Evening star., 1917-10-14


A notable painting has been recently
lent to the Corcoran Gallery OF Art. 1t
10 "The Girl Crocheting," by Edmund c.
Tarbell of Boston. purchased during the
past summer by c. V. Wheeler OF this
city from the widow of the we'll known
sculptor. Bella Pratt. Mr.. Pratt bought
| it In 1905. the year it was painted, for
what was then considered q good price.
but which is only about one-sixth Its
present estimated worth.
The value of this picture, however.
happily rests not upon the reputation
of the painter. excellent as that may be,
but upon its intrinsic charm and merit.
If one were to be asked to name a score
Of great pictures painted In America in
| the last fifty years this would GER
| tainly be one Of the number. In many
respects 1t seems an almost faultless
painting. 1t is well composed. lovely in
color. beautiful in tone and exquisite in
finish. The subject Is picturesque. but
it is the way 1t is treated that gives de-
light.
A young girl is seen seated beside a
polished mahogany table with her back
to window. She is crocheting and her
head is bent In attentive interest over
her work. On the wall Is a copy of
VelasQuez's portrait of Pope Innocent X
and to the right of this hangs a Japa-
nese print. This is all one secs of the
room. and yet 1t is sufficient to indicate
the character Of the home and the in
mates: there Is that in the very atmos-
phere which betokens refinement and
culture.
There is no one who has painted
American interiors interpreting the
best phase of American home life as has
Mr.. Tarbell. 1.-The Girl Crochetipg" is
but ono of quite a number of such
themes. The Boston Museum of Fine
Corcoran Gallery of Art is fortunate in
the possession of another, Josephine
and Mercie." painted three years later
than The Girl Crocheting." A distin-
that these interiors of Mr.. TarbelPs
should be prized for their truthful in
depreciation of a sfngularly distinct
phase of American life that can hardly
century, and that his pictures "evoke
! an environment of extraordinary beau
ty. of mild. clear reasona bleness unclut-
tered and depending for It's charm on
fine proportion and judicious omis-
sions." 1t is just this which gives them
inherent distinction-they are simple,
they are real. and through his art the
painter has been able to give patent
expression to their elemental beauty.
Some have thought that M Tarbell
his admiration for the Dutch masters If
this be 80. however, 1t Is only in the ex-
csllence of his art. Mr. Tarbell is neither
| copyist nor imitator. But 1t is perhaps
true that when this picture was painted
Mr.. Tarbell cared more for tone and sur
face finish than he does now "The Girl
Crocheting'' is lovely as piece of jap
| anese pottery might be, or an old piece
Of lacquer. regardless of theme. 1t is
painted as the great masters Of the past
painted, and no less well.
daughters, by the way. in their summer
home. is no less notable as a work of art.
but 1t is rendered quite differently, and
later works by the same artist show even
is still tho wonderful technique, the same
marvellous rendering of textures the Same
faultless craftsmanship. but the light is
colder. the atmosphere more insistent, the
tones less finely related and the objects
harder in outline. This is. to be sure
more in the style of today, but it is less
distinctive than the way he has apparently
laid aside. There is no @ lack Of atmosphere
ing is pictured. but 1t does not force it,
self upon attention. In art. after all. we
are not striving to merely see through an
open window, but through an artists
eyes it is the interpretive element which
gives art its value, which makes it of ex-
citing interest
Edmund O. Tarbell was born in Massa-
chusettS in 1862. He studied first in the
Boston Museum School and then under
Boulanger and LIE Febre In Paris. He is
one Of those American painters who did
not lose their personality in French atel-
iers but came back to America with added
scholarship and skill and distinctly ma
tionaI ideals. He has taught much. He is
a member of the leading art associations,
among them THE Ten. and 1t would take
long to enumerate even half of the prizes
he has won. There are few who have at
tanned greater distinction 1t is great
privilege to have Mr Tarbelrs painting.
see and enjoy 1t. in the Corcoran Gallery
Art and by Lending ha i to that insti.u
his appreciation. but desire to share his
pleasure with the people le at large-the
Tarbell has taken a house in Washington
and will spend the winter here is good
news.