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diff --git a/40604-8.txt b/40604-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 9d65f9e..0000000 --- a/40604-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6257 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Art in America, by -Samuel Greene Wheeler (S.G.W.) Benjamin - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Art in America - A Critical and Historial Sketch - -Author: Samuel Greene Wheeler (S.G.W.) Benjamin - -Release Date: August 28, 2012 [EBook #40604] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ART IN AMERICA *** - - - - -Produced by Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images available at the Internet Archive.) - - - - - - - - -[Illustration: PORTRAIT OF A LADY.--[JOHN SINGLETON COPLEY.]] - - - - -ART IN AMERICA - -A CRITICAL AND HISTORICAL SKETCH - -BY - -S. G. W. BENJAMIN - -AUTHOR OF "CONTEMPORARY ART IN EUROPE" "WHAT IS ART" &c. - -_ILLUSTRATED_ - -[Illustration] - -NEW YORK - -HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS - -FRANKLIN SQUARE - -1880 - -Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1879, by - -HARPER & BROTHERS, - -In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. - -ERRATUM. - -The cut on page 28, attributed to Rembrandt Peale, should be credited to -John T. Peele. - - - - -PREFACE. - - -The aim of this book has been to give a historical outline of the growth -of the arts in America. But while this has been the dominating idea in -the mind of the writer, criticism has necessarily entered, more or less, -into the preparation of the work, since only by weighing the differences -or the comparative merits of those artists who seemed best to illustrate -the various phases of American art has it been possible to trace its -progress from one step to another. - -It is from no lack of appreciation of their talents that the author has -apparently neglected mention of the American artists resident in foreign -capitals--like Bridgman, Duveneck, Wight, Neal, Bacon, Benson, Ernest -Parton, Millet, Whistler, Dana, Blashfield, Miss Gardner, Miss Conant, -and many others who have done credit to American æsthetic culture. But -it was necessary to draw the line somewhere; and to discuss what our -artists are painting abroad would have at once enlarged the scope of the -work beyond the limits of the plan adopted. An exception has been made -in the case of our sculptors, because they have so uniformly lived and -wrought in Europe, and so large a proportion of them are still resident -there, that, were we to confine this branch of the subject only to the -sculptors now actually in America, there would be little left to say -about their department of our arts. - -The author takes this occasion cordially to thank the artists and -amateurs who have kindly permitted copies of their paintings and -drawings to be engraved for this volume. - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - PAGE - -I. - -EARLY AMERICAN ART 13 - -II. - -AMERICAN PAINTERS (1828-1878) 39 - -III. - -AMERICAN PAINTERS (1828-1878) 66 - -IV. - -AMERICAN PAINTERS (1828-1878) 97 - -V. - -SCULPTURE IN AMERICA 134 - -VI. - -PRESENT TENDENCIES OF AMERICAN ART 164 - - - - -ILLUSTRATIONS. - - -SUBJECT. ARTIST. PAGE. - -PORTRAIT OF A LADY _John Singleton Copley_ _Frontispiece_ - -FAMILY OF BISHOP BERKELEY _John Smybert_ 16 - -DEATH ON THE PALE HORSE _Benjamin West_ 19 - -DEATH OF MONTGOMERY _John Trumbull_ 23 - -GENERAL KNOX _Gilbert Stuart_ 25 - -"BEGGAR'S OPERA" _G. Stuart Newton_ 27 - -"BABES IN THE WOOD" _Rembrandt Peale_ 28 - -FANNY KEMBLE _Thomas Sully_ 29 - -ARIADNE _John Vanderlyn_ 30 - -THE HOURS _E. G. Malbone_ 32 - -JEREMIAH _Washington Allston_ 34 - -DYING HERCULES _Samuel F. B. Morse_ 35 - -"MUMBLE THE PEG" _Henry Inman_ 40 - -PORTRAIT OF PARKE GODWIN _Thomas Le Clear_ 43 - -PORTRAIT OF FLETCHER HARPER _C. L. Elliott_ 45 - -AN IDEAL HEAD _G. A. Baker_ 48 - -THE JUDGEMENT OF PARIS _Henry Peters Grey_ 50 - -MIRANDA _Daniel Huntington_ 53 - -A SURPRISE _William Sidney Mount_ 55 - -TAKING THE VEIL _Robert Weir_ 57 - -DESOLATION. FROM "THE COURSE OF EMPIRE"_Thomas Cole_ 59 - -A STUDY FROM NATURE _A. B. Durand_ 61 - -NOON BY THE SEA-SHORE.--BEVERLY BEACH _J. F. Kensett_ 63 - -ALTORF, BIRTH-PLACE OF WILLIAM TELL _George L. Brown_ 64 - -BROOK IN THE WOODS _Worthington Whittredge_ 67 - -LANDSCAPE COMPOSITION _R. W. Hubbard_ 70 - -"THE VASTY DEEP" _William T. Richards_ 72 - -HIGH TORN, ROCKLAND LAKE _Jasper F. Cropsey_ 74 - -THE PARSONAGE _A. F. Bellows_ 75 - -LANDSCAPE WITH CATTLE _James Hart_ 77 - -SUNSET ON THE HUDSON _Sandford R. Gifford_ 80 - -A COMPOSITION _Frederick E. Church_ 82 - -A WINTER SCENE _Louis R. Mignot_ 84 - -SHIP OF "THE ANCIENT MARINER" _James Hamilton_ 85 - -"WHOO!" _William H. Beard_ 87 - -LAFAYETTE IN PRISON _E. Leutze_ 89 - -PORTRAIT OF A LADY _William Page_ 91 - -THE REFUGE _Elihu Vedder_ 93 - -CARTOON SKETCH: CHRIST AND NICODEMUS _John Lafarge_ 95 - -VIEW ON THE KERN RIVER _A. Bierstadt_ 99 - -THE YOSEMITE _Thomas Hill_ 100 - -THE BATHERS _Thomas Moran_ 101 - -LANDSCAPE _Jervis M'Entee_ 104 - -COUNTY KERRY _A. H. Wyant_ 105 - -THE ADIRONDACKS _Homer Martin_ 107 - -A LANDSCAPE _J. W. Casilear_ 109 - -SHIP ASHORE _M. F. H. De Haas_ 111 - -A FOGGY MORNING _W. E. Norton_ 112 - -A MARINE _Arthur Quartley_ 114 - -ARGUING THE QUESTION _T. W. Wood_ 116 - -THE ROSE _B. F. Mayer_ 118 - -DRESS PARADE _J. G. Brown_ 120 - -A BED-TIME STORY _S. J. Guy_ 121 - -THE MOTHER _Eastman Johnson_ 123 - -SAIL-BOAT _Winslow Homer_ 124 - -THE SCOUT _Wordsworth Thompson_ 126 - -ON THE OLD SOD _William Magrath_ 127 - -"A MATIN SONG" _Fidelia Bridges_ 129 - -STUDY OF A DOG _Frank Rogers_ 130 - -LOST IN THE SNOW _A. F. Tait_ 132 - -EVE BEFORE THE FALL _Hiram Powers_ 135 - -ORPHEUS _Thomas Crawford_ 137 - -COLUMBUS BEFORE THE COUNCIL. } - FROM THE BRONZE DOOR } _Randolph Rogers_ 139 - OF THE CAPITOL AT WASHINGTON } - -THE GHOST IN "HAMLET" _Thomas R. Gould_ 141 - -GEORGE WASHINGTON _J. Q. A. Ward_ 143 - -MEDEA _William Wetmore Story_ 146 - -THE PROMISED LAND _Franklin Simmons_ 147 - -LATONA AND HER INFANTS _W. H. Rinehart_ 150 - -ZENOBIA _Harriet Hosmer_ 152 - -EVENING _E. D. Palmer_ 153 - -BUST OF WILLIAM PAGE _William R. O'Donovan_ 155 - -ABRAHAM PIERSON _Launt Thompson_ 157 - -THE CHARITY PATIENT _John Rogers_ 158 - -THE WHIRLWIND _J. S. Hartley_ 159 - -ADORATION OF THE CROSS BY} - ANGELS. ST. THOMAS'S } _Augustus St. Gaudens_ 160 - CHURCH, NEW YORK } - -THOMAS JEFFERSON'S IDEA OF A MONUMENT 162 - -THE MOWING _Alfred Fredericks_ 165 - -BIRDS IN THE FOREST _Miss Jessie Curtis_ 169 - -REPRESENTING THE MANNER OF - PETER'S COURTSHIP _Howard Pyle_ 171 - -SOME ART CONNOISSEURS _W. Hamilton Gibson_ 173 - -WASHINGTON OPENING THE BALL _C. S. Reinhart_ 175 - -MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, BOSTON 178 - -THE ASTONISHED ABBÉ _E. A. Abbey_ 181 - -A CHILD'S PORTRAIT _B. C. Porter_ 184 - -A BIT OF VENICE _Samuel Colman_ 185 - -THE OLD ORCHARD _R. Swain Gifford_ 187 - -A LANDSCAPE _George Inness_ 188 - -LA MARGUERETTE--THE DAISY _William M. Hunt_ 189 - -MOONLIGHT _John J. Enneking_ 191 - -HAVING A GOOD TIME _Louis C. Tiffany_ 192 - -SOUTHAMPTON, LONG ISLAND _C. H. Miller_ 193 - -A STUDY _Frederick Dielman_ 195 - -THE BURGOMASTER _H. Muhrman_ 197 - -BURIAL OF THE DEAD BIRD _J. Alden Wier_ 200 - -THE APPRENTICE _William M. Chase_ 201 - -THE PROFESSOR _Thomas Eakins_ 204 - -THE GOOSE-HERD _Walter Shirlaw_ 205 - -A SPANISH LADY _Mary S. Cassatt_ 208 - -STUDY OF A BOY'S HEAD _W. Sartain_ 209 - - - - -ART IN AMERICA. - - - - -I. - -_EARLY AMERICAN ART._ - - -The art of a nation is the result of centuries of growth; its crowning -excellence does not come except when maturity and repose offer the -occasion for its development. But while, therefore, it is yet too soon -to look for a great school of art in America, the time has perhaps -arrived to note some of the preliminary phases of the art which, we have -reason to hope, is to dawn upon the country before long. - -As the heirs of all the ages, we had a right to expect that our -intellectual activity would demand art expression; while the first -efforts would naturally be imitative rather than original. The -individuality which finds vent in the utterance of truth under new -conditions is not fully reached until youth gives place to the vigorous -self-assertion of a manhood conscious of its resources and power. Such -we find to have been the case in the rise of the fine arts in this -country, which up to this time have been rather an echo of the art of -the lands from which our ancestors came, than distinctively original. -Our art has been the result of affectionate remembrance of foreign -achievement more than of independent observation of nature; and while -the number of artists has been sufficiently large, very few of them -stand forth as representatives or types of novel methods and ideas; and -those few, coming before their time, have met with little response in -the community, and their influence has been generally local and -moderate, leading to the founding of nothing like a school except in one -or two isolated cases. But many of them, especially in the first period -of our art, have shared the strong, active character of their time; -and, like the heroes of the Revolution, presented sturdy traits of -character. And thus, while the society in which they moved was not -sufficiently advanced to appreciate the quality of their art, they were -yet able to stamp their names indelibly upon the pages of our history. -But within the last few years the popular interest in art has grown so -rapidly in the country--as indicated by the establishment of numerous -art schools and academies, art galleries, and publications treating -exclusively of art subjects, together with many other significant proofs -of concern in the subject--that it seems safe to assume that the first -preparatory period of American art, so brilliant in many respects, is -about closing, and that we are now on the threshold of another, although -it is only scarcely three centuries since the first English colonists -landed on our shores. The first professional artist of whom there seems -to be any record in our colonial history was possessor of a title that -does not often fall to the lot of the artist: he was a deacon. This fact -indicates that Deacon Shem Drowne, of Boston town, was not only a -cunning artificer in metals and wood-carving, as the old chronicles -speak of him, but also a man addicted to none of the small vices that -are traditionally connected with the artistic career; for people were -very proper in that vicinage in those days of austere virtue and -primness, and deacons were esteemed the very salt of the earth. - -During the first century of our colonial existence local painters, often -scarcely deserving the name, are also known to have gained a precarious -livelihood by taking meagre portraits of the worthies of the period, in -black and white or in color. We should know this to have been the fact -by the portraits--quaint, and often rude and awkward--which have come -down to us, without anything about them to indicate who the artists -could have been who painted them. Occasionally a suggestion of talent is -evident in those canvases from which the stiff ruffles and bands of the -Puritans stare forth at us. Cotton Mather also alludes to a certain -artist whom he speaks of as a limner. But in those times there was, -however, at best no art in this country, except what was brought over -occasionally in the form of family portraits, painted by Vandyck, -Rembrandt, Lely, or Kneller. These precious heirlooms, scarcely -appreciated by the stern theologians of the time, were, however, not -without value in advancing the cause of civilization among the wilds of -the Western world. Unconsciously the minds of coming generations were -influenced and moulded by these reminders of the great art of other -lands and ages. No human effort is wasted; somewhere, at some time, it -appears, as the seed sown in October comes forth anew in April, -quickened into other forms, to sustain life under fresh conditions. - -The first painter in America of any decided ability whose name has -survived to this day was John Watson, who executed portraits in -Philadelphia in 1715. He was a Scotchman. It is to another Scotchman, -who married and identified himself with the rising fortunes of the -colonies, that we are perhaps able to assign the first distinct and -decided art impulse in this country. And for this we are directly -indebted to Bishop Berkeley, whose sagacious eye penetrated so far -through the mists of futurity, and realized the coming greatness of the -land. - -[Illustration: FAMILY OF BISHOP BERKELEY.