Evening star., 1924-06-12
The North Window
BY LEILA MECHLIN

There has been a good deal Of talk
lately with regard to what we could
do for art, how to increase apprecia-
tion, to advance the interests of the
artists. to improve current produc-
ton. This is, Of course, an important
matter, more important than many
may realize, for art is a factor in civ
ilization. measure of culture, and
one Of the few things which may be
regarded as permanent among the
many transitory things of life. OBJ
viously we should all do what we can
to fallow the field in order that the
crop. figuratively speaking. shall
yield the richest possible harvest. 1t
is practical, rational and not un-
selfish thing to do, inazmuch as it
win bring benefit in our time as we'll
as to future generations.
But there is another and equally in
teresting aspect Of this subject, and
one which is purely personal-What
can art do for me? Is it something e
worth striving for, spending for, seek
ing-in short, what benefits accrue
through the medium Of art to the in
dividual?
Some years ago Prof. C. Alfonso
Smith, professor of literature at the
United States Naval Academy. wrote
a book entitled What Can Literature
Do for Me?" which has proved so
popular that it has been repeatedly
reissued, between $4,000 and $4,000
copies having been sold. In this lit
tie book he makes out an excellent
case for literature, showing the tangi-
Bile value that a knowledge of world
literature is to the individual. Can
an equally good case be made for art?
Undoubtedly.
In the first place, art can open new
vistas. Hamilton w. Mabie. writing
on art, once said: at is the open win
dow in the workshop" Any one work
ing within four walls knows what
that means. 1t provides fresh inter-
est, material for thought, for CONVEX
sation, for inquiry.
edge of art finds pleasure all along
the roadway-pleasure in the city
streets, pleasure in certain prints in
the cheapest of periodicals, pleasure e
In the shop windows, pleasure in
oeautlfyIng his own home, for it is
art which makes beauty manifest
This love of art is the common pos
session of many, indeed, Of the ma
jority of the plain people, the peas
antry of France and Italy, and it is
this which gives them joyousness in
llfe-familiarity with the works of
the masters. sensitiveness to beauty
IN music, in poetry, in painting and
sculpture, in the lesser crafts. The
traveller in Europe who has a knowi-
edge and love of art gets not 10 but
100 per cent more pleasure out of
travel than those to whom art is a
closed book. William M. wins of the
Metropolitan Museum, New York.
urges every one to become a print
collector, prints being "the common
EST form of art" and some great
works being produced in this me-
dunn. Such collecting for the poor
man opens avenues of great interest
leading no one knows to begin with
where.
AS Otto II. Kahn recently pointed
out, the lives of the people, of the
background of sameness and routine"
necessarily SO. The worlds work
has got to be done, but all the more
lor TINS reason we should open up.
should cultivate, should seek to
pastures where beauty and inspira-
ton may be gathered by all and for
all. Art he claimed to be a means
whereby we could give our souls an
airing He ascribed some of the
60, ehe uHI uiiHeSS, the tranSgreS-
sions even of the day to an impulse
OF reaction against the humdrumness
and lack of inspirational opportunity
OF everyday existence" Much can
be done" he said, 'by art to give
satisfaction to that natural and Ieeit
innate impulse and to lead it INTO
fruitful channels instead of letting il
run a misguided or even destructive
course. In other words, art releases
the spirit from captivity
X
Art, furthermore, puts one in touch
with the past. for the history of ma
uons is written in their art In the
Boston Museum of Fine Arts there is
head in marble of a. young Greek
woman. done in those early centuries
"hicn seem to US today so remote;
out SO vital is this work in sculpture
that the beholder is instantly brought
to realize that those who lived then
were indeed as those who live TODAY.
and the great era of Greek supremacy
becomes not a thing of history. but a
page from life. When the tomb of
Tut-ankh-A Amen was opened those
Things which were found. works of
the artists of that still more remote
day, showed the humanness of the life
Wnlch TINS ruler of great people
lived. One cannot walk the deserted
streets of Pompeii or wander through
tne roman Forum without having
vital realization of the past. and the
more one knows of art the more sig
nlncant these monuments become
X
Another service that art can do for
you and for me is to reveal to us more
beauty in nature. Corot has shown
us through the medium Of his paint.
ings the loveliness of the gray will
lows; Twachtmann has opened our
eyes to the beauty found in natures
subtler moods the ow-enwrapped
landscape. the little WATERFALL. Red
field and Schofield opened our eyes to
the dazzling beauty of winter sun
light; Whistler revealed the SYM
phonic harmonies of twilight and
mist seen from his Chelsea window
overlooking the Thames.
Nor is this service confined to the
painters of landscape. The revela-
tion of character through portraiture
is quite as valuable as the interpreta-
tion of loyeliness in the outdoor
world. We learn to know the people
of the Renaissance and of later cen
turies in Italy, France, Spain. Flan-
ders, Holland and England through
the medium of the portraits painted
by their great artists.
X
furthermore, art can give You a
charming environment. A knowledge
of art is reflected in the design of
the home and its furnishings. Art for
some reason has long been associated
in the minds of many with extrava-
gance, but to the contrary it affords
the necessary knowledge to make
good use of little means. A knowl-
edge of art leads to a choice of that
which Is best in design and color, in
of usefulness. A college pro-
lo1n