Evening star., 1923-01-25
The North Window
BY LEILA A1ECHLIN.

Art mas Its parlor DOlSneVlks ds
we'll as government--those who would
tear down and deface; who would
substitute ugliness for beauty; who
oppose law and order in every form.
AS a rule they are not persons OF
large talent or achievement, and their
chief desire is to call attention to
themselves. but they pretend to so
much wisdom and make so bold a
claim to insight and knowledge that
they deceive not a few, and thus re-
tard progress and create confusion.
To some the antics OF such persons
are amusing; to others they are sad
and revolving, and over all who dare
to make protest is held the bludgeon
that critics in times past have made
mistakes. The French impressionists.
we are told, were once laughed at and
are now adored; the greatest masters
were in their own day unappreciated.
and IL Is true that any new movement
is opposed by those who are ultra
conservative, but this is no reason
why Judgment should be suspended.
Indeed II the fact were known, those
who advocate extreme modernism In
art are quite as intolerant and mar
row Of mind. II not more 30. than
those who oppose them. And the
worst of 1t is that the modernists, In
many instances. do not even believe
in themselves. They do not love their
art The trickery Of IL engages their
attention and each strives to outdo
the other in extravaganza, In dls-
play Of what Is termed originality.
But, after all. they need not be taken
too seriously: art which has survived
through so many centuries is not to
be destroyed nor lost, though Its
glory may be hidden temporarily.
Il
Possibly as reaction from mod
ernism in art. the anecdotal picture,
which has for some time been out OF
style, is returning to favor. Kenyon
Cox once said that the reason that
pictures of this sort had become un-
popular was that artists had CHOSEN
subjects which were too trivial and
had presented them weakly. The
great Rembrandt painted story-tell.
ing pictures and produced great
works of art Vermeer pictured CO.
temporary Dutch life and did II mag
nificently. Winslow Homers PAM. PAM.
ings almost all are Of an illustrative
character, such, for example, as mis-
"AI's Well" or Eight Bells" But the
value of these works rests not on tne
subject matter presented, but rather
on the beautiful way in which IL mas
been interpreted through the art oi
the painter.
In England the anecdotal painting
has always held prominent place. Ho-
earth's great conversational PIC
lures were painted to draw the at
tention of the public to the shallow
ness Of social life in the upper classes.
The -Raphaelite brotherhood IN
yariably produced subject pictures.
Sir Alma Tadema. whose LONDON
house, in st. Johns Wood. was FAMOUS
for its beauty, spent years learning
TO transcribe with realistic accuracy
the appearance Of marble. and paint
ed pictures Of Roman life purely IL
Illustrative. The current number or tne
Burlington Magazine has an article
ing. Derby Day" in the National
Gallery, lauding it in unmeasured
terms and this is the leading con-
noisseur's magazine of art In Great
Britain. Is II that the English are
behind the times or ahead OF them!
has modernism driven public opinion
to the opposite extreme?
recently issued an illustrated guide
book for the benefit Of those visitors
who wish instruction and have not
long to tarry. Taking up the con-
sideration of the works of later day
painters, 1t makes mention or the
three paintings by Whistler-his two
nocturnes and The Little White
compares them with the DERBY Day"
by Firth. to the detriment OF the for
mer "Frith's masterpiece" says the
writer, 'in spite Of the harshly COL
ored sky and its somewhat common
and crowded aspect. contains so much
a hI
clever characterization and lively
color that we can come to it again
and again with pleasure. Whistler
nocturnes are delightful pieces of
laid in and broadly If capriciously
designed, but, after all. things which
we must not see too often or we shall
exhaust their charm"
What an extraordinary point OF
view. The one a picture which tells
charm of color. beauty of surface,
harmony OF tone-a trivial theme
rendered with technical cleverness.
but little or no art; the others lovely
symphonies Of color exquisitely rem
dered, which takes on new meaning
new angle; the one bound to grow
through familiarity as boresome as
an old mans tale oft repeated: the
others as inexhaustible in beauty as
nature itself. But 80 II goeS-many
men of many minds.
In New York recently, at the Union
League Club, has been held an in
teresting exhibition of early Ameri-
can portraits, lent by private owners.
Twenty-one in all were shown and
among them was what is supposed to
be the first portrait ever painted in
this country, likeness of Adrian Van
der Donck, by Jacobus Gerritzer
Strycker.
Strycker came from the Netherlands
to New Netherland in 1851 and Is de-
BILE means and decided culture-farm-
er. magistrate. trader and limner."
The portrait Is straightforward, SIM
pie and direct, and by no means an
uncreditable performance. though 1t
Is not a great work of art. Tradition
has it that Strycker's wife was a con-
nection Of the lady Rembrandt's son
Titus married, but Strycker himself.
as an artist was far removed from
the great master. His work, as an
ture. is vastly interesting. but 1t
should not be forgotten that he him
self was no more American than Hol-
be,n was English and that he had
back Of him the vast and rich ira
ditions of Dutch art. How interest
ing it would have been and how proud
we should be today. If Rembrandt,
instead of Jacobus Gerritzer Strycker,
had emigrated to America! If this
had happened should we be exploiting
his portraits today as amazing prod
ucts of an immature civilization? OBJ
viously, American art has It's roots
in the art Of England France and
Italy and Is only distinctively Ameri-
can as it has come to reflect Ameri-
can characteristics and American life.
When the word art Is mentioned
the majority of persons imm mediately
think of paintings and sculpture. but
the term Is more inclusive than this.
tn hAr