New-York tribune., 1920-03-14


rs' r~sn''es' ns was practically unknown.
FROM tho date of his debut he yould
appear to have developed with remark
aoie rapidity. Now, in his earlv for.
"es' ne is a full-blowp. fashionable nov
trait painter, exercising with unda
n'able gifts which he has. brought n
snae point at which they disclose some-
'nlng like style. He is clever nm
usually clever, with qualities in b;s
work which should win for him . ~,
a'ai welcome here. At the same TINA
hs remains a type impossible to an
p'osen without certain qualifications
1a Is intimated in the .introduct;or
aforesaid that in his formative rsr;od
ne came under the influence Of wb;s-
'ief' who was his fathers friend. bnt
soere IS no trace Of the Whistler,an
nSpothes1s in his art. From the ear1v
examples he now displays. "The pooln
and Myrtle" charming interiors with
nsures, we arc inclined to wonder IL h.
had not in his youth looked at naint-
ihgs by such men as Fantin-Iatonr .,a
Ricard. At all events, he was IN ~.
oeginning all for the suavity in tone
anc form which we associate with those
masters. But as he went on he sesn,,
to have abandoned that line. and IN
the whole, with some loss. Th. ga;rs
obvious in his more characteristic work
scarcely compensate for the want OF
that sensitive and pure handling Of
cflor with which he started. Fortu-
nstely, he continued to use IN his
ara 1esinanshlp measure at least of
his original delicacy. There are heads
IN the present exhibition, notably those
Ct the "Silver and Grey" and the "Miss
Violet Henry" or the "Miss Tanis
Guinness" which are beautifully drawn.
There is peril in fashionable pSr-
sralture which Mr.. McEvoy has es-
capped only by the skin of his teeth.
the peril Of prettiness. PictorialIv he
marks back to the mode of Sir Joshua
ana, lingering in that path, he has
almost deviated into the kind Of art
produced, say. by that very accom-
phshed painter, Mr. ]. j. Shannon.
ferhaps what saved him was sym
pathy tor Galnsbofough rather than
for Reynolds. With the former he
mas cared more for color than, with
the latter, he might have cared for
form. In portraits like the "Ladv
dwendoline Churchill" or the "Vis-
countess Wimborne," delightful varia-
tions on the Reynolds pattern, he ap-
proximates to Gainsborough's charm I
IN his breadth, his nervous force and ,
the b.illiance of his color And still he !
acks Gainsborough's exquisiteness in +
color, as he lacks the masters magic {.
the matter Of touch. Perfect poise r
vas, after all, the last word of the n
eighteenth century school, and though Il
Ar. MeEvoy has, as We have indi- f
'ated, complete authority over his +
brushes, poise is not, we should say, n
n his temperament. !;
He is, instead, the it-or-miss kind "
# artist. What is it, then, that as we c
ndeavor to disentangle the threads of
ls art persists as q talent proclaim (
ng originality and a likable, vitaliz- |
ng force? 1t is a faculty for the dif-
usion in his portraits of an agreeable
luminosity, light which not only il
ivifies his flesh tints and his color 7,
throughout but which seems by some
recess less easily definable to make :.
he very personalities he depicts radi- =,
te upon the canvas His portraiture -
as what we can only despribe as an a.
Try quality. Alone it would give his "
'ork an honorable status, it is so o
after the stuffy. upholstered a.
haracter Of much contemporary por- "A
There is kindred merit, 81
30. in his idea Of posing the sitter. -
10 seeks or compels = peculiarly ami -
lated and engaging way Of holding the - y,
cad, SO that the chin never fails to ~
lay its part as an effective feature. 9
I the hands of painter less skillful n'
ais might SAVIOR Of trickery. Mr.. Nc 81
voy carries it OFF with such aplomb a.
sat.we are cheerfully content to think IN
{ little save the vivacity which he p1
ives to his Impressions. His vivacity I
ardly ever fails him when he paints IN
,st the head and shoulders or deals pi
ith his subject. seated. Even with tf
length hs is successful, fr
witness sgain the lovely "Miss Vio- cl
t Henry" But for some queer rea- IN
N his skill deserts him when he al
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