Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-01-18
y NEWS AND NOTES OF ART AND ARTISTS. II

: water colorists. but very little by those
of other nationalities. To pegln WILL
water color was merely drawing In col
| or" as it was actually called, the paper.
as in these paintings by Mr.. Bacon, being
stained with transparent wash inns
gives daintiness and charm OF tiht Due
unless most skillfully employed precludeo
strength of effect. By the broader Dutch
method and the use of body color the
pure wash has been almost entirely sup
planted
Whether this fact should be lamented
or not is a matter of personal cnolce.
1t should be understood, however, that
by master any medium can be well
used; that it is, chiefly a question or rec
ognZing limitations and employing, even
to the point of eXhausting. possloiiltles.
This it can hardly be said Mr.. Bacon did
His coloring is clear. his touch light, MS
drawing good, but his pictures lack force
and conviction. They are admirably IL
Illustrative, but they are not effective, ana
they indicate patiently trained skill ratn-
er than real inspiration. The architectural
renderings, wherein a liberal transcript
| ton of fact was the chief object, are
without doubt the best of the works
! shown, but even these fall far short or
| transcriptions of the same kinds of SUD-
| jects rendered by Joseph Lindon Smith.
The pictorial themes have. 1t is true,
| much to commend them to those VINO
have visited Egypt, being pleasantly rem
| niScent of that great country, but In
more than one instance they come dan
gerously near being over-pretty and
thereby FORGETTING their claim of truth
| Nature is never simply pretty, for nc
matter how gentle the beauty. how deli
, cate the blending of color, there ds al
| ways the conscious note Of strength, the
sense of supreme power in creation, which
gives profound significance.
| A n extremely interesting series OF mu-
raj decorations has recently been
placed in the United States custom house
! in New York This series, by Elmer E.
Garnsey. comprises ten paintings Of seven
| teenth century ports. These ports. each
/ of which is shown in a separate panel,
are Amsterdam, Holland; New Amster-
dam, New York: London and plymouth,
| England; La Rochelle, France; Cadiz.
Spain; Genoa, Italy; Curacao, in the Ca
ribbean sea-; Port Royal, Jamaica. and
| Fort Orange, now Albany, N. Y.
| This period and these places were select
ed not only because Of picturesque posi-
| bilities, but on account of actual relation
to the discovery, settlement and COM
merce of the Dutch and English colonies
| in the new world. The Jews, which are
! historically accurate, but at the same
! time very decorative in design and treat
| ment, snow the ports as Iney were IN
1874, the last year that the Dutch flag
foated over Fort Amsterdam. the walls
of which inclosed the site of the present
| custom house. 1t will be remembered
that it is in the United States custom
house in Baltimore that the lOtable mu-
raj paintings by the late F. d. Millet.
showing the ships of all nations and all
time, are to be found.
| * X
AT the Maryland Institute, Baltimore, a
notable little exhibition is now being
held of paintings by distinguished Amer
lean artists, loaned by William T. Evans
| from his private collection. At the Pea
| body Institute, in the same city, a COM
prehensive collection Of water colors is
being shown under the auspices of the
Charcoal Club. The Walters Gallery is
also open Wednesdays and Saturdays.
LEILA MECHLIN.