New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-05-05

The Last of the Season ExhIbi-
tons on a Large Scale
By ROYAL CORTISSOL

upon time he sWorc ny arr l"i ~
sake That rs old fashioned now. ana
he talks instead about opportunity
Without opportunity he is a gone coon
with il he is bound TO be happy. Inc
great need according TO the Iudepe"-
dents. whose two miles Of pictures AZ
the Grand Central Palace come to an
end. as miles. on Sunday night has
hccn for an annual exhibition whero
every contributor could be sure Of "an
equal opportunity The Allied Nr''s1S
Of America, whose fourth auH"'l
hibition may be seen AT the me IN, ~
{ building. explain in their constr u'lol'
that thcy have the following oolcC''
The advancement of American "'' y!
opcuing new avenues of opportunity
Q for the exhibition Of mcrltorouS WoIhs
{ Of art. without antagOnlsm toward any
+ existing institution II Is a cnecI VI
saving. Blessed be opportunity u u Is
Going to make for the Announcements %
/ American art. But is IT?
! From the standpoint Of the ar'ls'
! who thinks he has painted merltoII-
GUS picture the virtue OF TINS new
slogan is, we suppose. beyond caviI'
{ There is. however. another view OF the
matter. the view OF the outsider Who
! looks upon an exhibition as an eNhIDl-
tiou pure and simple. He would Ike 10
! Tccl. Of course, that II served 20 ad-
/ vance American art. and he would even
| nc pleased to hear that IT mad pro,
NOTED the welfare of the lndlvldual
artist. Still. with what seems TO US
Iardonablc sCliisnnCsS, has iirst demand
/ is that he should bc offered a good eX-
hibition, one so framed as TO give hlH
! PLEASURE and keep him interested. Ana
/ there. We fear, is where that Mesopo-
/ tamian word opportunity" breaks
/ DOWN. Il does nothing, by itself, to m
/ ruro the production Of the meri.orious
ricturc. a fact which the present e%-
| iibition makes only too clear.
/ The Allied Artists anticipated the
! INDEPENDENTS by several years IN the
/ little matter OF dispensing with jury
and it assigns its wall space by lot.
But these radicaliSms arc balanced by
2 policy which keeps the membership
/ within limits, and the hanging. as II
works out. though it might be better
MIGHT also be worse. This society Al
/ least escapes the crudities affecting IT.
iunior. On the other hand. 1t does not
/ escape the dull picture, the painting
which, if meritorious at all, Is SO ohiN
4 in the sense that the painter OF IT has
mastered the Iudiments Of his craft. ne
trulv mcritorious picture, the hrst class
work Of the first class man having
something interesting 20 say, IS pam
: fully missing. The academy, DOUBT
less, has many sins TO answer 1or' put
II is curious 10 observe now THESE eN
detrimental shows end by IN some sor,
iustifyinC the academy, the jury syS-
ten. the hanging committee ana an inc
B instrumentalities of tradition suppo3,,
/ edlv PLAYED out. The academy is al ali
events more amusing. IT contains more
/ stuff that seriously appeals TO the SUI
dent of the art Of painting.
Il is a rather pointed reflection on
tbe character of this exhibition that its
/ only persuasive section is that devoted.
/ in the centre gallery, 10 sketches and
studies. Here each contributor hangs
I half dozen small. unpretenuous
things. casual notes of landscape and
tho figure. and We catch repeatedly a
cash of cleverness. MIR. Arthur Crisp,
+ Wr. F. Luis Mora. Mr.. +. II. Potthast,
/ Mr.. Leo Mielziner, Mr.. Ernest Albert,
Mr. Edmund Greaccn, Mr. Lester ID.
/ Raronda-these deft craftsmen and
/ number of others cOntrivc TO give the
i room the air of vitality. Elsewhere. IN
/ the two main galleries, we are but
slightly rewarded for palnstaKlng
survey of the ambitious performances
on which the show rests Its claim 70
/ consideration. There are some land
scapes of real merit-Mr. Alberts spe-
! cious "Orunauit." Mr.. Nisbets VALLEY
Road" delightfully."- the portrait OF an
cpisode in a typical American country
/ side. and amid these truthful, capable
! impressions we come upon more per-
sonal canvas, such as Mr.. II. A. VIM
/ cents Harlem River. Winter per-
! hans the best bit Of tone in the show.
I A decorative portrait like Mr.. Lock
mans "Niss W" will also from time
"a time lift itself above the average.
But il is the average, II we may so eX-
( press il. which prevails, the common
/ place kind Of painting. uniformed by
a trace of genuine. vivid talent We
are sorry. An admirable spirit has
: from the start presided over the coun-
ellis Of the Allied Artists. Il Is an or
ganization that one would rejoice TO see
succeed. Only TO do that it will have
to make better exhibitions.
The collection at the Knoedler gal
lery Of drawings by a group Of notable
Frenchmen is small but rich in enter
tainment. There are two powerful com
positions by Lcandre; Stelnlen, sem
and Hermann Paul are represented by
sketches of war types, and IN charac-
teristically Partisan contrast to these
grim souvenirs there are light, purely
fanciful and decorative pieces by
Georges Barber, Georges lie Pape and
Bakst. II is the French way TO make
artistic trihes worth while. At the
same place Mr.. Irving r. Wiles is show
ing three Of his recent portraits. All
well illustrate his facile, workmanll IKE
habit, and one Of them, the tall, full
length of Mrs Jackling, is distinguished
by uncommon grace OF line and charm
Of color.
At the Arlington CALLER, there is an
exhibition of works by W. l.. Lathrop,
+. Sloan Bredin, Daniel CARRIER, Morgan
Colt. Robert Spencer and Charles Ro-
sen. These are the artists forming the
New Hope group, their designation COM
ING from the little village in the Della
ware Valley which Mr.. Lathrop first
discovered. Landscape is their princi-
pal interest, though some Of them in
troduce the figure into their designs.
They are all clever men, and Mr.. Lath
rop has long been known for a grave
sentiment finer even than his delicate
workmanship. In the Enrich print gal
lery a number Of portraits by NJ. A.
Rasko have been placed on view. The
Kennedy gallery makes an exhibition
of French and Dutch etchings Of the
nineteenth century.
e------
French Aviators Here