New-York tribune., 1921-12-25
Art IN Various Phases
From Canvas to Rare Silver
Modern American Painters, Miniatures, Still
Life and Craftsmanship in
Group of Books
By Royal Cortissoz

ROBERT HENRI. Ry william Yarrow and
LOUIS h2uche. american Art Library.
$40
EARLY AMERICAN PORTRAIT PAINTERS
by Theodore Bolton Published by Fred
eric =. Sherman. $3.50.
POTS AND PANS BY Arthur Edwin Bve.
published by Princeton University Press.
SILVER. PEwTER. SHEFFIELD PLATE.
Dutton & Co. S.
TNHE firm of Boni & Liveright
has begun publication of a
n series of monographs on con
temporary American artists.
1t starts with Robert Henri" thin
1olio in which forty reproductions of
'h's painters works are accompanied
by a portrait and some brief bio
graphical notes for which, apparently,
Mr.. William Yarrow and Mr.. Louis
Bouche are responsible A capable
craftsman, representative of his time,
is chosen for the opening volume. Mr..
Henri is an excellent product of French
training. 1t is stated in the preface
that a trip to Italy taught him the
significance Of the Renaissance and
that he thereupon "found himself
swayed equally by the primitives and
the complex luxurance of the Vene-
tians." Nobody would ever suspect it
from his works
He has painted steadily in the man
ner OF man sympathetic to the meth
DDS and discipline of Paris, with a
special leaning toward the style Of
Manet There was time, some years
ago, when he seems to have been
visited by some impulses toward
beauty. That was when he painted
LA Neige," the urban winter scene
reproduced in this collection, and
divers other admirable canvasses in
the same key But in general he has
been a rigidly realistic recorder Of
actuality, swift, accurate, clever and 81
little brutal. He paints the head and
shoulders of some more or less pictur-
esque type an Indian, negro, a
ragamutin or pretty girl. He does
it with great technical address. His
disciples, and there are many of them.
enamoured of his brushwork, are quite
mad about him. The disnterested OBJ
server cannot help wishing that his
undenable gift had been directed into
more imaginative channels and that
one who paints so well might have
cared to give his paint finer quality
The idea for which this series stands
is. good one. Paul Manship is to be
treated in a later volume. Other
salient artists will follow Since the
editors are embarked unon so useful
a venture, it is perhaps worth while to
offer them some criticism upon the gen
eral features of their scheme. They
ought to make their selections more
comprehensive. Mn Henri, for exam
pie, is a fairly frequent painter of the
nude There is not single plate in
tie present collection to suggest the
fact. LA Neige,' his fine street scene.
belongs to considerable group Of sim.
liar paintings that are to be counted
among his best. Several of its com.
panions ought to have been included
If the monographs are to be of value
as records they must show the given
artist as much at full length as possi
Bile. Finally, we hope the publishers
will forthwith abandon the typograph
lcal notion which has Unframed the
text in thin border, with the title
Of the book repeated at the bottom of
each page. 1t has disfigured the book
In other respects the publication is
well made. Why not give it wholly
satisfactory form?
Mr.. Theodore Bolton ought to h.
awarded the blue ribbon for good
sense in the preparation of a work OF
reference for collectors and art stu.
dents. His EARLY American Portrait
Painters in Miniature" published in a
beautifully printed and illustrated lit.
tie octave by Frederic F. Sherman, is
exactly what is wanted The autho,
allows himself p% elaborate historical