The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-12-27

skying and hiding away Of the more
meritorious works and featuring of the
hopelessly banal. There have been in
stances. a long time ago. thank heaven
of hanging committees who gave their
own pictures the places of honor ana
gave the next best places to thelr
friends; hut that sort of thing. happiiy'
Is obsolete. This present hanging COM
mittee knew the good pictures, IL Is
plain.
We gathered this not so much from
the row of best things along the nortn
wall Of the Vanderbilt Gallery. which Is
the place where all the frank artists con-
fess that they like to see their works
as from the fact that there are so iew
objects of interest in the Morgue TINS
wear. Honestly. We confess that never
before has the Academical Morgue been
so uninteresting. With ones good ma
ture at the boiling point, there are AFTER
all only about two works that one would
rescue from the Morgue, and one OF
these is not Mr.. Pietro's portrait bust OF
Caruso, either. The question as TO
whether the committee should mass the
good things in one important group or
scatter them throughout all the CALLER
les Is not especially important. There
are advocates !: equal numhers for hath
systems The great thing is for the
committee to know which works have
interest and to place them so they may
be seen. This our 1914 committee knew
and did.
Many a decent painting has been
ruined by being placed over the descent
to the cellars in times past, but Mr..
Vonnoh's immense backdrop, on which
he has painted an eXpanse OF blazing
red peoples. is helped by being viewed
from across the fence and on the
other hand IL is so violent in color that
IL would have been most unfair to neigh
boring pictures had IL been placed any
where else in the Academy. We cite
this as an example of tact in hanging.
SO too is the instance of Mr.. Garrison s
effort upon religious theme, which in
the nature of things was rightly given
the place OF honor in the Vanderbilt
Gallery.
Mr.. Carlsen's 80 Ye OF Little Faith
made something of stir among the
artists at the Vanishing Day because
of its subject-Christ walking upon the
waters That religious pictures should
he so nfrequent in our academies is a
striking commentary upon the times we
live in. Mr.. Carlson. who paints ma
rines must often have pondered upon
his subject when making studies for his
pictures, but the truly pious. We fear
will be as much disturbed by his per-
Torrance as were the artists upon Var
nishing Day. In the early days painters
exploited this theme fearlessly and with
the absolute and unshrinking realism OF
the mira culous fact, but In Mr.. Carlsen's
work there il a burst of light from the
sky reflected in the water and in the
pathway of this light small figure OF
the Christ can be made out by believing
eyes, which sceptiCs might still deny
claiming II to be mere effect Of th'
light. Such an Interpretation is wholly
modern.
If there be such a thing as the" pic
ture OF the Academy this yelr it must
he Mr.. Belows's Girl at Piano" Tho"
picture of the show Is always one which
those who take more than a casual
interest I'm art. such as students and
art critics, examine with a scrutiny
that Is three parts technical Tn "Girl
nj Plano attracts more of this atten-
ton than any of its rivals. II marks
too an apprec.abl. advance in drawing
over Mr. Bellows's figure pieces of last
year, and drawing has been tnlt part Of
ms equipment as AN artist that Mr..
Bellows most need, ID to strengthen.
There are styles that get along wei
enough without drawing. but not Mr..
Bellowss. You can see it Is in his mind
10 draw, and since it is suggested moth
ING rcmins but to master II. To have
painted the" picture Of this years
Academy is very nice, but not every
Thing. To paint a picture that shall he
worthy Of "A place On a line with a great
-danet or a good Whistler, and We trust
slis is Mr.. Bellows's secret ambition, he
..uSt not go Ia them for drawing but 10
',.e masters who taught them drawing
All stylists have m assured themselves
with the greatest and we believe there
y no other way 10 acquire style.
,rtw' Who beats ms in drawing .
Leonardo, Goya, IIolbcin, Nalasquez and
50 on with an appallingly long list that
winds up with some who are living
This Is ridiculous, It is up to me to
he higher llp ON the list What man n,