Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-06-14
NEW ERA IN AMERICAN
ART COMING, EXPERT IN
DESIGNING ASSERTS
Household Decoration of More
Beauty and Simplicity Aim of
Teachers, Says Miss Helen
Hamaker
URGES REAL COMFORT

There's new era coming in American
| art and that art is to be SO essentially
| American in spirit and conception that we
| can take that place In the realm OF art
| and beauty for which We have long been
| striving. That's what Miss Helen Hamaker
| thinks Miss Uamaker Is the winner Of the
| r. "A. II. Wldener fellowship from the
| Philadelphia School of Design and when
| the war ends she hopes to 60 abroad to
| complete the work that she has begun here.
! She has great faith N what art educators
| are doing for their pupils hence her attl-
| tude regarding American national prestige
| In the future.
ITS wonderful the way the present gem
Grafton is being taught to appreciate the
beautiful she said. THE teachers of art
All over the country are trying to make
| their pupils lock upon art as a whole as
finished product not as series of lessons.
IL Is this vision that makes the present
art what il is PARTICULARLY the art Of house
hold decopationS
"The gteetSe:' fault OF household decora-
tors today--tftt is, OF the average woman
who undertakes to furnish ond decorate
her own hofpe--is an appalling lack Of
simplicity T'heyflonk at things in detail
and they buy them in the time way. When
the average woman gees tn furnish her
hCme she secs cher or n table she likes
and she buys II. She never asks herself
If the two fit into tha sort of room she
is going to have, because she doesn't know
the sort Of room she will have until she
sees 1t, unfortunately for all concerned
Then too, the modern woman overdoes
the decorative scheme n ne times out of
ten unless she has money Enough to have
decorators do the thing for her Even
then personality will out was in
home short while agJ. one of the show
places OF Philadelphia. II was ornamented
with beautiful rugs and tapestries and
furnishings but the sense of home com
fort was absolutely lacking. | didn't feel
as If were in n house at all; Y was an
ART museum. The costlness of the furnish
hlgs themselves made me feel that every
place YOU went there was something to be
careful Of
Now. that is another thing the home
decorator should avoid The home is a
rlace to be lived in; 1t should spell comfort
and elegance and II can do so with the
expenditure of very little money. | have
seen houses furnished with the minimum
amount of money giving the maximum
amount of atmosphere. The wall paper
should be pla n simple half-tones of buff
gray, tan, dull greens, blues and the like
are suitable backgrounds for the room.
Wall paper, to be artistic. should be a
background. That's why figured chintz ef-
fects and cretonnes should be sparingly
used--and not used at all when there isn't
money enough to change II when one tires
Of II, one surely will in a very short
time.
Then comes the question OF furnishings |
Use little in the average household as |
you can, but let that little he good. 1t |
isn't necessary to litter up the room and |
Railways with knickknncks. I feel justified |
in saying that the hall is the character
istic part Of the home: il reveals the habits |
and outlook of the inmates more than any |
other part of the house. plain. long |
hall, with simple furnishings gives breadth |
and interest to the rest of the rooms"
III,
hold decoration changed the conversation
Miss Hamaker Is a textile de- |
signer and has originated many motifs for
rugs wall papers and draperies. Her ideas
on the modern tendencies along these lines
are interesting,
MANY persons are pleased to call the
new art freakish, but | don't thing 1t is"
she tells you. "In the first place, the
new art could liver be unless we had
perfect understanding of the old art II
we hadn't had our old masters IL we
iidnt understand their color values we
wouldn't have anyone to appreciate them
now. The odd squares and circles that are
,sed TO decorate wall papers and hanEings
lowadlys aren't what they seem. They
'epresent thought and study. they are the
rained artists conception OF conventional
motifs
"CoIors are great part of the decora-
i've scheme NOWADAYS. The yellows and
rays and mauve tlnts are popular, rather
han the rose and blues that used to be In
'ogue Dull, indistnCt colors are admir-
IDLY combined; mauve and green and
ream. for instance. may be used on one
rticle But there Is much behind the
decorative art that does not appear on
he surface, II requires such an appreciation
# artistic value and color, design and |
orm. that II Is thing far removed from
he amateur. The average woman doesn't
ealize how much she needs to know to
urnish her own home tastefully."