Evening star., 1936-07-18
BEAUTY IN OUR ART
American Spirit Created on Canvas Is to
Represent High Aspirations While
Purely Our Own.

Ill 1901 anu purchased lot Lle Cor
coran Gallery of Art at the sale Of
the John Taylor Johnston collection
in New York. 1t had by then been
engraved and autographed ir color
and was as widely known as any
painting produced up to that time in
America. 1t is still notable, not mere
ly as a picture of Niagara but as a
work of distinguished merit 1t is a
well-unified composition, charming in
color, extraordinary in lighting, the
Illusion of the rainbow being remark
ably simulated. Very different in
manner is this transcription from one
which TWachtman or Whistler might
have made. but there are many ways
for an artist to express himself and
no one exclusively right. Since We
are returning to realism, let us give
this magnificent piece of realism its
Just due and let us not forget that
in spite thereof the painter has i'm
parted to us some measure of his own
admiration for this great, even over
whelming. natural phenomenon.
In the National Gallery of Art
hangs a painting by another of this
same group of painters-Thomas Mo-
ran, who was one of the first to ex-
plore the great canyons of the Colo
| rado and the Yellowstone and paint
their wonders. The late William H.
Holmes, artist and scientist, director
Of the National Gallery Of Art, used
to say that none had so truly pictured
these miraculous works of nature as
Moran-and others share his convic-
tion. And yet there is an element Of
scene painting in these gradiloquent
canvases which all the Americanism
in the world cannot obliterate. The
artist was too intent upon making a
/ correct copy of things seen and so let
he greater truths escape him.
But, some will say. it is life which
We are painting today, not natural
phenomena. Very true, and so did
the artists Of earlier generations.
What Of j. G. Browns typical New
York newsboys-or. for that matter,
his picture of Long Shore Men" in
the Corcoran Gallery of Art? What of
w. S. Mount and his pictures of Long
Island farmers and little town dwell
ers so admirably exemplified by his
painting, The Long Story" in The
same collection Or of Thomas Ho-
venden, whose picture, Breaking
Home Ties" is known and respected
as we'll as admired from end to end
of our lanG? Were not all these paint
erS of the American scene? II would
seem so.
THE great school of American Illus
traitors of the '30s and '90s all drew
their inspiration and their subjects
from this source and nothing pro-
duced in recent days has been more
typical of this country. 1t was as an
illustrator that Homer began his
career and the National Gallery of
Art possesses in the little canvas.
Visit of the Old Mistress" a most
excellent example Of his early genre
painting-a typical scene of Negro
life in the South during or imne-
diately after the Civil War.
Comparing favorably with this and
perhaps more significant is "A Pas
toral Visit" By Richard N Brooke.
who for many years was president of
the Society of Washington Artists and
vice principal of the Corcoran Schoo!
of Art. This painting now hangs in
the atrium of the Corcoran Gallery.
1t is a large canvas depicting Negro
family in a kitchen with cupboard
and large open fireplace. The preacher
has come to pay pastoral visit and
is being Hospitality entertained:
while he converses with the head Of
the family, the mother heaps his
plate with food and the three little
children look shyly on. There is cat
in the corner, banjo on a stool. It
Is all very expressive and appealing.
an inimitable scene. Surely this paint
ing is typically American, but through
it runs vein not only of humor but
character and good will. 1t Is
scene well depicted and very worthy
of remembrance. 1t was Mr.. Brooke,
by the way, who was largely RESPONSE
Bile for introducing modern Dutch
genre painting in America.
Dul " llAAS AlAdIOOA AAIOAC dP W
date What of Grolls paintings of the
desert. and of C. C. Cooper's paint
ings of New York skyscrapers? What
of Thames Eakins and j. Alden Weir
could anything be more typically
American than the pictures the for
mer painted Of the life he saw around
him in Philadelphia or than those of
yNanv11a that intnp.
preted by the latter in New England?
Mr.. Barker claims that Eakins' mind
was civilized in the most literal sense
of the word, meaning "citifled.' but
admits that better than almost any
other he set forth the urban phase
of contemporary life as he saw it. In
George Bellows and his work he finds
evidence of the permeation of the
frontier spirit in contemporary art
and life. Bellows" he says. "had
no taste. but an appetite for life, and
a capacity to communicate enjoy
ment." The vitality which his work
displays, will, he believes, for many
years to come do most to make
American painting enjoyed by Amert-
cans"
In all probability that is the keynote
to contemporary American painting.
We are a vital people and we would
pour this vitality into our art. 1t is
normal and suitable outlet. But the
weak cannot be strong, any more
than, by act Of will. pigrnies can be
turned into giants. For fear Of being
weak we have turned to ugliness, know.
ing that behind its veil we can hide
our own shortcoming. Life today Is
so dynamic and dangerous that the
lyric and the lovely seem to be out
dated,
Even so, it is not the scene, but the
man behind the scene, that counts.
The master artist perceives beauty in
many strange places and makes 1t
manifest. It Is the less well endowed
who are content with the superficial.
They have neither message nor vision.
Obviously Mr. Barker is right-better
by all means an art which is our own
than one merely borrowed. But should