Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-05-02
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-OUR panels for the audience room in
liz the Wisconsin state capitol at Madl-
Is son, painted by Charles 1ardley
Turner. have been placed on exhibition in
the Hemicycle Hall of the Corcoran Cal
lery of Art, where they may be seen until
the 18th of this month.
These panels are seven feet in width
and about twenty-five feet in length, and
represent four phases of transportation.
They will be placed high on the walls Of
the audience chamber, twenty feet from
the floor. and above paneling in siena
marble For this reason they are boldly
painted and are warm in tone. The color.
which is strong and simple. is held in
large, fiat masses, and the figures are
grouped almost in single plane In
deed, the first impression that this series
of decorative paintings gives is OF a
pageant passing upon a we'll set stage
In fact, it is the drama Of life, chapters
from the history of the development Of
the west.
The first of the series, which has been
placed on the fiat wall of the hemicycle,
shows a procession Of Indians on horse
back. They move in single file along the
| edge of deep-cut valley, from which the
a
primitive form of wagon. a drag without
wheels, on which one of the squaws with
her papoose is sitting nonchalantly. There
is something very picturesque and dra-
matte about this procession moving SO
rhythmically across the Landscape. There
is a silent dignity in the poise Of the red
men, and certain pathos when associ-
ated with the thought Of their endless
migratfons.
The second panel is also an Indian pic
| f1,r In 10 he m
Of transportation and the scene is the
shore of the great lake upon which Wis
consin borders. The white man has made
his appearance and Roman Catholic
the far west. is seen explaining the sig
nificance of the cross to listening In
dian. One canoe is drawn up by the
shore awaiting its cargo. others are seen
pushing through the blue water which
stretches for q great distance beyond.
The third panel represents an old
fashioned stage coach, drawn up before
a typical wayside inn. The horses are
being changed and fair maiden in dainty
costume is about to alight from the coach.
This was certainly a roma ntic mode of
transporta ton and travel, and those who
in these later days have tried coaching
in our own far west or IN foreign coun-
tries know that it can be made very de-
lightful under suspicious circumstances.
But very few would. we fancy, be willing
to return to it as an exclusive means of
getting about the country. Mr.. Turner
has presented its most picturesque phase.
as do the writer's of pleasant fiction. The
lady alighting from this splendid coach
seems ready for afternoon tea. II not
ball. and the men on the top appear
neither travel-stained nor weary. But it
is a charming picture and SO far as the
stage coach goes is absolutely historically
correct.
The fourth and last panel of the
series brings the narrative down to the
present time and shows the modern
city with it's factory chimneys. it's
blocks Of buildings. it's busy water
front In the foreground to the right
is a steamboat and to the left a steam
engine and train. A street or plaza
forms the platform from which persons