The New York herald., 1922-12-01
Art Collections of
Late Fl. E. Field
to Be Dispersed
japanese Prints Feature Sale
of Brooklyn Painters
4 Belongings.

-Four separate art collections belong
Ing TO the late Hamilton Easter Field
were placed on view yesterday at the
American Art Association and will be
sold at auction December 5, 6. and
3. The collections include ANTIQUE
furniture, the paintings by Mr.. Field a
group OF rare Oriental paintings and an
important collection OF Japanese color
prints.
All or these works of art come from
Mr.. Fields residence in Brooklyn which
was famous during his lifetime as a
place OF pilgrimage for all those inter-
ested in the arts. Mr.. Field was d
painter himself. as well as a connois-
seur of discretion. and later a well
known critic of art. He began collect
ing early In life and from the first made
no mistakes SO that his remarkable resi-
dence on Columbia Heights took on the
character of a small museum.
Most OF the finest pieces OF furni-
ture, most of the antique carvings and
paintings and all OF his Japanese color
prints are now to be dispersed. 1t
makes rare occasion. for the break
ing up Of an artists collection always
has peculiar significance. An artist is
credited with collecting because of The
innate necessity to surround himself
with beautiful rather than curious
things. and the late Mr.. Field was no
exception to the rule. He was a gifted
collector.
The furniture includes many fine old
pieces of American craftsmanship as
we'll as many specimens that were
gathered In Europe. There is an eigh-
teenth century birch highboy. number
of carved mahogany sofas that have
interesting lines, several mahogany side
boards. an early American fitting table
and MANY rockers and bickory ch iru
OF French and Italian make there are
numerous cabinets. chests, arnoires,
tables and chairs, and with these are
the group OF tapestries that ornamented
Mr.. Fields studio and group Of an
cient Japanese carvings.
Mr.. Fields own work as painter
makes its chief appeal through its color
Tor like many contemporary artists he
laid especial stress upon 1t. The ex-
amples now shown are taken from all
periods of his career and represent him
at his best He travelled much, and
decorative studies of Mount Etna," the
"Doria Palace at Genoa" OF scenes in
Zurich. Algeria. in Sicily and Paris.
make striking appeal. The majority
of the canvases, however were painted
In Brooklyn, and form a glowing
tribute to the glories of the lower end
of Manhattan as seen from Columbia
Heights.
The feature of the sale, however is
the imposing assembly of Japanese
color prints. Mr.. Field was a man
of independent and open mind. He ap-
preciated the qualities of the great
artists. but was not carried away by
the glamor of their names. He had
much to do with forming the public
taste in matters Japanese, and owing
to the constructive quality of his studies,
"it is not strange" as Mr.. Gookin the
expert says, that some of the lesser
Ukiyoe artists should be represented by
works OF surprising merit. The greater
lights are also well represented but
the distinctive thing that puts the coll
lection. in a class by itself is the large
number of rarties contained in it that
are important for one reason or an
other aside from their rarity"