Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-10-11
Fdlldcies of
Art Exposed
in q Novel
"Lunatic Asylum Neo-Inpres-
sionists,, and Authors Back
ground in "ThorIey Weir"

"Thorley Weir" by z. F. Benson,
published by the J. B. Lippincott
Company. of Philadelphia and Lon
don, is a book for the artist and the
dramatist; but, especially for the
neo-impressionist painter of whom
wrote last week IN the Evening
Star. For this most modern of the
opponents of the art of painting Ii
contains a suggestion for the display
of his work which I shall quote.
Here 1t Is.
"craddock arrived not a quarter
OF an hour later. with Mr.. Ward.
He was in the height Of cheerful
Fspirits, having, only an hour before,
disposed of his entire lunatic asylum
of post inpressionist pictures to a
friend Of Wards whose ambition It
was to spend as much as possible
over the establishment, in q manner
totally unprecedented and unique,
of his house In New York. The din
ing-room was called the Inferno: It
had black walls with e frieze of real
skulls. The floor OF the drawing
room was on a steep slant, and all
the tables and chairs had two short
and two long legs in order to keep
their occupants and appurtenances on
the horizontal.
Post Impressionist Shrine.
1t was for this room, brightly de-
scribed to him by the owner, that
the post impressionists were de-
signed, and Craddock, in sympathy
with his clients conviction that they
were predestined for 1t, had put an
enormous price on them, and the
hor. ~. 3TG
pleted''
Here. il the pages of novel, writ
ten by an author whose knowledge
of art is well known. is an implied,
blasting criticism of the neo i'm
pressionist and cubist that, like
brilliant cartoon. does more damage
to an indefensible convention than
columns of verbose editorial.
In contrast to this is the beautiful
description of the portrait of his
mother. painted by the hero of the
novel. which, a true representation of
visual poetry, with perfect harmonies
of tone and arrangement. expressed
the love of the mother for her son,
part of her body and soul, SO wildly
that. like Whistler he gave to the
applauding world symbol of the
mother of all ages.
| When Sir Walter Besant wrote
"Amorel of Lyonesse," he typified the
ghoul who makes GHOSTS" of pic
lures: a man destitute of genius of
his own, who. to buttress his false
Aaim to it, enslaves a real artist and
then exploits this artists work as
his. Not less powerful is the delinea-
ton in "Thorley Weir" of the para
site of art. Craddock, who, with the
born taste of the connoisseur, impos-
sible of artificial attainment. describes
| the genius of an artist and play
wright, and, discerning the taste of
the public, out of both. with fraud
and deceit. enriches himself at their
expense and. as well, reinforces his
fame as a modern Maecenas.
A Life-Like Portrait.
The portrait, softened as 1t is with
! q perfect knowledge OF human ma
! ture, so that the character shall not
be drawn too forbiddingly and un-
naturally appeals directly and for
chilly to the man of experience of life
and of various degrees of rascality,
one pregnant sentence will indicate
| the authors profound knowledge of
| the heart of man.
When Craddock has been exposed
by his victims, he with the incon-
| sistency of the convicted scoundrel,
| turns upon Charles Lathom, the
brilliant young artist whom he had
defrauded, yet of whom he was really
fond, and said: 81 should not have
thought this of you. Charles"
1T might be objected says the
author, that a man does not will
fully and cruelty injure one Of whom
he is fond. Such an objection Is
mistaken and ignorant. For herein
lies three-quarters of the tragic deal
ings OF the world, namely, that day
by day and all day long, men strike
and betray their friends. They do
not wrong those who are Indifferent
to them; for where should be the
motive of that?"
| Alas! who cannot echo these words
who has lived long?
"Thorley Weir" should be known
by all who love to read of life as
! the gift of imagination paints it in
fiction. It's delicate plot, its truth,
its human interest are admirable. But
above all 1t, unconsciously, perhaps,
! states clearly the drawn line" which
| forever divides true art from bas-
tard attempts of farceurs whose
minds are as unbalanced as those of
| the megalomaniac.