Evening star., 1923-12-13
The North Window
BY LEILA MECHLIN

] without question this matter of a
market is influential In inducing ar
fists to take up residence in the
great metropolis.
! But New York has other attractions
which are perhaps even grea.er than
these. When it comes to the matter
OF exhibitions 1t provides what might
well be called a continuous perform.
ance. From below 40th street to 5?th
street. Fifth avenue is lined with
dealers galleries, each Of which sets
forth one, two or three worthwhile
exhibitions every month. The major
/ ity of these are Of paintings, usually
Dy cotemporary artists, most often
by artists who are American citizens
In addition to these there are four
galleries of high standing which ex-
hibit and sell prints, etchings. .itho-
graphs and OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
works. some to be had for a song
Inen at present there is the win
| ter exhibition of the National Acad-
emy OF Design In the Fine Arts build
! ing paintings. sculpture, prints -
. perfectly charming exhibition full of
| fine pictures, sparkling with color,
! tnterpretative of the loveliness of na-
ture and the outdoor world. an exhi-
! oition which could not help but favor
ably Impress the casual visitor as
well as the connoisseur.
/ The Artists Guild is holding an ex-
| hibftton OF members work in one of
the dealers galleries. and In another
there Is Christmas sale Of little pic
lures by members of the National As
sociation OF Woman Painters and
/ SculptOrs. The famous Salmagundi
| Club Is holding It's annual Thumb
Box sale in its clubrooms away down
| Fifth avenue, not very far from old
l t. Awk
| Center galleries members Of the Tiff
fany Foundation Guild are exhibit
| ing OIL paintings, water colors and
craft work. In this building. which is
six stories high. there are exhibitions
| on every floor. changing constantly
Here the Pictorial Photographers of
America, the Society of Illustrators
| and the rts and Crafts Society all
| have the,' headquarters and make
continuous displays.
And then one should not forget the
exhibitions In the Grand Central GAL
| 'erfes-thnse galleries which occupy
the top floor of the great Grand Cen
trail railroad station. wherein an ex-
pertinent Is being tried OF an interest
ing order.
A year ago approximately one hun
dred well known artists and an equal
number OF jealous art lovers day
! naen) came together and determined
TO form an association. each contrib
uting generously for three years. the
artist one week each year. the lay
man $500 per annun, TO see IL under
capable business management a suf-
fc'ent public could not be found for
the artists works 20 dispel financial
hazards.
So far the experiment seems TO
have worked well. The galleries are
beautiful. a place in which to feast
ones eye and rest ones bones. or per-
| as quiet and peaceful as could be
FOUND in the desert OF Sahara despite
| the fact that Il is In railroad sta
ton in the heart OF the great city.
The entrance is on Vanderbilt ave-
nue.. and a sign directs the visitor TO
the elevator which in the twinklfng
of an eye carries one from the whirl-
pool Of commotion TO this atmosphere
OF serenity and peace, as might Alad-
din's genie.
All this, OF course. leaves out the
great Metropolitan Museum. with its |
rich treasures. and the Brooklyn Mu-
scum. reached now by the subway.
and the auction rooms and the chance
exhibitions. such as that Of prints for
the home recently held at the Sage
what a bewilderment OF art interests
New York affords.
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Visiting these exhibitions and real.
izing that for the most part they are
| made up Of current work. one cannot
| but pause and wonder what becomes
Of the unsold pictures, Of which cer-
tainly there must be hundreds. pos
sibly thousands, every year. From
the great National Academy exhibi-
| tions not more than twenty or thirty
pictures at the most are sold, and
four or five sales are generous num-
Der. Where do they go. these unse-
! lected ones? ITO i'll storerooms,"
| one artist said. ITO serve as under
painting for other pictures" another
| replied.
| There is bound TO be a limit to the
| demand, particularly at the prices OBJ
tanned today by painters of the fore
lively few pictures, and when these
are purchased, IL they have been well
J chosen there is room for no more.
Perhaps in the home Of the future.
the home OF the millionaire, there will
| be storage place for paintings, SO
that after the Japanese method. a
few at time can be taken out. hung
and enjoyed. then removed and re-
| placed; but such a room is not in
cluded in the architects plans at the
present time.
one dealer claims that there is
overproduction, and yet OF really
great paintings we have none too
/ many. and the great must rise to
fro But the s the of proem he
| mains-what becomes Of the unsold,
| the unsolicited? Listed at the artists
valuation. one gallery In New York
l %
rary works to aggregate for the pur-
! pose Of Insurance the enormous sum
of s2,00o,00o.
| There is another attraction TO New
| York for artists which is not often
| mentioned, and that is its beauty.
| The scoffer will exclain: What
those crowded thoroughfares. the
glare Of Broadway" No. but the
superb grandeur OF its mighty build
ings piled high against the sky, its
| vistas, its towering superiority and
strength. The palaces of Florence
| were no more grand in their aloof-
ness than some Of the modern mighty
! buildings of New York, and as one
looks up Fifth avenue or Park ave-
nue. on a winter afternoon, with the
/ sun shining through the frosty haze,
/ these are glorffied and become castles. |
| created from the imagination of great
] ente erprise, which dares all and fears
! nothing.
| And then. to come to earth, there |
are the shop windows-exhibfts Of
| no small merit from the standpoint
| of art, for the shop window display
! in New York artistically is eQualed
| by no other city in the world, and
! even for the penniless. provides de-
lightful entertainment.
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Thar Ia much that is bad said Of