Having reached far into the heart of the modern American section by way
of the one-man galleries, a chronological pursuit of our study is no
more necessary nor possible. Almost all of the pictures in the modern
American section have been produced since 1904, the year of the last
international exhibition, at St. Louis, and they reflect in a very
surprising way the tremendous advancement of native art to a point where
comparison with the art of the older nations need not be feared. In all
the fields of painting, including all subjects, portraits and figures
generally, landscapes, marines, and still-life, we can turn proudly to a
great number of painters who interpret candidly and vigorously the world
in which we live.
Gallery 71.
The gallery nearest to the one just visited gives a good idea of the
mastery of a variety of subjects in the art of painting, and to continue
our investigations from this point is just as logical as from any other
part of the modern American section. In this gallery, easily located by
two large parvenu portraits of dubious merit, are some others which are
really vital expressions of modern art. Beginning on wall A, going to
the right, Luis Mora's "Fortune Teller" and Meakin's landscapes should
be singled out. On the west wall Frederic Clay Bartlett's painting of an
interior and Norwood McGilvary's nocturne charm in different ways, while
on the adjoining wall Ritschel's marine and Rosen's winter scenes
display excellent quality of design, with fine outdoor feeling. Miss
Fortune's Mission interior deserves its distinction of having been
bought by William M. Chase. Robert Nisbet contributes a rare green tree
design, and Hayley Lever's harbor pictures are all performances of
superior merit,
Gallery 70.
This gallery is given over entirely to portraits, most of which are so
devoid of any real merit that it is relatively very easy to single out
the good ones. Flagg's portrait of the sculptor Bartlett, a portrait by
Robert David Gauley over the door, the lady with the fur on the second
line on wall B, with her neighbor, Lazar Raditz, by himself, are better
than the many others, which are all well done but do not interest one
enough, for one reason or another. The one picture in this gallery that
comes very near being of supreme beauty is the young lady reclining on a
chaise lounge, the work of E. K. Wetherill. Very few pictures in this
gallery come up to the placid beauty of this distinguished canvas, which
is somewhat handicapped in its aesthetic appeal by some unnecessarily
tawdry bits of furniture and bric-à-brac used in its make-up.
Gallery 69.
"Phyllis" here represents John W. Alexander, that most capable artist,
lost to the world recently at the height of a very useful career. John
W. Beatty's and Francis Murphy' landscapes, on either side, are both
beautiful, in the Barbizon spirit. Howard Russell Butler's "Spirits of
the Twilight" is very luminous, and Lawton Parker's "Paresse" in its
sensual note runs "Stella" a close second in a colour scheme and design
of such beauty that one cannot help getting a great deal of aesthetic
satisfaction from it, aside from its too apparent sensational character.
Gallery 68.
This large central gallery averages unusually high in the large number
of excellent things it contains. Four big, well studied marines by
William Ritschel make one feel proud of the contribution they make to
the field of American marine painting. It is very hard to say which one
of our four well-represented marine painters, Carlsen, Waugh, Dougherty,
and Ritschel, is most captivating. However, a canvas like Ritschel's "In
the Shadow of the Cliffs" will always hold its own among the best.
Ritschel's work is easily recognized by this robust, healthy tone; it
reveals sound values and intimate study. One of Johansen's small
landscapes, and another one by H. M. Camp, on the second line of this
wall, grow in one's estimation on longer acquaintance. They are in fine
style and very big for their size, largely by reason of their monumental
skies. Howard Cushing's group in the center is full of skillfully
presented detail, without losing in breadth in the many different
subjects he paints. His portrait of a lady, in the center, is
distinguished in every way, not least so in expression.
Johansen's main group of pictures, all on one wall, stand for breadth
and intimate study alike. The Venetian square canvas in the middle is
one of the jewels of this exhibition. There is no end of distinctive
canvases in this gallery, as one must conclude on going over to the two
big Daniel Garbers, which are more of the typical American type than his
others in the group. The one on the right is a perfect unit of colour,
atmosphere, and pattern. In between, Spencer's backyard pictures reveal
a sympathetic younger painter who, for reason of his choice of
proletarian subjects, does not get the attention he more than deserves.
Most original in technique and charming in tone, they interest wherever
one meets them in the exhibition.
On the second line a delightful Speicher landscape should not be
overlooked. On wall D an important winter landscape by Schofield reminds
one forcibly of the many excellent painters of ice and snow we have in
this country. They are really the backbone of our American outdoor
artists, and all of them, with the exception of Gardner Symons, can be
found in the exhibition. To this group, beside Redfield and Schofield,
before mentioned, belong Charles Morris Young, John F. Carlson, Charles
Rosen, and others. Leon Kroll's "River Industries" and "Weehawken
Terminal," on the second line, are so typically American in subject that
they would have been unacceptable to the public here twenty years ago.
