Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-02-14
BOYCOTT FOE ART?
NO,SAYS PENNELL
Noted Lithographer Holds
Germany and All Europe
Excel u. S. on Posters
SCHOOLS LACKING HERE
Painters War Work in Amer
lea Run by a Lot Of Anna.
teurs, He Declares
SCHOOLS LACKING HERE

The sooner this country gets on a
level with Germany in art matters the
better for this country"
SO says Joseph Pennell, artist of world
note, and dean Of American lithograph-
ers.
Mr.. Pennell, in an interview. spoke
Of this country's pressing need for a
governmental agency to foster art in
the United States that would correspond
to the ministry Of fine arts in France
France" said Mr.. Pennell. "has had
such a ministry for 400 years. Other
foreign countries have 1t. Germany had
il before the war, and one of the German
Governments first acts after 1t was re-
constituted following the signing OF the
armistice was to set up a new ministry
of fine arts.
Germany regards art as a valuable
national asset. So do the other nations
of Europe. There are only two great
countries without a ministry of fine
arts-England and the United States.
And England would have had 1t except
for the war
Though the English had no ministry
of fine arts, English artists did splendid
work during the war. under direction OF
their committee on public information.
In England this committee was run by
people who knew their business--not as
ours was by a lot of amateurs afraid
to call their souls their own.
France Did Splendid Work
THE artists of France did splendid
work in the war, too. Both France and
England have sent US fine exhibitions
of war art. The English have had a
better show in New York than we could
get in the entire country of the work
OF American artists.
France and England have done more
for the advancement OF American art
during the war period than the United
States.
American war posters were not Of as
high a standard as those produced
abroad. The artist here, moreover, has
proved himself in many ways a fool
The American artist gave his services
for nothing; the photographer the printer
and the bill sticker who put his work
before the public were paid well for
their services. In England the artist
was paid for his work. In France the
government had a lot of highly trained
men to draw on for war art. The gov
ernment told the artists what to do, and
they did 1t.
The dinerence between this country
and England and France Is that our
allies had trained artists and craftsmen
to do the work which was necessary to
keep the needs of the war before the
public. They knew their business. They
were trained in excellent schools.
France and England have such
schools. Germany has them. Other
countries have them.
Only One School Here
I'm the United States there Is only
one such school, the Ohio Mechanics In
stitute. OF the hundreds of artists wht
were called upon here to do war-postei
work only handful had the technica
training necessary for the work. An6
this handful got their schooling abroad
Before the war Germany had nu-
merous men trained in the technical
side of this work. They made schoo
posters and placards beyond counting
They were spread thick all over Ger
many. This country was inundated with
them. The Germans could make posters
OF this sort-fine work, the very best
and afford to sell them in the United
States at fifty cents apiece. Posters
made here of anything like the same
qvality would have to sell for IS.
@American art schools--the art schools