exquisite snow scenes, finding
his inspiration in the earth's winter
dress. William Sartain takes rather
the earth in it's summer beauty; he
paints no living thing, but finds life
in the rolling prairie, floating clouds
or rushing river.
Perhaps the greatest American por
trait painter is John S. Sargent, who,
although born abroad, is of Pennsyl-
vania parentage. Without regard for
the feelings of his sitters, he seizes
and puts on canvas those feeting eX-
pressions of the face which indicate
the character within. Other Penn
sylvanians trained at the academy
are John Mcclure Hamilton, who
spent his later years in London paint
;fr, Of IN,,fr Inn u nor IN
men; Cecilia BeauX, whose portraits
have won the admiration of French
critics, and Mary Cassatt, whom
France has honored by placing two
of her pictures in the Luxembourg gal
lery.
Pennsylvania greatest religious
painter, Henry o. Tanner, also left
the academy to study in France. He
has continued to live and work there,
because, to our shame be it said, he
was too greatly handicapped here by
his negro blood. His Raising of
Lazarus" was given place in the
Luxembourg, among the exclusively
few American works there, and this,
finally, has aroused Pennsylvania to
the greatness of her native son.
While other branches of art show
foreign influence, the illustrators
have a style distinctively American.
Pennsylvania produced Darley, the
father of modern illustrating; also
A. b. Frost, Howard Pyle, Alice Bar
bour Stevens, Jessie Wilcox Smith
and Elizabeth Shippen Green, who
have charmed magazines readers all
over the country.
But art of the illustrator reaches
it's zenith in Maxfield Parrish. His
enchanting illustrations for child
ren's books have opened up the
dreamworld of childhood.
One who began his career as an IL
illustrator but is best known for work
of quite a different character is Ed
win A. Abbey. His name is otter
coupled with Sargents, because botf
baUa mural DaintinpS in the ROStOT