New-York tribune., 1922-04-02

experiments upon which these newer
pictures are based. Yet VIC are not
suro that they would be so very flu
minatng after all. One is conscious
as regards Mr. Davis less of technical
experiments than Of close contact with !
nature. Mono of his contemporaries |
can beat him at that. His New Eng |
land hillsides and pastures, his skies
across which heecy clouds ride on n !
blithe wind, his typical Connecticut
trees and thickets are all set upon the
canvas with that natural magic" which
spells tho most exhaustive initiation
into landscape truth. There is an al
most artlcss freshness about his i'm
prcssons. This, however, IS a virtue
which he shares with many members
of the American school.
His special distinction lies in the
sense of beauty inseparable from his
vision. The pure lovcliness of the visi-
bic world Is ever in his eyes. He has
no preconceived idea to govern him
either. There Is an astonishing va
riety here. The composition is always
new. Only a man Of imagination could
be so resilient, so receptive and so in
ventlve. In his color schemes, curl
ously, Mr.. Davis is hardly az original
as one would expect a painter of his
creative power to be. But at least The
quiet scale to which he restricts him
self is used with authority and taste.
His restrained tones, indeed, give the
last touch to what we can only call the
companionable quality of his art. Land
scapc as he paints it is simple, bcauti-
full and refreshing to live with, the ex-
preston Of sincere and individual.
lied emotion 1t has, too, "A remark
able grace. In his composition, IN his
atmosphere. in his treatment Of tex
lures, Mr.. Davis always makes us feel
the operation of n gentle, fastidious
personality. There is nothing violent
about his strength. Nevertheless, his
art seems rooted, as landscape art
should be, in the solid earth.
Several years ago Mr.. Robcr; Reid left
New York and fixed his studio at Colo
RADIO Springs. He was occasionally
producing at that time the kind Of dec
orativc figure subject which he had
long made familiar in the exhibitions
of the Ten American Painters, but was
giving more and more of his activity
to aportraiture, There arc some SOU
venirs of this phase Of his art in tho
collection he is now showing at the
Mich gallery and they arc character
stically accomplished things. The
drawing Of girl is especially express
i've of his talent. There arc also one
or two Of the old decorative compost
tions which he used to paint here in
/ New York. The Gardeners Daugh-
ter" and the study Of girl in an
orange kimono have all his wonted vi
vacity and adroitncss. But the exhib-
ition makes its appeal chiefly or
grounds Of the artists new environ
ment.
He has been painting landscape in
the West with force he never knew
in the East. Circumstances have fas-
tened his attention upon structure, and
he defines it with a good deal Of skill
in small group Of mountain impress
sions. "The Heart of the Rockies" 4"
"The Plains From Point Sublime" and
"From Point Sublime" are charming
harmonies of the green and tawny
notes he has found in picturesque
scenes, and he has solved the difficult
problem of bringing grandiose themes
into really intimate pictorial relations,
These landscapes are peculiarly engag~
ing in color, with a light key prevailing
that Mr.. Reid has never hitherto hap
pened to exploit Tho pale ycllows
taking the place of his former deep
blues and violets arc very agreeable
The "Moonlight Motifs,' which fill
about half the show, are interesting in
their disclosure of further ambitious
effort Mr.. Reid has been known for
studies Of feminine grace, adjusted to
the exigencies Of decorative compost
ton. There has never been anything
mystical in his work. Now he seeks
to give landscape something like a
mystical nvestiturc. He wanders
through the famous Garden of the
Gods and as he paints the eccentric
rock forms around him family indi-
Gates the majestic phantoms which, in
his fancy, they embody.
"It is q hazardous experiment.
phantom in stono would seem to be a
contradiction in terms. Oddly, the idea
seems more readily expressed by the
sculptor than by the painter. Mr.. Reid
has heavy handicap, too, in his local
color, deep tavny tint, waking at the
best into kind of dark violet 1t is
doubtless truthfully stated in these
pictures, but it has no sensuous charm
and that would seem indispensable to
the effect aimed at. The color over
weights the designs, where 1T should
give them mystery and romance. AS
interpretations of the fantastic out
groupings Of geological struta the
"Moonlight Motifs" have certain novel
Nm