Evening star., 1924-06-25
The North Window
BY LEILA MECHLIN

the restoration OF Rheims Cathedral
and the repair of the palaces and
fountains at Fontainebleau and Ver-
sailles. has come the news of his
gift of $500.0O0 to Harvard Uni
versity toward the erection of a new
building for the Fogg Museum of Art
and it's endowment, the latter, like
the former, calculated to benefit not
only those of today. but succeeding
generations.
The Fogg Museum is in the best
sense of the word laboratory for
the fine arts, permitting the students
who are taking courses in art with
the object of becoming museum di-
rectors or workers, writer's and lee
turers on art, opportunity of study
Of representative examples of the
best works at first hand.
This is as it should be, for, though
a knowledge of art can be had from
books, love of art can only be en-
gendered by contact and knowledge
without love is but popr, dry
thing, with little life-giving quality
in itself. AS Morris Gray. president
of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts,
has said, though perhaps not in these
wofds. knowledge of art is not un-
common, but love of art is a rare
possession and one which richly en-
knowledge does engender love,
though not invariably but love
always induces a desire for greater
knowledge In his classes at Hamil-
ton College, Prof. Edward Root shows
his students works of art which he,
inns col 6nd hln tiy1cr
with them his own enthusiasm be-
fore he attempts to tell them about
the work of the artists who pro-
duced 1t.
No one can fully enter into the joy
of a great musical composition by
reading about it; none can really re-
spond to the beauty of a work of
art by learning facts concerning it;
the work, in each instance, must
speak for itself.
But it is au-important that we
should have trained guides who, ifav-
ing found this path to enjoyment, can
lead US to comprehension, interpret
ing for us much which we might not
discern for ourselves. Such is the
function of the museum director to
some extent, and altogether that of
the lecturer and writer. Museums of
art are multiplying rapidly here in
America Several new ones have
been opened in different parts of the
country in the last year, and many
more are In prospect. 1t is not an
absurdity to anticipate the day when
city without museum of art will
be as uncommon as is one now which
has no, public library. There is great
| need Of trained museum directors,
and Harvard, looking to the future,
is planning to undertake to supply
this demand.
directors for OUT American museums.
for though we may learn much from
those abroad, it is not boasting to
maintain that we in America can
best serve the cause of art if we now
undertake to interpret in our own
way our own art ideals.
For many years there has been a
vogue in this country for things for
eign; we have gone abroad for our
fashions, our decorative art products
and our art ideals. But surely the
time has now come when, If we will.
we ourselves can assume leadership
Tho American exhibition at the in
ternatioral exposition In Venice this
summer has been pronounced by Ital-
ian critics one Of the chief features in
this great display, and has awakened
interest and called forth admiration
because of its individuality, virility
and sincerity. 1t is an exhibition of
| seventy-five paintings representing
| the best current work pictures, every
one of which manifests on the part
of the painter desire to interpret
| beauty.
Unfortunately of much of the paint
ing today in Europe, and to some ex-
| tent in America, this cannot be said
! The pendulum has swung far to the side
| of vulgafity and realism. and so accus-
| toned have our eyes become to some of
| the monstroSitieS of yesterday that we
| accept them as a matter of course and
mildly wonder what the painters mean.
| To be eccentric, to be horrible. is in
some quarters to be heralded as
prophet To express ones self is the cry
| of the eccentric, without thought or con-
| sideration as to whether, in the first
place, that self is worthy Of expression,
| and, second. without apparent realiza-
| ton Of the fact that none OF us can we'll
| do aught else, try as we may.
The worst feature of the new art
cult is the bludgeon which it swings if
| any one dares express a difference of
| opinion. Instantly all the blunders which
| all the critics in the past have ever
made are marshaled in rank and paraded
by way of awful warning: But let US
| not be dismayed by these ghosts. for de-
| spite gross blunders, great art has al
ways in due course gained recognition,
and only that which Is beautiful has sur
vived the ages. 'Billikens'' had his day,
but it was a brief one. The Victory Of
Samothrace-' headless. armless. will
never so out OF style.
| Some of this enduring quality Of worth
found its way into the furniture and
other articles Of utility made by some
of our early American craftsmen. Early
in the autumn tho Metropolitan Museum
| of Art will open new wing devoted ex-
cluefvely to such examples Of American
art. These will be set forth, not to be
| copied, but to serve as inspiration and
as measure Of merit for future produc-
ton Such a witness to the merit of
American production in the past, and
standard, should prove exceedingly
| valuable Just at this time, when the
tendency in Europe is to disregard tradi-
ton for tho sake Of so-called originality
| of expression Before we accept the die
tum of Austria and Germany, as has
France, alas in matters Of industrial
design, we should compare the new prod
uct with the best Of the old, and II 1t Is
not better, discard it.
| The Pennsylvania Museum of Art
is likewise collecting examples of
earIy American furniture, in which
field by the way, the Rhode Island
Museum at Providence was pioneer.
little did the makers OF this furni-
ture think that they were producing
museum exhibits, but how well it