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12 THE SUN, SUNDAY, JANUARY 11, 1920. NEWS AND COMMENT IN THE WORLD OF ART By HENRY McBRIDE. I is obvious, from what I have snid, T that no man can liopo for worldly Ait or advancement who is not placed i such n relation to external circum-tmce- s as may be consentaneous to Ids no- - ilinr cerebral organs.\ Mr. Cranium's turc, in \.Headlong Hall' by Thomas jvo Peacock. For a long timo circumstances have not en consentaneous to Edward Adam Kra-icr'- s honor and advancement, but at pres. nt thoy arc. On Monday night a liun-Irq- d of bis paintings wero hung in ono of lie largest of the Anderson Galleries, Mr. find lectured in praise of them to a nudienco of artists and other )rofc8sionals, a pianist played composi-n'on- s in sympathy, with the delicate land-cap- upon the walls, and Mllo Eva Unuthicr sang and looked delightfully. It was a veritablo hommage a pretty thing to have happened and an honor to 'all concerned. \Hommagcs\ in this country usually lake place in an auction room and after the artist is dead. Mr. Kramer's expe- rience is quito unique. But a short time ago, so Mr. Hind said, ho was living in a garret in The Bronx, fortifying his soul, as best bo might, alone, for after painting seriously and earnestly during thirty years ho was still uncertain whether he was to bo a failure, or a success, whether or not ho was to have public recognition. In all this time he had gained but one friend and believer, Jerome Meyers, who saw from the first in Kramer's work what a .hundred ex- ports were willing to admit on Monday night. Thirty years is a long timo to wait, but it makes the moral all the more emphatic that an artist's real success Be- gins when he makes his first friend. Myers swayed a few artists to ,his belief and a few powerful amateurs. These finally became so \consentaneous\ that the expenses for tbo exhibition were guaran- teed, Mr. Kcnncrly, himself one of the believers, giving tho gallery. Tbo difficulty originally lay in Kra- mer's cerebral organs, which happily for his art, arc peculiar to himself but which, unhappily for an early success, requiro external circumstances to be exactly en rapport, as the spiritualists say, before they function. He is, as some one once said of Henry James, aggressively shy: and his paintings are even shyer and more elusive than ho is. They have to be lived with, and lived with sympathetically, be- fore their true qualities come' out. They fade into a mist in tho ordinary blatant mixed exhibitions of the day, and naturally enough never have had success with our juries and public art officials. It is ono instance, however, in which tho juries can scarcely bo blamed, for tho preciousness of a Kramer landscape could not linvo been felt in a jury room even by Jerome Myers hjmsolf. I don't mind confessing that on enter- ing tho galleries Monday night i bad again, in my first moment, a feeling of JOHN LEVY Galleries PAINTINGS by Frederick Now on 559 Fifth WANTED To Purchase Paintings By Inness Wyant Martin Homer Fuller Blakelock Twachtman Remington Whistler Murphy, Weir, Hassam GEORGE H. AINSLIE 615 Fifth Avenue, New York rhone riaia 688S. , Now. on exhibition 30 Paintings by Inness SPECIAL EXHIBITION of Water Color Paintings by Mile. Germaine Tailleur of France. January It to 19, IncftitlT.. ARLINGTON GALLERIES 274 Midiun Arenus at 40 th St. TOUCHSTONE G A 1. 1, K n I E 8 Exhibition of PAINTINGS by Enwit ScImiUnbtrf AdtUIds Lawion Rkhird Mtrwede Stewrt Crie Dtrid Merriten Alice Ntwlan and other January 12 t- - January 25 11 WEST rORTY-SEVENT- 8TBEET \T. R.,\ by James Earle Frascr, despair over the possibility of making Kramer \go.\ The tones were too faint, tho mejody muted. But as ono progressed into thn dreamland that Kramer has charted doubts faded away, for now his entire country is visible, ono stepped forth into it with more confidence, recognizing landmarks hero and there, of places loved and sung by Verlaine, Emily Dick- inson, Heine and the ancient Greeks; and finally poetry seemed as natural and nec- essary to ono's existence as business had a half hour before. The Debussy music of the pianist wedded these pictures precisely and Mile. Gauthier over there suddenly be- came a jubilant \Orfeo sure that hero her Eurydice would be found. How far, how very far are Kramer's elysian fields