Evening star., 1924-12-11
The North Window
BY LEILA MECHLTN

every side" wrote dorado Taft of
chicago recently to friends in the
East connected with one of our lead
ing art organization. This. coming
from a sculptor of renown, has per-
haps more force than IL 1t came from
craftsman. for sculptors and paint
ers are thought to have most concern
for the arts called fine and are sup
posed to look down on the handt-
crafts, but the fact is that such sup
position is incorrect To a great
painter or great sculptor a craft
work beautifully wrought is doubly
significant. In those wonderful DAYS
OF the renaissance in Italy, when the
art of painting reached perhaps its
greatest height, there was no dividing
line between art and craft, no dis
tinction made between artist and
craftsman.
More than many suppose there are
talented craftsmen among our Amer
lean painters and sculptors Of today
FRANCIS G. Jones, treasurer of the
National Academy of Design, and his
brother, Bolton Jones, the well known
landscape painter, ara master crafts
men In more than one medium. Not
only have they beautifully decorated
by carving much of the woodwork in
N'ASA$ O"H HUME DuL nave maze
chests and other pieces of furniture
wrought with all Of the fineness Of
design and exquisite finish Of the
master craftsmen of centuries ago.
They have carved and colored stat
uettes in the spirit of those wrought
In the early days for the great Gothic
cathedrals. They have put together
windows of stained glass, mosaics of
lovely color. They have ornamented
their walls with mural paintings IL
Illustrative of the ancient sagas, and
never does their ornamentation over
weight the article or object with
which It is decorated. Irving wiles,
who is one of our foremost port rait
painters, finds recreation in the max
ing OF ship models historically cor
rect, beautifully fashioned and fitted
Albert Herter, who painted the mural
panels for the Academy OF Sciences
Building in this city, established some
years ago and brought to extraordi-
nary perfection the Herter looms for
the weaving of tapestries, many OF
which. compare most favorably with
the products OF the famous Gobelin
looms OF France.
x X
Twenty years ago there was what
seemed to be a widespread revival of
interest in the arts and crafts in this
country. In many little towns as well
as In the larger cities arts and crafts
societies were formed, and SO strong a
hold did the subject take in popular
imagination that department stores
advertised craft goods, and a great
deal paraded under the name which
had no claim to such consideration
Because Of lack of understanding and
unskillful workmen, a popular mis-
conception spread abroad that craft
work was clumsy and ill-made
whereas the fact is that the only
reason handwork has for being is
that 1t is better than machine made
good many of the little arts and
crafts societies which sprung up in
the furry of interest a double decade
ago have gone out Of existence; con
seQuently many people think that the
craft movement. in America at least,
has died out Instead however, of
dying out 1t has gone uninterruptedly
forward, gaining in strength all the
while. A year ago the Boston Society
or Arts and Crafts recorded sales in
their Boston salesroom of the works
OF members to the amount OF $4,000.
X K 4
The Boston Society of Arts and
Crafts was the first formed in this
country, and has done more than any
other not only to establish the handi-
crafts but to uphold high standard
of artistic merit. No work can go on
sale In the societys rooms in Boston
or In New York that has not passed
the societys jury, and none does pass
this jury that is not, in the first place.
well designed, and, in the second
place, finely wrought. II the crafts
man is to- contend with the machine
1T must be through superior produc-
ton. This the Boston craftsmen have
understood from the beginning, and
1t Is for this reason that their work
has found market.
Not long ago a dinner was given in
Boston by the Society of Arts and
Crafts to one of its members, a mas
ter craftsman, John Kirchmayer, a
carver of wood-an artist, If ever
there was one; a modest craftsman
delighttng In his work and finding su-
preme Joy in production. Kirchmayer
was born in Oberammergau, but he
has lived for many years now in or
near Boston, and some of the best
carving in some of the finest churches
In our land is his work. At the dim
ner given in his honor were gathered
painters. sculptors, architects and art
lovers, all of whom paid high tribute
of production of this modest wood
carver who claimed nothing for him
self, but was recognized as one OF the
great fraternity of art
X * x
In his talk at the Arts CIub re-
Gently Frank Gardiner Hale, maker
of enamels and hand-wrought Jew
elry, vice president of the Boston
Society of Arts and Crafts, himself
a master craftsman, told many inter
esting things of the development of
the handicrafts in this country. The
Boston society was founded through
the inspiration of Charles r. Ashbee.
who was the founder and intimately
connected for years with the Arts
and Crafts Guild of Chippingcamden,
England. Mr.. Ashbee, it will be re-
membered, lectured here in Washing
ton some years ago under the auspices
of the Washington Society of the
Fine Arts. For several years now he
has been in Jerusalem assisting in
the work of replanning that ancient
city under q British commission,
AT first the majority of the leading
craftsmen in the United States were
foreign trained-Mr. Hale learned his
craft as jeweler and silversmith at
Chippingcamden, but gradually this
is being changed and craftsmen,
American born and trained, are COM
ing to distinction. We have today in
this country makers of wrought iron
one in Philadelphia, one in Boston
who vie with the best of all time.
We have wood carvers not a few;
silversmiths such as Arthur J. Stone
of Boston, whose works stand worth
lily beside those, for instance, of Paul
Revere. And strange to say, we
have always had a few excellent
silversmiths in this country from the
earliest colonial days until today
witness some of their products set