New-York tribune., 1910-12-25
OPPOSE OFFICERS Plan
Contention Over Site of National
Academy of Design.
OBJECT TO BRYANT PARE
Some Members Criticise Action
Taken by President and
Council.

The National Academy of Design is likely
to find considerable opposition among its
own membership to the proposition Of put
ting the new building of the academy on
the west side of Bryant Park. 1t is by no
means assured yet that the city will give
up that site for the building: but, even il
the city consents, there are many members
| of the institution who are not willing to ask
for the privilege.
The plan decided on by John w. Alexan-
DER the president. and the council is to try
to obtain seventy or eighty feet from the
| curb line on the east side OF Sixth avenue
back into the park, and also the length of
| the park, from 10th to 42d street. The build
| ing to be put up would have an arcaded
structure over the sidewalk, and the gen.
eral design would be in conformity with
| that of the new library
| Some of the members of the academy
were inclined to be offended yesterday be-
cause the plan was made public before they
were told OF it.
You would think it would be ordinary
courtesy for the president and the council
to inform the members of the academy be-
fore they took the public into their conf
dence. said one Of them. Il think they
will find that there will be good deal of
opposition to their plan when 1t does come
up before the academy. There was opposi-
ton to the plan to put the building in Cen
trail Park. and there will be just as much
opposition to this PLAN
Il am opposed to it. and 1 will fight it
to the end, said George H. Yewell who
was one of the leaders in the Central Park
plan opposition. Il don't believe in TAX
Ing away any part of the breathing space
in the citV a is
and it is not right to forget the great mass
of the people who need the parks.
"A park given to the people of the
East Side short time ago, and that was a
fine thing to do. But here is a plan to
take away almost much ground as was
given in that other park. We ought to
nave private site.
IF the city has any ground that is not
used as a park that it is willing to give to
lis, that is another thing. But if we can't
get the ground in that way, don't believe
in taking the parks. We have a good site
now in 109th street We could build there
But there is too much commercialism in
the academy. There are too many men,
bers who want the building put some place
where they can have a cahnce to sell their
pictures. That is not the object of the
academy, and it is not the spirit that
should rule
r NJ. Shurtleff another of those who OBJ
jected TO the Central Park site. found rea-
sons to be against Bryant Park also.
Il don't see" he said why the acad-
e1ny should be made the shield against the
elevated structure for the library. There
is talk about the rnsightly elevated road
Spelling the appearance of the library. Why
won't the same structure spoil the appear
- h. hill,
-'Fhey talk of a plan to arcade the street
in order to shut of the l. That won't
shut off the L from the academy building.
1t will only make it worse They want to
jam right up against the L in order to
shield the library. l am opposed TO any
such thing.
when we sold our old building at 23d
street and Fourth avenue 1 tried to have
the academy buy new site al 40th street
and Sixth avenue, but then the members
said they didn't want place right along
side of the l." Now they want it. If the
IL" was an impossible feature half a dozen
years ago, it is no better now. At least /
haven't seen any improvement in it,
George H. Smillie was still afraid that
the city would try TO have too much to say
about the affairs of the academy, if the
building stood park property. That
was the ground ne LOOK against lne cen
trail Park proposition.
| "lf the city would give the ground to
| improve according to own plans, and
then keep its hands off, he said, 1.-The
proposition might be feasible. But l don't
| believe the city would do it. 1t would
want to say what kind Of a building we
| should put UP, and then would want to
say how we should run exhibitions, and
probably would want to have exhibitions
| of its own in our building. They might
want to hold their next budget exhibit in
| our galleries.
There are men to give millions for Ii
braries and | saw the other day that some
man in Boston said that he had 500. .000,-
| COO pledged for foreign missions. With
| all that money TO gi"e away, it seems to
| re that some one might be found with
| enough public spirit to give US the site for
our building. 1t would be one of the great
est educational features of the city as well
! as one of the most beautiful, and / don't
| believe in this way of going TO the city and
asking them to give US something. We
| have a great national academy of art. that
| is what we call ourselves. and we ought to
| he able to stand our own feet.
| ~yyYn mn Dp DTTDD AuMnDTAT