The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1922-03-04

:; The Ladies' Home Journal for the
month of March contains full page
color reproduction of Gainsborough's
blue Boy The reproduction is
beautiful enough to cut out and frame.
on the opposite page to the picture is
a center of the page insert. giving a
short, clear and interesting history of
the painting.
| This months issue of cart and
! Archaeology" which can be found at
the city library reading room, con-
tains as it's chief feature an article
| by Nicholas ROerich. This article is
beautifully and profusely illustrated
with black and white reproductions of
paintings by its author and other
| noted Russian painters. 1t is the first
of two or more papers by Roerfch.
Much interest lis being taken In
Russian artists these days, and justly
so, despite the oddness and apparent
barbarity of some of their work and a
seeming evidence of morbid sensation
/ alism in the themes they choose for
| their brushes
| The intelligent and educated Rus
! sian that does not try to masquerade
/ in veneer of southwest European
| culture, has a big store OF valuable
1 ideas to contribute to the worlds civil
4 ization. Heretofore there has been a
| great barrier between Russia, and the
| rest of the world, a barrier made up
! of racial difference, total dissimilarity
| of speech, ignorance and a despotic
| government which for it's own preser-
walton sought to suppress original
/ thought and to bar the ingress of out
| side knowledge.
| The result has been to produce a
group of Interestingly original think
| ers among the Russian intelligenzia, -
/ and TO preserve unmodified among the
/ unlettered classes group of racial
customs and a folk lore quite differ
! ent from anything found anywhere
! else.
1t has also resulted in crop of fan
| tastic and unavoidable governmental
theories which must fail, which have
failed, disastrously-and condition
| of more or less crudenesS, bafbarity,
| incorrect thinking and faulty morality
/ in Russian art and literature.
This state OF affairs is both a pres
ent curse to Russia and a promise of
ultimate good to herself and to the
| has been battered off against the
sharp corners of memorable natural
| law. when the dress is purged away
| in the unquenchable fire of Gods cru
chile. much fine gold will surely re-
main.
The February meeting of the To-
peka Art Guild was held at the Hodge
studio on Tuesday evening. Owing to
the bad weather the attendance was
not large, but the meeting was both
interesting and instructive neYerthe-
less.
After the transaction of routine
business, the evening was devoted to
a program consisting of short talks by
each person present on the particular
phase of art in which he is interested.
Several persons brought with them for
inspection and criticism, paintings and
other works of art owned or produced
by themselves.
Several fine new paintings were
shown by Mrs. L. c. Hodge and Mr..
L. A. Gillette. Miss Marie Witwer
showed a new landscape painting
which she had recently received from
it's author. Mrs. Fern I. Coppedge of
Philadelphia. She told of the con-
tinued success as an artist of that in
teresting and talented woman who
formerly lived in Topeka and is rap
idly becoming one of the well known
figures in eastern art circles. Miss
Witwer reported that Mrs. Coppedge
has sold seventeen of her paintings
this winter. Miss Witwer presented
for inspection a beautiful piece of
ancient Chinese embroidery, contain
ing the forbidden stitch" The for
hidden stitch is an exceedingly min
ute knot that the embroiderer made
with his needle. Entire pieces of work
were formerly done this stitch,
DuC the strain OH the workman
eyes was so great that blindness fire.
quently resulted This caused the
paterna1 Chinese government to issue
an edict forbidding the use of the
stitch.
During the meeting it was moved
and carried that in accordance with a
similar action being taken by other
art organizations in Kansas, the To-
peka Art Guild draft and send to Mrs. |
w. B. Thayer of Lawrence, Kansas, a |
aP
mendaion for the wonderful collec- |
ton OF objects of art gathered by her
self and her late husband. which she |
presented to the state of Kansas, and |
which is soon to be given a perma- |
nent and suitable home in the SpOoner |
library at the state university.
. The lecture entitled '"The Human |
Side of Sculpture" given on Thursday
evening of this week in MacVicar
chapel, Washburn college, by Robert J
Merrell Gage, the rising young Kansas
City, Missouri, cculptor, was one of the |
most Instructive and pleasing events |
of the year in local art circles.
Mr.. Gage traced in clear forceful |
manner the development of sculpture /
from prehistoric times down to the |
present day, and then furnished his |
audience with a practical demonstra- |
ton of how modern sculptor does his
work.
He explained that the human side |
of his art is by far the largest side, be-
cause sculpture more than any other
branch of the fine arts has to do with /
depicting the human figure.
There are indeed, some sculptors
who make a speciality of animals, but /
they are comparatively few. Man has !
a soul and an intelligence which are
expressed thru the action of his body
and the expression of his face. Abb
stract qualities and graces can be Civ
en- concrete expression thru the beau
ty of the human form the manner of
its poses and the rythm of its move
ments- Human beings individually
and collectively have done great deeds
which their contemporaries and their /