The Court of Palms is directly opposite the Palace of Horticulture,
between the Education and Liberal Arts Palaces, and adjoins the Court of
the Four Seasons. The charming sunken garden and simple pool reflect the
colored colonnade, arches and towers with a sense of rest that is a
relief and stimulant after walking miles of exhibit halls. Although
really nearly two acres in area, the court seems small and intimate. The
proportions are good, and the planting particularly fortunate.
The architecture is Renaissance, and is suggestive of the interior
courts of the palaces of the Italian nobles. The colonnade columns are
Ionic. The high attic story or frieze above the colonnade is remarkably
rich, with its orange brown panels garlanded with green and red fruits,
and decorated with Caryatid pilasters. It is worthy of study for the way
in which architect, sculptor and color director have co-operated. The
Italian Towers, terminating the colonnades, are among the finest bits of
architectural design in the whole building group. Though only a fraction
of the height of the Tower of Jewels, they convey much better the
impression of reaching high into the heavens, of aspiration and uplift.
They are more satisfying, too, in their combination of architectural
forms, and they carry out notably well the delicate but luxuriant color
scheme of the court. The unusual repeated pattern which fills the large
wall panels of the towers is worthy of attention.
The architect of the court was George W. Kelham.
Sculpture. The only really important statue in the court is that which
stands at the opening on the Avenue of Palms-called The End of the
Trail. An Indian, bowed at last under the storm, sits astride a dejected
horse utter weariness, discouragement, lost hope, expressed in every
line of man and animal. Some see in the statue only the abject despair
of a horse and rider when the consciousness finally comes that the trail
is definitely lost in the wilderness; and it is notable enough as an
expression of this tragic theme. But others, remembering the history of
the Indian, see here an eloquent and pathetic reminder of a race that
has seemingly come to the end of its trail. As a portrayal of this
racial tragedy the group is even more remarkable than as an expression
of the hopelessness of a lost man and horse.
The statue is hardly in key with its architectural surroundings; but its
comparatively isolated position prevents it from seeming an intrusive
element in the court. Considered alone it is more individual, more
expressive of independent and deep moving thought, than any other
sculpture in the grounds. There is far more of real earnestness here
than is usual in exposition sculpture. The thing is significant, too,
for the native note. It is worthy of serious study as indicating one of
the most important tendencies of American sculpture when not tied to the
purely decorative. The sculptor was James Earl Fraser.
The minor sculptures in this court consist of the Caryatides by John
Bateman and A. Stirling Calder; the spandrels, by Albert Weinert; "The
Fairy," by Carl Gruppe, which crowns the Italian Towers; and the classic
vases at the portals.
The mural paintings in this court are disappointing. Two are
surprisingly poor, considering the high reputation of the artists, and
the third is badly placed. The tympanum in the portal at the east side
of the court is filled by Charles W. Holloway's panel, The Pursuit of
Pleasure. This is a conventional treatment of the subject, in which a
number of youths and maidens turn lackadaisically to a winged figure of
Pleasure. There is a pleasing lightness of touch, and the bright reds
and blues are in keeping with the spirit of the court-but the thing
is, somehow, insipid. This panel is more pleasing under illumination. In
the opposite portal is Childe Hassam's painting, Fruits and Flowers.
This again is a conventional treatment, showing very obviously vegetable
and human fruits and flowers. The arrangement is tediously symmetric,
the coloring is rather weak, and there is a wooden stiffness about the
figures. The panel makes a pleasant spot of color, but is by no means up
to the standard of the canvases in Hassam's room in the Palace of Fine
Arts.
The panel over the main doorway, at the north end of the court, is by
Arthur F. Mathews, and is far superior to the other two, though
unfortunately placed in a dark spot. It is called by the artist A
Victorious Spirit. The central figure, gorgeously suggesting the Spirit
of Enlightment, protects Youth from the discordant elements of life from
materialism and brute force, as represented by the rearing horse and
militant rider. Youth is attended by the peace-bringing elements of
life, by Religion, Philosophy or Education, and the Arts. The symbolism
here is sound, the composition and drawing unusually good, and the
coloring quite wonderful-especially in the orange-yellow robe of the
Spirit. The full deep colors are in sharp contrast with those of most of
the Exposition murals.
No one should leave this court without first pausing to enjoy the vista
through the north doorway, showing Albert Jaeger's spirited Sacrificial
Bulls on the Agriculture and Food Products Palaces, the long colonnade
of the Court of the Four Seasons, and the bit of bay and hills beyond.