Evening star., 1940-07-07

held up to standard.
Special interest attaches to the
painting by Sargent, inasmuch as it
is a landscape, and thus, in asso-
citation with other works by this
master-such as "The Oyster Gath
erers," owned by the Corcoran Gal
lery, and the portrait of Mrs. Henry
White, an indefinite loan-rounds
out the record of his achievement
and gives unmistakable indication
of its measure.
From 1884 to his death in 1925,
John Singer Sargent was generally
reckoned as, not only one of the
greatest painters of his generation,
but of all time. Especially was he
SO ranked as painter of portraits.
Yet, so uncertain is fame, so tickle
criteria in the world of art, that
today it is not uncommon to hear
his works spoken of with derlSlon
as beneath contempt. This is alb
surd but understandable, for, in
the first place, Sargent was an aris-
tocrat by birth and breeding, and
since the great war it has been the
common man, the plebian, who has
been exalted also, in art, he was
a traditionalist and bitterly opposed
to the tenets of the new school whose
leaders have, in these later days,
been def1ed.
Succeeded Whistler.
To show the extent to which this
debacle has been carried, it is only
necessary to quote statement made
in the handbook of the worcester
Art Museum, published for guild
ance of visitors:
"While Whistler was becoming the
idol of Chelsea, John Singer Sar-
gent, 20 years his Junior and des-
tined to succeed him in popularity
in the British capital, was learn
ing the art of painting with Carolus
Duran in Paris. Influenced by his
study of Velasquez and Frans Halls,
1t is a pity that Sargent, probably
the most versatile and brilliant
technician of American nationality
produced, did not remain in Paris
to absorb the influence of the great
impressionists, and of Renoir, Van
Gogh and Cezanne. Had he done
so, with his extraordinary gifts, he
might have contributed something
more solid to the art of painting,
comparable perhaps to what was
accomplished by Mary Gassatt in
a purely feminine vein. Instead,
he devoted himself to the pleasing
portrait, an art which he mastered
as we'll as any one since Van Dyck.
Sargent lacked, however, the sense
of composition necessary for genre. "
About the same time that this
misguiding book was published, an
article appeared in the Brooklyn
Museum Quarterly on Modern
American Painting" by John I. H.
Baur, in which four portraits by
Sargent, then in the Brooklyn
Museum, were discussed at length
and somewhat in the same vein,
complaint being made that the ar
tist clothed the features" of those
he painted 'in an aristocratic aura
of social distinction which became
the ideal of his time" Complaint
also was made of his romantic view
point and the brilliancy of his tech
nique, which has seriously misled
those who followed after him.
To refute such criticisms, with
all their contradiction and absurdity.
it is only necessary to turn to the
three paintings by Sargent now on
view in the Corcoran Gallery and
let them speak for themselves. First,
THE Oyster Gatherers," painted at
Cancale, France, in 1878, when Sar-
gent was just % and had been
studying only four years. Not only
is this genre excellent in compost
ton, but it shows no trace or evil
dence of the influence of Duran
or any of the other outstanding
Partisan painters. Even then, the
battle was raging between the ira
ditionalists and the men of the new
school-the luminists, headed by
Monet; the impressionists, led by
Manet, f1anked by Renoir and De-
gas, and the post-impressionists
such as Cezanne, Van Gogh and
Gauguin. For some unknown rea-
son, we in America were little
aware of the struggle that was going
on in contemporary art until it had
become a very old story In Europe,
But Sargent was fully conscious of
the veering viewpoint and deliber-
ately chose his own roadway-not
with an eye toward popularity, but
In accordance with thoughtful con-
'viction. Evidence in confirmation
of this is to be found in his pub
lished letters as we'll as in the
paintings he made.
Delighted in Beauty.
: From first to last, Sargent insisted
upon painting what he saw, and
with the utmost faithfulness, be-
lieving it to be the artists business
to reflect nature and interpret its
supreme loveliness. This intention,
carried out with supreme success, is
seen in his picture of THE Oyster
Gatherers drawn, realistic,
but atmospheric and full of light.
Those who knew him we'll say Of
him that he delighted in the beauty
of the world, loved color, sunlight,
contrasts of light and shadow, all
that which stirred the emotions
and gave inclination for enthusiast
tic expression-the spontaneous
hymn of praise.
Sargent, had he had his own way,
In all probability would not have
been portrait painter In the first
place, he was painfully shy. For
this reason he refused the presi-
dency of the Royal Academy of Lon
don when it was offered to him,
and, invariably, requests to speak
at dinners Or public meetings.
"Oh, please excuse me, I really
can't" he used to say, adding: IT
should be frightened into terrible
silence"
( Also, portrait painting, while most