in washington

In WashingtonAuthor(s): George GibbsSource: The Quarterly Illustrator, Vol. 3, No. 9 (Jan. - Mar., 1895), pp. 25-34Published by:Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25581919 .

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"'IN WVASHINGTON "

By GEORGE GIBBS.

VIih o/i O?gina(7l illustra/ions bJ ['Vashiin-tlon Artists.

6 21 &

Fro; z a /i;z I; b1)), Alfax Vi T1l.

NE\R \ENICE.

LoOKING at paintingC from01 the

stand-point of the art studeint, as the art of reprodlucing whliat you see, one may finid many painters.

But the retinias of painters are sus ceptible to many impressionis, and the thinogs which one painiter sees in a composition may be invisible to the eye of anotlher. By this

power of interpretation the niature

of the manl is kniown. The ocean can be dull and colorless. WhVIeen the sun shines from clear skies, as though sifted throughl a golden veil, the ocean takes the brihlit

lhLues of many jewels and delights the senses. But let the wvinicl blow ancl the sky wvill pile itself up wvith- vari-colored clouds, baink uponl bank, each more nmajestic tlhan the other, and the oceani will take colors and forms that touch deeper clhorcls in our nature. Some painters interpret the first naturally, othei-s can feel tlle seconcl, btut fewv there are wvlo comprehend, wlho can merge tlhemselves into and become a par-t of the thircd.

AWitlhouLt tlle Glod-given power of seeing things througoh the " prism of the emo tionls " the art of painting what you see becomes mere copying; and the camllera serves the purposes of reproduction as adequately as the palette anid brushes of the man. wv-ho has no suclh prismii to see through.

BuLt the emotional sense is niot everythlinlg. This prism slhould not be so blur-red by ivarring andcl irreglilar emotions as to blind the painter to the lpriniciples he learned in the nose anid ear school. The lens slhould be so accurately calculated as

From a fiainting by R. G. Skerreit. %sMAINE.?



26 T'he Ouarterly Illustrator

to focus readily and preclude the pos silbility in the drawvin(g of any of the

absurd foreshortenings of amateur pho

tog-raphy. AMlany knowv how to paint

whlo have forgottenl how to clraw.

'I'lhose wvho take refug-e fromii their

amateurish drauio-lhtsmiianislii ) behlilnd

their color arFe 1not tr-Le. Washillgton

is not gr-eatly troul)led with suclh im

plressionisn. Her impressiollists are,

With a few exceptions, it is to be be

lievecl, carefull andc conIscientiolis stu

dlenlts wvh0o if they hiave suclh faults, are

not too biased or committed to con

sider and knlow the value of proceedinog

by the lonig anid niarrow patlh. The

Blarbizon influence hias made itself felt

stroigly, anld h1as taken away somiie of

the prosaic. Among the younger menl

especially it has taken away the prose

anid is beginniing to show poetry. But

the artistic temiiperamiienit is prone, in

the ear-ly stages, to allow its conscien

..@ /v*frt :; 2

Drawn y vFelix F. Ialzony.

WXARMING UlP.

AN

Fronz t pafi(tIn" by I A I ndrezvs.

DOLLY M\I)ISON.

tiousness to be subservienlt to its emo

tionial sense. Coniscientioulsniess is a habit

n1ot easily acquir-ed uniless the grounid work and principle are souinid.

But the opportunities for that ground

wTork have, until witlhin the last few years,

beein meagr-e anid iniadequLate. People Without the riglht of representation in the

affairs of their State caniniot truLst to un

initerested legislation for the lpromotion of those arts wvhich it lhas pleased a large

lhatted Western lawmaker to term, vitlh

more alliteration than liberality, " the

superfluous products of the senltimenital ciilizationi." But, dcespite it all, art lives at the Capital. Sle breatlhes healtlily, h1as in1acde hier-self lhear-d,. aiid h1as even

takeni a fewv steps. Slhe lhas had helping iaIns,cl and, barring accidenlts she will re

ceive still mor-e recogniitionl. To the phli lanthropy of Mr. AV. W. Corcoran is in



