The New York herald., 1921-01-23
Charles Hopkinson's, Balkan
Premiers, Are Most Intel
ligent Of Group.
By HENRY MCBRIDE.

IF philosophy teaches anything 1t
teaches us not to repine at the
4 workings Of natural law. In spite
Of the ingenuity of man and the prog
ress OF science much Of nature re-
mains inscrutable. Conditions still
arise that have not been prefaced by
a theory. But only the foolish rebel
the wise adapt themselves to new con-
ditions with all the calmness at their
command.
These oracular and perhaps omi-
nous sentences have been designed TO
arouse the complacent members OF the
community to the fact that there Is
something rotten in the state of mod
crn portraiture. The sensitive have
been aware of the fact for some time.
Some Of the sensitive even go SO far
as to say there Is no such thing as
modern portraiture IN painting. that 1t
is an extinct art, dead as the dodo.
But perhaps that part about the dodo
is an exaggeration. Certainly those
who are enough interested in the arts
TO have hopes and fears for them
have been deeply concerned over the
fate of portrait painting for some time
But If it is to go, shall we weep? Why
yes, a little-if it eases the heart. But
not too much, since we are, after all,
philosophers, and our business Is to
live In the present. And If 1t be not
dead, but only dying, then we can even
struggle, without loss of dignity, to
preserve as long as possible the en-
bers of life in this art of which we
once were fond.
Some such feeling for the necessity
OF an effort must have been mixed with
the generosity of the National Art Com
nittee that decided that the gr~s.t 49,
celebrities should be painted by the
best American artists. We have no por-
trait painter Of international fame. since
Sargent renounced this part Of his ca
reer, and none who is even locally fash
ionable. although the habit Of painting
our public men persists, even amid the
many other habits that have grown
upon us, and that make portrait paint
ing increasingly difficult. The task of
choosing q suitable artist has become
such q vexing one during the last ten
years that experts mention the names
and addresses of the suitable candi-
dates upon request but refuse to as
sumo any responsibility for the finished
product
The real cause of this apathy. or tenn
porary lull, or decline, Is unknown at
present, but, of course, the explication
will be clear as daylight to posterity
Suspicion naturally points to the preva
lence Of photography and to its increas-
ing dominance upon our educations. We
test everything, including diseases, by
photography now, and personal opinions
and hearsay reports are more and more
discredited The journalistic pictures
OF the recent war were all photography,
and the isolated attempts at "Caton-
Woodville' battle scenes were received
with impatience by q public that asked
for facts and not impressions. The diff
ference between the reports of the world
war and our own civil war Is most
marked and illustrates how completely
we now depend upon mechanics. and
also how feebly we enter into the imag-
inative efforts of others.
Another thing that grows out OF our
immersion in mechanics is the loss OF our
own picturesqueness. both In our persons
and in our appurtenances. If we criticise
our artists and hold them to be less than
photographers. they, In turn. have
right to criticise us, for as subjects we
have become almost impossible. During
Inc last 1Ofty years AilleTlcstnS nave mn
proved enormously in morals, l hope
I'll say they have for the purpose of the
argument---but they have paid for 1t at
the expense of their looks. To decide
this point it is only necessary to COM
pare group photographs of Harvard
graduates of the sixties with those Of to-
day and ask the nearest portrait painter
from which lot he would have preferred
a subject.
But don't imagine this is a pessimistic
tale. Death to pessmism Pessimism
IS absurd. While there's life there'll be
art, and probably some kind of portraits
Only, they may be different from the
kind we have been used to having, We
may be quite sure that in some way we
shall be putting ourselves down. Every
epoch does.
The chief benefit of the collection OF
war portraits now at the Metropolitan
Museum is that It stirs up discussion
There has been quite a lot of talk about
IL. and most of IL unnecessarily be-
wildered. If the paintings do not meas
ure up to the expectations of the optim-
lists, why think 1t tragedy or crime?
One Of these municipal Investigations to
find villain upon whom we can unload
all the blame will not be required for X
there be any blame 1t Is clear we all
share in IT, Mr.. Hoover Is to blame for
not having a more romantic silhouette
Mr.. Tarbell Is to blame for allowing him
self to be hurried by Marshal Foch. and