Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-05-06
The HQSkin Letter . ';.s s:sz
GIVING AMERICAN ARTISTS A LIFT.

New York City. May "a helpin,
hand is soon to be extended to budding
genius in the state Of New York. A
new art retreat" is to be opened il
the rear future to which poor blu,
promising artists may flee in summer
the city. Like the MacDowerl colony
at Peterborough, N. H.. it will be fol
all types of creative artists. Writers
musicians, sculptors, painters ant
poets will all be welcomed and encour.
aged to unhampered elf-expressicn by
the use Of cool, quiet studios and q
strictly sympathetic atmosphere.
The retreat il the gift of the late
Mrs. George Foster Peabody, and will
be located at Yaddo, the beautiful
7O0-acre estate which Mrs. Peabody
and her first husband, Spencer Trask
created out Of the woodlands near
Saratoga Springs. On the estate il
a OF the finest country houses in
that part Of New York, as well at
many smaller buildings that will be re.
modelled into studios. These are SET
beauty, including hundreds Of acres Of
native woodland, brooks, waterfalls
and gardens. There is also a large
farm-an enterprise that was started
during the war for the purpose OF
raising the foodstuffs most needed by
he allies. Now it will be devoted to
the further patriotic task of supplying
American artists with a proper vita
mimic diet.
The idea of defeating Yaddo to the
arts was conceived by Mr.. and Mrs
Trask as early Al 1900, when a cor
poration was formed to carry out the
plan under the e%uphonious title of the
Trustees of Pine Garde. Mr.. Trask
always had been deeply interested in
art. and was n OF the patrons of
the National Arts club, while at that
time Mrs. Trask herself wrote plays
and poems under the name of Katrina
Trask. They were therefore sympa-
thetically aware of the tremendous OBJ
stacles that beset the path of the
struggling creative artist. Besides
themselves, the first board of trustees
included George Foster Peabody, who
had been a business partner Of Mr..
Henry van Dyke and the late Edward
Shepard.
After Mr.. Trask's death, the board
was enlarged and the name changed
to Directors of the Pine Garde Es-
tate" The 10 present members upon
whom will fall the burden of putting
the art retreat into operation are Mr..
Peabody, Miss Pardee, Mrs. Mia Pot
ter Sturges, wife Of the Rev. Philemon
F. Sturges, rector Of Grace church at
Providence; DR.. van Dyke. the Rev.
DR.. Edwin Knox Mitchell, Acosta
Nichols, Thomas Mott Osborne. Edgar
Truman Bracket, Daniel Chester
French and DR.. John H. Finley. The
value of the Trask gift to American
are will depend very largely upon the
sincerity and discretion of this board.
Joy In Art Circles
The news Of the legacy has spread a
good deal of cheer among New York
art circles, especially as it rom es at a
time of the year when the artistic
temperament feels the need Of a
strategic retreat from the city. Dur
ing the winter, New York is a great
little inspiration to the creative facul-
ties. 1t is an exciting stimulant which
constantly generates ideas and prods
personal ambition into action. But in
the spring the drug loses it's power,
producing nothing but fatigue in the
patient. 1t is then that the creative
artist begins to resent the fierce glare
of the streets, the incessant thunder
of the elevated, the aucou screech of
of the factories, the stale atmosphere
of the crowds. His work suffers, and
so does his health. He feels that he
must get away, but with q slim bank
account this is easier contemplated
than done.
"The American writer or painter or
composer or sculptor who is young,
who has made little money, but who
has given distinctive promise and
shown unplumbed potentia1ities has but
few resources" says one who is well
acquainted with the problem. HE
may secure a patron, but it is un-
likely in a country where earning
capacity is admired vastly more than
creative ability. He may leave the
country, but he is liable to die of
starvation in a foreign country or pass
all of his days struggling to pay his
bills"
Even Mrs. Glare Sheridan, the Eng
lish sculptor whose diaries at least have
received q cordial welcome, finds the
world hostile toward the artistic tent
permanent in the spring. II cannot live
in America" she complained recently.
Il must have serenity. ! would not
i've III Engldnu, L nave 100 many It-
latives there. / could live in Italy, but
there is no money. Or in Russia, but
there is no food"
To the creative artist who finds him
self or herself in a dilemma of this
kind, the art retreat offers an interest
ing solution. Nothing could be more
satisfactory than the Mcdowell
colony, for example. 1t is in no sense
a p~hilanthropic enterprise for impecu-
NOUS artists, but it offers at absurdly
low rates precisely what the struggling
writer or composer or painter needs
a place where he can work at top
speed, with the necessary fresh air,
sound sleep and uninterrupted days.
There is serenity without boredom;
for after working hours he comes in
contact with a number Of fellow work
ers just as earnestly artistic as he.
The small sums paid by the artists
for sleeping quarters. food, studios,
and other comforts represent only a
fraction of the upkeep of the colony. It
draws it's chief support from three
other sources: from the annual dues !
of the Mcdowell association, which
range from IS to 500 a year; from
contributions to the general fund by
individuals, the proceeds of
Mrs. Edward MacDowelrs annual re-
citals, coming under this head, and the
interest on the endowment fund,
u,hinb all and