Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-05-25
FINE ARTS SPRING BALL
MOT LIKE 1T USED TO
Be- MASKERS Wall
Artists. Near Artists and Some
who "Travel" With Artists
Attended, but Something
Was Lacking"
ntpo CLOSED WITH BANG

:, sas o'clock this morning, Just 25
~ before scheduled time, the Spring
NJ, ~ the Academy of the Fine Arts had
beaa Safe an end Always, In all the years
cone academy has been giving these semi.
naval ~, balls, they have ended at a. m. or
near H. Today was the ,.,,S excep.ion, ,ln or =, a.,
,na hail OF 1915 that is little straw
Btin.s .hovvs how the wind blew. The
', wnlo hand of inhibition had fastened 1T
ne NJ yr,,th an iron clutch on this masque
80 famed for its Bohemianism for its
lons .nvalrv. for its color and daring cos
s.s say This time, as always, there was
ion''f ~ ~ fin, but the participants wandered
V'o .rie morning with one sentiment al
.as, unanimously expressed;
.@vvsll. It's not like It used to be"
nm the surface it seemed just the same
,,,sn down. underneath, flowed the current
n disappointment. Almost every one leit
somethlng was wrong
rhsrs was prohibition, as well as inhibi-
49,, in more senses than one. The Acad-
.uss' of1cIals reused by the criticism of the
.,ssn,,e Of the seven art associations, mad
En,sr,ned on the lid" and no less person.
a than John Frederick Lewis himself
sotsd lawyer and president of the Fine Arts
I.sdan,y was there to act as combination
shaperon and policeman
SOMETHING ON HIS HIP"
.rLs watchfuI chaperon he stayed until
..iast horn blew. with an alert eye he
~, along the sidelines. Once he ordered
~ sjection of young man, because, he
LA he had detected him with something
N his hip" An argument ensued and
ssi.rds of the ejected-to-be persuaded Mr..
t,.,,s that the man he accused was not to
s,sr,e But. as some one remarked those
NO wanted anything to drink had to
trne Il themselves, for the man at the door
-onid not allow them to leave the building
an thirst -quenching expedition. Lemon
sde as usual. was served
! The "lcy chill" was given the ball sew
.,al weeks ago. when plans to have Ha-
(. ,vsIan ball were thwarted because of fear
4 that,this would be an incentive to those In
clined to dress In scanty costumes. So 1t
was called lie Bal du Dernier Cri, the pail
of the last word
The costumes many thought, were a
,riae disappointing There was no central
,dea and no one knew just what to wear.
They were colorful and picturesque, in
diyidually as usual; only. as whole, they
were meaningless. IL Is very nard 10 dress
like the last word.
ALL WELL BEHAVED.
You can never tell when some one will
and something to criticise in what seems to
ne the most harmless thing. Nevertheless,
n is hard to believe that any fault-finders
discovered anything at the spring ball at
which to point the finger of censure. Miss
over the masque. was not there, for one
thing and both men and women kept well
within the bounds of propriety for another.
The nearest thing to an extreme was n
creation worn by Lytton Buehler. tall,
fh!r.haired young artist, noted for his ideas
AZ 70 what constitutes a masquerade cos
tune 1t was a garment rather feminine
in nature. without sleeves. and cut low in
= 'front.'.
1t was not that the affair was any less
clever than usual 1t is not that the artists
are accustomed to unlimited privilege, as
50 often asserted. All was up to the usual
standard and the stunts" consisting prin-
!. sipally of minstrel show and a "take-off''
an the Russian ballet were thought above
he average. The walls were beautifully
designed in a queer, grotesque kind of
futirism that made Morton Schamberg,
ponsor for the modern art exhibition now
on, feel perfectly at home. And three times
the Academy fling was danced with every
bit Of its usual swing.
ftS SOME WHO WERE THERE.
II was not that the notables and the com.
ing notabes in the local art world were not
there they were. Hugh Breckenridge,
Arthur Beecher Carles, Leopold Seyffert,
BILLY" Yarrow, Gertrude Lambert. Florence
Whiting, all dressed up for the party, were
enthusiastic participants. So were lots of
minor artists and musicians, and others who
e.P heilher' oul VINO just 'traNel IN artistic
circles.
The whole trouble was that the particl-
pants in the ball felt they were being
watched. That took the edge off the fun.
What do they think 1t is, a Sunday
school picnic?" asked one.
oh. yes, there was another trouble.
frank Buchanan, producer of the art
Hasque, and known to the artists as
buck," did not participate in the stunts .
ne was there. though. in curious side
Ehiskered makeup.
I've gone into the movies" Buck ven
Wred as an explanation.
mere was one thing quite unconventional
soout the ball. That was its comparative
conyentionality.
rs getting to be just like any other
nAssfd ball" the artists remarked sadly
shsy read the time of day registered by
me dig hands beneath the statue of Father