--[JOHN SMYBERT.]] - -Berkeley is associated with the literature and arts of America in -several ways. He aided the advance of letters by a grant of books to -Yale College, and by founding the nucleus of what later became the -Redwood Library at Newport; thus indirectly suggesting architectural -beauty to a people without examples of it, for in 1750 a building was -erected for the library that sprang from his benefactions. The design -was obtained from Vanbrugh, one of the greatest architects of modern -times; and although the little library is constructed only of wood and -mortar, its plan is so pleasing, tasteful, and harmonious, that it long -remained the most graceful structure in the colonies; and even at this -day is scarcely equalled on the continent as a work of art by many far -more costly and ambitious constructions after the Renaissance order. -And, finally, we owe to Bishop Berkeley the most notable impulse which -the dawning arts received in this country when he induced John Smybert, -the Scotchman, to leave London in 1725 and settle in Boston, where he -had the good fortune to marry a rich widow, and lived prosperous and -contented until his death, in 1751. Smybert was not a great painter. If -he had remained in Europe his position never would have been more than -respectable, even at an age when the arts were at a low ebb. But he is -entitled to our gratitude for perpetuating for us the lineaments of many -worthies of the period, and for the undoubted impetus his example gave -to the artists who were about to come on the scene and assert the right -of the New World to exercise its energies in the encouragement of the -fine arts. It is by an apparently unimportant incident that the -influence of Smybert to our early art is most vividly illustrated. He -brought with him to America an excellent copy of a Vandyck, executed by -himself; and several of our artists, including Allston, acknowledged -that a sight of this copy affected them like an inspiration. The most -important work of Smybert in this country is a group representing the -family of Bishop Berkeley, now in the art gallery at New Haven. A flock -of foreign portrait-painters, following the example of Smybert, now came -over to this country, and rendered good service in perpetuating the -faces of the notable characters and beauties of the time; but none of -them were of special moment, excepting, perhaps, Blackburn and -Alexander. But their labor bore fruit in preparing the way for the -successes of Copley. The first native American painter of merit of whom -there is any authentic record was Robert Feke, who was of Quaker -descent, and settled in Newport, where portraits of his are still to be -seen, notably that of the beautiful wife of Governor Wanton, which is -preserved in the Redwood Library. What little art-education he received -resulted from his being taken prisoner at sea and carried to Spain, -where he contrived to acquire a few hints in the use of pigments. Feke -was a man of undoubted ability; and the same may be said of Matthew -Pratt, of Philadelphia, who was born in 1734, in respect of age -antedating both Copley and West, although not known until after they -had acquired fame, because for many years he contented himself with the -painting of signs and house decorations. - -But the latent æsthetic capacity of the colonies displayed itself -suddenly when John Singleton Copley, at the early age of seventeen, -after only the most rudimentary instruction, adopted art as a -profession. But, although a professional and successful artist at so -early an age, Copley seems to have been preceded in assuming the calling -of artist by a Quaker lad of Pennsylvania, one year his junior, but -evincing a turn for art at an earlier age, when hardly out of the -cradle. - -The birth of a national art has scarcely ever been more affecting or -remarkable than that recorded in the first efforts of Benjamin West. He -was born at Springfield, Pennsylvania, in 1738, a year after Copley. The -scientist of the future may perhaps show us that it was something more -than a coincidence that the six leading painters of the first period of -American art came in pairs: Copley and West in 1737 and 1738; Stuart and -Trumbull were born in 1756; Vanderlyn arrived in 1776; and Allston -followed only three years later. - -The descendants of the iconoclasts who had beaten down statues and -burned masterpieces of art, who had cropped their hair and passed -sumptuary laws to fulfil the dictates of their creed, and had sought a -wilderness across the seas where they could maintain their rigid -doctrines unmolested, were now about to vindicate the character of their -fathers. They were now to prove that the love of beauty is universal and -unquenchable, and that sooner or later every people, kindred, and tongue -seeks to utter its aspirations after the ideal good by art forms and -methods; and that the sternness of the Puritans had been really -directed, not so much against art and beauty legitimately employed, as -against the abuse of the purest and noblest emotions of the soul by a -debasing art. - -As if to emphasize the truth of these observations, as well as of the -famous prophecy of Bishop Berkeley, the artist to whom American art owes -its rise, and for many years its greatest source of encouragement, was -named West, and was of Quaker lineage. Such was the rude condition of -the arts in the neighborhood at that time that the first initiation of -West into art was as simple as that of Giotto. At nine years of age he -drew hairs from a cat's tail and made himself a brush. Colors he -obtained by grinding charcoal and chalk, and crushing the red blood out -from the blackberry. His mother's laundry furnished him with indigo, -and the friendly Indians who came to his father's house gave him of the -red and yellow earths with which they daubed their faces. With such rude -materials the lad painted a child sleeping in its cradle; and in that -first effort of precocious genius executed certain touches which he -never surpassed, as he affirmed long after, when at the zenith of his -remarkable career. - -How, from such primitive efforts, the Quaker youth gradually worked into -local fame, went to Italy and acquired position there, and then settled -in England, became the favorite _protégé_ of the king for forty years, -and the President of the National Academy of Great Britain--these are -all matters of history, and, as West never forgot his love for his -native land, entitle him to the respectful remembrance not only of -artists, but of all his countrymen. American art has every reason, also, -to cherish his memory with profound gratitude, for no painter ever -conducted himself with greater kindness and generosity to the rising, -struggling artists of his native land. No sooner did our early painters -reach London but they resorted, for aid and guidance, to West, and found -in him a friend who lent them his powerful influence without grudging, -or allowed them to set up their easels in his studio, and gave them all -the instruction in his power. Trumbull, Stuart, Dunlap, and many others, -long after they had forgotten the natural foibles of West, had reason to -remember how great had been the services he had rendered to the aspiring -artists of his transatlantic home. - -Since the death of West--whom we must consider one of the greatest men -our country has produced--it has become the fashion to decry his art and -belittle his character. This seems to be a mistake which reflects -discredit upon his detractors. Men should be judged not absolutely, but -relatively; not compared with perfection, but with their contemporaries -and their opportunities. In estimating men of the past, also, we need to -put ourselves in their places, rather than to regard them by the -standard of the age in which we live. In no pursuit are men more likely -to be misjudged than in art; for artists are liable to be guided by -impulse rather than judgment, and the very vehemence of their likes and -dislikes renders their opinions intense rather than broad and -charitable. Benjamin West appears to have been born with great natural -powers, which matured rapidly, and early ceased to develop in excellence -proportionate to his extraordinary industry and fidelity to art. - -[Illustration: "DEATH ON THE PALE HORSE."--[BENJAMIN WEST.]] - -But while a general evenness of quality rather than striking excellence -in any particular works was the characteristic of the art of West, -together with a certain brick-red tone in his colors not always -agreeable, yet a share of genius must be granted to the artist who -painted the "Departure of Regulus," "Death on the Pale Horse," and "The -Death of Wolfe." It unquestionably implied daring and consciousness of -power to brave the opposition of contemporary opinions and abandon -classic costume in historical compositions as he did; to win to his side -the judgment of Sir Joshua Reynolds, and create a revolution in certain -phases of art. Notwithstanding this, however, West was emphatically a -man of his time, moulded by it rather than forming it, and inclined to -conventionalism. When he entered the arena, art was in a depressed -condition both in Italy, where he studied, and in England. But while -Reynolds and Gainsborough gave a fresh impulse to art, West's genius, -ripening precociously, early became incapable of achieving further -progress. - -West established himself as a portrait-painter at the age of fifteen; -and in the following year--1755--Copley also engaged in the same -pursuit, when only seventeen. The former lived to be seventy-nine; the -latter was seventy-eight at his death. The art-life of Copley must be -considered the most indigenous and strictly American of the two. -Although receiving some early instruction from his step-father, Pelham, -and enjoying opportunities denied to West, of studying portraits by -foreign artists, yet Copley's advantages were excessively meagre; and -whatever successes he achieved with his brush, until he finally settled -in England at the age of thirty-nine, were entirely his own, and can be -proudly included among the most valued treasures of our native art. So -highly were the abilities of Copley esteemed in his day, that years -before he crossed the Atlantic his reputation had preceded him, and -assured him ready patronage in London. - -It is said that Copley was a very slow and laborious worker. The -elaboration he gave to the details of costume doubtless required time. -But if the popular opinion was correct, we must assume that many of the -paintings now reputed to be by his hand are spurious. It is a common -saying that a Copley in a New England family is almost equivalent to a -title of nobility; and this very fact would lead many to attribute to -him family portraits by forgotten artists, who had, perhaps, caught the -trick of his style. But there yet remain enough well authenticated -portraits by this great painter, in excellent preservation, to render -the study of his works one of great interest to the art student. There -is no mistaking the handling of Copley. Self-taught, his merits and -defects are entirely his own. His style was open to the charge of -excessive dryness; the outlines are sometimes hard, and the figures -stiff almost to ungracefulness. The last fault was, however, less -noticeable in the formal, stately characters and costumes of the time -than it would be under different conditions. In Copley's best -compositions these errors are scarcely perceptible. He was far superior -to West as a colorist, and was especially felicitous in catching the -expression of the eye, and reproducing the elegant dress of the period; -while we have had no artist who has excelled him in perceiving and -interpreting the individuality and character of the hand. A very fine -example of his skill in this respect is seen in the admirable portrait -of Mrs. Relief Gill, taken when she was eighty years old. Gilbert Stuart -remarked of the hand in the portrait of Colonel Epes Sargent, "Prick -that hand, and blood will spurt out." It is indeed a masterpiece. No -painter was ever more in sympathy with his age than Copley; and thus, -when we look at the admirable portraits in which his genius commemorated -the commanding characters of those colonial days, in their brilliant and -massive uniforms, their brocades and embroidered velvets, and choice -laces and scarfs, the imagination is carried back to the past with -irresistible force, while, at the same time, we are astonished at the -ability which, with so little training, could give immortality both to -his contemporaries and his own pencil. - -While the fame of Copley will ultimately rest on the masterly portraits -which he bequeathed to posterity, yet it will not be forgotten that he -was one of the ablest historical painters of his time. The compositions -entitled the "Boy and the Squirrel," painted in Boston, the "Death of -Major Pierson," and the "Death of Chatham," will contribute for ages to -the fame of one of the most important American artists of the last -century. - -Charles Wilson Peale, the next artist of reputation in the colonies, -owes his celebrity partly to accidental circumstances. Of course a -certain degree of ability is implied in order that one may know how to -turn the winds of fortune to the best account when they veer in his -favor. But in some cases, as with Copley and West, man seems to wrest -fate to his advantage; while in others she appears actually to throw -herself in his way, and offer him opportunities denied to others. At any -rate it seems no