The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1921-12-03

burn college with one of his finest
landscape Autographs. The subject is
a moonlight scene on a creek in west
ern Kansas. Few persons realize the
romantic beauty in a great deal OF
our Kansas scenery until they have
seen some of Burger Sandzen's ro-
mantle interpretations of it.
A free exhibition of etchings, the
work of Higgins, Childe Hassam,
Auerbach-Levy and several other
American etchers of the first rank.
will be held in Boswell hall at Wash
burn college during the entire month
of December.
Wednesday evening of this week the
Topeka Art guild held its Novem Der
meeting at the Hodge studio. After
discussing plans for a number of ex-
hibitions to be held during the course
of the winter and early spring, the
guild members listened to a most in
teresting talk by Mrs. c. F. Spencer
on art conditions in present day
Europe.
Mrs. Spencer has lived in Europe
for the last two or three years, and
interested observer of the trend of art
in London, in Paris and in several
Italian cities.
She was much impressed with the
way the French government continues
to foster and encourage art thru COM
petitions and the offering of prizes.
despite it's terrible financial burdens
accustomed by the late war. Prizes are
continually being offered and competi-
lions arranged for productions of the
best designs for certain stated pur-
poses, and great latitude and freedom
is allowed with regard to the medium
employed, the style of work used, etc.
hoA fad
French painters at present seems to
be the study of the effect of light on
human flesh. Human beings are
painted IN the open sunlight, by lamp
light, and by either of these modified by
the interposition of color, shadow etc,
in order to show the modification OF
the local color of the skin under such
conditions.
The modern French exhibitions are
also full of post impressionistic work
Bizarre creations, said Mrs Spencer
are hung up for serious public con-
sideration, that look more like CAPRI
cious color dabbling by a small child
than sincere purposeful work of a ma
ture mind. For instance, who can get
any truthful inspiration from behold
ing a badly drawn picture of a woman
with her cheeks painted green instead
of red?
While in Paris Mrs. Spencer made
the VI 4llelAly VI W pei JUS
American artists who have permanent
homes there. She also met Cecilia
Beaux of New York, who is in Europe
fulfilling a commission to paint sew
eral portraits of generals and states
men of the World war, to be placed in
a United States government collection
OF war portraits. Mrs. Spencer is as
emphatic as most thinking Americans
in dissenting from Miss BeauX's ex-
pressed opinion made in Paris this
summer, that America has no national
art. She also says that our most noted
painters are held in high esteem in
both England and France. whistler
and Sargent both rank very high in
European estimation, in fact, is diff
cult to convince the people of London
and Paris that these two great Ameri-
cans were not born in England and
brought up under English traditions.
Much painting is being done in Eng
land, as well as in France, despite the
heavy tax on art. The English work
is more conservative and less faddish
than the French. In Italy the popular
thing of the hour is the carving of
miniature portraits of exquisite work
in stone.
Sir Joseph Duveen recently pre-
scented to the National gallery in Lon
don, the famous pastel portrait "A
Girl With a Cat" by Jean Baptiste
Pe-ronneau. The portrait is signed,
and is dated 1743. Sir Joseph Duveen
secured the portrait from the colIec-
ton of Lady Dorothy Neville.
The use of the pastel became very
popular in France during the
century. to which country
the art came from Italy. Perronneau
was its forem ost exponent, and exc
cuted much work that has stood the
test of time.
Pastel has more enduring quality
than any other color medium The
color is practically permanent. It does
not darken with time like oil paint,