from tho world of trade I After all, is it any wonder he had to dream his dreams in a Bronx garret f Kramer's technique concerns itself with tho broad fundamentals and has' nothing to do witb superficialities. That is an- other reason why the swift visitor ' to chance galleries' passes them swiftly by. lived with, even for an evening, however, the enduring structure of the landscapes makes itself felt. From across the room Remington exhibition Ayenue KLEINBERGER GALLERIES EitahlUhtJ I84S OLD MASTERS PRIMITIVE PAINTINGS Frequent importations of desirable pictures (or the collector and the home. 725 Fifth Avenue Fir Is: 9 rue de l'Ethtllo Howard Young GALLERIES PAINTINGS by A. G.WARSHAWSKY Now on Exhibition 620 Fifth Avenue, at 50th Street &Ln 'Paintings Through oy January ' Gari Melchers MONTROSS Gallery FrO Fifth Ate. above 45th St. T on view at the Arden Galleries. the certainty of distances and masses is sometimes iriore absolute (han from a closer view; in every case the pictures carry. This artists technique doubtless vrorks, as it should, subconsciously. Ho learned the trade so long ago that now it is not so much a concern as is expres- sion. There are influences in his style of certain masters, among them Cezanne, but from Cezanne be has borrowed no eccen- tricities. Upon tho whole the exhibition makes it clear that Kramer must rank among tho highest American landscapists. It ilfill probably happen that in museums his landscapes will sometimes again retire into the mists, but that will bo a fault of the hanging, not of tho works themselves. If it should be essential for the best effects that a half dozen Kramers should be hung together, (hen let each museum buy their Kramers in groups. They have the money and they might aa well invest it wisely. Bellows, Miller and Sterner Unite Three more dissimilar artists , than George Bellows, Hayes Miller and Albert Sterner would be difficult to find, but they have United to give an exhibition in the Ivnoedler Galleries. Bellows is a rugged realist interested in dynamics. Miller is a mystic, and Sterneris at least in this exhibition a society trifier. It would not be easy to seize a general theme that runs throughout their products, and it is not necessary. It will suffice to give them each a little note in turn. Bellows contributes one portrait of a lit- tle girl done in his usual manner, but his other pictures are land and sea scapes. They are smallish and he would doubtless not claim them to be especially ambitious. Apparentlyhewaa having a good time doing them during summer moments of leisure, and once with brush well in hand ventured upon somo experiments. The \Fog Cur- tain\ and \The Tree\ arc more frankly decorative than Bellows usually is. The \Bed Sun\ is apparently painted in aniline dyes and the \After Glow\ also has a color scheme in yellows that scarcely can endure. Perhaps tho artist deliber ately used dangerous colors in order to see what would happen to them in a month or two. In \After tho .Rain,\ however, there arc no technical stunts and only a preoccupa- tion with an effect. The wet rain cloud descends and blurs tho sea horizon in a most satisfactorily realistic fashion, and to my mind it is the best seascape that Bellows has shown. Certainly it's the best he has shown lately. The \Sun Beams and Rain\ gives one a glimpse, appar- ently, of tho famous Annabel Leo's resi- dence. \A cloud comes out of a cloud, chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.\ It is no longer night in tho picture, but tho little cloud is still there and still busy, sending regular broadsides of wind down upon the hut of the poet's lady love. One or two of Mr. Bellows's pictures, in fact, aro decidedly eccentric.