davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1940-09-29
Public Library Exhibits Mast Drawings
Display Commentaries Tooth Anniversary of
Birth of First Great L. S. Cartoonist

Git is on view at the Public Lib
rary. The Rings defeat was over
whelming. and many of the mem
bers, including Tweed, fed to Eu-
rope Mast had a tremendous per-
sonal triumph as the one man most
responsible for the victory; and he
was only 81 years old!
There was remarkable denoue-
ment of this affair. Two years
later. Tweed, whose face had been
made familiar throughout Europe
by NaSt's cartoons. was captured
in Vigo, Spain, and arrested on the
charge of kidnapping two Amer
lean children The authorities. I'M
able to read English. had presum-
ably misinterpreted two of the car-
toonist's little allegorical figures
thus: at any rate. Tweed was ship
ped back to New York, and died
in Jail.
The decline of Nast's career be-
fore he was so, and circumstances
and mistakes in his investments
made his last decade a sad one.
But his fame was already secure.
The Republican elephant and the
Democratic donkey. which appear
frequently in the papers these days,
are symbols which he originated,
and which all latsr cartoonists
adopted. Some of his cartoons have
the superb technique and the emo
tional force of work by Daumier.
And despite his German birth, his
life and career are uniquely and
entirely American
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1940-09-29
By Florence s. Bergman.

Thomas Mast, the United States
first great cartoonist, was born in
Germany 100 years ago last Friday.
America had many earlier cartoon
lists. some of them more famous
BENJAMIN Franklin. for instance
because of their achievements In
other fields. Since Nast's time, the
United States has had many
highly talented cartoonists. of whom
not a few have surpassed him IN
technique. in subtlety and other
characteristics. But he will PROB
ably never lose his pre-eminence as
the American cartoonlst whose pen
Gil welded phenomenal power IN
very troubled times. One cycle
alone of his cartoons would insure
him perpetual honor-those which
smashed the Tweed Ring, a GRIM
inal structure which seemed, in 1870.
as invincible as Hitler seems today.
The Public Library is the only
institution in Washington currently
commemorating Nast's centenary.
A modest exhibition of his cartoons,
from the collection of Leo Pascal,
is on view in the main building I'M
til October Z. Although these are
not originals. but reproductions
from Harper's Weekly, they const-
tute a very good selection, having
been taken from the year 1871, the
climax of the great Ring battle.
Finds Fame and Fortune.
Nasts biography has legendary
quality: it generally follows the
familiar outline of the poor imml-
grant coming to America and find
ing fame and fortune. He was but
6 years old when his mother
brought him. They belonged to
that wave of German liberal i'm
migration in the mid-l9th CEN
fury. which it is well to remem-
Der now, for it contributed many
valuable people to American cit-
zenship.
The cartoonist started his career
at the age of IS on the staff of
Leslie's Weekly, at a salary of 81
per week. Before he was 81 he was
sent to England as artist of the
New York Illustrated News; and
to Italy to join Garabaldi in the
same capacity by the Illustrated
London News. Soon after he re-
turned to New York the war be-
tween the States began, and the
young artist joined the staff OF
Harper's Weekly, with which ne was
to be affiliated for a quarter CEN
tury. His drawings and cartoons
during the war and the reconstruc-
ton period were powerful weapons
to which Lincoln and Grant paid
personal tributes. Some of them
were brutal and unjust, according
to our present knowledge Of the
real situations; but they were no
more so than the propaganda
spread throughout the North and
South. A few of these cartoons
are included in the Public Library
exhibition.
Mast played a leading role in
Grants first election. But his fight
against Tweed overshadows all his
other achievements. During the
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1940-09-29

