Evening star., 1925-11-15

y
announces two interesting &C.
questions, both works in
i bronze; one. a turkey by John
Singer Sargent: the other
head of J. Alden Weir by Olip Warner.
The former of these is unique pos
session. John Sargent, the painter,
greatest of portrait painters Of our
day, produced only three known works
in sculpture-two cructfixes, one own
ed in England, the other In this coun-
try. and this turkey. What induced
him to turn incidentally to this form
of expression it is hard to say. but
that when he did he fully commanded
his medium is worthy of note. and
gives indication that genius along
these lines does not conflne itself to
single form of expression. II we
are not mistaken, there is a strong
similarity between this turkey which
Sargent modelled and the turkey In
bronze by the sculptor of the Renais-
sance which is today included among
the exhibits in the National Gallery
At Florence, the Bargello. Sargent
was much in Italy and undoubtedly
very familiar with this collection.
Perhaps 1t was this work which in
spired his effort. Perhaps. on the
other hand, It was only n faint recol-
lection of this fine old bronze held
barnyard fowl strutted before him,
induced experiment along these lines.
In any event, it is a fine turkey,
cleverly modelled, decorative in effect,
and doubtless the painter found i'm
mense amusement in its creation.
Paul Bartlett it will be remembered,
now and then produced a bronze of an
animal, an insect or a fish. Albert
Laessle of Philadelphia has done
q n RI Of I,ie -lye
which because of their artistic merit
and interesting manner of production
are held. in high esteem by sculptors
and ConnoisSeurS Of art. 1t Is an
amusing thing to do and 1t requires
great skill in execution. This skill
Sargent apparently. off ff-hand, was able
to summon.
A New York art dealer came across
this bronze al the Sargent sale in
London and bought it To him it
seemed a work of unique interest. and
he determined TO place 1t. if possible,
in the permanent collection of some
art museum. The Corcoran Gallery
was fortunate in its acquisition.
X X
THE head of J. Alden Weir by Olin
Warner is similar TO that included
in the National Academy Of Designs
centennial exhibition. of which al
ready favorable mention has been
made in these columns. Both from
The standpoint of the subject and that
of the sculptor this Is an important
addition to the Corcoran Gallery's col
Lection. !. Alden Weir. as every one
knows. was one of our most gifted
American painters. He is admirably
represented in the centennial sexhi-
hition by the portrait of two little eirls
on donkeys. The Corcoran Gallery in
cludes in its permanent collection his
portrait of a young girl purchased
from one of its Cotemporary eXhi.
bitions while the painter was still
living. The National Gallery of Art
is fortunate in the possession of a
portrait by him of a young woman,
very typical and representative
work. The Phillips Memorial Gallery
owns several works by Weir-the
Girl Knitting" painted during the
war; one or more landscapes and a
very beautiful bowl Of pink roses. For
a short time Mr.. Weir was president
Of the National Academy of Design,
but HIS was a very retiring disposition:
he loved his work; he was a great
teacher. but public office of any sort
he found irksome. There is a marked
kinship between the work of Alden
Weir and that Of Twachtmann. Dun
can Phillips has written most sym
pathetically OF his paintings. The
Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh. de-
voted one entire section of an interna-
tional exhibition to his paintings
while he was yet alive. He was a most
sincere and gifted artist.
X Il X ):
THE name of DIN Warner, the |
sculptor of this portrait bust, is
perhaps less we'll known, though no
less highly esteemed. by his confreres |
Born in s44, the son OF an itinerant |
Methodist minister of Connecticut, he |
began his career as a sculptor by eX-
hibiting a state fairs. He was %
Years old before opportunity was af-
forded to go abroad. For three years
and a half he worked in Paris. making
The acquaintance of such artists as
Walguiere and Mercie. and for n short
Time assisting CarpeauX. Returning
10 America in 10, he took 4 studio in
New York City, but success did not
come Immediately his way and for a
time he was obliged to return to his
fathers farm, admitting failure. He
was one Of the five original members
Of the Society of American Artists,
and in 1880 this bust of Weir was
made. Ora adually his work won recog-