Evening star., 1962-12-16
BY FRANK GETLEIN
Art Critic Of The Star

AT NIltlC VI Inc star
In the ground floor GAL
leries where late the sweet
birds sang in the Chatsworth
drawings, the National Gal
lery of Art has seen fit to
install a large exhibition Of
the paintings, drawings and
prints of the 10Th century
American, John Gadsby
Chapman. This, to make an
old saying older, is going
from the sublime to the
ridiculous.
Serious consideration Of
John Gadsby Chapman as
an artist is so ridiculous that
the main question the show
confronts us with is not
What is Chapman's merit?"
but rather How can such
things be?" or, How on earth
could the eminently respect
able, even rather staid. Ma
tional Gallery have crawled
out on such a frail and trem-
bling limb?"
1t isn't as If the National
had already exhausted the
resources of first, second and
third rate American art and
had therefore to fall back on
Chapman. AS is generally
known, the National Gallery
takes a rather distant view
of American art, having
found, on examination, that
the stuff isn't even French,
let alone Italian.
Home Town Pride
From time to time the
National puts on a bang-up
show of a top American. the
last example being the Eakins
show last season. But there
are miles of American paint
ings between the power Of
Eakins and the piffle of
Chapman. Why him?
In many places the answer
would be local pride. Chap
man was an Alexandria boy,
born in the historic old town
in 1908, and worked in what
was called Washington City.
Furthermore, after a false
start in Winchester, Va, some
study in Philadelphia and
Italy, he built up a reputa-
ton all along what has since
become Megalopolis. In 1887
he achieI ed his highest am
bition by becoming an Off
cially recognized history
painter" Over the next four
years he labored away at one
of the four later panels of
the Rotunda in the Capitol.
His work The Baptism of
Pocahontas" serves chiefly to
show how completely histo-
rical painting had collapsed
in the 20 years since Trum-
bull did the first four.
Successful illustrator
Immediately after this tri-
umph, Chapman found his
true vocation, though he
never admitted it to himself.
He became a gigantically sue
cessful illustrator. turning
out l,400 of the 1000 pictures
in Harper's Illustrated Bible.
He was the early titan in a
field that became increas-
ingly important through the
century and this. too.
might account for an exhibi-
ton of his work, although
such an exhibition would
more logically turn up at the
Library OF Congress or Pratt
Institute than at the Ma
tional Gallery.
Out of the usual artists
situation Of making more
money than he'd ever hoped
10 and at the same time be-
ing harrassed by creditors.
Chapman took off. at 40, for
Europe. The year happened to
be l848 and the voyaging
artist and his family had TO
wait out the continental rev.
olutions In London before
getting TO the promised land.
Rome. In 1850. Anticipating
the National Gallery by 80
years, Chapman decided that
Italy was the only place for
art and stayed there for "a
years.
He never did an even mildly
important piece OF work
again.
He gained a moderate live
lihood from tourists, mostly
Americans, but the Civil War
ended the demand for SOU
venir pictures. Chapman
went broke and stayed broke
for the rest OF his life. There
are a few interesting pas
sages in the life, mostly CEN