The New York herald., 1920-12-05
DEGAS COLLECTION OF
PAINTINGS TO BE SOLD

The interesting announcement has just
been made that Jacques seligman OF
Paris viii sell his Degas collection,
comprising seventy-one paintings, pas
tells and drawings by that master. in
New York under the auspices of the
American Art Association on January
q, 1921.
This undoubtedly will be the most Sig
nificant sale of impressionist art that
has yet occurred in America. The rapid
increase of impressonist values in the
auction rooms during the last few years
has not passed unremarked and II Is
now quite evident that there is the same
proportionate fervor In the hearts OF
present day collectors for the works OF
Degas, Renoir, Manet and Monet as
former generation experienced for the
canvases of Corot, Daubigny. Rousseau
and Diaz. These latter have not been
displaced 1t simply seems that new
places of equal Importance have been
made for their successors.
The Seligman collection was purchased
from the estate of the dead artist, and
as that estate was thoroughly expertized
by Durand-Ruel. every piece being pho
tographed by them, it happens that the
Seligman drawings and paintings are
unusually fortified by guarantees. It is
not only sponsored by Durand-Ruel but
by Vollard and Bernheim, Jeune & Co.,
who aided in the expertization.
All the interests of Degas the artist
are revealed in the seventy-one works.
There is long series of danseuses ip
all states, both in point of view of cos
tune and in finish of drawing. Some
r.ts. .
mastery are they not suggesteds Others
are carried out with great finish and
precision. There are Jockeys, races, mil
liners. and of course plenty of women
az balm Degas was always searching
for the unexpected in attitude and in
composition. 1t is continually amazing
how sure his composition was, consider
ing the fact that he was always reject
ing the commonplace and obvious.
Among the early compositions is one
of young Spartans at Wrestling" done
in the precise style while Degas was
under the influence of Ingres. por-
trait of a dancer bowling her acknowl-
edgments, for flowers evidently, was
done at the time of the famous Dan
seuse' OF The Luxembourg, and the most
unusual Degas of all is big work
illustrating the despair of Jephthah over
In letter from Paris to the Dial.
Ezra Pound gives proof of the force of
Maurice Vlamincl as poet and this
will probably be news to most of those
who already know Vlamlnck as a
painter. am always disturbed when
poet paints, and vice versa. I would
have preferred even Dante Gabriel Ros-
setti to have limited himself to the one
medium-but what can one do about
such livingstone must in the end ac-
cept art where and as one finds It. Here
is one of the vlaminck poems:
+. II dit: jai de quoi payer
Entra dams un bistro
Ou mangeaint des cocherg
Et degusta du gigot.
En- appellant lie patron
II cria; Tradition
Fier,
Sur le zinc,
II posa sa croix de guerre.
En- pensant: ca vaut beaucoup
LIE patron le regarda de travers
-Cette monnaie la, dit-il,
Ne vaut plus rien du tout,
La guerre est finie
Ca passe pour cette fois-ci
Mais ne reviens pas lei!
ct II ajOuta dun air bonasse:
-Qu'est-ce que tu veux que j'en fasse !
1Ir. Pound adds by way of comment.
Yive lines of Vlaminck are worth all
the forty volumes of Barres," to which
] say Amen" at once.