The sun., 1918-11-24
CHILDE HASSAM AND THE
REORGANIZATION OF
FIFTH AVENUE.
He Has Been the Thorcughfare's His
torian in Colors for Years and Helped
to Make II the Street Of Flags
Views and Reviews Of the Art World.
ny HENRY MCBRIDE.

ny HENRY MCBRIDE.
Childe Hassam has been Fifth ave-
nue's historian for years. He began
II years ago, when II was considered a
proper thing to paint a clubman max
ing a hurried dash in the rain from
his club to his cab. In the region be-
low Twenty-third street. As an artist
Mr.. Hassam quite rightly preferred
Fifth avenue with the addition OF rain
or snow. But by and by the clubs and
Mr.. Hassam migrated further north.
and the cabs disappeared utterly. But
the rains and the SHOWS fall alike upon
upper and lower Fifth avenue, and
soon Mr.. Hassam grew quite at home
In his new surroundings. and tackled
most of the architectural motifs as
soon as they were put up.
It came about quite naturally, there
fore, that when, this shiny new thor
oughfare woke up one day and dis
covered II had heart--it was shortly
after the newspapers had announced
in big headlines the sinking OF
the Lusitania - the artist mentioned
should be there upon the spot
to share in all the emotions OF the
promenaders, who beheld the hitherto
cold stones taking on new life ana
! warmth with the continuously aug
mented display OF national colors.
Mr.. Hassam began the Americaniza-
ton Of Fifth avenue when only a few
flags were unfurled, and followed IL
up, flag by flag, until the recent re-
markable elimination in what was
called the Avenue of the Allies" pos
sibly as gorgeous q manifestation OF
patriotism as this country has seen
The artist may not have known, when
he began and We began. into what
formidable task we were leading him.
but Ii Is to his credit that he kept
his courage throughout and achieved
a series of paintings that, 1t can be
safely promised. will rank among his
best. The moment was. as all OF US
were aware, distinctly historical. and
now that It seems to be so quickly
over It Is q matter Of astonishment
that more of our artists have not been
occupied with taking notes.
Under the circumstances perhaps 1t
were quite as we'll not to go too deeply
into an analysis of Mr.. Hassam
present success, yet since the subjects
alone OF these pictures viii probably
preserve them for some time TO come
II ought to be stated to posterity that
We of the present accepted them with
our eyes opened to their limitations,
faute de mieuS. Mr.. Hassam pleased
best with his color and with his ability
TO simplify a complex scene. Beyond
| that we have nothing much to boast
OF in a technical way.
| He Is never strong in perspective
and sometimes distorts 1t like very
cubist. He seldom gets solidity when
he attempts it and seldom gets what
artists call "the effect" What is
stranger STILL his sunlight is cold and
| unhrilliant. That Is really strange. for
all impressionists are supposed to have
| the formula for sunlight. Impression
| ism was born, so to speak. at midday.
| But the general tone in these paint
| jnRs, which are now on display in the
gallery of Durand-Ruel. is rather gray.
| However. all that is immaterial and
will be immaterial. The main thing
| is that Mr.. Hassan walked up ct the
sigh, OF the flag, and the more flags
| there were on Fifth avenue the wider
awake he got. The paintings Will al
ways be one proof that New YORK
itself walked up, and for that reason 1t
will not be a bad Idea to send them
abroad TO the capitals of our a4lies.
Mr. Coffin in a preface 10 the catalogue
hints that a little sea voyage Is i'll
store for the pictures.
| Tho world
| for cooling influences for our super
heated brains the Scott & F'oNl"s Com
pany finally decided upon FiaNmdn.
and brought over n collection OF his
original drawings for us from Lo"do1,
! They are cool and pleasant enough,
/ but whether they will Operate us
/ from the tyranny Cf our more or .css
ugly mode in art as Mr.. Birn1aum
of the Scott & Fowles Company seems
| TO think, or, in fact. start move
ment OF any kind among contemporary
artists, ! am not so sare. F1aNman
was archaistic, at best a pale refiec-
! ton, and our young people nowadays
seem SO astute that when they bark
! back for influences they usually bark
! back the whole way---to the source.
! With our extraordinary libraries and
museums, any OF US may study the
! Greek vases for ourselves.
, To help along the exhibition Mr..
. Birnbaum hasseAp,ored the oceans OF
! literary material that Flaxman left
I behind him and has written an illu-
minating essay for the catalogue.
! FlaXman is a most excellent draughts-
man. of course. who will always have
| fame. lie was so completely encircled
! by writer's during his lifetime that 1t
! would seem as though even had he
! been less OF an artist than he WAS he
must still have been certain OF fame.
/ His relations with the great William
; Blake were enough In themselves to
| preserve him from oblivion.
That the drawings should have had
n Fashionable success in England and
| Germany il not surprising, for ar
chaistic work when united with ia
cility Of execution is always just the
thing for those two countries, which,
in spite Of politics, have at times fol-
| lowed the same artistic gods
! The essayist cites some of the COM
lamentations Of the time. Romney
wrote of Flaxman's book of prints for
| the Odyssey: They arc simple,
grand and pure; may say with
truth very fine" Lord Byron whose
reputation, however, was not made in
art criticism. said that the Dante
| drawings constituted the best transla-
ton OF the italian poets work, and
"Schlegel, chief among German critics