The New York herald., 1921-01-23
vs-- War Portraits---Paintings BY Mrs.

agitating the country, he said 1.-THE
obelisk has TO my eye singular apti-
tude in its form. and character to call
attention to spot memorable In his
tory. 1t says but one word but II
speaks loud. II / understand its voice,
1t says, Here 1t says no more" That
was regular artists" remark.
That 1t was the dwelling upon the
Horatio Greenough tradition that turned
Mrs. Thompson's thoughts to art would
be. perhaps, too much to say. for who
Is there who can say when mental
bias begins? But certainly the tendency
was there and when the occasion later
arose for some overdoor and other dec
orations In Mrs. Thompson's Long ISL
and residence Longfields 1t seemed a
natural thing for her TO do them. These
were but copies, but the success OF them
gave the impetus toward original work.
1t was the late Howard Gushing who
first insisted upon regard ing Mrs
Thompson as a professional. and upon
his advice her first painting, study
of an empire room, that has since oeen
turned into a studio. was submitted to
an Academy jury. The jury accepted 1t,
somewhat to the artists surprise, for
there were obvious uncertainties In the
perspective. A later and less strained
production, "The Green Room" was ac-
cepted at the Paris Salon, where It
ELECTED favorable comment. Both these
early works are included in the exhi-
bition by way of contrast to what came
later. Indeed. Mrs. Thompson's progress
can be traced step by step In the little
exhibition, and the connoisseur need
scarcely be told that the studies of the
salon of the Duchesse de Noailles and
of the drawing room at Longfields
20 he II, ad ~
the agreeable color and complete pos
session. of the subjects there is plenty
of evidence in them that the artist has
arrived at terms OF intimacy and COM
prehension with her paint brushes.
The art of painting interiors, as such,
like the art of painting landscape. is
comparatively modern invention. 1t is
a metier within METER like so many
of our other specifications. There
have of course. always been interiors"
but in the classic precedent they were
usually backgrounds to some drama of
figures. The Dutch excelled in this line
Of work, and NVermeer, De Hooche and
the Flemish Tsrborch have had the flat
terry of imitation paid them almost too
much by modern artists. The portrait
by Jan van Eyck of himself and wife
has always been considered a miracle
both for its portraiture and its still life.
Here realfSuf was carried so far that
even the tiny reflections of figures that
may be discerned in the polished chan
deliers have been thought by some crit
les with sharp eyes to be portraits.
There was something in the Flemish
temperament that knew no drudgery IN
work. and to whatever degree Of finish
Jan van Eyck lent himself he was never
stilted. Stiltedness in art is the unfor-
givable sin. We have many still who
finish to kill but alas. their work Is
labor to them and labor without pleas
ure is depression to the spirits-espe-
cially if they attempt to pass 1t off as
art. Mrs. Thompson doesn't finish to
the extent the Dutch did, but she COM
municates the fun she had in painting
and that's always, an excellent test.
James stephens. the writer. showing me
the manuscript of his "Demigods.