Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-05-20
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM

I. G. M.
PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS
| AMERICAN. Matthew Josephson.
| Harcourt, Brace d Co.
Henry James provides classic in
stance Of the expatriate American art
ist. There are others also, to be sure,
who, finding their native air Indictment
to the fulfillment Of genius, have be-
taken themselves to foreign parts In
quest Of spiritual climate and circum-
stance suited 10 their various artistic
ambitions and dreams. In notable
point among these Is Lafcadio Hearn
possessed Of violent distaste, not only
for America. but for Western civiliza-
ton itself as well. Among them, too,
are Henry Adams and James Whistler,
stephen Crane and Ambrose Bierce,
each fugitive from his birthland. In
addition to these open assertions from
the United States, Prof. Josephson re-
calls certain other writer's who, remain
ing at home, in physical actuality were,
nevertheless, all their lives spiritual
wanderers. Herman Melville, Haw-
thorne, Thoreau, Poe, Whitman are
outstanding among these alienates from
America.
To abandon ones country in favor
OF another Is to the average mind q
most reprehensible thing to do-an un-
pardonable thing even. And in this
case average" includes the great ma
Jortty. Yet, In the long movements of
Time we are slowly, very slowly, yield
ing latitudes to the individual, grant
ing among other concessions the right
to live wherever desire may lead, even
own country. Not quite whole -heartedly
convinced, though, and SO it Is good
for us to come upon q man like DR..
JoSephson, who has grown practiced In
far sight and deep sight, who Is used
to probing for the sources of human
behavior, used to gathering up a thou
sand scattered kinshipS of mind and
heart into Q revealing pattern Of COM
mon life. Here, II anywhere, lies the
road to broader comprehension, to
clearer understanding, to . better gen.
: eral fellowship among men.
First, DR.. Josephson spreads the
| American background Of these fugitive
artists to discover, II maybe, wherein
lay its tnadequae- Against this he
sets one after another Of these to de-
| termine the possible cause Of so much
Of Illustration and defeat. For these
are thwarted men. However much they
so clearly contributed to the sum OF
American letters. they are, neverthe-
less, men who fen far short Of their
1 individual inspiration and powers. Fell
short Of their own deservings. In such
common disparity. failures all-until
4 personal rewards had lost their efficacy
The study begins with q sketch OF
early New England culture. Boston,
the new Athens. Philosophic thought
the daily suStenance Of transcendental
savants and writer's. Intellectual ideal
ism, the goal. Practice in plain living
and high thinking, the source of more
than one social experiment, Of more
than one political program bent upon
reform. Then the Civil War. Close
period, which, under the spur Of sci
ence and invention, set up that amaz-
ing partnership with the natural re-
sources of this prolific quarter Of the
earth. Making things, material pro-
duction, became the preoccupation OF
the people. Trade was paramount
Genius applied to the higher things OF
life was neglected, forgotten. Neither
appreciation nor q market for its un-
considered wares existed. America
then and there lost its soul, so the
American artist said, fleeing from this
monster Of manufacture, this Gargan-
tua of trade. The author follows ir
searching and vivid detail each Of these
| fugitives into his chosen retreat, point
| ing out the new life in that more salu-
brious zone. Here we see them all al
close and intimate range-Henry James
Hearn, Adams. Whistler and the rest
Under such clear guidance and COM
municable association we come very
close to these ALLEVIATE artists. As we
do, also, with those who remained al
home, fleeing only in spirit from the
now hateful hearthstone.
Science taught man the great lessor
Of adaptation as an essential part of ths
collective life. BY 1t alone can individual
man hope to achieve. Deep-seated diff.
ferences from the rule. from the com.
mon run, exact the penalty of isolation
lack OF appreciation, ultimate desertior
by the main army. Maybe, centur,
later more or less, the world wakes VI
to the worth Of genius, but that Is tot
late for the striving and hungering hui
man himself to profit by such belatet
honor. to profit either In body or soul
Genius Is different from the collective
body. That Is its stamp, its glory, thu
secret Of Its high service. When, how.
ever, these differences meet only neglec
and this, in turn, wounds the vanity o.
genius, it Is then that resentment set,
in, and gloom, and bitterness toward lift
itself. One is likely to imagine thai
genius rises superior to personal vanity
but read the intimate life of writer
painter, poet, and you will invariably
ind each stocked and overstocked witt
this, the most fundamental Of all hu.
| man beSetmentS. And reading here
even about these clearly inspired Ameri
can, artists one feels that 1t Is mo-
America that Is hostile to the develop.
ment Of genius, but rather the inability
Of these self-engrossed artists to share
Uneven a small degree the common lift
vastly better did they fare in the new
place. Henry James found Paris not 81
appreciative as he had hoped. MOI
England either, for that matter. Ant
this was more or less the case with each
Of these restless seekers after new spirit.
ual climates. Today the same thing 1.
going on-every successful novelist be.
nance-that is what he calls 1t. Maybe
America is death to the aspirations ol
art. AS yet, however, there Is M
adequate proof Of this. The argument
Is mixed with all sorts OF half-reasons
mixed reasons, no reason at all. DR.
Josephson, In his illuminating studies oil
these American men Of genius, suggests
never once GneSe innings against the IN
dividual artist. The fullness Of his Views
however, their effect Of actuality, the
fair disclosure of the whole scene seem
to set the readers mind to moving Out
from the trodden path into new trails
Of thought and opinion, into new suspi-
cions even.
| X y *
WITH OPEN EYES. Charles Getting
ham. washington, D. @.
Addressed to "the folks back home, =
| here Is a communicable story Of travel
by O busy man who IS not flying away
from an unsympathetic environment