Evening star., 1937-07-10
Bv Leila Mechlin.

they come and they go. But in
L arts they leave an impress.
Time wipes out the superficial but re-
tains and stamps with authority works
of original genius. Furthermore, as
A. E. Newton once remarked, the world
does not go on and on, as many sup
pose, but rather round and round, so
that in many instances before we
know 1t we find ourselves to our great
surprise back at familiar starting
post.
At one time in the past century
there WAS fever and fashion for
naturalistic subjects in American art.
In landscape our great natural phe-
nomena attracted the painters and as
q result we have Churchs Niagara"
and Bierstadt's "Mt. Corcoran" in the
Corcoran Gallery of Art and THE
Grand Canyon" by Moran in the Ma
tional Art Collection in the keeping of
the Smithsonian Institution. A gen.
Grafton later the same impulse found
expression in pictures of life on the
great plains and cowboy and Indian
pictures by Frederic Remington and
others had great vogue.
With the advent of the impression
lists all this was changed subject gave
way to purely esthetic reaction and a
great deal that was substantial in art
f1oated away in elusive mists; tech
nique was exalted, art existed chiefly
for arts sake Then scurrying along
came the post-impreSsionlStS with
their interpretive creed, which put
chief emphasis on Self-expression, re-
gardless of all else, even its intelli-
gibility, until finally we found our
selves confronted with the jigsaW puz-
zle pictures of the abstractionists and
the bedizzying compositions of the sur
realists, betokening the Incompetent
sible psychic reactions of abnormal
individuals 1t was time to call a
halt. but it was not necessary, for
tention of painters and public had
been redirected to the American
Scene" and by no less powerful an
agency than the Federal Government.
WHEN the first art project was set
wv up by the Roosevelt administra-
ton as part of gigantic relief and re-
financing measure the one require
ment made of the hundreds of artists
all over the country who were set to
work was that this be their theme
The result as shown in the first ex-
hi}oitiNy1 hold horo in, tho
Gallery Of Art, was not altogether re-
assuring. In the minds of the ma
tority. apparently American art was
best typifed by Main Street" or it's
equivalent: but the leaven had begun
to work. We had come down to earth
and potentially were ready for new
flights. So far we have not it must
be admitted, scared very high, but
there is trying of wings which gives
promise for the future.
How much all this has to do with a
fecurrent revival OF interest in the
work OF the late Frederic Remington
evidenced in part by the sale for
$7,700 Of one Of his paintings, Gus
Aer's Last Stand" in the Brady COL
lection, is difficult to say, but the fact
remains that subject pictures. and
particularly pictures Of typical Amer
lean life, are having renewed vogue.
Also illustrations are gradually creep
Ing back into our books and period
acals. We have, 1t would SEEM gotten
q little tired Of art that is just woozy
Even so. s7,700 was a good price
for Remington-a price. incidentally,
greater than that brought in the auc-
ton rooms for works by the distin-
guished representatives of the great
eighteenth century British school of
portrait painting-and 20 times higher
than other Remingtons have sold for
at auctions during the past decade.
But Remington was genuine artist
one of the gifted few-and his works
do not depend solely upon subject for
Interest or merit
"A PAINTING and two bronzes by
Frederic Remington are included
IN public collections in Washington.
In the Evans Collection, given to the
@~otioiIdi 'oAIeiy vi AL anu liOW III
cluded in the National Art Collection,
Is his painting entitled Fired On"-a
typical Western scene-and in the Cor
coran Gallery of Art are his bronzes,
The Mountain Man" and "Off the
Range"-the former a single rider
picking his way down perilously steep
slope-the latter group of four hi
larious riders galloping neck and neck,
shooting their revolvers for the fur
OF the shooting, noisily making merry
from pure excess of animal spirits,
stimulated perhaps, by spirits other
wise distilled
1t is not often that an artist sue
ceeds in two branches of art, much
less three, but Frederic Remington
was the exception. He was equally
successful as painter, sculptor and
Uriter-and under the head of painter
we must also include illustrator. There
are some who would put the last
first, and say that Remington was an
illustrator at all times, regardless of
what medium he used. But this is
not quite true. Many of his paintings
are primarily works of art and show
q sensitive and knowing use of pig
ment. while some of his small bronzes
are frankly plastic in inception.
However it is true that Frederic
Remington painted and drew and mod
eled what he saw, and that his art
was the outgrowth of personal expe-
1iences-in other words, that his life
controlled his art. rather than his art
his life. He had the art impulse, but
he had most strongly the reportorial
urge-the urge to tell what he saw
(or heard, which most often leads
70 news writing.
n EMINGTON was born in Canton,
N. Y, but grew up in Ogdens-
burg, In the same State, on the Cana
dian border, where his father, vet
eran OF the Civil War, was collector
OF customs. While attending the Yale
Art School his father died and he was
obliged to withdraw and find means
whereby he could earn his own living