Gallery 67.
This large room continues to hold the attention of the visitor by more
excellent specimens of present-day art. Dougherty's marines as well as
Waugh's very precise, somewhat metallic seascapes have been referred to
before. Dougherty's group of four pictures is augmented by two Spanish
canvases by Lewis Cohen, of which the one to the right is far more
convincing than the other. They are somewhat artificial in colour. Emil
Carlsen's only contribution, a fine open sea, has a quality all its own.
The feeling of pattern in sky and water surface, combined with great
delicacy and suggestion of absolute truthfulness, gives it a quality
quite apart from the energetic art of Waugh, Ritschel, and Dougherty.
John F. Carlson always has style to his work, a certain unaffected,
noble simplicity, well brought out in three sympathetic pictures
grouped near the Emil Carlsen marine. Adding to the conspicuousness of
that wall, Charles H. Davis and Leonard Ochtman hold their own in their
important setting. The only two figure pictures in this neighborhood are
particularly lovely in colour and design, and R. P. R. Neilson deserves
much praise for having struck a unique note conspicuous among the many
commonplace portraits of the present day. Wendt's "Land of Heart's
Desire" is unusually happy, and it supports its title admirably. Very
decorative in feeling, it is compelling in its appeal to the public.
Maynard Dixon, another Californian, shows an original small canvas, "The
Oregon Trail," endowed with big feeling.
Two cases in this gallery encourage investigation of American
accomplishments in the field of animal sculpture, and on closer
examination of offerings in this most interesting field, we find an
unusually creditable lot of work by Frederick Roth, Albert Laessle,
Arthur Putnam, and Charles Cary Rumsey. They should be considered in a
group if their relative merit is to be fully appreciated. Kemeys and
Proctor somewhat antedate them all in their work (in galleries 69 and
72). Roth is next door to Kemeys in 45, among a variety of things done
mostly in glazed clay. A very fine sense of humor comes to the surface
most conspicuously in "The Butcher", "The Baker", and "The Candlestick
Maker". Putnam and Laessle are in this gallery side by side. In sharp
contrast with the former's muscular and broad type of modeling, the
latter has a very precise and Japanesque quality of detail modeling
which is sometimes a little photographic. Charles Cary Rumsey is only a
few steps away, in gallery 48. In his original subject of a horse and
man drinking he strikes a particularly unique note.
Gallery 80.
Here Metcalf's "Blossom Time" reveals the most poetic of our modern
American painters. The man who bought it made a good investment. In ten
years it will be a classic and worth its weight in gold, including the
frame. This canvas gives one more thrills than almost all the others by
the same man - good as they are. The "Trembling Leaves" is superb, but a
fussy frame destroys half the pleasure. Mrs. Philip Hale's elegant and
refined interior, together with Paxton's figural work, prove that we
have conquered successfully a certain field of genre which the American
art-lover has been in the habit of buying in Europe. Paxton's
"Housemaid" is entirely in the spirit of the old Dutch, and his
"Bellissima" is most luminous alongside of his other works.
Gallery 51.
This magnetic collection comes somewhat as a shock to the public, which
can't be blamed for its disapproval of the recent sensational
experiments of Henri and Glackens. It is impossible to understand why a
man like Glackens should so illogically abandon the soundness of his
older work and do those inharmonies of form and colour which he presents
on the A wall. His "Woman with Apple" is absolutely absurd and vulgar
beyond description. She has "character," if that is what he is after,
because her vulgarity is convincing. The rest of the things are
ridiculous in their riotous superficiality. Carles seeks the same
expression of individuality for which Glackens strives so hard. In his
small, square picture, "Repose," Carles is most successful. Here he has
created a great work of art - beautiful as well as full of character.
This canvas is one of the most successful of the new style. It needs no
apologies, and it has all the qualities of an old master, with modern
virility and colour added to it. Let us have new things like this and we
shall not regret having tolerantly and patiently watched all the many
idiocities which are paraded around under the pretext of research and
experimentation. Breckenridge's still-lifes are startling at first, but
studied singly they reveal a fine sense of colour. They constitute a
serious and successful contribution to modern art, without being in the
least grotesque. I should like to have one of them in my house, without
fear of their very vigorous colour. In a totally different vein Everett
L. Bryant gives some still-lifes which continue certain impressionistic
methods with wonderful delicacy. In certain surroundings they will add
distinction even to a commonplace room. Anshutz's "Lady in Red" is a
very good academic study in a colour which in large quantities is very
difficult to handle.
Gallery 50.