injustice to ascribe the continued fame of Charles -Wilson Peale to the fact that he was enabled to associate his art with -the name of Washington: and that his son, Rembrandt, by also following -art pursuits, was able to emphasize the fame of the family name. Peale -the elder was not a specialist; he was rather, like so many born in -America, gifted with a general versatility that enabled him to succeed -moderately well in whatever he undertook, without achieving the highest -excellence in any department. Inclining alternately to science and -mechanics, he finally drifted into art, went over to England and studied -with West, and returned to America in time to enter the army and rise to -the rank of colonel. His versatile turn of mind is well illustrated by -one who says that "he sawed his own ivory for his miniatures, moulded -the glasses, and made the shagreen cases." - -It was the good fortune of Peale to paint several excellent portraits of -Washington, representing him during the military part of his career, -both before and during the Revolution. Lacking many of the qualities of -good art, these portraits are yet faithful and characteristic likenesses -of the Father of his Country, and as such are of great interest and -value. - -It is to another Revolutionary soldier of superior natural ability, -Colonel John Trumbull, that the country is indebted for a proof of the -national turn for the fine arts. The son of Jonathan Trumbull, Colonial -Governor of Connecticut, he received a classical education at Harvard -University. But here, again, observe the far-reaching influence of one -act. That copy, already alluded to, which was executed by Smybert after -a work of Vandyck--the great painter who was welcomed to the banqueting -halls of merry England by Charles I. and Henrietta Maria--was again to -bear fruit. It inspired the genius of Trumbull with a passion for color -while yet in his youth, and ultimately led to his becoming a great -historical painter. - -But first he had to undergo the discipline of war, which gave him that -experimental knowledge of which he afterward made such good use. Of a -high spirit and proud, irascible temper, Trumbull served with -distinction; first as aid to Washington, then as major at the storming -of the works of Burgoyne at Saratoga; and he had reached a colonelcy, -when he threw up his commission and went over to England, and became a -student of West, whose style is perceptible in many of the works of the -younger artist. - -If inequality is one sign of genius, then Trumbull possessed it to a -marked degree. The difference in merit between his best paintings, which -were chiefly composed in England, and those he executed in this country, -in the later years of his life, is remarkable. This probably was due in -part to the lack of any appreciable art influences or patronage in his -own country to stimulate the artistic afflatus. The talents of Trumbull -were conspicuous in portraiture and historical painting. The energy of -his nature is illustrated in such powerful portraits as those of -Washington and Hamilton. Deficient in drawing, and unlike in details of -feature, they are life-like in their general resemblance, and seem to -thrill with the spirit of the original. We see before us the heroes who -conducted the struggling colonies successfully to military independence -and political freedom. Trumbull's miniatures in oil of many of the men -who were prominent in the Revolution are also very spirited and -characteristic, and of inestimable historic value. He was less -successful in the representation of feminine beauty. His talents moved -within a limited range, but within that narrow circle displayed certain -excellences quite rare in the Anglo-Saxon art of that period, exhibiting -a correct feeling for color, keen perception of character, and great -force of expression. But let him stray beyond the compass of his powers, -as in the representation of woman, and his coloring becomes unnatural -and his drawing inexpressive. - -The art of this great painter, for so we must call him in view of some -of his works, culminated in the historical compositions entitled "The -Signing of the Declaration of Independence," "The Siege of Gibraltar," -and the immortal compositions representing the "Death of Montgomery" and -the "Battle of Bunker Hill." The last two were not surpassed by any -similar works in the last century, and thus far stand alone in American -historical painting. - -[Illustration: DEATH OF MONTGOMERY.--[JOHN TRUMBULL.]] - -Cabinet in size, they combine breadth and detail to an unusual degree. -The faces are in miniature, in many cases portraits from life. They -could be cut out and framed as portraits; each also is stamped with the -individual passions of that terrible hour--hate, exultation, pain, -courage, sorrow, despair. And yet with all this truth of detail the -general spirit and effort of the scene is preserved. The onward -movement, the rush, the onset of war, the harmony of lines, the massing -of _chiaro-oscuro_, the brilliance and truth of color, are all there. -One first gazes astonished at the skill of the artist, and ends by -feeling his heart stirred and his emotions shaken as the leaves of the -forest are blown by the winds of October, and his sympathies carried -away by the grandeur and the terror of battle. Yes, when John Trumbull -painted those two pictures, he was inspired by the fires of genius for -once in his life. His later historical works are so inferior in all -respects as scarcely to seem to be by the same hand. - -Trumbull lived to see a taste for the arts growing up among his -fellow-countrymen, and the awakening of the first feeble attempts to -furnish art instruction in his native land to the artists of the future. -He was President of the Academy of Fine Arts, of which he was one of the -founders. - -In the same year with Trumbull was born the greatest colorist and -portrait-painter we have seen on this side of the Atlantic, Gilbert -Stuart. The town of Narragansett, in the little State of Rhode Island, -was the birth-place of this painter, who came of Scotch and Welsh -descent, an alliance of blood whose individual traits were well -illustrated in the life and character of the painter. - -Fortune was becoming a little kinder to our artists. Stuart's dawning -genius was directed at Newport by Cosmo Alexander, a Scotch -portrait-painter of some merit, who took his pupil to Scotland and -placed him in charge of Sir George Chambers. After various vicissitudes, -comprising, as with so many of our early painters, an art apprenticeship -in the studio of West, the young American artist settled for awhile -abroad, and acquired such repute that he rivalled Sir Joshua Reynolds in -the popular esteem: his brush was in demand by the first in the land; -and the unfortunate Louis XVI. was included among his sitters. After -this, in 1793, Stuart returned to America, painted the portraits of the -leading citizens in our chief cities, and finally settled in Boston. The -most important works he executed in this country were his well-known -portraits of Washington, including the famous full-length painting, -which represents the great man, not in the prime of his active days, as -represented by Peale and Trumbull, but when, crowned with glory and -honor in the majesty of a serene old age, he was approaching the sunset -of life. - -The character of Stuart was one of marked peculiarities, and offers -points of interest scarcely equalled by that of any other American -artist. The canny shrewdness and penetrating perception of the Scotchman -was mellowed almost to the point of inconsistency by the warm and supple -traits of his Welsh ancestry. An admirable story-teller himself, he in -turn gave rise, by his oddities, to many racy anecdotes, some of which -have been treasured up and well told by Dunlap, who, although inferior -as a painter, deserves to be cordially remembered for his discursive but -valuable book on early American painting. - -[Illustration: GENERAL KNOX.--[GILBERT STUART.]] - -As regards the art of Stuart, it can be safely affirmed that America has -produced no painter who has been more unmistakably entitled to rank -among men of genius as distinguished from those of talent. We assume -that the difference between the two is not one of degree, but of kind. -In the intellectual progress of the world the first leads, the other -follows. One may have great talents, and yet really not enrich the world -with a single new idea. He simply assents to the accepted, and lends it -the aid of his powers. But genius, not content with things as they are, -either gives us new truths or old truths in a new form. The greatest -minds--Cæsar, Shakspeare, Goethe, Franklin--present us with a just -combination of genius and talent: they both create and organize. Now, -one may have great or little genius, but so far as he tells us -something worth knowing in his own way, it is genius as distinguished -from talent. - -And this is why we say that Stuart had genius. He followed no beaten -track, he gave in his allegiance to no canons of the schools. His eagle -eye pierced the secrets of nature according to no prescribed rules. Not -satisfied with surfaces or accessories, he gave us character as well. -Nor did he rest here. In the technical requirements of his art he stands -original and alone. That seemingly hard, practical Scotch nature of his -was yet attuned like a delicate chord to the melody of color. Few more -than he have felt the subtle relation between sound and color--for he -was also a musician. In the handling of pigments, again, he stands -pre-eminent among the artists of his generation. Why is it that his -colors are as brilliant, as pure, as forcible, as harmonious, to-day as -when he laid them on the canvas nearly a century ago? If you carefully -examine his pictures you shall see one cause of the result explained. He -had such confidence in his powers, and such technical mastery, that he -needed not to experiment with treacherous vehicles; and, rarely mixing -tints on the palette, laid pure blues, reds, or yellows directly on the -canvas, and slightly dragged them together. Thus he was able to render -the stippled, mottled semblance of color as it actually appears on the -skin; to suggest, also, the prismatic effect which all objects have in -nature; and, at the same time, by keeping the colors apart, to insure -their permanence. Stuart generally painted thinly, on large-grained -canvas, which gave the picture the softness of atmosphere. But -sometimes, as in the case of the powerful portrait of General Knox, he -loaded his colors. But even in that work he did not depart from his -usual practice in rendering the flesh tints. - -It has been alleged by some that Stuart was unable to do justice to the -delicate beauty of woman, especially the refined type which is -characteristic of the United States. He may have more often failed in -this regard than in other efforts; but the force of the accusation -disappears when one observes the extraordinary loveliness of such -portraits as that of Mrs. Forrester, the sister of Judge Story, at -Salem. But, indeed, it seemed to make little difference to him who the -sitter happened to be. He entered into the nature of the individual, -grasped the salient traits of his character, and, whether it was a -seaman or a statesman, a triumphant general or a reigning belle, his -unerring eye and his matchless brush rendered justice to them all. - -Gilbert Stuart Newton, the nephew of Stuart, is a painter well known in -England, where he early established himself; and, having been born at -Halifax, and always remained a British subject, he more properly belongs -to foreign art. But his education was gained in the studio of his uncle -in Boston, and his style shows unmistakable traces of the teacher's -methods. Newton executed some good portraits before abandoning his -native land, including one of John Adams, which is in the Massachusetts -Historical Society. He is known abroad chiefly as a _genre_ painter of -semi-literary compositions. - -[Illustration: "BEGGAR'S OPERA.--[G. STUART NEWTON.]] - -James Frothingham was also a pupil, and in some degree an imitator, of -Stuart, who possessed unusual ability in portraiture, but it was -confined to the painting of the head. Whether from the lack of early -advantages--which was so remarkable that he had not even seen a palette -when, self-taught, he was able to execute a very tolerable likeness--or -because of natural limitation of power, Frothingham's talent seemed to -stop with the neck of the sitter. The face would perhaps be reproduced -with a force, a beauty of color, and a truth of character that -oftentimes suggested the art of Stuart; while the hands or shoulders -were almost ludicrously out of drawing and proportion. - -[Illustration: "BABES IN THE WOOD."