Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1936-07-25
LANDSCAPE GENIUS
George Inness, Represented in Capital, an
American Master Who Pictured the
Relation of Nature to Man.

gull In this he is more like Corot, TO
whom work was song, than Rousseau
or Courbet both Of whom brought forth
with deep emotion even, at timer
great labor and anguish. The work
of Inness are lyric rather than epic
but they are SO sound and sincere, g
well as serene, that they partake {
the elemental.
THERE was nothing Of the business
man about George Inness, for he
was completely enamored with his art
When he painted. he was entirely car
ried away by his immediate interest
and ardor 1t is said that a patron
once took back to him a painting
lately purchased, to touch up" tho
COWS incidental to the landscape
and when he returned for the pic
ture, found to his dismay that Innes.
had turned it into marine. Ais
that when framemaker sent homo
by error, a frame that would nc
fit the canvas for which it ha
been ordered, Inness Immediate
painted new picture to fit the fran,
rather than send it back for altera
ton. But these are trivial matter
What really signified was the fact tina
to the perfection of his art, lime
never spared time or training, submit
ting himself for years to the strictec
discipline and always striving to BET
ter his best.
Bierstadt and Moran, both Of whom
were only few years younger than
Inness, tried to develop nationalistk
trend in landscape painting by pro-
ducing pictures of typically American
scenes. 1nneSs painted the Landscape
which was close at hand and not very
many miles from New York, but be-
cause of the spirit of these quiet paint
ings they are more typically American
than the grandiose works of his con-
freres.
Inness, in less than a half century
after his death, has, it has been truly
said. become one of our American old
masters. An interesting contrast can
be seen in his painting of Niagara in
the National Gallery of Art and F. E.
Churchs painting of the same subject
in the Corcoran Gallery Of Art. The
latter is a great work of realism, an
amazing portrait of place; the
former is purely an Interpretation of
| the reaction of the painter to this
stupendous miracle of Nature. In the
great falls of Niagara, Inness found
not merely grandeur but many "little
lovelinesseS" which appealed to his
imagination. In this painting he is
nearer Twachtman and the impress
sionists than to those of the Barbizon
| School.
A fourth painting in the Evans
National Gallery collection, Georgia
Pines" recalls the last chapter in
/ the life of Inness. In his later years
he was wont to spend the Winters
in the South, establishing home at
Tarpon Springs, Fla. He had always
esecially loved the midsummer land
scape, the warm tones of evening
light, and these qualities of warmth
and color attracted him in the South
ern country Georgia Pines" is
comparatively small painting "a
wooden panel, IS by "a inches in
dimensions-described by Elliott Dam
gerfeld, who was himself a painter
of distinction, as "a gracious WORK
| full of delicate, poetic feeling and
emotion" To an extent there is q
certain similarity between this little
| painting and the great canvas Sun
set in the Woods" in the Corcoran
Gallery of Art. Both show his knowl-
edge of trees and of light effects in
/ woodland stretches.
1nnesS was not only a searcher
for truth, but Worshiper of beauty
and it is beauty with truth that he
has in his many canvases manifested
to others for all time.
ESPECIALLY did Inness revel in
the sunset hour and many of his
later paintings were transcription OF
after-glow, such as is seen in the
landscape Sunset" by this master,
now lent to the Corcoran Gallery of
Art by Breckenridge Long. There is
preponderance of such paintings
J Ny AL GA1C oQlIC1 SOllCCILO1l, I1It
Art Institute of Chicago, and of this
type in his Home of the Heron,
widely known through color reproduc-
ton.
To some it may seem as though
Inness' scope was limited, but this
limitation was, paradoxically, merely
evidence of his strength. Exposed
to the most powerful influences OF
the new schools of Europe, acquainted
quite fully with the makers of tradi-
ton, this simple painter kept to 6
path of his own choosing-and thereby
actually made contribution to the very
particular art of landscape painting
an art dedicated to nature, but preg-
nant with the relation of nature TO
man.
His was long and interesting Ca
reer. The Phillips Memorial Caller
owns one of his early works, paintea
in Italy under the influence of the
classic. The paintings in the Ma
tional Gallery and the Corcoran GAL
lery of Art witness to the various
phases through which he passed, the
extent of his gamut. incidentally, a
painting in the Glover collection,
winter Morning-Montclair proves
him a modern in advance of his time.
The landscape painters since Inness
have, like him, enlarged upon this
theme and extended our vision.
It may interest those who have
an ''affectionate admiration" for
InnesS to know that his talent de-
scended not only to his son, George
Inness, jr., who made a considerable
reputation as landscape painter, but
to his daughters children, Inness and
Rachel Hartley. In the Montclair
Art Museum was recently held an ex-
hibition of works by George Inness,
George Inness, jr.; ]. Scott Hartley.
son-in-law, and two grandchildren
an engaging showing. --