The sun., 1916-11-13
SCRUBWOMAN STARS
IN PORTRAIT SHOW
william B. Starkweather Dis
plays His Art Occultism
in Low Life.
TER EXALTATION CAUGHT
Watercolors by William B. E,
Rankin, English Artist,
Are Exhibited.

The following QUOTATION 10 APPENDED 10
N. Portrait OF Margaret Donegan. q
s.uAlo Scrubwoman.' by William B.
starkveather. now on exhibition In the
Folsom Galleries:
There are those Of great nobility OF
h.,r,. upon whose lives the most potent
influence Is the conviction Of he near
nes. at all times OF soms n greatly
beloved, but long since dead. TO these
,ob,. natures these unseen presencss are
more vital and important than the living
esople by whom they are surrounded.
"HHNRv NAufHoNIRR."
But Il IL far from explaining this
curious work Of art. The casual amateur
might not unnatura'ly jump at the con.
~e,usion. and especially before seeing the
picture. that Margaret Donegan was the
"potent influence for the artist, the
one seen Beatrice to his Dante. &C, but
tina, is not the case at all.
Margaret Donegan in Mr.. Stark
vea;her's portrait Of her H.. outwardly.
the actual scrubwoman. Is unalluring
ind rs uniniuential as any slavey In
George Moore's novels, but II seems she
has an inner life that Is far from ordi-
nary.
tuUuVuCC VI SOa
Her son perished in one Of those acci-
DENTS that are continually happening In
modern factories and which are some
times chronic,ed. II the circumstance
are exceptional. with a line or two in the
~ pers. But to Margaret Donegan.
the mother. the AFFAIR took on . tragic
Tin, that was fairly Biblical in its In
tensity.
She related to the artist her idea Of
her sons death with 30 moving a de-
scription OF his translation into Para
disc, so poignant a recital Of her belief
IN her constant communion with the dead
be-. that Mr.. Starkweather became
deeply Impressed by the almost total
eclipse of the physical by the spiritual
IN the woman's life and resolved TO paint
her portrait. seiIing the moment OF her
eyaitation for II.
The result Is one Of the most religious
pictures that any OF our local painters
have put forth In recent years. 1t may
never rank with the worlds great pic
lures, There are indeed certain stylistic
discrepancies that strike one at the mrs,
glance. Even the question Of good taste
Is brought into jeopardy. But there can
be no denying the deep and sincere feel
Ing back OF the work.. and sincere feel
Ing Is so rare in modern painting tina,
many stylistic discrepancies IA be for.
given for It's sake. Although not all Of
those who come to ecoff will remain e
pray. II is quite certain that the majorit,
Who see the picture will v an in
creased respect both for Margaret one
gan and Mr.. Starkweather.
The exhibition In. q number o.
Other portraits. and while the dates upol
them are undiscernible there are indi
cations that the artist has been gradu
0lly 1rlftinu awnv from the ntratv raal
istic viewpoint and leaning to the occult
The realistic and surmisably early work
have much cleverness Of painting.
Damasks and well Vanished boots ar
WILDLY enough presented. though perhap
with more strokes a Carolus-Duran
or Sargent would require for such ef
fects. In the portraits Of certain I'm
usual types. such as Mile. Tomescu."
Rumanian writer on socialism Madam
lorio, a French Algerian" and notabl
In Mariana Rinaldi. Drudge and Mys
tic Mr.. Sta~rkweather IL clearly becom
Ing more OF a mystic himself.
These slit tiers and the occult manner !
which the painting has been ~approache
are all, as the slang phrase goes. goo
stun" The work 10 not. II 10 to b
feared. as yet in the great style, but q
lead them from the labyrinth of moder
commonplaceness n Mr.. Starkweathe
seems to have found n that car lea
him far.
water Colors b. Ranken.
The water colors OF interiors BY VIII
ian Il. T.. Ranken. an English painte
are attracting some attention In tn
Knoedler Galleries. The subjects ~
gorgeous, nothing less than h Gres
rooms In Blenheim Palace. show roo
q. Hinton st. George" one OF the sea,
Of the Earl Poulett. the cabinet Meetir
Room on Downing Street. London. ar
rooms In the whitney. Vanderbilt ar
H~avemeyer palaces.
The style IL brilliantly ealistic an
first glance one 10 not neressaril
stupid who mistakes them for the VOL
OF Sargent. for In truth Mr.. Ranken ow,
a lot TO Sargent. They are by no meal
up 10 the Sargent level. however.
Mr.. Ranken IL much more restricte
or shall We say more faithful to II
subject, than Mr.. Sargent would Ia,
been In his place. In Mr.. Ranken's pi,
lures Insignificant passages are rel
dered with the same touch. the san
force as those that are supposed 10 don
mate the whole. II IL an e%xagEeratie
to compare Mr.. Ranken's painting vii
the level i~ntonation that mechanic