--[REMBRANDT PEALE.]] - -Besides Frothingham, there were a number of American painters of -celebrity, contemporaries of Stuart, but of unequal merit. Colonel -Sargent acquired a repute in his time which it is difficult to -understand at present. He seems to have been more of an amateur than a -professional artist. His ablest work is the "Landing of the Pilgrims," -of which a copy is preserved at Plymouth. Rembrandt Peale obtained a -permanent reputation for his very able and truthful portrait of -Washington. He bestowed upon it the best efforts of his mature years, -and it received the compliment of being purchased by Congress for -$2000--a large sum for an American painting in those days, when the -purchasing power of money was greater than it is now. His "Court of -Death" is a vast composition, that must candidly be considered more -ambitious than successful. In such works as the "Babes in the Wood," -Peale seems to foreshadow the _genre_ art which has been so long coming -to us. John Wesley Jarvis, a native of England, also enjoyed at one time -much popularity as a portrait-painter. He was possessed of great -versatility; was eccentric; a _bon vivant_, and excelled at telling a -story. It is melancholy to record that, after many vicissitudes, he -ended his days in poverty. - -Thomas Sully was also a native of England, who came to this country in -childhood, and lived to such a great age that it is difficult to realize -that he was the contemporary of Trumbull and Stuart. Sully had great -refinement of feeling, and reminds us sometimes of Sir Thomas Lawrence. -This is shown in a certain favorite ideal head of a maiden which he -reproduced in various compositions. One often recognizes it in his -works. His portraits are also pleasing; but in the treatment of a -masculine likeness the feebleness of his style and its lack of -originality or strength are too often apparent. John Naegle, of -Philadelphia, was a pupil of Sully, but first began his art career as -apprentice to a coach-painter. Like many of our artists of that time, he -tried his hand at a portrait of Washington; but he will be longest and -best remembered by his vivid and characteristic painting of Patrick -Lyon, the blacksmith, at his forge. This picture now hangs in the -elegant gallery of the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts, where several -of the masterpieces of our early painters may be seen hanging in company -with it, among them West's "Christ Rejected," Vanderlyn's "Ariadne," and -Allston's "Dead Man Restored to Life." - -[Illustration: FANNY KEMBLE.--[THOMAS SULLY.]] - -Born the year of the Declaration of Independence, John Vanderlyn, like -most of the leading artists of this period of whom we are writing, lived -to old age. His days were filled with hardships and vicissitudes: and, -unless he has since become aware of the fame he left behind, he was one -of many to whom life has been a very questionable boon. - -[Illustration: ARIADNE.--[JOHN VANDERLYN.]] - -Vanderlyn was a farmer's boy on the Hudson River. It was one of those -curious incidents by which Destiny sometimes makes us think there may -be, after all, something more than blind action in her ways, that Aaron -Burr, passing by his father's house, saw some rude sketches of the -rustic lad with that keen eye of his. Burr discerned in them signs of -promise, and invited him to come to New York. When Vanderlyn arrived -Burr treated him kindly. Eventually the painter made a portrait of -Theodosia, the beautiful and ill-fated daughter of his benefactor; and -when Burr was under a cloud and found himself destitute in Europe, it -was Vanderlyn who received and gave him shelter. - -Much of the art-life of this painter was passed at Rome and in Paris. -His varied fortunes, and the constant adversity that baffled him at -every step, obliged him to resort to many a pitiful shift to keep soul -and body together. It is owing to this cause that he so rarely found -opportunity to do justice to the undoubted ability he possessed. - -But Vanderlyn left at least two important creations, marked by genuine -artistic feeling and beauty, that will long entitle him to a favorable -position among American painters. "Marius Among the Ruins of Carthage" I -have never seen, and can only speak of it by report; but that it is a -work deserving to rank high in the art of the time seems to be proven -not only by the applause it received at Rome, but also by the fact that -it carried off the gold medal at the Salon in Paris. Such is the irony -of fate that the artist was twice forced to pawn this medal. The second -time he was unable to redeem it. - -The "Ariadne" has unfortunately begun to show signs of age, and the -browns into which the flesh tints are painted are commencing to discolor -the delicate grays. An oil-painting, if properly executed, should hold -its qualities for a longer time; but unhappily the works of too many -good artists are affected in the same way. The "Ariadne" is, however, a -noble composition, quite in classic style; and if not strikingly -original, is a most creditable work for the early art of a young people. - -Newport, Rhode Island's charming little city by the sea, once a thriving -commercial centre, but now a favorite resort of culture and gayety and -wealth, but always opulent in delightful Colonial and Revolutionary -associations, and doubly attractive for the artistic memories that cling -to it, and the treasures of our art which it contains--this was the -birth-place of Edward G. Malbone, who, after a successful art-life in -his native town and at Charleston, died at Newport, in 1807, at the -early age of thirty-two. Miniature-painting was a favorite pursuit of -our early artists. Some of our best portraits have been done by that -means; but among all who have followed it in the United States none have -excelled Malbone, although some, like John Fraser, of South Carolina, -have been very clever at it. He succeeded in giving character to his -faces to a degree unusual in miniature; while the coloring was rendered -at once with remarkable delicacy, purity, and fidelity. His best works -are probably the likeness of Ray Green, and the exquisitely beautiful -group called the "Hours," which is carefully preserved in the Athenæum -at Providence. - -With the general public the name of no American artist of that time is -probably more widely known than that of Washington Allston. He owes this -in part, doubtless, to the fact that as a writer he also became -identified with the literary circle at that time prominent in Eastern -Massachusetts. He was born in 1779, at Waccamaw, South Carolina. Sent -at seven years of age to Newport, both for health and instruction, he -lived there ten years; and very likely associated with Malbone, and -perhaps met Stuart there. - -[Illustration: "THE HOURS."--[E. G. MALBONE.] ORIGINAL SIZE.] - -Subsequently Allston visited Italy, and then settled in London, where -his talents received such ample recognition as to gain him the position -of Academician. The mistake of his art-life--although it was perhaps -advantageous to his fame at home--was probably his return to the United -States while yet in his prime. The absence of influences encouraging to -art growth, and of that sympathy and patronage so essential to a -sensitive nature like that of Allston's, had a blighting effect on his -faculties; and the many years he passed in Boston were years of -aspiration rather than achievement. Allston has suffered from two -causes. Overrated as an artist in his day, his reputation is now -endangered from a tendency to award him less than justice. The latter -may be due in part to the fact that Allston himself adopted a course of -action that tended to repress rather than develop his art powers. In his -desire to give intellectual and moral value and permanent dignity to his -productions, and in his aversion to sensationalism in art, he treated -his subjects with a deliberate severity which takes away from them all -the feeling of spontaneity which is so delightful and important in works -of the imagination. If his genius had been of the high order claimed by -some, such a result would have been impossible. The emotional element -would have sometimes asserted itself, and given to his finished works -that warmth and attraction the lack of which, while they are -intellectually interesting and worthy of great respect, prevents them -from inspiring and winning our hearts, and has impaired the influence -they might have had in advancing the progress of art in America. - -That Allston might have produced paintings of more absolute power, seems -evident from his numerous crayon sketches and studies for paintings, -which are full of fire, energy, and beauty, delicate fancy, and creative -power. One cannot wholly understand Allston's ability until he has seen -those studies; and it cannot be too much regretted that he did not allow -a freer rein to his brush when composing the works upon which he desired -to establish his fame. When he did so far forget himself, we get a -glimpse of the fervor and grandeur of the imagination that burned in -that brain, whose thoughts were greater than its capacity for -expression. It must also be granted that the works of Allston have the -quality peculiar to the productions of original minds: it is not until -they have been seen repeatedly that they reveal all that is in them. -"Uriel in the Sun," "Jeremiah," and "The Dead Man Restored to Life," are -probably the best of the finished works by which the solemn, mysterious, -and impressive imagination of Allston can be best estimated. Without -giving us new revelations regarding the secrets of color, as he was -rather an imitator of the Venetian school than an originator, Allston -can be justly considered one of the most agreeable colorists America has -produced. - -[Illustration: "JEREMIAH."--[WASHINGTON ALLSTON.]] - -[Illustration: "DYING HERCULES."--[SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.]] - -Few of those who recognize the late Samuel F. B. Morse as the inventor -of our telegraphic system are aware that in early life he was an -artist, and gave evidence of succeeding both in sculpture and painting. -Although his preference was for the latter, we are inclined to think -that he was best fitted to be a sculptor. He became the pupil of Allston -in London, and modelled at that time a statue called the "Dying -Hercules," which won the prize of a gold medal offered by the Adelphi -Society of Arts for the best single figure. From that statue he -afterward composed a painting of the same subject, which is now in New -Haven, a work of unquestioned power, showing thorough anatomical -knowledge and a creative imagination. But, while there was reason to -predict an interesting art career for the young American, circumstances -beyond his control drifted him away from the chosen pursuit of his -youth, and his fame and fortune were eventually achieved in the paths of -science. It is interesting in this connection to read the words which -Morse, suffering from the pangs of disappointment, wrote to one who -asked his advice about becoming a painter: "My young friend, if you have -determined to try the life of an artist, I wish you all success; but as -you have asked my honest opinion, I must say that, if you can find -employment in any other calling, I advise you to let painting alone. I -have known so many young men--some of them of decided talent, too--who, -after repeated trials and failures, became discouraged, gave up further -effort, and went to ruin." Notwithstanding that such were his views when -he abandoned art, did not Morse, in the prosperous hours of his life, -sometimes look back to his early art with a pang of regret? But while he -continued in the profession of art, his activity was such that the -National Academy of Design owes its origin to him, and with him closed -the first period of art in the United States. - -We see that this division of our pictorial art--with the exception of -Thomas Birch, of Philadelphia, a marine painter of some repute, and a -few others of less note--was devoted to the figure; and, if sometimes -feeble in result, was inspired by lofty motives. In historical art and -portraiture it was, if not strictly original, yet often very able, and -fairly maintained itself on a level with the contemporary art of Europe. -Owing to the entire want of opportunities for professional education at -home, our leading artists, with few exceptions, were forced to pass a -good part of their lives in foreign studios. - -We also find that a feeling for the beauty of form, as indicated in -black and white, or in sculpture, was scarcely perceptible in this stage -of our art. With the exception of Shem Drowne and Patience Wright, who -modelled skilfully in wax, the sense for plastic art was altogether -dormant in the country; while any progress in architecture, until in -recent years, was hopelessly ignored. It is true that the active, -restless intellect of Thomas Jefferson sought to endow the nation with a -sixth order of architecture, called the Columbian, and patriotically -resembling a stalk of Indian-corn. The small pillars made after this -design are in one of the vestibules of the basement of the Capitol at -Washington, where the ardent patriot may visit them, and see for -himself the beginning and the end of the only order of architecture ever -attempted in this country. - -Through