campaign of 1868 the city govern
ment of New York had fallen into
evil hands. BY 1870 four men,
known as the Tweed Ring-"Boss"
William Tweed of Tammany Hall;
pete" Sweeny. city chamberlain;
Slippery Dick" Connolly, control
Ter of public expenses, and %. K"
Hall, Mayor of the city, were in
complete control The methods by
which such appalling situations are
created can be studied today. In
less than 2l2 years the Ring de-
frauded New York City Of $780,
900. 900: left the treasury as empty
as a drum, and increased the pub
lie debt by more than $4,000 900,
which was still being liquidated
by New York taxpayers four dec
AIDES later The Rings methods are
revealed by few items from the
controllers accounts For example,
among the colossal sums spent os-
tensibly on the new courthouse,
were such items as 40 old chairs
and 3 tables for S179,729 go (nor
were these antiques by Chippendale
or Duncan Phyfe): thermometers,
$500: hire of carriages for funer-
ais. $4,000, and so on.
The artist kept up a barrage OF
cartoons. which required much cour-
age on his part, as we'll as his pub
fishers. for the Ring had many
methods of intimidation, and the
means of purchase. Mast and his
family were threatened, and later
he was offered a half a million
dollars in gold to leave the country.
But he was not for sale; he truly
deserved the epithet, modern st.
George of the Pen" He and Har-
per's Weekly carried on the fight
alone for a while, but were eventu-
ally joined by the Times. The
thrilling detailed history of the fight
can be read in Albert Bigelow
Paine's biography of Thomas Mast,
written SO years ago. Two days
before the elections of 1871, Nast's
now famous cartoon, The Tam
many Tiger Loose" was published
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1940-09-29
artistic ideals of today, but the fact

artistic ideals of today, but the fact
is that they actually represent
similar desire for pictorial express
sion, or what is now termed social
consciousness. Ours is no longer,
perhaps, picture-making era; but
are We not reaching out to grasp
something which will lead us to
greater heights? Whatever may be
the concern of our age artistically,
art goes on, and despite the variance
in viewpoint. there is bound to
arise from the mass, now and then,
a genius capable of expressing in
language all can understand the
thoughts, feelings and aspirations
of the multitude. When this comes
to pass, new era opens. Who shall
set the hour or the day? 1t may be
many years hence, or tomorrow
None can say.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1940-09-29

assistant to Holger Cahill. director.
1t is through him that community
art center programs in % States
have been effectively conducted.
Mr.. Parker is a native Virginian
and an alumnus of the University of
Virginia. He served for three years
as director Of the Richmond Acad-
envy of Arts
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1940-09-29

work. In the first place, it gives
us Paris on winter day-its atmos-
phere, its feeling; then it interprets
the emotions of the people, military
and civilian; finally, it is Well-com-
posed, Skillfully painted, as some
thing artistically worth rendering
in itself-it is alive. memorable.
At the time that the Corcoran
gallery was established through the
beneficence of Mr.. Corcoran, the
storytelling picture was much in
vogue; therefore, many of the works
acquired for its permanent collection
in 1874-5 were paintings of this
order. Kenyon Cox has said in
his essay, The Subject of Art"
published in the Classic Point of
View, that there are three rea-
sons for the contemporary Scorn for
story telling pictures. They are:
"p Painters have told stories that
were too trivial; ~ they have told
stories that, however important and
interesting in themselves, were i'll
fitted for pictorial narration and
~ they have, partly because of this
initial fault in the choice of the
story to be told, told stories badly"
Continuing this discussion, Mr.. Cox
further remarked land it should be
rememberad) that to be fitted for
pictorial treatment, story should
have some degree of importance and
of universal interest and it should
be such a story as may be told in
lines and cOlors. with no necessary
reliance on the written word. or on
anything outside its frame, for the
explanation of its essential features.
Then it must be told fully and fore
ibly-as, for instance, Rembrandt
told his Bible stories, or Michael
Angelo his myths. This is putting
the story telling picture on a high
level, but it gives an excellent meas
ure of merit. With this as yard
stick some of the story telling pic
lures in the Corcoran Gallery may
be found to fall short, but a sur
prising number will be proved fully
worthy of inclusion.
Outstanding Example.
Some of these story pictures il
lustrate, as does The Trojan
Horse tales which have become
traditions, while others turn back
the pages of history and fiction.
Others represent the life of the peo-
pie of different classes at the time
they were painted.
tn ,teto
amples: There is the Procession of
the Sacred Bull. Apis Osiris" by
Frederic A. Bridgman, an American
artist who studied in Paris under
Gerome. who, in 1863, was head of
the Ecole DIES Beaux Arts. This is
a sumptuous scene depicted with
elaboration OF detail and that real
ism found in Sir Alma Tadema's
prescriptions of the life of Greece
and Rome in their utmost splendor.
The "Vestal Tuccie," by Hector
Leroux, another of the 1874 paint
lngs, and one, by the way, which
won a second class gold medal in
the exposition of the following year,
has been so many years favorite of
visitors to the Corcoran Gallery
and is still to be commended. re-
CARELESS of subject. as a capable
piece of painting, but primarily
illustrative.
More impressive still is the enor-
nous canvas by Gerome, himself,
Caesar Dead" purposed, it is
understood, as a study for a more
elaborate compositions very dra-
matte work, horrifying but not NOV
ing. On canvas one-fourth the
size, the story, in this instance,
could have been told equally as well
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1940-09-29

