The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1922-03-27

cradle group of creative artists of
brush and pencil and pen who have
no use for prohibition, seeing in the
practice of it nothing but hypocrisy,
increased drunkenness and corrup-
tfon OF morals; a company which in
cludes Mary Roberts Rinehart and
Sir Arthur CUTLER Couch.
mo nation ever produced and main
tanned art without freedom of thought
such as drink implies" Mr.. Pennell
said. when a group &C fanatics takes
away such a privilege as wine, then
freedom takes to its wings and the
graces are not long in following. You
cannot have good art or good literature
without drink. 1t is absolutely impos-
sible, and unless something is done
toward ameliorating the prohibition
laws then art will go to the devil in
America
Upliftcd to stupidity.
Il have been suspecting its destina-
ton for some twenty-five or thirty
years. for in all that time and more
there has not been noteworthy de-
velopment. What's the trouble? We
are being standardized and steriIized and
purified and uplifted to the point OF
stupidity. All the originality is being
taken out of us by the people who in
sist that life must be lived by pattern
the pattern to be devised by themselves
only. There is plenty of originality and
courage in the United States IL the
standardizers would keep hands off.
AT the present time should say that
~ .fs.ts -. -
American was about equal to the art
appreciation of an Abyssinian. The av-
erage American is bored by art. We
did not even appreciate Whistler. one
of the shining geniuses of all times. and
1t was only the other day that here In
New York Cezanne sold for $21, 900
and a Whistler brought only $1,000.
Americans are money crazy and movie
crazy. The press has degenerated and
Is dominated by advertisers. There is
a saturnalia of vulgarity and ugliness
Beautiful old Colonial houses are being
torn down to make way for atrocities
labelled French chateaux and Italian
villas.
when one walks or rides about one
scarcely perceiyes a CLEAN OF intelli-
gence in the eyes of the passers by.
Everywhere about are plain signs that
this country Is taking the worst traits
from the rather poor lot of Europeans
we have been getting for a generation or
so. Even women are coarsening obvi-
ously and losing their beauty They in
sisted on becoming our fellow citizens
and what has happened? They now
have the privilege Of standing in the
subway while the men sit
"It is absolutely rare thing nova
days to see a pretty American woman.
A -
are less beautiful than formerly; that
they have lost a certain aristocratic
something what made them charming. n
certain delicacy and grace abandoned in
the passion for athletics and rugged
bodies and political privileges.
Zone looks over the arts with a feel
ing OF sadness for the little that Is be-
ing accomplished. All that the archi-
tects have given US In this country Is
the skyscraper That is the one bcauti-
full thing that American architects have
created.
"If they had been left to themselves no
man knows what glorious towers they
would have created, but the regulators
end standardizers couldn't Keep thcir
stupid hands off, and the coming and
height regulations have throttlcd a great
distinctive art. Gaze at that abortion
called the Equitable Building. blot or
the skyline. A few years ago the sky
line was miracle OF loneliness. Now Il
Is beginning to resemble a string OF
packing boxes set on end.
Nor can they even let really beau
tiful thing alone. They have stuck
hideous red light up In the Woodwork
Tower and ! suppose they will put
gigantic ten cent piece on the tip or the
tower next thing VIC know. Still. the
skyline is wonderful and none appreci-
ates II so much. Think. as our foreign
visitors OF culture. When II. g. Wells
was here nc came over here at this hotel
to call on me. and we sat and talked
by this window. looking out over the
river and tho cleaning lights OF New
York.
"'This a. no city. II Is an enchanted
thing Wells said
You arc right replied IT IL q
range OF mountains. the peaks outlined
| In light
wells was 80 enraptured by the
beauty OF the city at night that he fol-
lowed my suggestion for larger en-.
ioyment OF IT, He walked homeward
over the Brooklyn Bridge. There Is nc
view IN tho world 20 equal the PIANO.
rama Of harbor and city visible from
this window. and / have made a dozer
( etchings OF II. II Is here in this Column
bla Heights district that artists should
gather for inspiration. The streets
i around hero nre very beautiful. The
! houses are roomy and well proportional
with large rooms grateful to the eyes
and nerves. There Is amazing beauty
4 in this quarter and II Is where artists
who try 10 catch the spirit OF the city
| should he. But there are fcw or our ar
lists that are willing TO learn anything
They won't travel and they won't study
1 and they spend their time runninE
around discovering things that were dis
covered centuries ago.
"There are plenty OF painters II
/ America, but there are very few artists
10 you think 7 am pessimistic when
saw that art has been degenerating. anc
thpt the art or illustration has faller
from a once proud height? DO YOU
know that thirty or forty years age
such men as Whistler, Ia Forge WING
low Homer and Timothy Coles were
4 illustrating our magazines and that poo
he knew and appreciated their work
/ IN those days. with such illustrations
lmaGazines were saved and bound in'c
volumes that we're treasured.
roo Much Junk Published.
who saves magazines now? WHY
should they be saved? Like the news
papers. thcy arc eramwed full Of unin1
portant junk. 90 per cent. worthless
they have cheapened themselves by oh
seuuiousness TO advertisers. and II ha'