"In Washington" 27

4~~~~~~~~~~~~~~4

~~~~ ~~~~~~, ~ '

Fr oma a aztinng 6vy Caytlord S. Trutesdlel. TIIROUGH TIIF FOREST.

the lau -est imeasLi -e clue the art initerest in AVashliiioton. veryboclIy kinowvs of the

Gallery, andcl a few are beogininiig to hear from the schiool. Mr11r. E. F. Andrews,

F,am a /ain/ing ly 1/ Ilobart Nichols. A GRAV FN'JO



28 The Quarterly Illustrator known for his public portraits, is the instructor. The Art League, a prosperous and well-organized institution, has able instructors, and well-attended day and night classes. Private classes in studios are numerous. No organized movement for co-operation in work and exhibits took place

in Washington until the" Society of Washington Artists" came into existence. Since then there have been an

nual exhibits of oil, water-colors, pastel, and sculpt-. ure- which have done credit to the eff orts of the

V?;\ It /t t S members and show prospects of a future worthy A,ttt; ;t ii i of attention.

Richard N. Brooke's friends are wait

A: ;I; 1 W {: ! 1 - ing for him to paint something that they like better than The Pastoral Visit

a in the Corcoran

Gallery of Art. As a composi tion it is fine, as -

J_ a s oaSouthfern pict

ure it is true, as a story it tells itself. It

reveals more

than ~ ~ ~ ~ e duskyoult e pl

Drawun by Mlary Berri C4afinan. ske tc h es of - "A LFTTER, SAN heavy - footed9 (from a tainting by Elliott P. Hougid.

A~ ~ ~~~~~~~i LETER SAHty heavys -l foured.

French peas- ALONG THiE CANAL.

ants. About a year after the Pastoral Visit "was finishedand sold Mr. Brooke .went down to the littl'e Vir

ginia town where it had been

painted. The model for the

-0N'DAGE 0- -l{R H..3RN an figure of the head of the fain

ily - who had heard of the sale of the pictuire-slouched

sheepishly across the str'eet and approach-ed the painter.

"Mistah Brooke, sah, said

he, "

dey say you done sol'

dat pictur' you done o' me sittin' at de table. An' bein' as I holped in it, 'peahs' ter

me, sah, I mo-ught get paid.

fer it."

"1Well, Reuben, I paid you - I I I . ~~~~~~~~~the sixty cents an hiour as

we agreed, " replied Brooke.

.Drawn by Daisy B. King. "1Well, sah, you goes up BONDAGE OF THER HEBREWS. an' gits yo' thousands o' dol



"In Washington" 29

lahs, an' 't 'peahs to me, sah, I ought to git half of it."

But Reuben did not share equally with Mr. 3 > Brooke. , & ; i} fyy

Mr. E. F. Andrews' "Dolly Mad- - v ison," in the WVhite House, is his latest f i large work. It has a charm which be longs to things of that day, and the V N3'

dem'ureness of the expression and the pose lend themselves to the simiiple old fashion of the costume. I'he flesh anid drapery are admirable.

Gaylord S. Truiesdell, the cattle

painter, though workinig in France, "4' has his regular exhibits in Wash'ington. , He has beeni Jgain hung on the line at .

this year's Salon. The medal picture of two years ago is here, and among others >A? I 4/k

may be mentioned "One at a Time" and

_ "~~~~~~Throughl | the Forest."

The broad '&

a nd C O M- Drawn by Howard Helmiclk.

prehensi v e UP A STUMP.

style of Max Weyl was never better

Dwnby E. H-. Millert.A~ T'HE WANING MINOON.

shown than in the sketch " Near Ven ice.

Edmund Clarence Messer's work is distinctive for its tenderness and a certain literary quality. The landscape reproduLced here is full of sentiment, although it might have been renderedc more simply.

H. Hobart Nichols, a serious and conscientiouIs worker, has made marked progress in hiis land scapes, w hich always bear the impress of incdubitable hlonesty.

In pastel Jane B. Cu'rtis did, in Paris, the " Study of a Spanliard," well posed, true, and strong.

Anna Stanley works more in the manerm a

ofaitanhg by .Emil H. Afeyer. manner of a manl than of a woman. THE CRITICAL SCHOOL REPORT



30 The Quarterly Illustrator

P~~~~~~~~~~~~~.

g ~~~~b I | Ielin I, 0/11 ~2 / 11/////// 1) TH BOKili/vuna *vo S/osck

BooII k10 1

Spetncer 1B. Niclhols at the last " So ciety " ]xhlilhit showxed two landscapes of promise. "In the Lookilln-gloass is aL \wa, Lsh-drawino- of miierit.

E]mil H. I\ieyer is niot fortuLnate in hIis .landscap)Cs. 1B1)t ais a figure- L iCpaIter of D)effrco--e intitcriors lie iS X Cry SueC

cessful. He shows hi hest in a . careftul, if somenWhat Studided Mltrioir calded thie

"Critical Sclhool Rcpoil.t

E. H. Aliller-'s " \Waniiio Mlooni " lhas a delicate sentimeicnit.

WVilhlelnlillna Von Stosch's 'Fl Te

BPook " is capital ini color sclhenme, anid the lancguid, dreamll-y ilntelrest expressed

in the pose is full of trutll. W\ells MIl. SawyTers's landscapes al

ways mean somnething. His distanlces and midcdle distanices are usually stronig er than hiis foregrotunlds.

Robert ColemanzLii Child lhas a 2-ood decorlative sense, but is sometimes careless as a dratigbltsman.

Hermiiani K. Viele is daring in color, and his " Impression " is strikinigly original in. cOmI)OSition.

In water - color and wash

W\Tashillnton stands well. Daisy 3. Kilig's T he Bond

age of the Hebrews" is exceed Infgly initerestill in Cinoml)osition, l)uLt the figlUres at the left rather clistra-ct the eye fromii the main gr'oup), \Vh1lich is very well studie(l.

A\W. H. (Clandlee's picture, T'lhe Old Graniary," is treatedl

