New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1910-04-21
ART EXHIBITIONS
New Pictures by Mr.. George
LukS and Some Others.

for by his having a show OF his own. II
may be seen at the Macbeth Gallery, where
he has been given room enough for the
display OF his art at fun length. Nearly
I forty canvases are on the walls. pictures,
portraits and landscapes. and il is inter-
ies.ing to sec this mass OF material inter-
estinE because Mr. Luks is self-corTfdent
/ type. seeking TO beat out a path Of his
own. For that reason he Immediately en-
cages the Observers sympathy. There is
always something ingratisting about the
painter who manfully rejects convention,
and Mr. Luks follows HIS robust ideal with
/ a courage and a sincerity that by them
selves draw US to him. A good purpose
I however. will not alone carry an artist
through, and this seems an exhibition of
purpose rather than one of achievement
Studying II. too. with every desire to find
in IL a really promising significance. one
ends by specializing as to whether. after
sll. the man who has made il has the root
OF the matter in him
There are artists who survive largely
through their possession Of what We can
only describe as extra-srtistic qualities, but
10 whom the world grants a certain distinc-
ton, because in one way or another they
occasionally contrive TO show you that
n
fesson. Blake, in England. is such type.
Now and then among his incoherent and
often crude, If not slovenly. productions
you viii come upon passages denoting the
powerful craftsman and the consummate
colorist- So. likewise, in the case of the
French Moreau. YOU find yourself ignoring
alike the beauty Of his conception and the
livid nature OF some OF his tones and de-
lighting in an exquisite bit Of drawing or
touch revealing a fine sense OF form.
In other words, IL sometimes happens that
work full OF defects VIII receive kind OF
subtle sanction from the artists casually
reminding us that he, too, has been in
Arcadia On the other hand. there are
I artists who seem to demand the liberties
Of these rare spirits without bringing for
ward quite their credentials. II is in this
category that We would place Mr.. Luks-
He has cleverness rather than strength,
an appearance OF artistic power rather than
the power itself. The technical resources
indispensable TO man of his point OF view
are obvious. He looks at life with direct
ness, he sees form simply and boldly; he
is. in short, a wholesome realist- For the
proper translation OF his ideas into terms OF
paint the things that are needed are. as
one might say but the rudiments-sound
brush work spelling nervous force and a
sort OF swift authority. Execution is every
thing for painter OF his tendencies. and it
must be brilliant execution, absolutely sure,
/ true. and. above all things, distin guished.
It must have something about il OF the
quality that belongs 20 Manet. Mr. Luks
does not come within a thousand miles Of
Manet.
! His hest work gives the impression Of a
lucky experimentalist who has felt his way
with intuitive skill for a good effect and
has somehow got il upon canvas. Take. for
example. the picturesque theatrical subject
''Pagliacci." with its suggestive play OF
light and its vivid implication Of an excit-
ing episode Momentarily you feel its spell
and murmur that il is akin 10 the spell Of
Daumier. but then. as you look closely 10
the mint and cummin OF technique in the
picture YOU wistfuIly remember the won
derful grasp upon form and the brilliant
craftsmanship which the great French
man would have put into a work OF the
sort. over and over again Mr.. Luks dis
appoints US In the same way. His types
from the slums are very truthfully de-
lineated. His portraits have a notably crisp
reality. His big picture OF The Wrestlers'
is. IN It's brutal way. q moving study. But
.
technician for whom drawing. modelling
and color have an eloquence Of their own,
an eloquence to be brought out for its own
sake and further enriched with personal
power and charm. The odd thing. too. is
that on occasion Mr.. Luks seems 10 tTen-
BILE as IL were. on the verge of really fine
painting. Witness the handling OF the head
OF the man in The Guitar or the tone in
The Little Grey Girl and the "Nocturne.
] Ganseyoort Dock" For the rest. however.
IL is as though he were moving about in
worlds not realized. painting with SO much
cleverness that he almost carries cOnvic-
ton. but in the long run suggesting that all
this nominally vigorous work rests on
slight foundation. one renews in this eXhi-
bition the sensation developed at the show
OF the Independent Artists wondering
why afirmations so energetic and so free
should carry so little weight. We come
back in the one instance, as in the other.
to the reflection that an artist may be
never so original and yet find proft-if only
he could be persUaded-in academic dsci-
pline VIII that, and with study Of the
beauty that is 10 be extorted from mere
paint. Mr.. Luks would greatly strengthen
his work
Three exhibitions occupy the Knoedler
Gallery. Nr. Louis kronberg, who makes
one Of them. is an sdroit craftsman with
a graceful pictorial faculty. His figures
are well placed. in the portrayal Of some
OF them he shows clever sense Of move
ment. and he : facile. II not especially
distin guished. in his drawing. one or
two nudes particularly well illustrate his
aptitude His studies in oils are disap-
pointing. tie color in them being some
what heavy and with very attractive
quality. but as a pastellist he is delicate