much tribulation, much earnest faith, and enthusiasm for art, -our early painters prepared the way for the national art of the future. -They met only moderate appreciation in their native land at that time. -But we owe much to them; and in our preference for present -methods--which must in turn be superseded by others--let us not forget -the honor due to the pioneers of American art. In the first articulate -utterances of a child, or in the dialect of an aboriginal tribe, lie the -rudiments of a national tongue eventually carried to a high degree of -culture; and the first rude art or poesy of a young people sometimes -possesses touches of freshness, charming simplicity, or virile force -which are too liable to be softened away beyond recall by the -refinements of a later civilization. - - - - -II. - -_AMERICAN PAINTERS._ - -1828-1878. - - -The generation immediately succeeding the American Revolution was -devoted by the people of the young republic to adjusting its commercial -and political relations at home and abroad. Early in this century, -however, numerous signs of literary and art activity became apparent, -and in 1815 the _North American Review_ was founded. We mention this -fact, although a literary event, as indicating the point in time when -the nebulous character of the various intellectual influences and -tendencies of the nation began to develop a certain cohesive and -tangible form. It was about the same time that our art, subject to -similar influences, began to assume a more definite individuality, and -to exhibit rather less vagueness in its yearnings after national -expression. - -Gilbert Stuart, one of the most remarkable colorists of modern time, -died in the year 1828. In the same year the National Academy of Design -was founded. These two events, occurring at the same time, seem properly -to mark the close of one period of our art history and the dawn of its -successor; for notwithstanding the excellence of Stuart's art, and the -virile character of the art of some of his contemporaries, yet their -efforts had been spasmodic and unequal; much of it had been done abroad -under foreign influences; and there was no sustained patronage or art -organization at home which could combine their efforts toward a -practical and common end. The first president of the new institution was -Samuel F. B. Morse. - -The National Academy of Design superseded a similar but less wisely -organized society, which had led a precarious existence since 1801. With -the new institution was collected the nucleus of a gallery of paintings -and casts; and from the outset the idea suggested by its name was -carried out, by furnishing the most thorough opportunities for -art-instruction the country could afford. - -[Illustration: "MUMBLE THE PEG."--[HENRY INMAN.]] - -Although seemingly fortuitous, the establishment of the Academy of -Design really marks the opening of a distinct era in the history of -American art; during which it has developed into a rounded completeness -to a degree that enables us, with some measure of fairness, to note the -causes which led to it, which have nourished its growth, and which have -made it a worthy forerunner of new methods for expressing the artistic -yearnings of those who are to follow in years to come. It has indicated -a notable advance in our art; it has, in spite of its weakness or -imitation of foreign conventionalisms, possessed certain traits -entirely and distinctively native; and has been distinguished by a -number of artists of original and sometimes unusual ability, whose -failure to accomplish all they sought was due rather to unfortunate -circumstances than to the lack of genuine power, which in another age -might have done itself more justice. - -It is interesting to observe at this juncture that our art was -influenced by exactly the same causes as our literature of the same -period; and, like our national civilization, presents a singular -reaching after original expression, modified sometimes by an unconscious -imitation of foreign thought and methods. - -There is one fact connected with the early growth of our art which is -entirely contrary to the laws which have elsewhere governed the progress -of art, and is undoubtedly due to the new and anomalous features of our -social economy. Elsewhere the art-feeling has undeviatingly sought -expression first in earthen-ware or plastic art, then in architecture -and sculpture, and finally in painting. We have entirely reversed this -order. The unsettled character of the population--especially at the time -when emigration from the Eastern to the Western States caused a general -movement from State to State--together with the abundance of lumber at -that time, evidently offered no opportunity or demand for any but the -rudest and most rapidly constructed buildings, and anything like -architecture and decorative work was naturally relegated to a later -period; and for the same reason, apparently, the art of sculpture showed -little sign of demanding expression here until after the art of painting -had already formulated itself into societies and clubs, and been -represented by numerous artists of respectable abilities. - -The art-feeling, which made itself apparent, vaguely and abortively, -during our colonial period, began to demand freer and fuller expression -soon after the new Republic had declared its independence; and, with -scarce any patronage from the Government, assumed a degree of excellence -surprising under the circumstances, and rarely reached by a nation in so -short a time. - -We recall no art of the past the order and conditions of whose growth -resemble those of ours, except that of Holland after its wars of -independence with Spain. The bane and the blessing of our art have been -in the enormous variety of influences which have controlled its action. -This has been a bane, because it has, until recently, prevented the -concentration of effort which might lead to grand results and schools. -It has been a blessing, because individual expression has thus found a -vent, and mannerism has not yet become a conventional net, so thrown -around our art as to prevent free action and growth. The American art of -the last two generations has resembled the restless activity of a -versatile youth, who seeks in various directions for the just medium by -which to give direction to his life-work. If there has been, on the -whole, a national bias in one direction more than another, it has been -for landscape-painting. - -Our intellectual state has also resembled the many-sided condition of -Germany in the Middle Ages, waking up from the chaos of the Dark Ages, -but broken up into different States, and representing different -religions and races. But our position has been even more agitated and -diverse; a general restlessness has characterized the community--a vast -intellectual discontent with the present. Although strongly moved by -pride of country, we have also been keenly sensitive to foreign -influences, and have received impressions from them with the readiness -of a photographic plate, although until recently the result has been -assimilation rather than imitation; while internally we have been trying -to harmonize race and sectional differences, which as yet are far from -reaching homogeneity. - -Together with all these individual influences must be included one of -general application, to which nearly all our artists, of whatever race -or section, have been subject in turn. In other countries the people -have, by a long preparation, become ready to meet the artist half-way in -appreciating and aiding him in his mission, either from the promptings -of the religious sentiment to which his art has given ocular -demonstration, or from a dominating and universal sense of beauty. With -us it has been quite otherwise; for the artists have been in advance of -public sentiment, and have had the misfortune to be forced to wait until -the people could come up to them. In addition to the fact that in New -England Puritan influences were at first opposed to art, the restless, -surging, unequal, widely differing character of our people, brought face -to face with the elementary problems of existence, founding new forms of -government, and welding incongruous factors into one race and nation--in -a word, wresting from fate our right to be--made us indifferent to the -ideal, except in sporadic and individual cases, which indicated here and -there that below the surface the poetic sentiment was preparing to -assert itself; and that we, in turn, were preparing to acknowledge the -great truth that art is an instinctive yearning of the race to place -itself in accord with the harmony which rules the universe. - -[Illustration: PORTRAIT OF PARKE GODWIN.--[THOMAS LE CLEAR.]] - -The result has been that a very large proportion of the artists of this -period of our history have been compelled to endure far more than the -traditionary hardships of the profession. They have been obliged to -devote some of the best years of their lives to trade, and have not been -able to take up art until late. To accuse American artists, as a class, -of being mercenary--a charge made quite too often--is really something -akin to irony, so much more successful pecuniarily would the majority of -them have been in mercantile pursuits. The heroism of our early -painters, struggling, in obscure corners of the country, for -opportunities to express their yearning after the ideal, without -instruction, without art-influences, meeting little or no sympathy or -encouragement, and in spite of these obstacles often achieving a -respectable degree of excellence, is one of the most interesting, -instructive, and sublime episodes in the history of art. - -Growing out of this hesitating condition of our early art may be -discerned a secondary cause, which occurred in so many cases as to be -justly considered one of the forces which formed the careful, minute, -painstaking style of much of our landscape art. We refer to the fact -that many of the best of our early painters were first engravers on wood -and steel. This gave them a minute, formal, and precise method of -treatment, which led them to look at details rather than breadth of -effect. - -When we turn to the influences from abroad which stimulated American art -during this period, we find that, while they fostered the growth of a -certain æsthetic feeling, they at the same time instilled conventional -methods and principles that deferred the development of a higher kind of -art. It is greatly to be regretted that, notwithstanding the friendly -relations between the United States and France, our art, when it was -first looking to Europe for direction, should not have come in contact -with that of France, which at that time, led by Gericault, Rousseau, -Troyon, Delacroix, and other rising men, was becoming the greatest -pictorial school since the Renaissance. But Italian art at that time was -sunk to the lowest depths of conventionalism; while the good in the -English art of the time was represented less by a school than by a few -individuals of genius--Turner, Wilkie, Constable--who were so original -that they failed to attract students whose first art ideas had been -obtained in Italy. - -The influence of Italy on our early art was shown by the tendency of our -painters in that direction--as now they go to France and Germany--and -this was due primarily to Allston and Vanderlyn. The latter, when at -Rome, occupied the house of Salvator Rosa--apparently a trivial -incident, but if we could trace all the influence it may have had on the -fancy and tastes of the young American artist, we might find it was a -powerful contributor to the formation of the early style of the -landscape artists who followed him to Italy. This bias was also greatly -assisted by the many paintings imported at that time from the Italian -peninsula, which were either originals, bought cheaply during the -disturbances which then convulsed Europe, or copies of more or less -merit. These works made their way gradually over our country, from -Boston to New Orleans; and, with the rapidly shifting fortunes of our -families, have often been so completely placed out of sight and -forgotten, that it is not an unfrequent instance for one to be unearthed -in a remote country village, or farm-house that would never be suspected -of harboring high art. - -[Illustration: PORTRAIT OF FLETCHER HARPER--[C. L. Elliott]] - -The larger portion of these foreign works came first to Boston, and -were hidden away somewhere in that vicinity, as in the case of the -collection bequeathed to Bowdoin College by its founder; whose best -specimens were eventually sold and scattered for a mere song by a -faculty who were ignorant of their value, and thought they might at the -same time aid morality and add an honest penny to the funds of the -institution by selling its precious nudities, and thus remove them from -the student's eye. As Allston and Stuart, who were colorists, also -settled in Boston, after years of foreign study, these two circumstances -contributed to make the Boston school from the first one of color--a -fact less pronounced in the early art of New York. - -It is to West and Allston and Trumbull that we are to attribute the -English element in our arts. The prominent position they then occupied -before the American public made their example and opinions of great -importance with their countrymen, and undoubtedly contributed to suggest -one of the most characteristic traits of American art, that is, the -tendency to make art a means for telling a story, which has always been -a prominent feature of English art. May we not also trace to English -literature the bias which unconsciously led our painters to turn their -attention to landscape with a unanimity that has until recently made our -pictorial art distinctively a school of landscape painting? Cowper, -Byron, and Wordsworth introduced landscape into poetry, and undoubtedly -impelled English art in the same direction; and it was exactly at that -time that our own poet, Bryant, undoubtedly influenced at the -turning-point of his character by Wordsworth's solemn worship of nature, -was becoming the pioneer of American descriptive poetry; while Irving -was introducing the picturesque into our literature; and Cooper, with -his vivid descriptions of our forests, was, like Irving, creating a -whole class of subjects that were to be illustrated by the American -artists of this period. - -The influences cited as giving direction to the struggling efforts of -art in our country during the early part of this century are illustrated -with especial force by five portrait, figure, and landscape-painters, -who may almost be considered the founders of this period of our -art--Harding, Weir, Cole, Doughty, and Durand. - -[Illustration: AN IDEAL HEAD.