New-York tribune., 1922-01-15
'o" The droe"s by Murhcod at the Hnrio,o cocx>

there Is only ono canvas, and that docs
not show him at his best. The Conlcv
OF Mrs Fort" a. Hartford, is nosi.
tive giant. Here, in his "EIcnrv Jau.
r'hs' portrait of the President of
the lhlrd Continental Congress, he is
nothing OF the sort. But it is deeply
interesting just the same to sec him
turning tho British trick cn British
soil some years after his settlement in
london. tic has notable facility with
mat famous eighteenth century mode.
lie paints his distinguished American
exactly IN the manner Of the Roval
Academy, courtly pose, rug-covered
table, classical background and all. An
ood' almost amusing, error of Judgment
crops out. Copley is actusllv clever IN
TINS canvas--witness the neat play OF
high lights on details of costume and
the llke--but he isn't clever at all in
fixing the scale of his full length. That
IS too small and poor Laurcns is over.
powered by accessories and back
ground The artist is caught up into
the tolls Of academic machinery and
entangled in them. He wreaks himself
as ardently upon his still life as upon
his sitter. and in consequence falls be-
tween two stools. The conception is in
the grand style. 1t is painted Gin
little But it is important to note how
naturally Copley takes to the formula
of Sir Joshua. He has natural feel
ing for it, even though, when painting
Laurens, it swamps him. And, as the
Mrs. Fort" shows, there were times
when he mastered it.
The portrait by Benjamin West has
less ambiguity about it. 1t is a por-
trait of himself, done in the year fol-
lowing his succession to the presidency
of the Royal Academy He took over
the Office of Reynolds. Did he take
over his powers as painter? Hard y
Patriotism has nothing to do with these
matters. 1t would be fattering to our
national pride to regard this portrai.
az kind Of ratification of Vests cleo
tion. II just the head were to b.
weighed in the balance We might get a
lot OF comfort out Of it. It is a dis
tinguished bit of workmanship, so deli
cate in line, so firmly touched, so vital.
lied. It is precisely vitality tina: Is
lacking in the design as a whole. West,
Ike Copley, in the "Luurens," uses the
official formula and does not quite make
IL his own. There is hint Of labor in
the building w Of the composition
which has, by the way, its rather over
crowded and heavy passages. Most
troubling of all is the lifeless tone of
the thing. It brings US back to the
foib.c into which all the men OF that
era, save Gainsborough, we're wont to
slip, the foiblc OF relying TOO often
upon The deadening atmosphere OF the
studio when they needed to go out Of
doors and play IN light and air. Still,
as we have said, West is g shade surer
OF himself than Copley, if we keep only
these two portraits before US. He has
a larger sense OF his pattern. If it
isn't fawless it is, at any rate, more
persuasively put together.
The least celebrated Of the quartet
at the Union League Club, Mather
Brown, gives US perhaps the most sur
prislng sensation. Brown was born
later than the others and outlivcd them
al. The catalogue tells Us that he was
the son Of a Boston clockmaker, who
was painted by Copley; that he went
abroad before he was twenty with
letters to Copley in London and
Franklin in Paris; that he became a
pupil of Vests, knew Stuart and ex
hi5ited in the Royal Academy for
nearly fifty years. He is not known
as in any way resplendent figure. If
We looked only at his Alexander Ham,
ilton" and his Thomas Dawson" in
this exhibition we would turn listlessly
from him, wondering if his natural
habitat were not corridor in mu-
scum. But when we look at his evil
liam Vans Murray" the portrait Of our
envoy to the Netherlands and France,
we realize that here is a person with
whom it is necessary to reckon. The
dark coat, the gray hair, the sensitive
face set in the midst of these quiet
tones, arc all relieved against a red