The academic school is continued in spirit in Sergeant
Kendall's refined portraits, augmented by a painted wood sculpture of
unusual quality, reminiscent of the masters of the early German
Renaissance. Louis Kronberg has his customary ballet girl and Hermann
Dudley Murphy some of his typical, refined marines. His surfaces are
always delectable and like the inside of a shell in their glistening
blues and pinks. Both Nelson and Hansen, two native Californians, are
well represented - one by a Monterey coast, the other by a forcefully
painted decorative picture called "The Belated Boat." Lathrop adds two
placid pictures, of which the canal is the more skillfully composed.
Gallery 49.
Peace reigns supreme in this gallery of Tryon and Weir. Tryon reflects
all the poetic qualities of the Barbizon group without striking a new
note either technically or in composition. His larger canvases are of
great beauty, very tender and poetic, and altogether too sweet to have
you feel that they were painted for any other reason than to make a
pretty picture. His smaller work gives you that feeling more than his
larger ones. Alden Weir's art is the direct opposite of this. Searching
for truth, character, and beauty, he labors over simple subjects with
great concentration and does not stop until they seem like silver
symphonies. His art is personal and must be studied at great length to
be fully appreciated. It expects a great deal of concentration, but one
willing to take the trouble will be amply rewarded by ever increasing
pleasure. The art of McLure Hamilton is more interesting in the power of
psychological characterization than in painting. His pictures are
painted thinly, more like watercolours than oils.
Gallery 48.
No noteworthy contribution is made here, unless one excepts the
academically clever portraits by Troccoli, a landscape by Vonnoh, and a
sumptuous bed of rhododendrons by Edward F. Rook. Two large "Grand
Cañons" again demonstrate the utter futility of trying to paint such
motives, which, in their success, depend entirely upon a feeling of
scale that is almost impossible to attain on a small canvas.
Gallery 47.
Here Blumenschein's large Indian compositions are of decorative
character. They are well composed and dramatic. The "Peace Maker" is big
in feeling. Typically American and very unusual are Colin Campbell
Cooper's New York street perspectives. His originality as a painter is
well demonstrated by this choice, which must have taken much courage at
a time when American subjects were more or less despised. Richard
Millers "Pink Lady" does not look a bit convincing, cleverly as it is
painted; it is not interesting enough in the large surfaces of
overnaturalistic pink flesh. Half that size would have been just enough
for this canvas, which is chiefly a concession to the modern mania for
painting large exhibition pictures to attract attention by their size
alone. Groll's desert pictures are disappointing. They have neither
interesting colour nor sufficient atmosphere to come up to the standard
of this typical desert painter.
Gallery 46.
There is a lovely note in this gallery, contributed by Ruger Donoho's
garden scenes. Most unusual in subject, they are full of life, vibrant
with colour, and altogether very delightful, a most pleasant change from
the ordinary run of subjects. Frank Dumond's work on another wall (B)
excels in a pleasant mannerism. His work is most thoughtful and well
studied. The two smallest of his paintings are perfect gems in every way
- well balanced by two small tender canvases of southern Europe by Mrs.
Dumond (on the opposite wall). Two portraits in this gallery, Inez
Addams' "Daphne" and Adolphe Borie's "Spring," should not be slighted.
Borie's is very strong, and one of the best portraits on exhibition.
Alongside of it is a winter landscape by Ernest Albert, which, while a
little timid, is nevertheless poetic and more convincing than others of
that type near by.
Gallery 45.
Charles Morris Young's art is so refreshing, so spontaneous in every
way, that it catches one's eye immediately on passing on into this room.
His work deserves recognition for more than one reason. His handling of
paint is fresh and clear and a direct aiming for a final expression of
what he wants to convey. Any one of the six subjects is well handled.
They give one the feeling of the artist's thorough understanding of his
material. His own "House in Winter" and the "Red Mill" reach the
high-water mark of landscape painting in the exhibition. Griffin's
pictures, on another wall, so openly disregard technical rules in their
careless superimposition of unnecessary paint that in spite of a great
richness of colour and a certain suggestion of truth, they are not apt
to hold one one's affection very long. They are sincere, I admit, but
careless in technique. There is no doubt about it, because heavy paint
and bare pieces of canvas will not make durable pictures. Birge Harrison
is disappointing in two pastels which seem too chromo-like, too
mechanical, to carry their point.
Gallery 44.
This collection is not at all without interest, but with few exceptions
the pictures in it are not strong enough to hold their own with so many
good things abounding elsewhere. Ralph Clarkson's portrait, Bartlett's
schoolyard, Perrine's technically unique landscape, are all meritorious.
Gallery 43.
Frederic M. DuMond's "Sea Carvings" in the corner, and Nahl's decorative
composition attract, each in its way, while in another corner a badly
skyed portrait by Hinkle is scarcely given a chance.
Gallery 74.
