The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1919-11-29
USE C0LORS TO.
!. S001HE NERVES vi
Sculptor Leads Revolt Against
8. the House Painter. ~. p.
10 ABOLISH WHITE CEILING
Movement Is Result of Observation Of
Effect Of colors on Members Of the
American Expeditionary Force in
.France--GIare Of White Ceiling and
Spots on Wall Cause Of Nervous
ness Of American People.


Miss Janet Scudder and Mrs. Will
liam II. Lane, recently returned to
New York from France, where, they
served for more than. as'year with the
Red Cross, have started revolt
against the house painter. They want
to suppress the originator of the putty
eelored room and the mixer of other
monotonous wall tints. They advo-
cate the painting Of houses, Offices,
hotels and public buildings with clear,
strong colors that will stimulate the
mind, OF, rest the nerves, according to
the purpose OF the Interior. And they
hope never to see another':white cell
ing..ii's3i':s: K" ST., --.. ,,~ i
As the first shot in their revolution
the two young women have painted
the walls Of an apartment at No. II
Bast. Forty-fourth street, New York.
Miss Scudder, who is a sculptor III in
.ternationa1 'renown, with examples, Of
her work tnsthe Metropolitan museum,
does not intend to abandon her sculp-
ture for house; painting. She will re-
'sume her modelling, she says, when the
wall color Instruction has, been
spread all over the country. =.
- Mrs. Lane, who has been an opera
singer, is the color mixer, while Miss
Scudder decides on its architectural
application. The revolt is the result
Of q study of the effect Of color on the
A. e; F:when they entered the huts,
canteens and : recreation centers,
which these two. war workers painted,
including most Of the Red Cross army
buildings from 'Brest. to <Toul. The
painters used the brightest, strongest,
clearest 'colors: they could get, and
most of the time they did the paint
ing themselves &c.,. =. -,
:; The splash of color that greeted the
boys returning weary and hungry from
the trenches was like a tonic. They
bra ced: up wonderfully Under the In
f1uence Of bright red Dr. clear blue or
golden Fellow. This suggested the ap-
pNcatton Of color influence to daily life
and the result IS: the. first apartment
decorated in, this style. = :, .,
~ .vs4 colors. and Nerves ~.
f. Other orders have been taken and
the two. young women, who may join
the painters union, even though they
are striving to. change the entire out
look Of it's members Will personally
paint either interiors or sexteriors.,
They also hope to interest other wom-
en- In following this professions
The walls Of their living room at the
.Forty-fourth street apartment: are
deep, clear blue. the: ceiling is bright
green and the woodwork white. The
bedroom has. soft. dark purple walls,
blue woodwork and a yellow ceiling.
The third room is yellow; with blue
doors and trim. The ceiling is
lighter shade Of, yellow The furni-
tire is blue painted wicker. The hang:
ings are - beautiful abright-colored
chintzes brought from France. Rolls
of these imported materials, showing
clear bold :tints, are .on their way over
here to be. used in the transformation
of dull interiors. into much brighter
and more wholesome Ones according
to the two artists. Z. ivy ~ ~
- Speaking Of their efforts to destroy
the tradition of the white ceiling and
the use Of chara cteristic wallpapers.
Miss. Scudder said, 7'It is ,undoubted-
7iy true that. the nervousness of the
American. IS due to-, the glare Of his
ceiling and the spots on his walls. Add
to this the constant ringing Of his tele-
phone ben and you have. the secret
Of the lack of repose in the average
American setting 8 ::5"5+' '.',
i coIors That soothe. :,
= Lovely, fiat colors on our walls,
colors. that soothe and stimulate at
the same time, can be had: Why al
low, our most intimate surroundings to
be hideous? It is. a curious fact that
the house painter, is in the scale of
professions inferior to almost any 9TH
er... It should be most important be-
cause our lives, are more closely as
ISOLATED with the results OF that pro-
fession than with any: other. Color
should be- one of the great factors Of
existence and it has never been con-
sidered as such. s'-'=z ,''s' sSs. . 80
I'm one Of the most distinguished
and expensive hotels in New York city
all the bedrooms are White, the car
penis bright green and the furniture
a harsh red. This is absolutely GRIM
inal, a torture to- the visitors that
should not be allowed, though the
visitors do not realize their demon
alizing surroundings. Another in
stance is one of. the smartest clubs,
up to date in every way. The dining
room is a mess Of garbage surround
ed by bricks painted sick1y green,
the walls are Of irritating persistence