\ Mr. Millar is poetically inclined, but man inclines and the muses decline, in these days, with disturbing frequency. In consequence tho callous and unfeeling will suspect that Mr. Miller often starts off messing paint upon canvases without a ghost of a notion as to what he is after and 'concludes, after terriblo struggles with tho brushes, that if the work be not a poem at least it is n picture; and so in- cludes it in his show. This is no time, however, in which to be beverc upon poets, and besides when \ilr. Miller's muse is on thu job somo pleasing results arc ac- complished. \Tho Bather\ and \The Ser- pent? are excellent; and \Tho Sand Pit\ would be a ncmorablo Imaginative land scape if only tho sky wero less disturbing. Mr. Stcrner's most striking work is the \Jnpancso Print,\ which is being glanced nt casually by a nudo lndy upon n sofa. Tho themo is frivolous and tho stylo friv- olous. \A Dancer\ that is sketched in airily has a good conventional dancing poso, but as a picture it is excessively light also. Mr. Sterner seems to require some- thing definite nnd concrcto and outsido of himself to incite him to his best efforts; so it happens that ho does- illustrations for magazines (where tho subject is given) acceptably, and is still better when doing portraits. Royston Navoy has been a pupil of Pompeo Coppint (t), Walt Kuhn (I), Lawton Parker, I.'R. Wiles and Robert Henri. Probably this list of teachers is in tho order of; progression, for traces of tho last two mentors linger in Mr. Nave's style. I attributo to Mr. Wiles tho trick Mr. Navo has of painting lips with crimson lakes and accenting them in tho corners with pure Vandyke brown. This makes lips' emphatic, of course, but Mr. Henri doesn't do. them that way, nnd he must have labored stress-full- y ovm a pupil who came to him with so much queer teaching on his head. Mr. Henri taught him to be very slashing with his paint nnd to poso models up against studio walls nnd regard 'them just as \studies.\ Mr. Nave's next teacher may insist upon this student posing the model outdoors or in actual places such as cafes, theatre stages or Fifth avenue buses n la Zorn, but it . 'would be much nicer if Mr. Nave would quit \studying\ nnd just paint. Joking aside, ho is already a pretty good academician nnd those who take academies seriously ought to recog- nize him as a desirable recruit. Several of the portraits in the show now oc- cupying tjhc Milch Galleries would easily capture prizes up on Fifty-sevent- h strcc, for instance. Just how fnr he will go as an artist is uncertain. He is not espe- cially sound in draughtsmanship, and as he has begun to put on the fatal Henri speed he will probably not perfect him- self in this line. Draughtsmanship must always be acquired before speed. He has a distinct feeling for character, and this and his earnestness for tho man tries hard arc his best assets. He lias almost no color sense, but as he at least uses legitimate oil colors, his canvases are already more bearable than those of a better known pupil of Mr. Henri's. Landscape, by George Luks, on Portraits of two senioritns, which we reproduce, seem to be among his latest productions, for they have at least looser, freer handling. Tho accessories in both pictures have been touched in vivaciously. Tho most amusing portrait of tho lot is of our friend, Mr. Britton, of the Art Review International, who seems to bo quivering and shaking in abject fear. I wonder why! The picture is even moro trying to astigmatic eyes than was Hio famous \Nude Descending n Stairway.\ A portrait, of Sidney T)iokenon has n striking and .interesting face, but tho portrait is marred by the uncertain draw- ing of the figure, which wobbles as much as Charlie Chaplin docs in one of hi3 best roles. . Mr. Blumenschein's Indians in the I Fakir Club exhibition nro most pains- takingly put together. It was rather startling to descend upon his work im- mediately after a visit to Mr. Anisfeld's splurgy show, nnd it was impossible to resist tho wish that theso two painters ' might bo brought into an acquaintance for mutual profit. Mr. Blumenschcin puts on tho touches so very carefully, Mr. Anis-fol- d is so very impetuous. Mr. Anisfeld is all fire and smoko nnd sudden move- ment. He tho faintest notion of anything to say, but, oh, lie shouts to make the. rafters quake. That is tho way ono would supposo citizens of a new world, . a young country, would net. Geysers, hot nirl Explosions, disorder 1 But Mr. Anisfeld comes from Old World Russia. Mr. Blumenschcin docs actually belong to the new world, tho land of, gey- sers, &c, but anything less liko n geyser than his style of work cannot be imagined. This, reminds me of .something that happened upon n trip to tho coast about ten years ago when this country was much, much younger than it is nt present. A delegation of several hundred Neb'rasknns with their Governor boarded tho train bound for San Francisco to welcome the arrival there of, I think, tho battleship Nebraska. They descended, as I did, to break the journey at tho Canyon, .and in the evening decided to give a dance in the hfltel.'It did not occur to mo to attend, but a young Frenchman who had travelled on the train with us and who was excitedly making notes of every- thing did. About 10 he rejoined mo in the lobby and with n most puzzled expres- sion upon his face said: \I never saw Americans dance before. I thought they would be so fiery and alert. But Jus' \1C contrary! There never was such slow waltzing. The gentlemen the ladies tightly, both arc perfectly rigid, they slowly spin and scarcely per- ceptibly glide. It was awfully funny.