Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1921-05-23
Art AS A National Asset
BY Frederic J. Haskin

American KOVeInIn&nl diN NtsaSA'~''''
business are neglecting great ousi-
ness opportunity in not providing Tor
the development of native art and ar
lists. as the governments of other civil
ixed countries do is the statement OF
Joseph Penneil. perhaps the most wide
ly known OF American graphic artists,
and generally considered to be the fore
most American etcher and lithograpner.
Mr. Pennen is now in washington 10
install In special room In the Library
of Congress the great collection OK
etchings, drawings, manuscripts and
letters of James Mcneil Whistler, which
Mr.. and Mrs. Pennell have presented
outright to the government OF the
United States. Mr.. Pcnnell was asked
| for an interview about this collection,
but the ideas he expressed on the de-
velopment of art in America seemed SO
| interesting as to require separate
article.
Mr.. Pennell was discussing the fact
| that Whistler, perhaps the greatest OF
| American artists, spent his whole work.
! ing life in London and came to be re-
| garded as a British artist rather than
| an American one. In like manner. he
| pointed out. nearly all American ar
fists of distinction have spent large
part of their time in Europe and many
| of them have lived there. To lesser
| extent, the same course has ben fol-
| lowed by American musicians and writ
ers. Henry James became an English
man and Marion Crawford spent most
| Of his life in Rome. The list of Ameri-
can writer's artists and scholars who
| have deliberately expatriated them
| selves is a long one, and the loss to
| America from this expatriation is hard
| to compute.
A nation is developed mentally by its
artists and thinkers, just as it is devel-
| oped physically by its capitalists and
| engineers. History seems to show that
the artists and thinkers exert the really
decisive influence upon a nations des-
| tiny Certain it is that the art and
| thought are all that remain TO us of the
ancient civilizations. 1t is harder to
| see how art and thought have affected
| our own history, for we have had very
little of either, yet any one can recog-
| nize how the work of Emerson has
| nodded American idealism, how Uncle
| Toms Cabin" helped to bring about the
great national crisis, how Mark Twain's IS
''Innocents Abroad taught us a new
and more independent attitude toward
| Europe.
! painters of a country are among its
chief claims to the respect and adnfra-
ton of the rest of the world All the
conquerors that Spain sent forth only
gained her people a reputation for
bloodthirst, but the great painter,
Veiasquez, has won the reverence of the
| world for Spanish genius.
Americas Loss.
The argument could be expanded to
any length. The point lis that no nation
claiming to be civilized can afford to
neglect its artists and men of INTEL
lect, forcing them to seek training and
appreciation in other countries, and sc
10 interpret and enrich the life of other
countries instead of that of their own
This is just what America has beer
doing, especially with regard to hea
painters
The reasons why so many American
writers and artists have chosen Il
leave their native country are man,
and complicated. Mr. PenneIl sum.
narizes one of them by saying: aYol
can't have any art in a dry country
He does not mean by this that alco-
holic inspira uon is necessary to ar
. artist. He means that the spirit q
4 @NASttShiP a govern
ment to regulate the sumptuary habiti
of its citizens, is opposed to the devel
opment Of individuality. and individual
ity is the essence of any art. The spiri
expressed in the prohibition law, Mr.
Pennetl thinks, is calculated to pro
duce a nation of uniform nlediocrity
and is opposed 10 the DEVELOPMENT o
great and striking personality in ar
linz
he thinks. is Indispensable TO the de
velopment of personality.
Leaving this dark and bloody eroun,
of debate, Mr.. Pennell makes it clea,
why the American painter must be
, come an expatriate. Whether he like
the social and political atmosphere o
, his own country or not, he must g,
abroad in order to see the work of hi
great contemporaries and to get IN
struction from them. The young write
can at least find in American librarie
mostof the books he needs, though
American prudery viii check his re
a searches in some directions. But ther
is no collection of painting in the Unires
States which will serve the American
d painter as the Library of Congress, TO
[ example, viii serve the writer an
q student The United States Govern
!. ment has one small room in its nations
4 museum devoted to painting and littl
: of value is in il. The Metropolita
4 Museum of Art in New York, Nr. Pen
nell says, is great historical eolIectio
e OF art, as museum is supposed to b
: but 1t does not open its doors TO tn
Y contemporary art of the world.
e AS a result of this situation, neithe
), the great artists of Europe nor thei
: pictures come to America, and tn
: American painter Is forced 70 go I
h Europe in search of both. Once ther,
he finds so much more in the way {
instruction and appreciation than h
can find at home that he is very apt
stay.
). A National Art Center.
The remedy that Mr.. Pennell pro
poses for this situation is the establish
% ment of a National Department of Fir
!. Arts. 1t would not be an innovation
= governmental method. America, h
: says. is the only civilized country in til
: world in which government does notf
ing to promote art.
He says further that the nucleus .
such a department exists in our Fir
~ Arts Commission, a body which hs
done remarkably good work with sma
~ powers and funds. Mr.. Penneu wou
i have this body given jurisdiction ov.
= q great American gallery of art in col