Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1910-11-11
ART In The Home.
Practical Suggestions About Aesthetic
Subject.
PRIMARY PRINCIPLES MADE CLEAR.

carpets.
In The EnqVirer's report of the eX-
ercises at Win hrop college in connec-
ton with the recent meeting of the
Boys Corn club there, brief mention
was made of the interesting and in
structive papers that were included in
the programme. In compliance with a
special request, The Enquirer has been
promised copies Of several of these
papers for publication, and below we
are reproducing the carefully prepar-
ed remarks of Miss Maude NJ. Isles, A.
B., Winthrop's accomplished instructor
In free hand and Industrial drawing,
and art, on the subject Of Art in the
Home:"
, Is it not true that the majority Of
people today still look upon art as
something foreign-something to be
INDUCED in only by the leisure class?
Have they not vague idea that only
pictures and statuary come under the
heading of art? What a mistake
this is!
Art is a most practical subject and
Is related to every day life. Hardly
a day passes that we are not called up
on to exercise our judgment to the
best of our ability. 1t may be In
judging whether or not we like GER
tain house or whether the front gar
den Is pleasing-that Is, are the paths
and flower beds arranged to the best
advantage Has the color harmony
Of the flower bed been considered.
How a little thought here will give
nl,o or m
are called upon to select carpet or to
arrange the bric-a-brac on mantel
or to hang a picture or to buy dress
Is the dress a becoming style and suit
able color? All these questions call
for taste and critical judgment and
are therefore art problems.
Where taste and judgment have
been exercised there must be an at
mosphere of art-of harmony and
order. Compare two parlors. One
is a medley Of furniture and bric-a-
brac, of all sorts of sizes and shapes
and colors, picked up at shops, each
because it happened to be a bargain
or to strike a moments fancy, and
then set in the parlor wherever there
happened to be room for it. The 9TH
er parlor, on the contrary, shows
signs Of order and arrangement. There
are fewer objects in it, and they have
been carefully chosen and arranged
for the double purpose Of making the
room comfortable and agreeable to
the eye. This second room is an illus
tration of good taste in selection and
1t Is an art problem
that has been solved"
Let us consider in detail the art
problems that will arise in the fur
nishing Of a room. 1t is not at all
necessary that everything must be ex-
pensive in order to be artistic, or in
other words to show that good taste
and judgment have been used. Sup
rose we start with the four blank
walls and bare floor. Let us hope
that the room is of good proportion
and that the windows break the wall
space into pleasing areas. Now, while
a whitewashed or white painted wall
is most unpleasant and will make the
finest picture look out of place,
highly naturalistic flowered wall pa
per is just as bad; so is large con-
ventional patterned paper with spots
that stand out boldly and are probably
tinted with gold. "The walls, ceiling
and floor should be large, quiet places,
against which the furniture, pictures
and objects of ornament are balanced.
1t Is of first importance then that the
ceiling, walls and floor spaces be
brought into harmonious relation
ships. A wall should be fiat and
quiet in effect; fiat, because OF the
nature Of its construction, and quiet
because it must serve as background
for the furnishing Of a room.' A
most excellent wall covering and a
splendid background for pictures are
the soft tints of Muresco and Alabas-
ter paints. These paints are really
nothing more than tinted kalsomine
and may be bought in a large variety
of colors. They average ten cents TO
the pound. A package Of five pounds
will cover from three hundred (3OO)
to four hundred and fifty (450) square
feet, a rough surface requiring more
material than a smooth, non-porus
wall After the walls have been
tinted the carpet or rug should be
selected with care. The tone of the
walls. woodwork and furniture should
be considered. The pattern Of the
must be quiet and inoffensive.
Let us not walk on naturalistic HOW
ers and animals and flattened land
scapes The place for pictures is upon
the wall.
Next, the arrangement Of the fur
niture. Let us hope that it is not
ornate but simple and beautiful and
that it's claim to beauty, like the mis-
sion furniture, rests upon carefully
proportions and the dec
orative use of the structural features.
All the heavy furniture should not
be placed at one side of the room,
nor should pieces of the same height
or bulk be placed together The coV-
ering of the furniture should harmon
ize with the wood and, like the wall
paper, should be simple in design and
plain. The ornaments on
the mantel should be there because
they are beautiful to look at and not
Just because some one presented them
as gifts. They should be grouped ac-
cording to size and color in twos and
threes, rather than placed separately
at equal spaces-in straight lines.
Now we will consider the pictures.
I am sure we would all like to have
the very best in our homes. Since we
cannot buy the masterpieces, the next
best thing to do is TO procure copies
Of them. In this wonderful age of
printing and Of reproduction pro-
cesses. there Is no excuse for even the
humblest home to be without few
good pictures. Who would not enjoy
having such pictures as these upon
the walls? They were bought at the
low sum Oh Ten CeillS, III
Columbia. They have lovely soft
sepia finish and are 22X1S inches. i
suppose you all know of the Perry
Picture Co, in Mauldin, Mass? They
sell copies of almost all the famous
finished in beautiful tones
of brown like these-sizes SKI are sold
for one cent; those 10X12 inches at
five cents: specially fine photographs
for homes and schools, 22x2S inches,
for seventy-five cents. How much
better few of these would be upon
the walls instead of the awful night
mare in black and white supposed to
be our relatives and the gaudy chro-
mos which are so common, and much
more expensive. 1t is much better
to have a loving mental picture of
some deceased relative than to have
staring at us from the walls some stif
black and white copy. made by an OBJ
scure person who never saw our loved
one and only cared for the money
obtained.
After selecting the pictures we still