\ In the years since, wo have quickened our pace, if itll Hint the newspapers sny be true, but wc arc still far from the abandon that tho Viennese, the Parisians nnd the Russians assume when dancing or painting. Notes and Activities in the World of Art There will be considerable rejoicing among the \progressives\ over the new Dial. Here is n review at once lively and view at the Kraushaar Galleries. serious that is not averse to the problems of present day artists and writers. Its first number, just issued, is a trumpet call that will be heard by all the ardent young in the city, who will be torn equnlly, if I am not mistaken, with the desire to read it and the desire to contribute to it. The cover design is n mnttcr of types put together by Bruce Rogers; simplo to severity and perfect, as Bruce Rogers's work always is. The first num- ber is a chapter from an nutpbiographical novel by Randolph Bourne, written shortly before his recent death in Green- wich Village. Its English is most dis- tinguished. The frontispiece, for there are illustrations, is a reproduction of n relief by Gaston Lnehaisc, whose talents as a sculptor were first discovered in the In-- \Indian in the Desert,' by E. L. Blumenschien, on view at the Fakirs Club. hasn't Grand clasp quito dependent exhibitions. Thcro nro draw- ings by Chorlcs Dcmuth, Boardman Rob- inson and E. E. Cummings, and n earica-tur- o of Mr. Rcrinson by Ivan Oppfcr. Tho Uirco drawings by Mr. Cummings, who was also \discovered\ nt tho Inde- pendent show last spring, illustrate tho National Winter Garden Burlesque, Theso drawings aroused tho iro of a friend of miiro who yields nothing to tho modern- ists and who said in his heat that they wero precisely tho sort of thing that the ribald scribblo on walls. But young Mr. Gorman, tbo poet, tells mo that no ono can appreciate theso drawings who has not attended tho National Winter Garden Burlesque. Mr. Gorman apparently ap- preciates the drawings. Tho sculptures of James Earle Frascr have been honored by an exhibition in tho Arden Galleries. Tho arrangements have been sympathetically looked after nnd the portraits and reliefs have been carefully placed. Mr. Fraser's portraits of men have met with sincero appreciation from his fellow artists and it is likely that the bust of Col. Roosevelt will gain the franchise, of the public. It is probnbly the best por- trait of Roosevelt that has been made or that will bo made, for it was done at the moment of Roosevelt's prime, and con- tains all of tho vigor and all of the charm that the late President t had during the glorious days of his Roughridcrhood. I think, myself, that Hie best portrait of him in literature is contained in the re- cently published \Letters to His Chil- dren,\ and the reader of that delightful book who comes fresh from it to Mr. Fraser's bust will feel that hero is tho gen- uine, the only author of those letters. Manly, ardent, alive in every direction, ho leans forward in the bust, characteristi- cally bursting with sympathy for all tho world. It was becauso ho had so much sympathy to give that he got so much in return. From the point of view of technical per- fection two other portraits, those of \P. Ford\ nnd \J. E. Chose,\ deserve special praise. In them there is not only a superb senso of character but a delight- ful use of the medium. Both of them must have looked excellently in the plaster, for Mr. Fraser has a remarkable feeling for the clay. Fortunately the technique used is suited to tho bronze also, so they will lose nothing in their ultimate form. The second competition of the Chaloner Concours took place and was judged by the jury of Hie Concours at Hie National Academy of Design on January 