--[G. A. BAKER.]] - -Chester Harding was a farmer's son, who, after an apprenticeship in -agriculture, took up the trade of chair-maker at twenty-one, the time -when the young Parisian artist has already won his _Prix de Rome_. After -this he tried various other projects, including those of peddling and -the keeping of a tavern; and then took his wife and child and floated -on a flat-boat down the Alleghany to Pittsburgh--at that time a mere -settlement--in search of something by which to earn a bare living. There -he took to sign-painting; and it was not until his twenty-sixth year -that the idea of becoming a professional artist entered his head. An -itinerant portrait-painter coming to the place first suggested the idea -to Harding, who engaged him to paint the portrait of Mrs. Harding, and -took his first art-lesson while looking over the artist's shoulder; and -his first crude attempts so fascinated him that he at once adopted art -as a profession, and in six months painted one hundred likenesses, such -as they were, at twenty-five dollars each, and then settled in Boston, -where he seems to have been taken up with characteristic enthusiasm. On -going to England, Harding, notwithstanding the few advantages he had -enjoyed, seemed to compare so favorably with portrait-painters there -that he was patronized by the first noblemen of the land. Although -belonging also to the latter part of the period immediately preceding -that now under consideration, yet Harding was, on the whole, an -important factor in the art which dates from the founding of the -National Academy, and was one of the strongest of the group of -portrait-painters naturally associated with him, such as Alexander, -Waldo, Jarvis, and Ingham. There was something grand in the personality -of Harding, not only in his almost gigantic physique but also his -sturdy, frank, good-natured, but earnest and indomitable character, -which causes him to loom up across the intervening years as a type of -the people that have felled forests, reclaimed waste places, and given -thews and sinews to the Republic that in a brief century has placed -itself in the front rank of nations. - -While Harding, with all his artistic inequalities, fairly represented -the portrait art of Boston at that, period, Henry Inman may be -considered as holding a similar position in New York. As a resident of -that city and a pupil of Jarvis, he enjoyed advantages of early training -superior to those of most of our painters of that day. Exceedingly -versatile, and excelling in miniature, and doing fairly well in _genre_ -and landscape, Inman will be best known in future years by his admirable -oil portraits of some of the leading characters of the time. He was a -man of great strength and symmetry of character, who would have won -distinction in any field, and his early death was a misfortune to the -country. - -New York became the centre for a number of excellent and characteristic -portrait-painters soon after Inman established his reputation--such as -Charles Loring Elliott, Baker, Hicks, Le Clear, Huntington, and Page, -the contemporaries of Healy, Ames, Hunt, and Staigg, of Boston, and -Sully, of Philadelphia--all artists of individual styles and -characteristic traits of their own. Sully, owing to his great age, -really belonged also to the preceding period of our art. - -[Illustration: "THE JUDGMENT OF PARIS."--[HENRY PETERS GREY.]] - -In Elliott we probably find the most important portrait-painter of this -period of American art. It was a peculiarity of his intellectual growth -that only by degrees did he arrive at the point of being able to seize a -simple likeness. But it is not at all uncommon for genius to falter in -its first attempts; and Elliott was one of the few artists we have -produced who could be justly ranked among men of genius, as -distinguished from those of talents, however marked. Stuart excelled all -our portrait-painters in purity and freshness of color and masterly -control of pigments; but he was scarcely more vigorous than Elliott in -the wondrous faculty of grasping character. Herein lay this artist's -strength. He read the heart of the man he portrayed, and gave us not -merely a faithful likeness of his outward features, but an epitome of -his intellectual life and traits, almost clutching and bringing to light -his most secret thoughts. In studying the portraits of Elliott we learn -to analyze and to discern the essential and irreconcilable difference -between photography and the highest order of painting. The sun is a -great magician, but he cannot reproduce more than lies on the -surface--he cannot suggest the soul. He is like a truthful but unwilling -witness, who gives only part, and not always the best part, of the -truth. But then the genius of the great artist steps in, completes the -testimony, and presents before us suggestions of the immortal being that -shall survive when the mortal frame and the sun which photographs it -have alike passed away. - -Baker, on the other hand, has excelled in rendering the delicate color -and loveliness of childhood, and the splendor of the finest types of -American feminine beauty. The miniatures of Staigg are also among the -most winning works of the sort produced by our art. Among other -excellent miniature-painters of this period was Miss Goodrich, of whose -personal history less is known than of any other American artist. - -William Page occupies a phenomenal position in the art of this period, -because, unlike most of our painters, he has not been content to take -art methods and materials as he found them, but has been an -experimentalist and a theorist as well, and therefore belongs properly -to more recent phases of our art. Thus, while he has achieved some -singularly successful works in portraiture and historical painting, he -has done much that has aroused respect rather than enthusiasm. - -If less refined in aim and treatment than Page in his rendering of -female beauty, Henry Peters Grey, who was also an earnest student of -Italian Renaissance art, succeeded sometimes to a degree which, if far -below that of the masters whom he studied, was yet in advance of most of -such art as has been executed by American painters, at least until very -recently. "The Judgment of Paris" is certainly a clever if not wholly -original work, and the figure of Venus a fine piece of form and color. - -Daniel Huntington, the third president of the National Academy of -Design, is a native of New York city, and has enjoyed advantages and -successes experienced by very few of our early artists. A pupil of Morse -and Inman, he is better known by the men of this generation as a -pleasing portrait-painter; but the most important of his early efforts -were in what might be called a semi-literary style in _genre_ and -historical and allegorical or religious art, in which departments he has -won a permanent place in our annals by such compositions as "Mercy's -Dream," "The Sibyl," and "Queen Mary Signing the Death-warrant of Lady -Jane Grey." - -While portraiture has been the field to which most of our leading -painters of the figure have directed their attention during this period, -_genre_ has been represented by several artists of decided ability, who, -under more favorable art auspices, might have achieved superior results. -Inman was one of the first of our artists to make satisfactory attempts -in _genre_. If circumstances had allowed him to devote himself entirely -to any one of the three branches he pursued, he might have reached a -higher position than he did. But the most important _genre_ artist of -the early part of this period was William Sidney Mount, the son of a -farmer on Long Island. Associated first with his brother as a -sign-painter, he eventually, in 1828, took up _genre_ painting. Mount -lacked ambition, as he himself confessed; he was too easily influenced -by the rapidly won approval of the public to cease improving his style, -and early returned to his farm on Long Island. Mount was not remarkable -as a colorist, although it is quite possible he might have succeeded as -such with superior advantages; but he was in other respects a man of -genius, who as such has not been surpassed by the numerous _genre_ -artists whom he preceded, and to whom he showed by his example the -resources which our native domestic life can furnish to the _genre_ -painter. This American Wilkie had a keen eye for the humorous traits of -our rustic life, and rendered them with an effect that sometimes -suggests the old Dutch masters. "The Long Story" and "Bargaining for a -Horse" are full of inimitable touches of humor and shrewd observations -of human nature. F. W. Edmonds, who was a contemporary of Mount, -although a bank cashier, found time from his business to produce many -clever _genre_ paintings, showing a keener eye for color, but less snap -in the drawing and composition, than Mount. - -[Illustration: "MIRANDA."--[DANIEL HUNTINGTON.]] - -In other departments of the figure at this period of our art, Robert W. -Weir holds a prominent position as one of our pioneers in the -distinctive branch called historical painting. Of Huguenot descent, and -gaining his artistic training in Italy, after severe struggles at home, -his career illustrates several of the influences which have been most -apparent in forming American art. Although not a servile imitator of -foreign and classic art, and showing independence of thought in his -practice and choice of subjects, Weir's style is pleasing rather than -vigorous and original. It shows care and loving patience, as of one who -appreciates the dignity of his profession, but no marked imaginative -force, nor does he introduce or suggest any new truths. Such a massive -composition, however, as the "Sailing of the Pilgrims," while it -scarcely arouses enthusiasm, causes us to wonder that we should so early -have produced an art as conscientious and clever as this. The portrait -of Red Jacket, and the elaborate painting called "Taking the Veil," are -also works of decided merit. Enjoying a serene old age, this revered -painter yet survives, still wielding his brush, and annually exhibiting -creditable pictures in the Academy. - -[Illustration: "A SURPRISE."