Evening star., 1915-12-12

7 amuse, but it really is not funny. 1t
! is an affront to art and to the public
! to art which has within its power the
manifestation of beauty. and to the
| public which turns to art for inspira-
! ton and pleasure.
| Discussing this kind of art in a re-
| cent interview. published in the New
York Times. Joseph Pennell said: "All
artists welcome new art which is art,
| but if this is art, Titan, Frans Halls,
Rembrandt. Michelangelo. Velasquez
| were not artists And he adds:
| There is treason in this sort of thing:
| it is treason not to study. not to ac-
| quire skill. not to work; all these are
| indispensable to an artist
! Joseph Pennell is a stanch moderniSt
! himself. but his modernism takes a
different turn. He sees beauty in the
great wonder of work. he looks upon
| the Panama canal and the great build
ings of New York with the eyes of an
artist. and interprets them in the
terms of beauty.
But Mr.. Sloan and many of the other
kind of modernists are not unframed,
nor are they striving to find short cuts
with the purpose of saving labor. Mr..
, Sloan is a hard student, an indefati
ga BILE worker. and he is sincere. And
herein lies the mystery. Mr.. Sloan
first gained prominence through his
drawings and paintings of street life
on the East Side of New York, pictures
which were by no means charming.
some say, is to interpret life, and the
more wildly the better: but life is
sometimes ugly and sordid. and when
such is interpreted. it must be by the
terpreting, redeems. if it is to be
durable. Such. among writer's was
Dickens, and among painters Rem
brandt.
two children and their nurse hangs be-
side the painting by Mr.. Sloan, is one
of the most gifted of the younger
generation of cotemporary American
artists. He has facility, knowledge.
and to his credit real achievement. and
yet it would be difficult to find a less
engaging work of art than this. 1t is
really quite amazing. it is so badly
done, unskiilful and inartistic.
Henry Salem Hubbelrs portrait of the
actor Whitford Kane as Mrs. Farrell
in Press Cuttings is broadly painted
and not exactly lovely. but it is vital
is excellent. and in this picture we have
a twice-interpreted character-and a
real character at that
Robert Henri's portrait of Emma
definite personality. Few have exerted
stronger influence in the present gen.
Grafton than this painter. He has both
followers and imitators by scores.
impressionism of Manet-and he COM
mands his medium. Perhaps it is the
Unborn love of the savage for color that
tempted him to paint as he has the
Flower Boy" in this exhibition, or
perhaps it was the tendency of the
time for exaggeration and excess
Good color. distinguished painter
once said. never faunts itself-it does
not have to-"
From the standpoint of personality,
three of the most charming pictures in
this exhibition are of women, who, on
the road of life, have passed beyond
youth and middle age One of these
has already been mentioned, Irving
Wiles' portrait of Mrs Gilbert: an
other is John c. Johanson's portrait of
Mrs McLane; the third is William
Cotton's portrait of his mother
Among the portraits of men are three
of special distinction because in part
of the celebrity of the subjects. These
are S. Montgomery Roosevelt's portrait
Of Hudson Haxim, the inventor and ex-
pert in connection with high explosives
and firearms; Louis Belts portrait of
Hamlin Garland, the author, and Doug
las Volks portrait of himself. Artists
of all time have painted themselves,
but few have SO truly pictured them
selves as has Mr.. Volk.
This exhibition continues until De-
cember 26, after which the collection
goes to Chicago, Pittsburgh and other
cities.