New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-04-01
The Artist Who Pleases Himself

II is automatic that the artist who IS
worth his salt will express his own
ideas in his own way. But does he owe
nothing TO the multifarious current of
idealism as regards beauty running
( through mems minds? Can he ab5o-
! lutely ignore, we will not say tradition,
| but something akin to it, some uni
versal craving for quality in the iden-
| tification OF which, as a matter of fact,
multitudes unite? The question is posed
for us by Mr.. John Sloan, who has
an exhibition at the kraushaar gallery
A full year has passed since he exposed
his art at full length at Mrs. Whitney's
studio. but he has done nothing to
modify the impression he left then. He
has a kind of ability, and an amount OF
il, which ought to qualify him to do
almost anything. And he Will do al
most anything save paint beautiful
picture. We arc in nowise disturbed
by the prosaic and even ugly nature of
most of his subjects. They could so
easily be made enchanting. But IN en-
chantment he dabbles only once, when
he paints the Might, Madison Square,
enveloping his figures and the LEAKAGE
above them in mystery of tone, subtle
and gracious For the rest he IS pre-
occupied with the dull. hard facts
which bc mistakes for "life"; with the
raw materials Of artistic realism, not
with the beauty latent in them. 1t Is
interesting, and little exasperating'
Look at the movement, the form eX-
pressed in the picture of children OUT
Of doors. 1.-TWO Posing" Only an able
craftsman could have made that paint
ing. But look in the picture for any
charm at all and you look in vain.
II &c the same with almost every
nicture in the room. Mr.. Sloan has his
own ideas of the urban spectacle, and
he paints them in his own way but ne
is so busy doing this that he forgets
his other Obligations These, especial
IL. are obligations relating TO color
,one surface. "A Window on the
Street" offers perhaps the best example.
Of the sacrifice he makes to his per
eonal outlook. The color scheme Is ad-
,,,irablo but IL is not developed with
the essential delicacy, with the feellhg
for pigment that would transform these
heavy. almost opaque, tones INTO so
much loneliness. In all three modes OF
ovnression that he employs, IN paint
,nps. drawings and etchings, he I'M
nresscs us through his truth, his en-
crgy. his fresh, personal accent-aho
rcncls us by rude handling OF his IN
strumcnts. He is clever enough TO re-
fine his processes when nc chooses as
witness the might, Madison Square
Rut an indurated point OF view gets
hotween him and the full realization OF
HE natural gift. We wonder u ne
,b;,le there is something talismanic
about brutal themes? If he does ne
has vet to prove it. And he has yet 10
nrove that personality, by itself, Will
mol. a work of art. To do that II
must pass through experiences hher
than those denoted in his csnvases'
The point is brought home as we
write by the news of Albert Ryder 5
death. There was man hardly more
attentive to craftsmanship than MI
! Sloan. lie was what might be called
muff,ed PAINTER. at odds with MS me-
dium. handicapped by certain lack OF
dcxterity. lack OF technical SAVIOR
fa;re If he received any very exhaus-
tive instruction when he was studeh'
NJ the Academy Of Design, years ana
,oors ago. il never opened to him the
rav TO the formation of really mas
terful habit of painting. For one pct
ure bv him of which you can say that II
has = fine, rich impasto, there are sew
eral looking simply as if he mao
l.,caded their surface into shape, leav-
mo them thick and coarse. Now, has
. personality was as urgent as MI
c,oan's. as sturdily bent upon following
nc own path. Only in his case 1t was
.arobt IN into a world of superhne
emotion. of high imaginative passion
His subjects might be soberly realistic
Iandscape, horse, whatever
bonnened 20 amuse him. But ne
tainted everything from the point oil
y CIV Of the man who painted the won
derful Flying Dutchman" or the Res
,.rrec.jon." which is TO say from the
,,;,. If view Of lover Of beauty
pesutv is Of all sorts, we know. But
whatever il is, II is never vulgar. ny
der's pictures are nothing II not as
,;,ouished. nothing if not imbued with
~. clements of that indehnable thing
called style. SO personality, as he
illustrates it. rebukes the personality
which discloses no fine adventures OF
n. shirt. no reverie, no ideslism' IL
will not. W. repeat, By itself make