--[WILLIAM SIDNEY MOUNT.]] - -In the works of the figure-painters we have spoken of there is evident -an earnest pursuit of art, attended sometimes with very respectable -results; but, with the exception of here and there a portrait-painter of -real genius, we do not discover in their paintings much that is of value -in the history of art, except as indicating the existence of genuine -æsthetic feeling in the country demanding expression in however -hesitating and abortive a manner. But when we come to the subject of -landscape-painting, we enter upon a field in which originality of style -is apparent, and a certain consistency and harmony of effort. Minds of -large reserve power meet us at the outset, moved by strong and earnest -convictions, and often expressing their thoughts in methods entirely -their own. Thoroughly, almost fanatically, national by nature, even when -their art shows traces of foreign influence, and drawing their subjects -from their native soil, they have created an art which can fairly claim -to be ranked as a school, whatever be the position assigned to it in -future ages. English, French, Irish, African, and Spaniard have alike -vied in painting the scenery of this beautiful country, and mingling -their fame and identifying their lives with "its hills, rock-ribbed and -ancient as the sun," its mountain streams and meadow lands, its primeval -forests, and the waves that break upon its granite shores. - -It is to three artists of great natural ability that the origin of -American landscape-painting can be traced--Cole, Doughty, and Durand. -Although the youngest of the three, the first seems to have antedated -Doughty by a few months in adopting this branch of art professionally; -while Durand, older than Cole by several years, yet did not take up -landscape-painting until some years after him. - -Thomas Cole died in the prime of life, at the age of forty-seven, but -there are few characters in the history of the country that have made a -deeper impression. Singularly versatile, inspired by a powerful -imagination, possessing a pure and lofty character, and animated by the -noblest of sentiments, we feel before his greatest works--through all -the imperfections of his art, through all the faltering methods with -which his genius sought to express itself--that a vast mind here sought -feebly to utter great thoughts (which he has doubtless already learned -to utter with more truth in another world); we see that unmistakable -sign of all minds of a high order, the evidence that the man was greater -than his works. It is not dexterity, technique, knowledge, that -impresses us in studying the works of Cole, so much as character. One -feels that in them is seen the handwriting of one of the greatest men -who have ever trod this continent. - -[Illustration: "TAKING THE VEIL"--[ROBERT WEIR]] - -Thomas Cole, the first artist who ever painted landscape professionally -in America--unless we except the few faltering landscape-paintings of -John Frazer, the miniature artist of the previous century--was born in -England, but he was of American ancestry, and his parents returned to -this country in his childhood. The difficulties with which he had to -contend at the outset of his art career form an affecting picture. From -infancy he had been fond of the pencil; and the tinting of wall-paper in -his father's factory at Steubenville, Ohio, gave him a slight practice -in the harmony of colors. In the mean time he took up engraving, but -was diverted from this pursuit by a travelling German portrait-painter, -who gave him a few lessons in the use of oil-colors. He began with -portraiture, and resolved to be an artist, although the failure of his -father's business brought the whole family on him for support. The -struggles through which the youth now passed make a long and painful -story. Through it all he retained his bias for art, and at twenty-two -began to draw scenery, from nature, along the banks of the Monongahela. -Dunlap has well said, "To me the struggles of a virtuous man endeavoring -to buffet fortune, steeped to the very lips in poverty, yet never -despairing, or a moment ceasing his exertions, is one of the most -sublime objects of contemplation." - -After several years of this severe hardship, Cole finally drifted to New -York, and eventually attracted notice. When the National Academy of -Design was founded in 1828, Cole and Doughty were simultaneously winning -success, and giving a permanent character to the art which for half a -century was destined to be most prominent on the walls of the Academy. - -So far as foreign technical influences can be traced in the compositions -of Cole, they are those of Claude and Salvator Rosa. He revisited -England at the time when Turner and Constable were establishing their -fame, and producing such an influence on the great school of French -landscape art which has since succeeded. It is interesting to think what -would have been the character of our landscape art if Cole had been -favorably impressed by the broad and vigorous style of these painters. -But he does not seem to have been ripe for the audacious and sometimes -more truthful methods of modern landscape, and expressed himself with -warmth regarding what he considered the extravagances of Turner. - -The art of Cole was however, largely biassed by the literature of -England. The influence of both Bunyan and Walter Scott can be traced in -his works; while the serious turn of his mind gave a solemn majesty and -a religious fervor to his compositions, which command our deep respect, -even when we fail altogether to concede complete success to his artistic -efforts. For this reason Cole has wielded, more than most of our -artists, a powerful influence outside of his art with a people which, -with all its volatility, yet maintains the traditions of a deeply -religious ancestry. It was in this many-sidedness of his genius, that -brought him into contact with widely varied sympathies, that Cole's -chief power consisted; for if we look at his work from the art point of -view alone, we are impressed with its inequality, the lack of early art -influences which it exhibits, and an attempt sometimes at dramatic force -which occasionally lapses into mere sensationalism. But in all his -compositions there are evident a rapturous love of nature, and the -energy and yearning of a mind seeking to find expression for a vast -ideal. Cole was what very few of our artists have been--an idealist. The -work by which he will be longest and best remembered in the art of his -country is the noble series called the "Course of Empire," consisting of -five paintings, representing a nation's rise, progress, decline, and -fall, and the change which comes over the abandoned scenery as the once -superb capital returns to the wildness and solitude of nature. The last -of the series, entitled "Desolation"--a gray silent waste, haunted by -the bittern, with here and there a crumbling column reflected in the -deserted harbor, where gleaming fleets once floated, and imperial -pageants were seen in the pavilions along the marble piers--is one of -the most remarkable productions of American art. But with all the -enthusiasm which Cole aroused among his contemporaries, his influence -seems to have been to give dignity to landscape art rather than to -impress his thoughts and methods on other artists. It is true that he -seized the characteristics of our scenery with a truth which came not -only from close study, but also from deep affection for the land whose -mountains and lakes he painted, and thus led our first landscapists to -observe the great variety and beauty of their own country. But, on the -other hand, a certain hardness in his technique probably rendered him -less influential as a leader than Doughty and Durand. The former, if -inferior in general capacity to Cole, was more emphatically the artist -by nature. - -[Illustration: "DESOLATION."--[FROM "THE COURSE OF EMPIRE," BY THOMAS -COLE.]] - -Thomas Doughty was in the leather business until his twenty-eighth year, -when, without any previous training, he threw up the trade, and adopted -the profession of landscape-painter. There is an audacity, a -self-confidence, in the way our early painters entered on the art -career, without instruction in the theory and practice of their art, -which is charming for the simplicity it shows, but would tend to bring -the efforts of these artists into contempt if the results had not often -justified their audacity, for they were sometimes men of remarkable -ability. There have been many greater landscape-painters than Doughty, -but few who have done so well with such meagre opportunities for -instruction. He seems, also, to have been successful in attracting -favorable notice in England as well as here, although at a time when -English landscape art was at its zenith. The soft, poetic traits, the -tender, silvery tones, that distinguished Doughty's style, were entirely -original with him, and have undoubtedly had much influence in forming -the style of some of the landscapists who succeeded him. - -In Asher B. Durand, a Huguenot by descent, and the only one of the three -founders of American landscape-painting who survives to our time to -enjoy a green old age, we find a nature as strong as that of Cole. The -equal of that artist in the sum of his intellectual powers, we discover -in him a different quality of mind. Similar as they are in high moral -purpose and a profound reverence for the Creator, as represented in his -works, Cole was the most imaginative and inspirational of the two, -stirred more by the fire of genius; while Durand, with a more equable -temperament and a larger experience, produced results that are more -satisfactory from an art point of view. - -[Illustration: A STUDY FROM NATURE.--[A. U. DURAND.]] - -Few artists have shown greater capacity than Durand in successfully -following entirely distinct branches of art. As a steel-engraver, who in -this century has produced work that is much superior to his superb -engraving of Vanderlyn's "Ariadne?" Who of our artists has been able -both to design and to engrave such a work as his "Musidora?" After -employing the burin so admirably, he took up portrait-painting, and by -such portraits as his head of Bryant placed himself by the side of our -leading portrait-painters. Still unsatisfied with the success won thus -far, Durand, in his thirty-eighth year, directed his efforts to -landscape-painting, and at once became not only a pioneer but a master -in this department. The care he had been obliged to give to engraving -was undoubtedly of great assistance to him in enabling him to render the -lines of a composition with truth; while his practice of studying -character in portraiture gave him insight into the individuality of -trees--he invested them with a humanity like that which the ancient -Greeks gave to their forests when they made them the haunt of the -dryads. It is to this that we doubtless owe the massive handling, the -fresh and vigorous treatment of trees in such solemn and majestic -landscapes as "The Edge of the Forest," in the Corcoran Gallery at -Washington. The art of Durand is wholly national: few of our painters -owe less to foreign inspiration. Here he learned the various arts that -gave him a triple fame, here he found the subjects for his compositions, -and his name is destined to endure as long as American art shall endure. - -[Illustration: "NOON BY THE SEA-SHORE."--BEVERLY BEACH.--[J. F. -KENSETT.]] - -Among the most prominent of the landscape-painters who succeeded the -founders of the art among us, and were, like them, inspired by a -reverent spirit and lofty poetic impulses, John F. Kensett holds a -commanding position. Like Durand, he began his career with the burin, -and after working for the American Bank-note Company, drifted into -painting. Circumstances seem to have favored him beyond many of his -compeers, and he was early permitted to visit England and the Continent, -and spent seven years abroad. Notwithstanding so long an association -with foreign schools, especially the Italian, we find very little -evidence of foreign art in the style of Kensett. He was fully as -original as Durand, and saw and represented nature in his own language. -His methods of rendering a bit of landscape were tender and harmonious, -and entirely free from any attempt at sensationalism. So marked was the -latter characteristic especially, that before the great modern question -of the values began to arouse much attention in the ateliers of Paris, -Kensett had already grasped the perception of a theory of art practice -which has since become so prominent in foreign art; although, naturally, -it is not in all his canvases that this attempt to interpret the true -relations of objects in nature is equally evident. We see it brought out -most prominently in some of his quiet, dreamy coast scenes, in which it -is not so much things as feelings that he tries to render or suggest. In -them also is most apparent an endeavor after breadth of effect, which is -a sign of mastery when successfully carried out. Mr. Kensett's art -consisted in a certain inimitably winning tenderness of tone--a subtle -poetic suggestiveness. His small compositions, as a rule, are more -satisfying than his larger pictures, in which the thinness of his -technique is sometimes too prominent. The career of Kensett, who died -but a few years ago, is one of the most complete and symmetrical in our -art history. - -[Illustration: "ALTORF, BIRTH-PLACE OF WILLIAM TELL."