The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-04-09
GENIUS OR
 MEDIOCRITY
 IN PAINTING?
See the Exhibition of 67 Paintings by
 Famous Painters and Decide.

| houn Latham, librarian and superin- tendent of the Bridgeport Public Lii
 brary, there has been brought to this city an exhibition of paintings by eight American artists. The exhibit was brought here from the Carnegie InSti- i tute in Pittsburg after having been on exhibition in Chicago and New York. Bridgeport is exceptionally fortunate, as this will be the only exhibition of the paintings between New York and Boston.
 There are in all 67 paintings by the following artists, all of whom are men of wonderful ability: Arthur B. Davies, William J. Glackens, Robert Henri, Ernest Lawson, George B. Luks, Maur- ice B. Prendergast, Everett Shinn, and John Sloan.
 These men have been received in either very warm or else very cold manner by the other artists of the country. One class cannot praise them too much, while another does not think their work of more than medi- Ocre merit They have brought their paintings together and started the ex- hibition at the leading galleries in the country, and the discussions which have followed the opening of the ex- hibitions have been numerous.
 Art, though, is a unique expression of unique temperament, and in con- s1dering the pictures this fact must be observed. These artists havs taken up something a little different and
 
 honest they are at variance with those of the ordinary mind.
 Arthur B. Davies exhibits six pieces of his work. His coloring is peculiar and his subjects are simple and direct. Davies sees through the glass of the medieval times and in every piece of his work this tendency of his mind is apparent. He is an extremist in modern painting and seems to be al- most eccentric. The eye has to be educated up to his work, and after viewing it for some time one departs with impression that he has of an ancient book His two New foundland pictures and his autumn in- vocation are very good.
 The realist though, is Glackens. in the sphere of the cartoon, being member of the staff of Judge" His work, 'The Shoppers, illustrates his ideas and tendency as well as any thing. It is easily understood, as are all his works. The women are stand ing at the counter. They are just as we see them every day. But his work lies in the exquisite way in which he brings out such things as textures,
 Like Glackens, Lulos is a realist. His subjects are odd, Feeding Pigs for instance. But the work is very in good colors. Lul1s, too, introduces a few portraits.
 Two of the impressionists, that is the modern impressiontstic school, are among the exhibitors, Robert Henri and Maurice B. Prendergast. The formers Spanish Gypsies, Mother and Child'', exhibits this class of work, and It is very good. He paints in a very | peculiar way as if he did it for the | fun, just going up and taking sw1pe | at the canvas with his brush and then | adding touches here and there to bring | put a really beautiful work. His paintings are dark and rich in color. doesn't seem to care whether or not any one is going to ike appreciate his paintings. He paints a lot of children in park. They are, under close inspection, just red, yellow and blue balls. Whether pr not this is art and Prendergast is a great or a mediocre man, is doubt ful.
 Lawson deals with landscape mak- ng. His sunlight is his feature. His work is easily understood and pleas ng to the eye. Shinn, on the other hand, seems to run to the other light, and in his studies of the theatre, for | that seems to be his favorite work, his electric light effects are beauti- 'ul.
 In Sloan's work we came right down 70 everyday life. but we see it through he eye of the artist. He does not seem to take out salient details and work them up. but rather presents to IS the streets and their crowds all blended in one. No particular vissage 8 to be observed but all brought to- yether. His Hair Dresser's Window, Sixth Avenue" illustrates this Sloan's work might be called broad and distin- yuished and with common place sub- ects he makes a very nice painting. Like Ba1zac, he takes an every day occurrence and blends it into a gem, but not losing the orig nal cloth