The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-10-17

in public art that falls 10 France has
intrigued me enormously eve since
the early age mt which I first grew
tired Of. the bronze of Horace Greeley
at Thirty-third street and Broadway.
Both Bartlett and Macmonnies gave
me the same rep.y: almost word for
wcrd: Its because the people on the
committees know good art; you an
not foo them" This reply Ia undoubt-
cdly interesting. and the Implication of
strict honesty upon the part Of, the
committees should not be missed by
the gentle reader. who has quit smil-
ing by now. I trust. But with all due
homage to the eminent sculptors
quoted, I do not find their explana-
ions entirely satisfactory.
Rather I am inclined to trace the
clue to some: inherent quality in the
French people themselves. Not, only
the French committees hut the French
general public know good art when
they see 1t. Furthermore. the French
general public has no more fear Of
discussing a work OF art than II has
OF any other topic. 1t loves TO express
It's opinions. which 1t does with great
particularly and vehemence.
II an dTtIst- HltkeS n . Tlt over tneTC
it's a ~palpable hit; and II he doesn't
make a hit he also knows 1t. French
committeeman have their partiaIities
and tendencies toward sin just as ours
have. but fortunately for them. they
have n stern corrective. Woe betide
the luckless committee that should
foist some outrageous monument upon
the pubic just because the author was
a friend OF theirs or a good fellow.
This faculty for 'frankness il to me
the secret weapon Of the French. Oh.
for a little of 1t here.
This is the last afternoon in which
Kenyon Cox's decoration for the Sem
ate chamber OF the STATE Capitol at
Madison, Wis. may be seen in the
Vanderbilt gallery at 215 West Fifty
seventh street. 1t lis entitled THE
Marriage Of the Atlantic and the Pa
cific": it Is in three panels. ami is a
characteristic work by this painter.
New Workers vii. relinquish these
decorations without m great strain
upon their PHILOSOPHERS. but these of
us who have relatives in this far
Western city feel somewhat disturbed.
Two figures representing the oceans
uhe Atlantic. being the older. IL the
gentleman) are being married by a
third figure. in the central panel. The
European nations coming to the cere-
mony occupy one side panel and the
oriental nations balance them in the
third canva II would he easy 10 be
facetious in describing these figures.
for not a CLEAN OF humor has re-
strained the artist in carrying out his
motif.
In a picture painted for all time of
course one Is justified in ignoring the
temporary differences OF opinion that go
infiame the Europe OF the present. but
even in an interval Of peace there is
something ludicrous in the way in
which Mr.. Cox has grouped his arrIv-
ing nations in little boats. In any
epoch So constrained an embarcstion
would produce sea changes Of dire con-
sequence.
To be quite frank. and this is an &C.
casion upon which French candor !s
called for. the composition IL excess
sively amateurlsh and feeble 1t IL
the sort of arrangement that art stu
dents WHO afterward give up art make.
Z dN anu MItflDut lIlSlbl.
The expressions OF the faces mean
nothing, the figures themselves are
m~onotonously out OF proportion and
the color. to put II mildly. is very un-
pleasant.
MIR. Cox has long been a conspicuous
figure in oar art life and in one or two
ways has served this public well. but
upon the whole his career has been
unfortunate both for himself and us.
He writes well. He has recently pub
lished his study OF Winslow Homer.
which Is a credit to all OF US, express
ing beautifully all that We have ever
felt OF Homer. There is no living
American who could have written IL
better. He is "A tr!fe more technical
than the late John La F'a:ge would
have been upon the same subject. but
his volume Is likely to stand as an
authority upon the most native artist
this land has yet produced.
As a critic Mr.. Cox il sound only
upon work that is already a part OF
our traditions. Facing new forms of
expression Mr.. Cox Is always hope-
lessly adrift and in consequence he did
more damage to the generation he
dominated h a any individual in it.
His influence upon students was not
less fatal han his relentless attitude
toward new talent in the public exhibit
tions, for which he seemed To be a per-
petual juryman.
As a painter his successes have been
few. In the early days there was the
portrait of Miss Morgan, the harpist.
that was not bad and there were occa-