Evening star., 1924-03-06
The North Window
BY LEILA MECHLIN

New York at the present time, not
only in the studios, but in the clubs,
lunchrooms. the homes of the people,
is not the latest scandal, or the high
cost of living, or the spring fashions,
but an exhibition Of paintings, an
exhibition which is being held under
the roof of one of the biggest rail-
road stations not only in the great
metropolis, but in the world-the
Grand Central station-and it is the
exhibition of paintings by John
Singer Sargent, assembled by himself
and set forth by the Association of
Painters and Sculptors. The collec-
tion comprises oil paintings and wa
ter colors, the former greatly in the
majority, and the eighty-three works
which comprise the showing are in
sured, 1t is reported. for S1,000,000.
1t fs great many years since Sar-
gent has exhibited. Nearly twenty
years ago a collection of his works
was shown in the Museum Of Fine
Arts. Boston. making a great stir and
creating for those who saw it
memorable occasion. That was about
the time that Mr.. Sargent painted his
well known portrait of the late John
hay, which was included in that eN-
hibition, has been frequently shown
here in the Corcoran Gallery of Art
and is now in the exhibition in the
Grand Central Gallery of New York.
Since that time, however, there has
been no such exhibition Mr.. Sargent,
furthermore, for some years has not
painted portraits, and his contribu-
tons to the various exhibitions have
been either in the form of loans So
iicifed from private collectors or out
door pictures painted by him in the
way OF pastime. There were some, in
fact, who for this reason were be-
ginning to murmur that MIR Sargent
was not SO great as we had once sup
posed, so 1t was high time that op-
portunity was given to refresh ones
memory and renew ones acquaint-
ance with the art of this great mod
ern master, and a chance given to
introduce him to the younger genera
tlon-the art patrons OF tomorrow.
Ihat Mr.. Sargent is not out-of- date
is amply proved by the attendance
at this notable exhi bition. There
were 5000 at the private view, so
that IT was difficult to see the pic
lures FOR the people, and at least one
@no went now declares that hence
Iortn, IN order to have more room
and be less jostled, he will hereafter
make a practice of attending public
views. For almost the first time in
inns country the British custom of
charsihg an admission fee to the ex-
nibltlon Is followed, and, despite the
fact that the fee is 81 and the Illus
trated catalogue 81 likewise, the gal
leries in which the exhibition is set
10 IN are at all times thronged. The
recelptS are to go toward the endow-
ment fund of the Painters and Sculp-
rf HI 1-lx
gent is both a lay and a professional
member.
*x x
Some one has said that to visit an
exhibition Of Sargent's portraits is
IKE going into an assembly of distin-
guished men and women, the por-
traits themselves creating a social
atmosphere. So intimate are they.
indeed. so vitally alive, SO intensely
characteristic, that the observer leaves
the galleries with n feeling Of having
come INTO direct contact with these
Wei known personalities. So vivid
Is the impression that meeting these
people on canvas becomes in retro
spect qu',e as much an occasion as
having casually met them in life.
There has been a strong tendency
In recent years among the painters of
America to stress the ordinary side
OF cotemporary life, to show us the
of our villages and small towns, to
picture the lowness, the squalor, the
ugliness of present conditions; worth
knowing and noticing, of course, but
after which it is rather refreshing to
pass into the atmosphere of the aris-,
tocratic which Mr.. Sargents works
create or transcribe. AS the greatest
or living portrait painters, Mr.. Sar-
gent has had the opportunity of
painting those of high position, but
he has painted them with that dig
nifty and simplicity which betokens in
himself nobility of character and
good breeding. He Is brilliant
technician. but he Is much more than
this. great artist
= + x +
70 John Singer Sargent was born in
Florence of American parents and
grew up in that city where beauty is
most closely related to everyday life.
AT the age of eighteen he became a
pupil of Carolus Duran in Paris and
in short space of time outstripped
his master. Like almost all of those
Of great genius. his talent Powered
SdllS anu III d lew SNORT years ne
found himself in the front ranks Of
painters. but Mr.. Sargent has never
been satisfied merely with success nor
been content to repeat successes.
There are some who regard him as
psychologist, claiming that he
analyses the character. of those he
paints before he paints them, but Mr..
Sargent himself says that he only
paints what he sees, and the fact Is
that ne sees correctly. that he has a
genius not only for perception. but
insight.
Among the most notable of the
portraits now on exhibition In New
York are his "Col. Higginson Of Boston" ,"
his Mrs. Henry White" his Homer
Saint-Gaudens and. His Mother"
his Mrs. Iselin." and his Mr.. and
Mrs. Field" as well as his most
charming full-length portrait Of his
sister. painted in 1882, entitled Lady
With the Rose" All of these are
great works, daring comparison with
the noblest portraits of the past.
r X r X
The Corcoran Gallery Of Art in
cludes among the books in its library
a monumental volume, published In
1903 by Heinemann of London, Of the
works Of Mr.. Sargent, a folio made
up chiefly OF reproductions, very
beautiful reproductions. of his most