Los Angeles herald., 1910-07-24
Art Notes
nv EIJZABETU WAGGONER


The city of Long Beach has enjoyed
a yeritable festival of art during the
past few months with the fine gallery
at the Hotel Virginia opening at the
/ holidays with a splendid showing OF
contemporary American art, establish
ing new standard that has been
maintained as the exhibition changes
from time to time, and now the MD
summer exhibition, under the auspices
of the Chautauqua association, IS at
tracing daily scores Of visitors from
among the pleasure seekers that throng
the beach. This exhibition is eXcep-
tionally well installed in the spacious
gallery of the Carnegie library build
ing, and the collection comprises some
seventy canyases and pieces of sculp-
ture.
The largest wall, directly opposite
the entrance, is devoted entirely to the
work of members of the California Art
club, and the showing made is certain
ly noteworthy.
Prominently hung in the center Of
this wall is a highly decorative canvas
by William Wendt, its silVery gray
trees in relief against the massed foli-
age beyond, and near by is another
landscape possessing the poetic quality
with strength that makes these land
scapes notable in any exhibition. Two
splendid CanYases by Hanson Puthuu
are equally well hung, most ettectlVe
with their well modelled tree forms and
skllfully handled scale of color.
"Cfenaga," a small canvas by John
w Smith, is most pleasing in the
treatment of it's soft-falling shadows
and it's refinement of color. "Topanga
Fields" by f. r. Miner, is exception
ally fresh and direct in treatment, a
strong, sincere bit of painting.
Benjamin Chambers Browns Moon
rise on the Marshes" is canvas char
acteristic of the artist, and the Even
ing, Matilija Canyon" is one of the
strongest paintings we have seen from
his brush.
Franz Bischoffs we'll handled tree
study. "The Oaks" is one of the most
ambitious of the canVaseS in TINS Sec
ton and A. Clinton Conner also eX-
hibits q large canvas, a trIthfully
rendered scene from the Upper arroyo.
The two delightful Holland sketches
by Ralph Fullerton Mocine in their
rich touches of color compensate for
the absence of the all-pervading sun
shine that characterizes his recent
California landscapes. Sweet Pea
Farm" by Valentine Costello, is
charming bit of riotous color, most
agreeable in the handling of its pure
pigments.
No more poetical interpretations of
nature
uuisite water colors by Frank Liddell,
the Gray Sunset" with all the mystic
ism of a Corot, and Summer Sea"
showing the same rarely artistic quail
ity.
1t is conceded that our landscape
men in America stand at the head of
all the nature painters in the world,
and among the canvases shown in the
collection of the new art club there
american school, of outdoor art.
Among the figure studies our strong
est portrait painters are represented by
striking canVases-Rob Wagner's por-
trait of the Rev. Thomas Sherman is
one of that painters notable successes.
Helma Heynsen Jahn's portrait OF her
mother possesses the refinement OF
subtle delineation of character, and the
study of a golden-haired child is full
of life and feeling The Japanese Stu
dent by John Hubbard Rich, were 1t
not for the intrusion of portions of the
background, might be termed one of
the best things of the exhibition, and
is certainly splendid piece of paint
ing, the head treated with restraint
and understanding, and the hands
holding q rich toned book, are admir-
ablv done, and another canvas by
Rich. Beatrice" is delightful in the
richness and warmth of its color
Julia Bracken Wendt, the first woman
artist to be voted a member of the
new club, is represented by one OF her
exquisite reliefs, a portrait study of
Carl oscar Borg, so different from all
those that have already made her
famous that we can compare 1t only 10
the familiar portrait relief of Robert
Louis Stevenson. On a small pedestal,
effectively placed in wide doorway, is
the ideally beautiful "Nymph," de
signed for a fountain, which won much
praise when exhibited last year in the
galleries of the art institute of Chi
cago. -,.s
If the present showing of the Califor-
mia Art club is an indication of the
quality of their forthcoming exhibitions
we may expect a display that Will be
notable in art circles.
The others of the exhibition VIII be
taken up in a later review, Among
these are a number of salon paintings
by artists of distinction and canVasses
bv several of our veteran landscapists.