New-York tribune., 1918-02-20
The Hearn Collection
OF Old and Modern Arr
A Fine Group of NVlh Century English Paintngs-The
American School in Good Form-Ivorcs
and Porceains
By Royal Cortissox

Tho lstc George A. Hcafn was n man
+ warm and sympathetic nature. quick
- helpful ways, altogether sanguinc
end generous. These humane traits re
,,,oa upon his proceedings as a collec-
He bought works of art wholly
I.orse he liked them, not as invest
ANTS. he bought lavishly and some
nmes impulsively. Considering in its
,.,,o+b and breadth the collection Of
.;,.inrs and miscellaneous objects
ri'Nfcb the executors of his will have
..,.,sd on view ac the American Art
rausr;cs. prior to its dispersal at
,..;,r one recognizes immediately the
-, Il had in q wholehearted en-
thns;asm for art as art, a gusto for
haantiful things regardless of school or
rsrt Collectors are of very diverse
tr,es The present writer recalls Ger
an connoisSeurs of the intensely spc-
r;aIized kind, NJ. Doucet and his mas
,srnieces Of eighteenth century France,
" Drevfus and his Renaissance mar
bles and medals. Mr. Freer and the cult
sor Oriental antiquity which he has de-
ssloped along with his passion for
Whistler and q few other Americans.
Nr. Hearn had some clearly defined
ss.es. There is no mistaking his
,-dor for American painting. for Sir
,ashua and his CIRCLE and for ancient
Tories But all the time that he was
interesting himself in these matters
se was ranging over ilimitable fields,
rlckjng ur old masters of every period
snd school. and collecting many Of the
moderns. English. Dutch, French and
50 on. He was an eclectic if ever there
was one, and whether from his very
cs,holicitv or from the impulsiveness
aforementioned, he not infrequently
found himself with q poor picture on
. his hands But this never dulled his
instinct for fine things. The negligible
csnvases in the present exhibition are
powerless to obscure the remarkable
BODY Of good paintings it contains.
A judicious scheme of hanging has
concentrated in the first large room
most of the leading old masters in the
collection The British school prevails,
vet, il there is one canvas which more
than any other gioriously distinguishes
the place. i is the big Guardi, the Sea
port and Classic Ruins in Italy which
The fates ought promptly to bestow
upon the Metropolitan Museum. 1t is
a museum picture, because of its scale
and monumental characters; but, as t
happens, il contains the subtlest cs-
sence Of the Venetian master. illustrate
ing as eloquently as any of his smaller,
more spontaneous, works the sincere
and delcately luminous naturalism
underlying his rather theatrical type
Of composition. Study Of it will reveal
10 the observer the reason why Guardi
has so often been cited as q corerunner
Of The impressionists. It is very
modern sort of laAdscape truth that is
fused with the beauty of this picture.
Facing it is the celebrated version of
Galnsboroughs "Blue Boy" which has
always been a subject Of debate. and
on which the catalogue frankly reports
all the we'll known dubieties of criti-
cism. These dubieties are impossible
TO ignore; they are natural and inevi-
table, especially for the commentator
who has made a careful examination
Of the Blue Boy at Crosvenor House
i Is said that within the last few
months the Duke of Westminster has
had $4,000 offered to him for his
painting, that he held out for $400 600,
and that two American collectors have
declined it at that figure If this is
rue, we can only express surprise that
the portrait was not Immediately sold
aver here. It is thrilling piece of
painting. as consummately character
ste Of Gainsborough as the "Perdita
hoblnsOn' Of the Wallace collection,
and that is Gainshorough raised to the
nth power 1t is the competition of the
Grosvenor House version which does
more than any of the obscurities and
puzzlements of historical research to
challenge the prestige of the Hearn
portrait. One of the guesses about the
latter. duly recorded in the catalogue.
is that Hoppner painted it, having had
tle original IN his possession at one
time, with every opportunity to make
4 copy Of it. However this may be. the
cTTaial point lies in the handling
.Galnsborough's "feathery" touch is
missing from the figure. His bravura
n the treatment of landscape is in no
wise manifested in the cold back
ground. On the other hand. an impor-
TAM TACT remains to be reckoned with
namely, that there never would have
'een any argument about the two YER
SONS at all if this one had not hap
Pened to be very handsome portrait.
me portralture otherwise represented
III III inns room raises no "historic
doubts. 1t is the characteristic por-
lralture Of England and the Low Coun-
.les, that kind Of formal, dignitied
painting which seems profoundly aca-
demic beside our modern productions,
entirely lmpersonal as compared with
,Ae work Of, say, Whistler or Sargent,
nut possessed Of serene distinction
70 which the connoisseur will always
return. 1t is interesting 10
nS'e; moreover, how the personal force
OF the master invariably makes itself
lelt through even the courtliest of
COZ Take, for example, the
Dr' n, Charles Burney," by Reynolds.
1 ne catalogue mentions that it was
sxh!Dited 4a, at the Royal Academy in
l'ol' put 1T must have been painted
'f the immortal Fanny as voune n,an