Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-05-23
AS ONE WOMAN SEES IT
Work Of the Pupils at the School Of
Industrial Art 10 Given impetus
by stores Of the Museum
at Memorial Hall
BY SARAH d. LOWRIE
HAVE always had an amused

Broad and Pine streets, because OF a story
a man once told me. He lived in quiet
little brick house opposite to It and had no
more than just enough money to live frugally
there, but for a summer or two he went
reckless and lived on his capital in great
style In a summer resort and was counted by
all who met him there as a very rich and
important, not to say dsshing, sort. SO
that when one Of his summer boon compan-
ions happened TO be here in Philadelphia
over n train, he betbousht him Of his rich
summer host and resolved to look him up.
He had the address--South Broad, near
Pine strickland after a moments survey of
the possible houses he decided the great one
with pillars was the only one that looked
important enough, and forthwith mounted
the steps and rang the bell and asked the
astonished janitor who came numbering to
the door IL Mr.. Blank were at home.
The curious thing about Mr.. Blank was
that he was pleased at the mistake, or rather
fattered that he should have been supposed
to live In SO fine house. Since he ingenu-
ously retailed the story to me have always
called 1t to myself "Mr. Blanks House."
Well, ! strolled about Its halls and exhibi
tion rooms on q recent evening looking at
the work Of the students now on view there.
T HAD the advantage of seeing the things
L under the guidance Of the secretary Of
the school. Mr.. Huger Elliott. Mr.. Elliott,
beside his other we'll known attributes and
attainments as architect, artist, teacher and
writer, is, incidentally, the husband Of
Elizabeth Shipper Green, which was one
other reason why Philadelphia was glad to
have him leave New England and come here.
He is not a New Englander by birth or
family ,connections-quite the contrary! He
was born in Tennessee and brought up in
New Orleans and went to college in the
South, though since then he has been at
Columbia and Harvard and our own Uni
IL
exhibit in the Normal Class gallery Of. the
work Of the students qualifying to be teach
ers. I found It somehow less interesting
than the more specialized work Of the other
divisions Of the school, /. e., the decorative
design exhibit, the illustration class work,
the house decoration and furniture work and
the fabric-silk, cotton, wool, etc.-weaving
and designing.
He explained that the men and women
who are qualifying for teachers have to take
in one course a summary Of what the whole
school teaches in haIf a dozen courses, and
that what they turn out have to be models
Of what the average boy and girl can attain
during their public school years. In fact,
there is little opportunity for original work
either on the part Of the teachers or their
future scholars-a general knowledge of
many arts being all that is possible. I was
told, however, by one of the teachers down
at the Graphic Arts Club that the public
mentary drawing. He added that boys and
girls who had 1t in them to be artists could
have no better start than that accorded by
our Philadelphia public schools. l knew
that this was not true Of our private schools.
The ones I went to, at least, had courses
in art that were regarded as pleasant jokes
by the pupils.
This was possibly because there was no
fixed course running through the various
grades in well-adjusted sequence.
MIR. ELLIOTT did not agree with me
lNl that the exhibit of the normal classes
was less interesting than the others. 1t
struck me, however, that he himself had
arrived at teaching by quite another process.
having begun by specializing as an archi-
tect.
have an idea that for all classes the
initial steps are the same. e., the study
of design motives of the past and of the pres
ent with regard to the future. Problems are
given the first year student in design with
out regard to fabric or limitations as to
color. That is, the student has to learn the
meaning of lines, the effect of lines and
into a prescribed space and then design
them for a prescribed use. I was interested
to see that the first year designs were very
japanese in feeling, while the third year
designs were very Persian.
MIR. ELLIOTT showed me the studies
AS1 that the first and second year pupils had
made of Persian designs from the Persian
art that is put at their disposal for study
out at the Museum at Memorial Hall. And
it dawned on me for the first time that all
the works of art out at Memorial Hall, from
the wrought iron work to the furniture and
from the pictures to the great architectural
replicas are primarily for the use OF the
pupils of the Gchool, the Museum and the
school being under one board of trustees, of
which Mr. John McIlhenny is the president.
The director Of the museum is Mr.. Langdon
Warner, and the principal of the school is
Mr.. Huger Elliott.
r UNDERSTAND that some of the finest
l. work of the pupils of the schools finds its
way temporarily, at least, into the museum.
l was looking at the designs of chairs in the
house decoration department, and was told
that careful and exact copies Of period fur
niture, Jacobean. Georgian, Italian and
French, are made at the school by the
pupils from the turned legs to the brocaded
seats and from lacquered cabinets to wrought
iron fire dogs. They not only make this fur
niture, but they make designs of rooms and
rugs and architectural details to correspond
with It. There was nothing original about
the great majority Of these rooms in the first
year exhibits. That is, they did not seem
taken from a real arrangement of an actual
room. They looked like picture book rooms
Arts medals, however, began to show char
acter. The problems were real architec-
tural problems solved in practical way.
V,HE New York Society of the Alumni Of
i the French School Of Art sends out
monthly problems to be solved by the schol-
ars of such schools as the Industrial Art
and gives medals for the most satisfactory
designs submitted to 1t.
The one that was used In this year g
exhibit was the end Of a great board room,
or council chamber, containing a fireplace
and mantel and space for a painting over
the mantel, some large chairs ON either side
| of the fireplace and a wall spaced by
| pilasters with heavy cornice design above.
| The spacing Of the columns or pilasters, the
| type Of the cornices, the base of the col
umns the character and period Of the fire.
place, the type of picture over the mantel,
the carving and proportions Of the table and
the chairs. the lighting Of the end of the
room-all these were great tests of the stu =
dents who competed and were very interest
| ing In their variety.