Evening star., 1925-03-05
THE NORTH WINDOW
BY LEILA MECHLIN.

"ain't 1t pretty? Now / reckon you
all'N take 1t down to the city aid
have dozen or SO struck off,. In
his ignorance of original and repro
ductive methods this man was by no
means unique. In connection with
the sensational Stone Mountain con-
troversy which has lately been rag
ing. and to which much space in the
public press has been given, the sug-
gestion has been made more than
once that another sculptor would De
procured to finish Gutzon Borglum's 8
work" Suppose, instead of work
In sculpture, which this presumably
was, IL had been a commission for
portrait, and when half done dis
Agreement had arisen between paint
er and sitter-would the least In
formed OF the latter have suggested
to the former that, having already
paid half OF the stipulated price OF
the finished work, he or she was en-
titled to withdraw 1t and have IL
completed by some one else, some one
of more equitable temper and In
dustrious habit? -1
To be sure, in the matter of sculp-
ture there is more mechanical inter-
vention between the original modei
and the production of the completed
work, and much of this can be In
trusted to the hands of merely
skillful assistant. AS rule, the
sculptor nowadays produces a small
size model, which is mechanically
enlarged, but over this enlargement
he watches with Jealous care. cor
rectIng errors and finally putting on
those subtle touches which give life
and personality. In some instances,
when an artist has died before
monumental work in sculpture was
completed, another sculptor has been
called in, generally in consultation
with and with the permission OF the
executors. to complete that work, but
rarely has such procedure brought
forth a completely satisfactory result
Art is a purely personal matter and
the artist whose work is not stamped
with his own individuality has little
creative genius. Obviously. therefore,
one man cannot begin and another
finish a work without loss of spirit.
Few persons look alike, talk alike,
dress alike; why, therefore, should
we expect artists to paint alike or
model alike?
A building which has been COM
pletely designed by an architect and
for which all the plans and specifica-
tions have been drawn may possibly
be erected in accordance Herewith
IL he dies, but no reputable archi-
tect would take over the work in
process of building IL for any reason
other than his own free will he aban-
doned the project. There is one out
standing instance of where this was
done. The Cathedral of St John the
Divine in New York was originally
planned in the style of the Roman
esque. When a certain portion of
the building was erected the building
committee decided that il would be
better TO have 1t Gothic, and change
was made at that time. not only in
style, but in architects. The archi-
tect of the original plan withdrew
and one who had made a speciality of
the Gothic took his place. COM
plete revision was made. The one
did not dream for a moment of car
rying on the plans of the other.
Even in this instance there was much
adverse criticism, and many in the
profession considered the action un-
ethical.
A work of art is essentially a ere
alton. The painter or the sculptor
who merely copies nature is an i'm
itator. not an artist. Herein lies the
difference between the ordinary pho
tograph in color and the painting
the wax lay figure and the work in
sculpture. This element of origi-
nality is precious to the artist that
which he creates is the child of his
brain. and is as exclusively his own
as the human child whom all the
world acknowledges. 1t is this Gre
ative ability which places the artist
in group apart and which brings
to him his keenest sense of enjoy
ment; naturally. therefore, he will
not surrender 1t lightly.
+ No artist who has seif-respect will
consent to merely carry out the de-
signs of another, and to steal a man s
original design is much graver
crime than to steal his purse. And
yet this Is not infrequently done, oc-
casionally through ignorance. The
copyright law is designed to prevent
such thievery, and doubtless does,
through imposing a statutory penal
ty, and not a small one. for infringe
ment. At present however. 1t is nee
essary for artists who wish to pro-
tect themselves to secure copy
right. In England copyright on orig
inal works Is automatic. Possibly
some day our own law will be so
revised as to rightfully accord and
1egalfze this inherent privilege. No
law, however, can completely satisfy
all requirements. To a great extent
matter of right thinking, and much
Of the difficulty experienced doubt
less arises simply through ignorance.
unacquaintance on the part of a large
portion of the general public with
artists and their way of working.
x
Judging from an editorial recently
published in the Connoisseur.
British monthly, the National Portrait
Gallery in London is in like plight
to our own National Gallery here-it
has completely outgrown the space
at its disposal for display. The story
is told of a collector, now dead-a
great lover of pictures, who purchas-
ed so extensively that not only were
all the walls of his room covered,
his chairs occupied, his tables made
inaccessible, but his ceilings lined
as we'll, the paintings being screwed
thereto with an effect more readily
to be fma gined than described" This,
save the last, Is the condition in which
the National Portrait Gallery of Lon
donsnow seems to find itself; only the
ceilings are uncovered. The author
does not advocate their use. "a nerv-
Gus Visitor he loosely remarks,
when he sees Sir Arthur Cope's large
group of admirals who commanded
In the war, or Mr.. Sargent's equally
colossal canvas of the generals gin
geriy poised above his head may
probablysf the building; nor will the
more strongmindeds like to crick
their necks to scrutinize the placid
features of Sir Isaac Newton. or to
admire the sensuous charms of Nell
Gwyn." The British government, like
our own, is pledged to economy, but
the British writer says: There could
be no truer economy than to provide
sufficient funds to, make the National
Portrait Gallery fully efficient No in
stitution in the country is more CAL
culated to foster legitimate patriot