Evening star., 1918-02-03
NOTES OF ART AND ARTISTS

took up his residence. On the door OF
his studio he carved the words. "WahI
und Klar" (Truth and Charity. ana
mated his work.
It was at Egmond that he painted
/ THE Sermon" 1.-THE Communion" THE
Skaters The Sailor and His sweet
| heart" and the long line of other nota-
BILE pictures of Dutch peasants which
stand to his credit today. He worked
there for many years in great seclu-
| sion, content to paint and to paint only
| Lest he fall into a rut. however, ne
| maintained studios in other places. one
always in Paris and sometimes one IN
New York. His mail. it is said. fol
| lowed him about, but If one wished to
| find him it sometimes meant a trip to
Paris. to Picardy. the forest OF Fon-
| tainbleau or to some remote part OF
Germany.
Some years. ago the SAKE e-WeimaI
government paid him the compliment
/ of appointing him professor of painting
| In that old city and set aside for MIN a
studio facing Liszts old home. From
then on until his return to America al
the beginning of the war a portion OF
each year was spent in that quain,
place.
But Mr.. Melchers is genuinely an
| American in sentiment and allegiance
Within the last year he has purchas SEQ
an old estate near Fredericksburg. Va.
and has remodeled it as a permanent
place of abode. He is a man OF strong
| individuality. little Influenced by con-
tact or by the opinions of others.
To quote again from Mr.. Hoeber:
! 1.-TWO priceless gifts have been impor-
tant factors IN the development of his
art-progress. health and great physical
strength. ! might add third. which
| is a cheerful. optimistic temperament
with generous sympathetic nature
! The esthetic side Of the man is al
within his brains and, happily. does
not manifest on his exterior person
either in mannerism' or dress. He is!
rather. the type of the manly. well
| trained college athlete settled down to
| a life of hard-earned repose and sue
| cess. Yet this ability to arise re-
| freshed after nights sleep. to eat
! substantial food, to look on the cheer
| full side Of life and to work, conse-
quently. with undated energy. carries
| a painter far on the road. is the secret
| of great accomplishment. enabling one
| to make an acquiescent companion OF
| the tickle goddess. Success
This strength. and robustness finds
| tangible expression in Mr.. Melcher's
| paintings and is to great extent the
secret Of their resistless charm. In
nothing that he has ever done is there
| single trace of weakness, single
suggestion OF indecision or waVerine
or incompetence. Seldom also is any
! thing that he paints trivial; Ior tnis
manner Of presentation Is such that the
! most commonplace. II seen through his
| eyes and Interpreted with his skill. be-
, comes significant
His pictures. to an extent; may laei &c,
and atmospheric. Mr.. sMelchers j:
| quoted as saying that one may teach
drawing by a universal rule. but MOI
color. and this Is very true. There art
many more today. with feeling FOL
! line and form than with a true sense o.
| color values.
OF Mr.. Melchers' versatility the exhi-
| bition In the Corcoran Gallery nov
gives ample evidence. Though he has
/ painted most and perhaps best pictures
| of Dutch peasants. he has also painted
| notable portraits and pictures givtne
| interesting glimpses OF the home life o.
! refined gentlefolk. such as he himsel.
; numbers among his friends.
| Among his most notable portraits are
! to be numbered a full-length of Col
Roosevelt, painted for the Freer Ma
| tional Gallery collection when the sit
| ter was President of the United States
| Also the portrait of DIR. Donald G
Mitchell tIke MarveD. the portrait o.
Charles H. Hutchinson of Chicago
| president Of the Chicago Art Institute
| and the portrait of Mrs. Melchers. thu
| painters wife. shown some years ago II
| the Corcoran Gallery. but not included
|
I Among the interiors referred. to i:
| that entitled Penelope owned by thu
! Corcoran Gallery of Art. charming
| picture showing a young woman EN-
! broidering by the window in mos
! livab1e morning room. with the house
| maid in attendance.
We are reminded by Mr. Me1cher,
paintings of that we'll known saying o
Saint -Gaudens' that .It is not what on
does. but the way one does. it tina
| counts" MIR. Melchers has painted sub
ject pictures in such a way as to Civ
| them not only significance but lasting
| worth as works OF art He has imbuet
many with charming subtle senti
ment, but hts utterance is at all time
| so forceful and robust that this neve
deteriorates even to the borderland o
sentimentality. There is certain
| sculpturesque quality in his painting
| which is worth noting, a healthines
and vigor keenly refreshing. His ex
| preston is, as a well known critic ha
said. calm and sane as well as clea
| and veracious."i
These pictures now on view at thu
Corcoran Gallery are all of the typ,
| which can readily be understood ant
which one will derive not only higl
| standards Of art, but larger compre
hension of the finer things of life, thos,
things which make life the more wortl
| living.
The exhibition is open to the publ.
February 2S.
collection of life-size portraits O.
Abraham Lincoln, showing the civi
war President at various periods in hi,
| life, will be on exhibition for the peo
! pie of Washington for several week: