New-York tribune., 1920-12-26

"'"'eie eoueaIon 10 enforced. the les
son that even the humbisss article Of
manufacture may be lifted 70 an edi.
flying plane. And do the museum's
collections help In this mAttey1 Clane.
at these perfume boxes Of sh. Col.
gates and observe the labels. which
tell us that the designers, Emily Duke
and Leighton H. Smith, went for their
motifs to Chinese porcelsins. Thts on,
episode serves, as it we're. to open a
door into . whole world of srtist,c
activity. The designer serves Q COM
mercial end. but by enriching his tdeas
at the museum he adds to that end an
srtistic grace. Moreover, we NAV hs
sure that commerce is only benefited
by the transaction. Surely the pur.
chaser who has not the soul Of a ciod
must be attracted by the container that
has positive beauty about II. Turn
rom the boxes we have cited 20 the
examples shown by the ADVERTISING de-
partmens Of Cheney Brothers. They
ere like echoes from the print depart
mert of the museum, illustrations of
what can oe made Of Typography and
decoration when the dcsigne, takes
the pains 70 reflect on the ,nstruction
offered him in the classics Of the past.
There is point OF view from which
we can imagine an observer Of these
exhibits taking exception to the In
auence Of the past He might regret
the prevalence Of what we NAV de
scribe as archaeological reconstruction
or even fat imitation. Often our
craftsmen seem to be plain copyists.
We share, momentarify, tie rathe,
doubtful notion Of our Hypothetical
malcontent- But only momentsrily
'Ne sure renovation of taste Is better
than wilderness Of specious rcnova-
tons of style. Old freouenters OF the
Paris Salon will recall the virtuositv az
Carao'n. his great wooden tables over
he edges OF which b bgoblins peered.
lhere WAS some wonderfully fetching
woodcarving TO be applauded In his
! designs, but somehow we have the i'm
preston that that sort Of thing has
one down In the wind One Of the
most conseling til ,ughts suggested by
the present exhibition Is that our
manufacturers hive left the vagaries
OF Fart nouveau miles and miles be
hind them. IF they are content to
lean on precedent it is because thew
nave appreNended one Of the great
truths Of industrial art ln the past.
the Fundamental truth that authentic
types Of 'esign reproduce themselves.
- TO say. imposing themselves upon
generation after generation.
Take, for example. the numerous
nieees Of furniture in this collection.
Most of them night pass So ANTIQUES.
1t would be arbitrary and little ab-
surd, to,disparage them for this reason.
The main point is that they are beauti-
full. and with this virtue we would
mention another, treir freedom from
the rigidity. the eoidness, Into which
their makers would certainly have been
betrayed # they had been merely me-
chanical In their emulation of historic
originals. Here is where We would
emphasize that point Of taste to which
we have already alluded. Looking a. q
sideboard. like the one des gned by
Alice s. Erskine for the Erskine-Den-
forth Corporation. we are struck by this
positive vitality Of the piece 1t de-
rives from some souvenir In the
Hoentschel collection, but It has a
charm which could only have been
communicated to it by the tou.h Of
rue constructive art We gather the
ssme conviction az we traverse & great
deal Of the furniture here. the lighting
hxtures, the meta work, the textiles
and the silveyware. This last is posi-
} -lveiy exciting. In two caaes there la
a quantity of silverware exhibited BY
the Gorham Compan designs executed
under the direction Of MIR. Lionel
/ Moses. The simplicity and dignity Of
these pieces come like a benediction
when one recalls the elements that
have so often dishgured our silverware
There Is beauty of line in this work
and there fs an altogether admirable
reserve shown in the ornament I'm
rnistakably this marks reversion to
the most honorable tradition Of Amer
lean si,versmths the tradition of a
day in which Colonial good judgme t
kept US from being SNOWY. One Is
tempted to go on partieularizing. The
furniture Of Francs H. Bacon, the
lighting fixtures, c.ocks and metalwork
generally Of Edward F. Caldwell 4 Co.
tho ieatherwork of Charles r. Ysndell
& Co., the metalwork Of SamueI Yel!in
and Of John Polachek--thess exh bits
and scorss of others hold the visito,
as he Is not often held by contemporary
pictures ard sculptures Owe. and owe.
again we are impressed, 100. by ths
healthy practically Of what We ses
here, the beautiful textilss from tbs
Flambeau Shops. or the wall pApers de-
signed by Frank e. Lsiteh. which come
from the Robert Graves Company. BIT
most os all we are moved B.. the acesn
Of good taste which lies upon the -
h!bition a. q whole.
No doubt 1t 10 50 pssvss'vs In its
effect because the exhibition 10 tho re-