and probably more effectively. But
one thing this painting does show,
and that is mastery of craftsman
ship and power of expression,
qualities which, If possessed by our
contemporary mural painters would
add much to the value of their
productions.
The large canvaSes by French
artists produced during the los and
sos of the past century were done
to induce attention, if, or when,
shown in the Paris Salon, or other
outstanding exhibitions. Little
paintings might be overlooked, even
if accepted and hung. but one ap-
proximately 4 by or by 10 feet
was obliged to be centered and OBJ
served. This was the manner Of
18th century advertising which, in
this later day, is still with us. but
more subtle and perhaps also more
pernicious.
To return to the illustrative
paintings acquired by Mr.. Corcoran:
OF very genuine interest are
Shakespeare and His Contem-
pories," by John Faed, Scotsman;
Cromwell and Milton" by Emanuel
Leutze who, it will be recalled,
painted Washington Crossing the
Delaware" owned by the Metropo-
Titan Museum of Art, and also, in
the Capitol, the picture of the trek
to virgin soil, Westward the
Course of Empire Takes its Way;
and also Carl F. Becker's magma
tive conception of Pope Julius II
with Raphael, Michaelangelo. Wit
toria Colonna and Bramante,
viewing the newly eXhumed statue
of Apollo Belvedere" No one of
these is a great work, but they stir
the imagination.
Lives of the People.
Less significant. although perhaps
better painted, are such large
canvases as "A Family of Satyrs, y
by Louis Priou, which received, and
quite properly, a gold medal of the
first class at the Paris Exposition.
AS a wall decoration, it has merit;
but beyond its technical worth, it
means little to the average visitor.
The same may be said of Ned
jana Odalisque," by CASTOR Saint
Pierre, Chevalier of the Legion of
Honor, which is an academic study
Supremacy well done but lifeless as
compared to. let us say, the great
nudes of Titan.
Different in kind and character
are the pictures which tell the story
of the lives of the people, painted
in approximately the same period;
such as The Beach at Scheven-
ingen," Holland, gay with summer
visitors, ladies in bright-colored
dresses and parasols, by Frederic
Henrik Kaemmerer; preparing for
Church." by Edouard Frere; The
Schism," by Vibert: and "On the
Pincian, Hill. Rome" by Ferdinand
Heilbuth; all of which have real
charm and come we'll within Mr..
Cox's definition of what such pic
lures should be.
Finally, tribute should be paid to
another picture of this genre, a
great favorite and, at the same time,
an estimable work 'of art-the we'll
known and much-beloved painting
of an old sailor and little girl in a
heavy row boat-"The Helping
Hand"-needlessly large, perhaps,
but essentially a work of art and
keenly humanistic, the work of
Emile Renouf, born in Paris in 1845
and died at Havre in 1894. This
picture bears the date 1881.
To some. these paintings may
seem to be antagonistic to the
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1940-09-29
Wood Carvings Shown
Arts Club Exhibits Works OF
Joseph Goethe to Open Season

