The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1920-08-07
Frederic Haskin's Letter
An Evangelist Of Art.

In fact. It is one OF Mr.. Crane.
objects to bring trade and besSts
into harmony. He wants to insn
ence manufacturers and merch,ss.
to make and sell beautiful thir.s
no less than he wants people =
choose beautiful things for th.s
homes. According to Mr.. Cns.
art isn't something that YOU hsss
up on the wall in a frame, or 49,
out In q museum with the aid ~ !
guide book.
Art is not an abstraction s,,,.
Mr.. Crane. Unless you show n.n
pie how art makes itself useful !,
their lives they are not goibs "a
accept 1t as anything more than !
luxury. Art is really a necessit,
you know, and the surest way "a
make the world realize il IA IA
show people how their homes An
more comfortable when they AZ
beautiful, and how their ibusinessss
are more profitable when they mals
useful, beautiful things"
America is just beginning to r..
alize the value Of beauty as a vita,
part of life. The first years OF mr.
life as a nation were too much or.
cupied with the building up Of our
country. - the mere cultivstinR a.
the wilderness, to give US much
thine to concentrate upon the finer
but none the less necessary side Of
living. AS a result, our sense Of
beauty seems to have suffered
The weird Italian villas, the fren.
zied scroll work on our furniture
the gilded pine cones and hand.
painted rolling pins in the what.
! not. all testify to the vague yearn.
ing for beauty which the last zen.
GRAFTON felt and was so helpless IA
express. And some OF us are just
as helpless, if not so unrestrained
Art for the People.
A crusade like Mr.. Cranes, which
brings beauty to the very doorstep
of the out-of-the-way farm is do.
ing good not easily to be estimat.
ed. Aside from the fact that he il
making life richer for those whose
| outlook has been necessarily limit.
ed, he is probably building up a
nucleus for the American culturs
OF the future. The children who
grow up in homes where the value
Of beauty as psychological asset
is creating happiness is known,
will undoubtedly be fitted to ap-
preciate as well as create the
American art of the future, so that
| 1t may be art for the people, by the
people, and of the people, rather
than as it is now, for, of and by
the few.
One sure sign that the farmers
and villagers of our middle west
appreciate culture is the fact that
six state fairs have arranged to
have Mr.. Crane come and teach
them how to be cultured though
rural. The Illinois, Michigan and
| Wisconsin state fairs have arrang-
ed for lectures by him, as well as
Memphis, Tenn, Muskogee, Okla,
and st. Louis, Mo. 1t may soon be
| that the interiors of all our farm
houses will match in beauty the
surrounding landscapes. And as
Mr.. Crane teaches landscape gar.
dening in connection with the home
beautiful movement, the outsides
of the farm houses, concealed by
vines and softened by shrubs will
be worthy of interiors.
Attire as a Fine Art.
!. His latest idea, however, that Of
teaching women in the country and
small towns how to dress artistic.
ally and sensibly on small means
will probably be of even greater
benefit to the country. The aver
age farmers wife, or the busy mid
die class housekeeper, has little
time to study her own charms ant
how to intensity them. Mr.. Crane
and his assistants, by studying hel
! particular type and telling her how
to dress to develop it, will give bel
the needed stimulus to make thu
most of her femininity.
And as for the daughters Of thu
household, well. Mr.. Cranes idet
seems the one thing needed to MAKE
the back to the farm movement
| complete success. One can onl!
hope that after he has finished
teaching the village maidens thu
art of attire he will turn his atten.
ton to Broadway and State street