3. The jury was very much pleased with the qual- ity of the work shown. It expressed the wish that more New Tork schools would send drawings, as, for example, the Art Students League, tho Cooper Union Art School and the Art School of the Pratt Institute, Brooklyn. \Did you hear,\ a friend writes, \that at the Philadelphia Wnter Club show the final decision for the grand prize, $200, lay between Marin and Hassam. Of course the inevitable won, the picture maker beat the artist. And the jury, in- stead of giving Marin the other prizes the medal decided Marin must not be honored. I forget what third-rate- r re- - . ceived the award. What scandalous af- fairs juries are!\ Mile. Germaine Tailleur, noted French water colorist and friend of Mme. daughter of the French Premier, will open an exhibition of \Scenes of the American Victories\ to- morrow at the Arlington Galleries under tho auspices of the French officials nnd a committee which includes in its member- ship Dr. Nicholas Murray Butler, Hawkes and Ernest Peixotto. Mile. Tailleur is one of the unofficial envoys who have come to this country to help cement the bonds of friendship be- tween France and America. She intends to found a water 'color school in New York. Besides the \Scenes of the Ameri- can Victories,\ which include landscapes of Chateau Thierry and Belleau Wood, Mile. Tnilleur will also show many of her flower paintings. !j he was decorated with the Reconnoissance Francais Medal for valorous service during the war. The ex- hibition will be opened with a reception Monday afternoon thnt will be attended by the French officials. There ore artists in this country' that haven't $10 to their names. And they nren't the kind that slumming parties from Tho Bronx nnd Kansas City find in their tea shop tours. They are the hard workers that ore in many cases too shy to begin making their work successful in monetary terms while they are yet young. Many of theso havo expressed their de- sire to enter the exhibition of Hie Society of Independent Artists to be held at the Waldorf-Astori- a from March 11 to April 1, but have not the $10 to pay for their wall space. \We should like very much to allow these fellow artists to enter the exhibition free,\ said John Sloan, president, \but we ourselves haven't the means. The money that wo receive from exhibitors goes for the payment of rent and other necessaries, and last year we came out with a deficit. Wo therefore appeal to all who would fos- ter art in America to help these artists in giving them a chance to exhibit.\ And there is n chance that the picture may Bell and the artist will then be glad to return tho loan if tho giver wishes hi3 aid to be considered thus. People interested arc urged to commu- nicate with A. S. Baylinson, secretary, 1947 Broadway. M. Knoedler & Co. 556 Fifth Avenue Announce an exhibition of Paintings by HAYES MILLER ALBERT STERNER and Paintings of Newport by GEO. BELLOWS Jan. 6 to Jin. 17 Direction of Mrs. Albert Sterner Paintings of NOVA SCOTIA George Luks On View at The C. W. Kraushaar Art Galleries 680 FIFTH AVENUE M. KNOEDLER & CO. 556 Fifth Avenue A NNOUNCE an exhibition of Harper's Bazar original drawings in color and at their galleries from January loth to 17th, by ERTE and DRIAN Direction 0 Ure. Albert Sterner Ettatllihed 1 1 1 1. Schultheis Galleries 425-42- 7 Fifth Avenue at 38th St. Teltphont Vanderbllt 23IT AMERICAN & FOREIGN PAINTINGS Downtown Galleries for Paintings, Prints, Framing 142 FULTON ST. just EAST of Brttdtftr Largest Collection of Important Modern Mezzotints at the Qotleriea of Philip Suval 678 Madison Avenue (61st St.) EXHIBITION GLACKENS HENRI L A W S O N PRENDERGAST DANIEL GALLERY 2 WEST 47TH STREET D.B.Butler & Co. DECORATIVE PAINTINGS Early French, Italian and Dutch Landscapes, Marines and Flowers. 601 Madison Ave. (57 St.) CHINESE ANTIQUES 48 Eut 57tj Street Btwn MadUon Park Arti. PAINTINGS INNESSr WYANT TWACHTMAN BLAKELOCK other American Art ttt R. Dudcnsing & Son 45 W. 44th St bet. Cth & Gtb Ar Art page advertising rate, 50 cents Mr line per Issue. No rebates; no trans fern of direct orders. Minimum space, 20 lines; maximum space, 100 lines. CLACSEN ailltry EiUbllihed ltti Clausen Art Rooms Incorporate Paintings, Engravings, Etchings Art Mirrors, Picture Frames, Unique Lamps, Decorations 746 Madison Avenue BETWEEN Mth AND (Sth STREETS