Arts Club Exhibits Works OF
Joseph Goethe to Open Season
The Arts Clubs committee on in
dustrial arts made an early start in
Its 1901 program by opening its
first craftSmans exhibit the end Of
August A group of IL wood sculp-
lures by Joseph Goethe. Washing
ton artist, was placed on view, to
remain until mid-October.
The emphasis is on the wood: and
however strange these little figures
may appear at first glance, the longer
one regards them, the more one
Will probably appreciate the sculp-
tors respect for his medium. Each
of the sculptures in this show is
carved from a different kind of
wood; some of the woods are doubt
less unknown to the average person
but it is apparent that Mr.. Goethe
is on intimate terms with them. The
surfaces are beautiful with their soft
polish. unusual colors and directions
of grain.
Elongation and simplifcation are
the chief characteristics of Mr..
Goethe's figures. Some of them
seem to be little more than outlines
or suggestions; they are quite the
antithesis of work by Grinling Glib
bons and other old masters, who
made the most resistant wood re-
Semble flowers and leaves, fruit and
living flesh. These virtuosi seemed
to turn wood into something quite
different; Mr.. Goethe land many
other contemporary wood-carvers)
are endeavoring, apparently, to turn
other things into wood.
The present show has figures,
heads and animals. In some in
stances, one has the feeling that
these torSoS are not women he is
representing, but the imprisoned
spirits in the wood. There is an
attenuated figure of ebony, and Q
torso of redwood, dark brown with
light reddish brown streaks. A ma
hogany monkey appears at first
sight to be representation of q
man, which is perhaps Just what
the sculptor intended. The animal
has his knees under his chin; but
then, the figures of people created
by contemporary sculptors usually
look incredibly timber, whether they
are carved from wood or hewn from
the hardest stone.
Mr.. Goethe's elephant of East In
dian satinwood has lovely golden
yellow color; and a horse Of f1orsea
is classic little figure. The latter
wood is of alternating dark and light
brown vertical streaks in color.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1940-09-29
Survey Is Scheduled
Carnegie Institute plans sub

CuIHegtS lHStttuL pLuHo SuO-
Stitute for usual international
exhibition.
The Carnegie Institute, Pitts
burgh, instead of holding its usual
International Exhibition of Paint
ings, will this year give Survey of
American Paintings" from about
1880 to 1910, opening October "a and
continuing through December Is.
The retrospective section of this
exhibition will comprise about $50
paintings. the contemporary section
about ITO. The latter will consist
exclusively of works of living artists.
The retrospective section will be
divided into two parts. the first OF
which will cover the 200 years from
1880 to 1880. and the second part
40 years, from 1900 to 1920 The
contemporary division will date from
1920 to 1910.
Homer Saint-Gaudens, director of
Fine Arts of the Carnegie Institute,
has spent two months visiting Amer
lean museums, private collections,
public buildings, and homes in order
to obtain the best examples of the
artists to be represented. He has
met, it is said with an enthusiastic
and generous response, and he re-
ports with assurance loans from the
early days to the contemporary
group, including such works as
Dean Berkeley and His Encourage,
by John Smibert, from Yale Univer-
sity Art Gallery: Isaac Royal and
His Family by Robert Feke from
Harvard University; John Baylor
of Newmarket Plantation, Virginia, u
by Gustavus Hesselius, from John
Baylor; Gov. Thomas Mifflin and
Mrs. Miff1in,'' by John Singleton
Copley, from the Historical Society
of Pennsylvania; Gen. Henry
Knox" by Gilbert Stuart, from the
city of Boston; Pat Lyon, Black
smith," by John Neagle, from the
Boston Athenaeum; The Torn
Hat" by Thomas Sully, from the
Boston Museum of Fine Arts;
"Penn's Treaty with the Indians,
by Benjamin West, from the Penn
sylvania Academy of the Fine Arts;
The Marquis de Lafayette" by
Samuel F. B. Morse, from the city
of New York; The Verdict of the
People" by George Bingham. from
the ST. Louis Mercantile Library
Association; The Fog Warning,
by Winslow Homer, from the Boston
Museum of Fine Arts; The Forest
of Arden" by Albert Pinkham
Ryder, from Stephen C. Clark; Mrs
William D. Frishmuth," by Thomas
Eakins, from the Philadelphia
Museum of Art; Woman with
Forget-Me-Nots," by Frank Duve-
neck, from the Cincinnati Art
Museum; Mother and Child in
Boat" by Mary Cassatt, from the
Addison Gallery of American Art:
Madame X" by John Singer
Sargent, from the Metropolitan
Museum of Art: "Crucifixion," by
George w. Bellows, from Mrs
George w. Bellows.
Certain outstanding artists will
be represented, not by a single
example, but by group. Among
these will be Feke, Copley, Stuart
Sargent, Homer, Eakins, Inness
Glackens and Bellows The living
painters will be limited to one
canvas each.
A very elaborate catalogue, with
detailed information concerning
painters and works shown, is under
preparation. At least one-third Of
the works will be illustrated, full
page.
This exhibition. at moment when
we are forced by world conditions
to turn our eyes back upon our own
history and survey intensively oul
own achievement, is peculiarly
timely.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1940-09-29

