New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-01-10
ART EXHIBITIONS
A Benefit Display of Portraits
by Raeburn.

Another loan exhibition, OrganlIep loI
the benefit Of the Artists Fund and Art
lists Aid societies, has been opened at the
| Knoedlcr Gallery. This time II Is deyot-
| ed to twenty-four portraits by the
/ eighteenth century Edinburgh master, Sir
/ Henry Raeburn. For several years II has
heen known that American collectors were
| interesting themselves in his work but It
il nevertheless a little surprising TO find
that they can lend on the present oc-
casion an array OF canvascs so imposing.
! Nearly all the portraits arc admirably
representative. Raeburn had. it is true.
mis- supreme moments. Of which there are
| no souvenirs here shown. once or twice,
when he painted such stately full-lcnGths
as the famous "Sr John Sinclair ana
/ the great "Dr. Nathaniel Spens he ap-
proximatcd to something like the grand
! style of the eighteenth century in its
courtliest mood The example IN this
collection nearest In conception 10 thes"
noble compositions. the Thomas Miles
| RidelI." good as il il. belongs among his
more pedestrian works. But one may still
| apprehcnd him here in his essential traits.
| They offer peculiarly interesting ma
terial for discriminating study. Raeburn
was marked by certain insularity which
+. not 10 he attributed merely To the fact
that he wandered little from his Scottish
home. but 10 the cool. self-centred nature
Of his genius. The late II. A. NJ. Steven
son. In the valuable essay which is pre-
! fixed TO Armstrong biography OF the
| PAINTER. has good saying apropos OF
| Raeburn's refusal 10 settle In London.
"Tic might have seen more pictures. In"
I critic remarks. but then he was more
! interested in people than in portraits.
/ Ills preoccupaton with people gives eh-
, traordinsry variety 10 his portraits as
| studies of character. on tho other hano,
his distsste for travel would seem TO nave
reacted upon his technique, not weakening
| IT, but giving IL what We can only descrioe
as a kind Of 1xity. Raeburn Is one OF the
most adroit cIcan-cut and finished paint
/ ers who have ever lived. His method was
simple and direct and. having soon mas
tered il. he appears TO have gone on with
an almost uncanny ease and self-pos-
session. knowing exactly what he wanted
to do and generally doing II WITH complete
success lie paid the penalty OK his facl-
| its and aplomb. II is interesting, as We
| have limited. TO discriminate with Raeburn,
and II is particularly necessary. because
! his merits. so far as they 60, arc 80 de-
! lghtfuly satisfying What could he
more admirable than one OF these truly
| "speakine" PORTRAITS OF his. so racy ana
so svmpathrtic. so workmanlike and 40
lightly touched: But IL Is when you be
I int he snIl ~ them when
! YOU begin TO analyze their style. that YOU
realize, in the saying OF the novelist, tha'
( there are other dreams
! Reynolds had an Infinitely richer and
more powerful sense OF design. Romney
gift Wa. for a gracious and even romance
elegance OF which Raeburn has only the
rarest flashes In the sensuous poten-
tialiti.s Of sheer painting, Gsinsoo'ough.
with that incompar bic 'feathefy touch
OF his seems 10 belong 10 An enufeF
different world-a world wherein such
reconcile matters as color. tone and brush
work imply a magic which the scotch
man never knew. The net result Of these
comparisons however. is not criticism OF
Eseburn for lacking this OF that FACULTY
which ne was never meant 10 possess oht
a reflection Of the nature of the purely
personal element entering into his art IAr
fr.' idea that suggests itself whsn We
look Tor Rseburn in Eaeburns portraits
Il. that th-r. wa, very little granite In
him for 4 Scotchman. very little OF the
strength spelling originality. lie has no
noticeable idiosyncrssy. n one may INST
subtract all disparaglng significance from
IN. phrase one might say that he was
hot Is tn ~
he raises the ability Of the journey man
10 the nth power, does his work so well
40 hn.ly that YOU cannot hut admire IT,
and AT thu same time gives YOU no single
CLEAN of that IRE which Is characteristic
Of the really creative genius. In Rae
hurn's art all il poise and measure. lie
draws nuently, accurately. like gentle
man. but there - no great charm. no o"-
guiding individual quality. in his drafts
manship. So. likewise. II is with MS
pure and tremendously handled color.
color so fresh ana transparent ana iaid
on with such clear directness that you
cannot look at ii without pleasure. rn-
ioysbl. as il is. YOU would give II all FOR
passsge vibrating with the blues OF
Gainsborough. or softly soothing the eyr
with the srsys Of Nelasquez.
Il Was one. said in a memorable analy-
sis Of the poet Gray that he never spoke
out similarly IL may be said Of Rae
burn that he never let himself go. Wen
apprised OF the limits oi his cratt. ne cA-
erci.ed the latter with unfailing discfr-
ton. He was In essence TOO accom-
plished and too good painter 10 ran
irredeemably upon msnnellsm YET ne
came perilously near descending INTO tEat
Dit. Go through this exhibition ooser'ihs
more particularly the portraits or men,
and note the crisp, square-cut fashlon III
which he blocks out his heads. Note
even more narrowly. the rudy slo"
which he imparts 10 face atter race
Doubtless his robust sitters. being mostly
OF a full habit. gave him repeatedly the
same flesh tints To study. Yet We venture
10 surmse that Raeburn did not 40 much
study them as paint them, unconsciousl>'
nerhaps from formula In the back ~
his mind. The same thought is provoked
nv the illumina ton In the General All
drew Hay" The light Is always taiiihs
more or less in that subtly theatrical
fashion upon the heads In Eseburn poi-
traits And yet despite all That Ia seem
ingly Fictitious in his art. Raeburn con
vinces us OF his sincerity and OF the
fundamentally spontaneous impetus be-
mind his work where Sir Joshua himself.
far greater man. will not infrequently
disclose stacy characteristics. II is
curiously complex problem. mere u
probably no other eminent painter IN MS
tory who triumphed as masterfuily az
Raeburn did. and triumphed with so niue
az uha, tnr Lack Of a better word. modern