Evening star., 1923-12-27
The North Window
by LEILA MECHLIN

OF paintings by William P. Silva.
formerly of Washington, now of
California, was recently held in an
improvised gallery at Teachers Col
lege. The school children OF Emporia
visited this exhibition and those in
charge noticed one day a fourth
grade boy examining carefully the
exhibits and his catalogue. apparent
iy In search of some particular pic
ture. When approached. he said that
he was there because his teacher had
sent him Che had fingered, however.
because he had become interested),
and what he wanted to know was
what had become OF picture No. 23.
The name was "Hazy Morning and
II guess Ii isn't here" he said, but
where do you suppose thRt picture
is?" Some one, SO the story runs.
suggested that perhaps the picture
was the one that was sold in
Wichita, where the exhibition had
benn shown before going. to En-
poria. DO they sell emp the boy
asked. incredulous'v. "Why, what do
people do with 'em?"
According to report, this boy came
from a home where there were fine
nrints. and the chronicler of the in
atdent wisely commented that he wa
not alone in his attitude toward GAL
lery pictures, adding, "Too many peo-
ple think that originals are only for
Galleries. forgetting that artists can
not live on exhibitions and must Sell
their productions"
There are some persons today who
are Of the opinion that exhibitions are
detrimental to art. arguing that the
great art Of the past was produced in
each instance for some particular place,
not for any place. and that 1t was
produced, as rule, on order no
prima rily for display. But certainly
exhibitions do give great pleasure.
and many who cannot afford to own
paintings by the leading cotempo-
rary artists can in this way become
acquainted with them and make
is true that too few covet possession
to the degree of extravaganza that
extravaganza which, occasionally :r-
dulged in, gives keenest delight.
An exhibition OF water colors by
the leading American water colorists
was shown some years ago in
southern city. A visitor LOOKING
around at the exhibit1 inquired II
they were the works of local artists
Being tod no. she then made inquiry
as 70 whether the exhibition wa"
being held as a charity. for the bene-
fit of some fund. and when again the
-en'y was in the negative. she ex-
'ainoed. with evident imnatien"e
are some peon'e that are blind to
beauty In paintings. tust a. Other.
1re deaf to musical harmonies, but
even with such. cultivation can do
great deal; all are not incurable.
Mention was made of the fact that
the fourth grade boy in the Silv"
exhibition at Emporia came from
home where there were fine prints
Probably there are more good print
IN private homes in the state o.
Kansas than any other state in the
Union. excepting Mas -achusetts, New
York and Pennsylvania. which in
rlude within their boundaries Boe.
'on. New York and Philadelphia. An"
these Kansas homes witch car
noaSt fine impressions OF whistler
Rembrandt. Had"n and other maste'
atchers' rlates are for the most par
'arn houses. Amazing as this NAV
7eem, the reason is logical and nor
far to seek.
A young man named Smalley
who're father kent a feed store in
title ~ity Of Kansas. became a lovA-
or prints. catching the collectors en-
thusiasm from an artfsf-Str~n'
Sardzen. who has heen teaching for
-ranv years I'm BETHANY Colneee. Mr.
Smnlrav as hia means narmttted. he
nan co1leottnp etrhines and nut theT
~ in his o%ire in his fathers fee"
,tore Az the farmers came in +"
huy feed for thew cattle he ta'tad I"
ITEM about nrin+s-Atch'ngs-s So
.ha love ~ +hte fo-rn nf art s~rAa3
s<ter a. whilA Nr. Sma''ev abandoned
.he feed hneiness to hA"orne nr'r-
-niIer and Il was thronrh hi4 in
zt,rnnantaIitv that r"nv Of these N1
uansas farm homes. The-e is az
I'D saving that "A Md IN the han'
q worth two in the hnsh." Th'-
-oirht easuv he tra1soo~ed to reoh
"a WORT of a-+ In the homo is worth
two in the galiA-v."
A letter recentlv received from ar
American artist In Parts refers r.
.he Salon des AutomAs and des In
aanendents as "vast laboratories in
which all sorts Of terrible tou'turn-'
IRE allowed TO develoo under favor
.ne ciro,1retanres. unhindared evcen.
wv the rea ot'nns and towns ~esu1tin~
<ror,, themselves" "TTn1e- these con-
1'tionS" the writer cnn'in"es. "seT-
o-aI modn-nist doctrines have COM
-,ainq of them &c tha Iabols nv whi"h
.bav wa-e on~e dae'~,ated. Onnos'
ton has had an e~ert contrary to
.he Intention ~ the oonos"rs
J,ures Parsons. E-nn"h u-r'fer m
--odern art is onotad al fnd'nu "fhe
-,ost irGrs~ino nn-t of rnda~nfen
4hat uhich Yesterday was art hut T.
now haoon1'no eornethin@ also" The
a-tt-t correspondent. who ts h'msa'f
-,odernist. declares th's to he unite
+-,,A and so concludes that ART If
aa,d"
These sta+amants and this dAdnn-
.;on are in+arest'no from ceva-a'
,nsnts of vinw. Est, he"aHse thew
u-ouJd seem 20 indicate that the ev-
+raue r,nda-nista tharse1~es n~a
o-v.-A that +hnv have stannAd nuts'd"
~ tho hornHa~v ~ a-t nnd are now
-o,Sv to e,~-a-6e- the f7e'1 tn nthe~e
Also shnwin~ how irnr"t'ent w"
todav how ~nadv tn CIV an end
--han accomplishment Is not imme-
diate.
There are comoa araf've1v few great
works Of art in the nrasent exh'hf-
.ion at the Corroran Gallery Of Art
IN fact. there NAV he none-hut there
&c much art-rood art. eood Daintino
Masterpieces are not produced everv
day or eve~v year or every decade.
We have had but one Shakespeare
',"t one ve'asquez. hut one Reethoven.
'7tlt rnr tnfS reason we SHOUT NOT
discard the 1erser poets. oainters.
Irusicians nor hold too cheanlv those
Of our own day who are carrvfno on:
FOR from their efforts NAV sometime
he horn the great genius whose light
will illuminate not merely his own
time nut the ages yet to come.
A great portrait patnter exclaimed
IN dospafr the other day. when ex-
amininP a work bv a mastar Of the
early American school: fHow d'd
thew do 2" he said. "The-e IS not one
among us their equal today" Put
rs 1t not nrohah'A that when these
nintures were being painted there
were those who lamented the death
Of art. and saw nothing In what was
then hetno nro@uced. no promise for