New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1911-05-06

His physical appearance was mirror
Of this mental attitude. q dignified. I'M
pressive. yet suave warning to him VINO
approached La Fargo for the first time
Of the only way in which he would ne
must be- approached. The alien look
that set him apart among US from the
first was accentuated by the passing OF
the wears. Time set her potina upon
him. saws Mr.. Cortissoz To some VINO
watched him after his return from the
East II appeared almost as II he had
found there his true setting and hao
brought back with him the ultimate
finishing element Of his atmosphere. "A
delightful companion withal In his rev
intimacies, the possessor OF sense VI
humor that was mot precisely saturnine'
but very subtle and little MAIN 100
intellectuaiized for 1t to seem the mere
cayety OF the ordinary man in high
spirits. He practised the delicate art
Of thinking as constantly and naturali!
as he breathed. and this gave conscious
direction to even the most spontaneous
flashes Of his fun. All the relations Oh
life were dramatized in that quick brain
Of his" This habit OF constant thought
made him the incomparably brlihah'
talker he was. His attitude toward he
appears indeed, to have been almost eN-
clusively intellectual n good patriot'
whom only his shortsightedness pre-
vented from taking up arms for the
preservation Of the Union, he yet sug-
gested an older civilization than ours,
mellover tradition Of art and life, as his
proper setting.
Genius does what IL must. 1t is char-
acteristic of the personality Mr.. Cor
tissoz draws by means Of telling touches
that the Muse could not drive 1t to It's
predestined work as genius usually is
driven, without respite or heed or op-
stacles. Art must approach La Fargo
AZ he babe his fellow men approach him
through life. She wooed him gently, al
most imperceptibly: she lured and
tempted him among the old masters; she
awakened him gradually, with infinite
patience, humoring his leisurely pace
through the galleries Of Europe. The
appeal was through the intellect He
studied desultorly en- amateur; then,
suddenly. when his eyes were opened to
the infinite beauties Of this world he
saw how much he had learned, he dis
covered that his brain was teeming with
knowledge and with appreciation, but
teeming also with problems to be solved
in the exercise OF his art. This part OF
the book should prove Of infinite service
to young artists feeling their way, seek
ing practical guidance for their first
steps on the long, long road. But now
genius did drive La Fargo, once he mad
been awakened! More or less Of an In
valid for the greater part OF his life
like Delacroix. he was the victim OF
lead poisoning-La Fargo stands as an
example of what can be achieved in the
face Of the most serious Of obstacles by
the man who must. of what may be at
least undertaken by the man who would.
Yet, true TO himself to the last, he APP
proached his greatest venture in art, his
glass work, with the same deliberation
as had marked his first approach 70 his
career.
Mr.. Cortissoz's monograph, to give 1t
its technical name, though one would
rather call it an etched portrait is the
result Of long and close friendship.
He began to gather the material that
has gone to its making several years
ago, with its subjects knowledge and
full approval. In fact, La Fargo took q
vivid interest in it from the first and
contributed to it many data, anecdotes
and statements of fact which he had
already jotted down for his own pro-
jected reminiscences-begun but never
finished, owing to his increasing Ill
healthier which occurred to him in the
course Of the years. Wherever possible
the artist is thus made to tell his own
story in his own words. and to discuss
the technical side Of his work. His at
titude toward the book is fully explained
in a note printed here among many
others:
1 have, OF course. no knowledge OF how
you are going to handle the Facts OF my
life as an artist, externally or internally.
Wbat en anxious about IS TO tell YOU
what I know. and what think. or certain
things ! have done; Mhether ' t6cv a do
10 me Is another matter. The mere tacts'
however. are matters Of date or or record.
and are not things OF appreciation except
i'm the sense Of gauging their importance.
In the different cases Of a good deal OF my
work these points Of how and why / came
to do a thing are important 70 me be
cause they are usually unrelated 10 any
thing being done outside at that time
The "hows" and why's" OF La Farge's
career are. indeed, important matters IN
the history OF art. above all in the his
tory OF its development in this country.
They could not have been put down more
clearly or more impersonaly than they
are put down here, in direct narrative or
in many conversations. jotted down from
memory on the very evenings Of their oc-
currence. As for the critical apprecia-
ton Of the results, Mr.. Cortissoz IS con-
cerned with the meaning and the value
of La Farge's work 9s a whole rather
than with his works considered singly,
whether on the walls Of our galleries
and churches or Opalescent in window
spaces. in all the beauty OF n trans
formed ancient art. Here, as I'm the
study Of the man. the genius aud the
friend. there is consistent purpose fully
attained-the production of synthetic
final impression.
Mechanically the book is a thing OF
beauty from the simplicity Of It's title
page, through every detail OF its typog-
raphy, 70 the quiet binding, bearing for
sole ornament a reproduction I'm gold of