Among these is Archibald MacLeish
of this city. librarian Of Congress.
Mr.. MacLeish also has been ap-
pointed a member of the General
Advisory Committee of the Division
of Cultural Relations of the Depart
ment of State, headed now by
Charles A. Thomson, who has re-
placed DR.. Ben M. Cherrington.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1940-09-29
Textile Museum Reopens

The Textile Museum of Washing
ton, 1880 S street NV, has reopened
to the public. The hours will be
from 2 to 5 pm. Mondays, Wednes-
days and Fridays Cards of ad-
mission may be obtained at the Of
flee of George Hewitt Myers, 100
Fifteenth street NV.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1940-09-29
Exhibits Canada

Miss Edith Hoyt Of Washington,
who has spent the summer in Can
ada, exhibited during July IS of her
oil paintings and water colors, de-
picting scenes of the province of
Quebec, in the gallery of the Pointe
au Pic School, Murray Bay. A pro-
portionate amount received from the
sales was donated to the local
branch of the Red Cross.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1940-09-29
Pointing Is Presented

Carnegie Institute acquires
notable Dork once In private
Washington collection.
A notable painting by John W..
Alexander entitled Aurora Leigh"
once in the private collection Of
Charles Wheeler of this city, has
been presented to the Carnegie
Institute, by c. Bernard Shea in
memory of his father, Joseph B.
Shea. This is a large canvas, rep
resenting q young woman In pic
turesque costume seated with q
white.aud.black dog 1T her side.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1940-09-29
It has all the characteristics of

1t has all the characteristics Of
Mr.. Alexanders work and. at the
same time, shows him at his best
in the matter of design and SIM
plicity of treatment. 1t was painted
in 1904. and exhibited in the Car
negie International of that year.
When the Wheeler collection was
sold in New York. it was purchased
by William Randolph Hearst.
The Carnegie Institute, it will be
remembered, has the honor of pos
sessing, in its Fine Arts Section, Mr..
Alexander's murals of the Spirit
of Pittsburgh" which are among
the finest of their kind in this
country, interpreting in decorative
manner, but with clear significance
the relation of industry to the lives
of the people. The composition Of
these murals is exceedingly COM
plicated, but the effect is simple
and the themes are we'll held within
given plane. They are painted in
a high key.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1940-09-29
MocLeish Is Trustee

Librarian OF Congress Is Elected
to Museum of Modern Art
Board.
The Museum of Modern Art, New
York, has recently elected four new
members to its board Of trustees.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1940-09-29

Thomas G. Parker to Become
Director of the American Fed
GRAFTON OF Arts.
Announcement has been made of
the appointment of Thomas c.
Parker as director of the American
Federation of Arts. Mr.. Parker has
been connected with the Works
Progress Administration art projects
since 1885, when he was appointed
The Wilmington morning star., 1940-12-23
Message To Petain

Very properly the text of President Roose-
ve1t's message to Marshal Petain, premier OF
unoccupied France, which Admiral Leahy, our
new envoy to Vichy, will deliver in person
is a profound secret. The world at large, and
specifically the Nazi world, has no right to
know what one chief, executive says to an
other in such a crisis.
But we on this side of the Atlantic may
assume that Mr.. Roosevelt has offered en-
couragement to the man who has the cruelest
of all jobs to perform-to stand, if. he can,
between the bully of Europe and the complete
dismemberment and occupation of France; to
prevent-if it be possible-the surrender OF
French ports ana air bases to be used against
her former ally; to keep what remains of the
once great nation out of the frey. The best
that Mr.. Roosevelt could hope for France is
that she may escape the further humiliation
Of aiding the enemy of civilization to extend
his conquests.
True. France has little to do with her own
future policy. The Vichy regime is a puppet
one. M. Petain is scarcely more than a cats
paw. But it is possible that a message OF
sympathy, a word of caution, a written pat
on the shoulder, might stiffen the back of the
aged premier at Vichy and not only result in
the continued barring of naval and air ports
to Hitler but even spur the entry of French
forces under Weygand's command into the
war on Britain's side.
Such a step would bring additional retribu-
ton upon ~unoccupied France, but it might
also supply the weight needed to turn the
scale of victory in Britain's favor, and in that
case France would be an ultimate beneficiary,
whatever the present cost.
Naturally. Mr.. Roosevelt could say nothing
of all this in a message to Premier Petain.
But we may rest assured that his letter will
contain a frank statement of Americas friend
ship for France and his personal good will.
May it be fruitful.