The New York herald., 1921-01-15
Rare Art Works on View
Louis XIV. Tapestry in Collection at
American Art Association.

made for. one--paintings by old and
modern masters and colonial furniture
OF great rarity-these are the three di-
visions Of great art collection now
open to the public at tho American Art
Association The paintings will be sold
at the Hotel Plaza on the evenings of
January 20 and FL, and the art objects
and tapestries require five afternoon
sessions at the galleries, beginning on
Monday.
The tapestries of this exhibition are
most important and come for the most
part from foreign owners Two of the
rarest belonged to the noble Belgian
family, Mercy d'Argentau. Both hang
ings are of early Gobelin weave. woven
in 1858 in Paris. before the establish
ments We're taken over by the French
Government, and young Louis XIV. and
his sweetheart, Marie Mancini, are pict-
ured in both.
The lovers are shown at play in a
formal garden. In one Marie imperson-
ates the King, and in the other the
King wears Marie Mancini's costume,
while one of the latter's sisters makes
significant by-play with a string of
pearls, In which the favorlte Is supposed
TO have delighted. Maries stern uncle,
the Cardinal MGaarin, ended the ro-
nance ruthlessly and married the King
to the Princess OF Spain, but the story
will not be forgotten, since, museums
will see to II that these wonderful hang
ings will always be preserved. There is
also remarkable set of Flemish tapes
tries illustrating the romance of "Tltus
and Berenice" and n Renaissance tapes
try woven for King Christian ~. of
Denmark.
Tn hA t,,t;, -
an immense diversity of styles and,sub-
Jects, and the amateur will find plenty
OF entertainment In them. Few OF them
are mural in dimensions. as the modern
collector places his pictures in his home
and modern artists have learned to paint
with this end In view. Most of these
pictures are Of the kind called 'Inti-
mate" This effect is emphasized, as
the majority of the canvases are from
the Barbizon school, the school above
all others that makes the widest appeal
In this country. The place Of honor is
given to a landscape by Corot, a land
scape of pearly grays and plenty of the
famous atmosphere, and nearby are
pictures by Daubigny. Diaz. jacques,
Dupre, Rousseau, Troyon and Van
Marcke.
Cain and LHermitte are represented
ly admired art, and to be grouped with
them are vigorous landscapes by Har-
pignies. an Arabian picture by the ro-
mantle Fromentin. figure study by
Gerome and Lady in White by AL
fred Stevens. Caravan in the Desert"
by Pasini, is compact and admirable
little composition; the subtle moonlight
study by Fritz Thaulow happens to be
one of the first paintings he sold in this
country; The Proposal of Marriage"
By Jules Worms, Is a first class little
comedy. and the still lifes by Vollon are
astonishing feats Of clever brush work.
The American pictures include works
by painters who appear infrequently in
the auction rooms. Among them Is
notable study, 1.-THE Smuggler." by w.
T. Dannat. and 1.-THE Amazon" rugged
piece OF painting by w. NJ Hunt. There
are also landscapes by Blakelock, w. A.
Coffin, Alden Weir. Bruce Crane and
Henry G. Dearth; figure pieces by r. W.
Dewing, Childe Hassam and Ridgway
knight and vigorous marine by Paul
Dougherty.
There Is delightful still life by
Chardin. group Of works by the
Dutch masters, Metsu. Molenaer and
Jan steen, full of rolllcking humor, a
lively Departure for the Hunt by
Isabey and a Noah Disembarking
from the Ark by Paul Potter that Is
most naive composition and full OF
the most direct kind of painting.
The Bowie collection Of antiques is a
JOY from beginning to end. The Bowies,
IL seems, came over to Baltimore with
the Calverts in the early days and have
always been closely allied with the
leading Baltimoreans. Mrs. w. d.
Bowie has added with great discretion
TO the collections she inherited, and
the present exhibition In consequence
rivals the celebrated collection of Mrs.
Sutton, also from Baltimore.
The painted chairs and settees take
a distinguished place in this collec-
ton, calling emphatically to mind the
early American days. There are also
bnreaux and desks of Colonial maple
wood and mahogany, and many pieces
to which the name of the great cabinet
maker, Duncan Phyfe, has been as
signed by the experts There are fine
old four post bedsteads. quaint clocks.
candlesticks, mirrors and decora ted
trays.
A set of satinwood chairs ard setteo
formerly belonged to the Empress
Eugenie and other objects In the
collection came from the Jerome Bona
parte sale and from the family of
Lord Fairfax. There Is also n platter
of Chinese Lowestoft that belonged to
the Marquis do Lafayette The groups
of old china and old glass are extern
sive and are net the least interesting
features of sale that will attract wide
attention.