It will be necessary to make a little journey over to the inner side of
the arch of the building to continue and finish the art of modern
America. In this small Gallery, adjoining Sargent's, nothing stirring
happens. Landscapes predominate, with varying interest, but nothing with
any style or unity of expression presents itself, with the exception of
Carl Oscar Borg's "Campagna Romana" and a fine sky over the door by
William J. Kaula. The landscapes of G. W. Sotter and Will S. Robinson
stand out among the rest.
Gallery 73.
Next door, in 73, Alson Skinner Clark has been given the privilege of
almost an entire Gallery, without any other justification than
historical interest in his shallow Panama scenes, devoid of any quality.
They are illustrations - that is all. Gifford Beal disappoints in some
superficial paintings of commonplace subjects, which a skillful
technique might easily have turned into something worth while. His "Old
Town Terrace" is much the best, but the collection makes one
apprehensive for Beal's future performances. Paul King's canvas over the
door is excellent, well painted, and interesting in subject.
Gallery 72.
There seems no end of productiveness of American painters, and justice
demands more investigation and undeniably more steps. Ladies with
parrots, with and without clothes, are numerous, but the one in here is
more interesting than the others. I hope that not all of these parrot
pictures are meant symbolically. Walter McEwen arouses memories of times
gone by, technically and otherwise, in a huge storytelling Salon
picture. More ladies in conventional sitting posture willingly sat for
more pictures without adding new thrills. Meyer's portraits, Gertrude
Fiske's sketch, Olga Ackerman's group of children, are all deserving of
study. Max Bohm's two big figural pictures are decoratively interesting
enough, but bad in paint. One of the best landscapes can be found here
in Henry Muhrman's work, over the McEwen. There is nothing sensational
about it, but its somber dignity stands out among many modern works. On
the opposite wall Mrs. Sargent's" Mount Tamalpais" is unusual in
composition and rich in colour.
Separated from the rest of the American section by Holland and Sweden, a
series of galleries are in grave danger of being overlooked.
Undoubtedly, to offset this apparent isolation, some of the most
alluring paintings can be found at this end.
Gallery 117.
Here is Frederic Frieseke, our expatriated American, with his
fascinating boudoir scenes. Very high in key and full of detail, at
first they seem restless and crowded, which some actually are, in a
degree. But canvases like "The Garden" and "The Bay Window" and "The
Boudoir" are real jewels of light and colour. "The Bay Window" is the
most placid of his canvases and in conception much finer than his
outdoor subjects. Frieseke's clear, joyous art is typically modern, and
expresses the best tendency of our day. Luis Mora's two watercolours,
while illustrative, hold their own in Frieseke's company. Tanner's big
religious canvas falls far below this capable painter's usual efforts.
Native talent helps out in a delightful marine, honestly painted by
Bruce Nelson, and an apple green and pale pink colour-harmony by
Charlton Fortune. Very much in the style of the Frieseke, Rittman's
"Early Morning in the Garden" is easily taken for the art of his
fascinating neighbor, but it should be recognized as the work 0f another
kindred spirit.
Gallery 118.
In 118, landscapes predominate over figural work, at least in quality.
Harry Leslie Hoffman's "Spring Mood," Wilbur Dean Hamilton's tender and
poetic canvas, and Louise Brumbach's city view bathed in the grays of an
early morning call for recognition.
Gallery 119.
The general character of the next gallery is different from the
preceding. Given over to oils, watercolours, pastels, lithographs, and
drawings, it presents an interesting appearance. Six pastels by Henry
Muhrman and Frank Mura's charcoal drawings are the leaders here, and the
drawings generally are the best things among the many oils and
watercolours, which were mostly made for purposes of illustration.
Drawings by Martinez, pastels by Miss Percy, two sympathetic drawings by
Miss Hunter, and a few still-lifes in watercolour, by Miss Boone, all
bear testimony to native ability as represented by California.
Gallery 120.
The last gallery contains Bellow's bold canvases, of which "The Polo
Game" is the best known, another fine canvas by Henry Muhrman, and some
older American work by Stewart, typical of what we used to send to
Europe in years gone by.
In the Garden.
While many plastic works have been mentioned in the survey of the
galleries, still great numbers of statues, statuettes, and fountain
figures call for investigation, out of doors. Sculpture is, on the
whole, not so complex as painting, and dealing with the expression of
emotions much more directly than painting, it can easily be understood.
Of the many pieces displayed outside, Janet Scudder's fountain figures
earn all the applause they receive, and most of the other sculptors are
old friends, since they have been met with in the decorative
embellishments of the architecture of the Exposition. There is Aitken,
with a bust of Taft; Chester Beach, with a young girl in marble, of
great charm; Solon Borglum's Washington, Mrs. Burroughs' garden figure,
Stirling Calder, and Piccirilli - all well remembered. It is gratifying
to meet all these men, and many others, in freer and more detached
expression of their art, under conditions where no severe architectural
restrictions were put upon them.