i n a si mp)le, unobtrusive way that is r-estftl andc)leasilng.

Howar d Helmick's drawin-gs of darkies " in the Gcni;/i JfIa,<az.bw Iare tee nli ng with life and1cl character.

J. H. Mloser- is hard at work. ill h1is sLumlller stUdiO in Con1

necticuLt, lpreparinp- for his annuiLial w;inter exhibit of water-colors. FroIm1 the Americanl stanld-poillt

- in contr-adistinictioni to the Engclish-Mlr. Moser's skies are m11asterful. 1-He stand s as much

';nOi,t b /aznzn by 'l znia Sin n ley.

THE OLD W\AGON



"In Washington" 3I

7-T

I,

-~~~ |

Fromii a paznizg by Clary Ray. CINCINNATI,"

From) a paitinzig by ARichlard NV. Erooke APATRZL IST

_~~~ ~ A 'XTI.LYST



32 The Quarterly Illustrator alone as Julian Rix as an American

water-colorist.

Elliott Hough is a good colorist. Felix E. Mahony is a hurried

draughtsinian, but he- has a remarkable facility. Iln their daring and originality his drawings remind one of Wenzell's earlier sketches.

Mary B. Chapman draws excellent pictuLres of " darky " mammies.

It is a question, however, whether the average negroes pure and simple are subjects for artists. There are cer tain types among them-some strong, sad faces that are almost beautiful but the " pretty " negro is too shallow and uninteresting to be paintable, and the queer characterful ones are gro tesque and, more attractive to the stu

dent of character than to the lover of beauty. Yet there are two fields where they are distinctly in place: one in

pictures where some beautiful type is

brought out strongly by contrast to them, and the other is in story-telling.

Lii

Di-awn by Stencer B. Nichols.

IN' THE LOOKING-GLASS.

From a fiainting by Gaylord S. Tries-dell.

ONE AT A TIME.

"A Letter, Sah," belongs to this il lustrative class. One does not need any other figure to know that the let ter is a billet doutx, and that the bearer approves both of the sender and the recipient.

One of the great troubles with all representations of negroes is that they are too complete. The fascination of their high lights is too strong for the painters, anid they allow themselves to be too realistic. Washington artists have such exceptional opportunities for studying the negro that, since he is here and is bound to be anl element at least in illustration, it would be well to

develop a school for painting him more

suggestively. Paintings of warships, if done from

mechanical drawings rather than nat



" In WVashington 33

ure, are apt to take oin much of

the coniventional. Though a lit

tie heavy, technically, the repro

dluction of the " Cincinnati " is

fairly representative of the work

of Clary Ray, wXho usually gets

away from the rigidity of the

mechanical. The clrawving of the

"vlaine," by R. G. Skerrett, is

handled easily and simply.

It would ineed another article

to write about the young women

lPainters who are studying hard

anid wlhose work eaclh year de

Dra2n lYy I. II. Cizandice.

THE OLD GRANARY.

velops greater promise of things to come; for the schools here have few male

students at the day classes. It is enough to say, however, that both the Art League

and the Corcorani School have in their classes advanced students on whose work

if persevered in-a prediction of definite future success is not far amiss, and it is

interestin(g to look back to the first large exhibition of pictures in W17ashington-the

only one utntil the establislhment of the Corcoran Gallery. Tlhis was a social affair. All mannier of fetes and fairs had been gotten up in the hope of raising money for a hospital fund, and the exposition was proposed as a last nlovelty.

I:--. ~ ~ ~ -

.4~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~4

Dra,aw,z by Jamevs Henzry ilfoser. BALTIMIORE FROMI THE CHRONIE NV'ORKS.



34 The Quarterly Illustrator It was held in the house of Vice-President

Morton, in the ball and reception rooms up

stairs anid down, and receptions were given

every day while it lasted. It proved a superb

success financially, and gave impulse to the

thought of further exhibitions for the sake of

art alone.

The cosmopolitan character of AlWashing

ton, with its wide range of cultured tastes,

offers exceptionial advantages as an art centre,

and the splendid plan of the city itself is an

From a pazntzng f3{ Edm2und Cr ence ufsseC.

A SUMINMER AFTERNOON IN VlRGENIA.

/

Drawn bv Herman K. A ieM.

I MPRESSTON.

inifluence to those brouoght up in it,

and government cities are al ways excellent places for the

study of types.

There is an influence in

Washington that may be against its art as it is against almost everything. An influence due to the presence of routine in

stead of enthusiasm. The spirit of merely " putting in time" that exists in all government offices and seems to spread be yond them into the atmosphere. FTom i baining y WVells 31. Sawyer.

BE' THE LAKE.

iW*

From a Jazofing by Robert Co/leman Clzill.

ADAGIO.

But this is only one draw-back

against the many advantages

of a capital city as a centre of

accomplislhment in art. Anid

yet this may not influence art

as much as it affects more prac

tical things. Art is proverbially

long, anid artists have no love

for being hurried. They wait

their owvn time and mood, and

hate all stress of life.



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