--[GEORGE L. -BROWN.]] - -A contemporary of Kensett, but still surviving him, George L. Brown, of -Boston, struggled heroically and successfully with the early -difficulties of his life; and, yielding to the seductive influences of -Italian scenery, devoted his art to representing it, with results that -entitle him to an honorable position. The effects he has sought are -luminousness and color. Mr. Brown's method of using colors was formed, -to a certain extent, on that of the Italian landscape art of the time; -and, while often brilliant and poetic, reminds us sometimes of the -studio rather than of the free, pure, magical opulence of the atmosphere -and sunlight of the scenery he portrayed. It can be frankly conceded, -however, that he has been no slavish copyist of a style; but while -acknowledging the force of foreign influences, has yet given abundant -evidence of a personality of his own: and in such works as his "Bay of -New York," which is owned by the Prince of Wales, and some of his views -among the liquid streets of Venice lined with mouldering palaces, and -skimmed by gondolas darting hither and thither like swallows, he has -shown himself to be a true poet and an admirable painter. - - - - -III. - -_AMERICAN PAINTERS._ - -1828-1878. - - -No school of art ever came more rapidly into being than the landscape -school which owes its rise to Cole, Doughty, and Durand. Up to this time -portraiture had been the field in which American painters had achieved -their most signal successes. But now the majority of our artists of -ability turned their attention to the representation of scenery; and for -forty years a long list of painters have made the public familiar with -their native land, and have thus, at the same time, stimulated a popular -interest in art. - -It is impossible to mention here more than a few of those who, as -landscape-painters, have won a local or national reputation among us. -Nor is it essential, while recognizing the great importance and -undoubted merit of our landscape art, to exaggerate its relative value -and position. While it has, in most cases, been the result of a true -artistic feeling and a genuine, if not very demonstrative, enthusiasm -for nature on the part of the artists who have devoted their lives to -its pursuit, and while it has given us much that is pleasing, much that -is improving, much that is poetic, and occasionally some examples of a -high order of landscape-painting--yet, as a whole, our school of -landscape seems scarcely to be entitled to the highest rank. The wonder -is that it has been of such average excellence, for the environing -conditions have apparently not been favorable. The influences among -which it sprung have been so often prosaic or uninspiring, that, -notwithstanding its fertility, we find the result to lean to quantity -rather than quality. The ideal and emotional elements in art have not -been sufficiently dominant; while the topographical and the mechanical -notions regarding the end of landscape art have prevailed. - -[Illustration: "BROOK IN THE WOODS."--[WORTHINGTON WHITTREDGE.]] - -Until recently this school has contented itself with the superficial -aspect of nature rather than with the subtle suggestions by which it -appeals to the soul. An absence of imaginative power has been too -apparent, and a lack of the energy and earnestness born of large natures -and absorbing enthusiasm; and the abundant variety or individuality of -style, while indicating self-reliant, independent action, sometimes has -also been a result of the want of solid training, or failure to grasp -the accepted principles which underlie art practice. There has been a -general average of native ability in the artists--a certain dead level -of excellence in the quality of the works offered at our annual -exhibitions--which was good as far as it went; but, except on rare -occasions, it seldom arrested and enchained attention by the expression -of daring technique or imaginative power, as the outcome of concerted -influences exerted in one direction, and resulting in typical -representative minds of vast resources, bounding into the arena and -challenging the admiration of the world. Artists we have undoubtedly had -occasionally, during this period, who have been endowed with genius to -win renown; but they have, like Cole, either lacked the training and -influences--the long succession of national heredity in art practice -which are well-nigh indispensable to the highest success; or, like -Church, yielding to the impulse of a prosaic environment, they have -stopped short of the highest flights of art, and their imagination has -been curbed to the subordinate pursuit of rendering the actual rather -than the ideal. - -In technique, also--if we may be permitted modestly to express an -opinion on the subject--this school has seemed to be, on the whole, weak -and vacillating, being impelled by no definite aim. It has dealt with -detail rather than masses; it has concerned itself with parts rather -than general effect. Thus, while the rendering of details has sometimes -been given with great fidelity, the spirit of the scene has eluded the -artist, and a work which dazzles us at first, fails, therefore, to hold -the imagination of the observer, and becomes flat and insipid on -repeated inspection. The reverse is the case with works of art of the -first order. - -We also find in the art of this school weakness in a knowledge of--or at -least in the power of appreciating--the vast significance of the line in -art. Too many American paintings, which have been clever in color, have -been almost ruined by the palpable ignorance they display of the -elements of drawing. Inability to compose effectively--or, in other -words, to perceive the harmony which is the dominant idea of true -art--has also been too frequent a characteristic of this school. While -in the application of colors a lack of nerve has been exhibited which -gives to many of these works an appearance of thinness, that becomes -painfully apparent when they have been painted a few years. These -observations apply no less to the figure-painting than the landscape art -of this period of American art; and a general absence of warmth and -earnestness is the impression which a survey of the field leaves upon -the mind of the candid observer. - -[Illustration: LANDSCAPE COMPOSITION.--[R. W. HUBBARD.]] - -There is nothing in this to surprise or to discourage, if we frankly -consider the surrounding circumstances. Great art is the child of -repose; the restlessness, the feverish activity of the country, -eminently encouraging to some pursuits, is, if not fatal to the arts, at -least opposed to their highest development; the vast multiplicity of -aims agitating the people has thus far prevented that concentration of -effort which meets with a response in the enthusiasm of artistic genius. -Instead of being discouraged, therefore, by the quality of the art we -have already produced, we accept it as strong evidence that the American -people have a decided natural turn for the arts, which only awaits a -more favorable condition of the nation to reach a higher plane of -excellence. - -Nor does the general absence of imaginative power in our art seem to us -proof that we are by nature destined to remain a prosaic people. Aside -from the fact that already years ago we had such imaginative artists as -Hamilton, Lafarge, Vedder, and others, we consider that the wonderful -inventive quality of the American mind toward scientific and mechanical -discovery argues a highly creative imagination. Herbert Spencer it is -who proves somewhere that imagination must enter into the working out of -the problems of inventive science. Hitherto the nation's needs have -stimulated the imagination in that direction; but under new conditions -there is little reason to doubt that the same faculty will become -subservient to the creation of an original and powerful school of art in -America. - -But while admitting the weak points of our landscape art, and that the -highest flights of which landscape-painting is capable have not always -been reached by our artists, we should be careful, on the other hand, -lest we fail to award them the merit which is justly their due for -persevering endeavor, and frequently for great natural ability. Let us, -in justice, ungrudgingly allow the discriminating praise that some out -of a large number are undoubtedly entitled to claim. If we mention them -individually rather than by the classification of schools, it is simply -because, for the reasons already stated, scarce any of our artists have -founded schools; although we may, perhaps, without inconsistency, speak -of the efforts of artists of altogether different styles, but treating -the same class of subjects, as a school. It is in this sense that we -allude to our school of landscape. - -With certain important exceptions, to be noted in another chapter, the -American art of this period has, on the whole, been concerned chiefly -with the objective; and it could not have well been otherwise, for any -other form of art at such a time would have utterly failed to carry the -people with it, and thus missed of producing that gradual æsthetic -education which is the province of a national art. - -Not only for this reason has our school of landscape art vindicated its -right to be, and established its claim on our respectful attention, but -also because it has owed little to foreign influences--springing rather -from environing circumstances, as naturally as the flowers of May follow -the departure of winter. - -[Illustration: "THE VASTY DEEP."--[WILLIAM T. RICHARDS.]] - -And thus, as after a long winter a few warm spring days cover the -orchard with an affluence of blossoms, so at this time from many -quarters of the land artists appeared, especially in the field of -landscape art; and one can hardly believe that where, but a few years -before, the Indian and the buffalo and the wolf had roamed at their own -wild will, artists now arose, armed with an ability to discern the -beauties of their native land, to direct the prosaic thoughts of the -pioneer to the loveliness of the nature which surrounded him, and to -make for themselves an enduring name. Ohio, the Massachusetts of the -West, for example, which became a State as late as 1800, was in the -early part of this period especially prolific in artists, who, if they -did not find instruction or a public on the spot, were at least enabled, -with the increasing means of communication, to go to New York and -Boston, or to wander over to the studios and art wealth of Europe. In -other lands and ages the poetic sentiment has first found a vent in -lyrics and idyls; but with us the best poetry has been in the -landscape-painting which was created by the sons of those whose ploughs -first broke the soil of this continent with a Christian civilization. At -this period, also, we note the advent of an influence which doubtless -aided to promote a more rapid pursuit of the new art impulse of the -nation. Steam, the mighty magician which drives the locomotive and the -steamship, is in bad repute with the conservatives who are not in -sympathy with the progressive movements of the age; and yet among all -the other results of which it has been the wonderful agent, we must -ascribe its patronage of art. It is undoubtedly to the far greater -facilities for going from place to place, which followed the -introduction of steam, that we must partly attribute the rapid success -of many of the artists who appeared in our country at that time in such -unexpected numbers. - -It was in 1841 that Leutze went to Düsseldorf to study, and thus -introduced a new influence into our art, which hitherto, so far as it -had acknowledged foreign influences, had been swayed by the schools of -Italy and Britain. The effect was evident when, a few years later, -Worthington Whittredge, a native of Ohio, went to Düsseldorf, and -studied under the guidance of Achenbach. Very naturally his style showed -for a time the effect of foreign methods; but he was guided by a native -independence of action that enabled him in the end to assimilate rather -than to imitate, like most of our artists at this time, and his later -landscapes are thoroughly individual and American, although doubtless -improved by foreign discipline. As a faithful delineator of the various -phases of American wood interiors, Mr. Whittredge has deservedly won a -permanent place in the popular favor. Some of his landscapes, -representing the scenery of the great West, have also been large in -treatment and effective in composition; but his skies sometimes lack -atmosphere and ideality. - -Like his master, Durand, J. W. Casilear began his career as an engraver; -and the success he achieved in this department is attested by his very -clever engraving of Huntington's "Sibyl." Since he drifted into -landscape-painting, Casilear has produced many delicately finished and -poetic scenes, distinguished by elegance and refinement rather than dash -or originality; and somewhat the same observations would apply to the -tender landscapes of James A. Saydam. In such dreamy, pleasant, but not -very vigorous paintings as that of his "Valley of the Pemigewasset," -Samuel L. Gerry has also attracted favorable attention. - -[Illustration: "HIGH TORN, ROCKLAND LAKE."--[JASPER F. CROPSEY.]] - -The work of a genuine poet is apparent in the canvases of R. W. Hubbard. -Repose and pensive harmoniousness of treatment characterize his simple -and winsome, if not stirring, transcripts of the more familiar phases of -our scenery. They are idyls in color. What Hubbard has done for New -England landscape, J. R. Meeker, of St. Louis, has attempted for the -"lakes of the Atchafalaya, fragrant and thickly embowered with -blossoming hedges of roses," and the live-oaks spreading their vast -arms, like groined arches of Gothic cathedrals, festooned with the -mystically trailing folds of the Spanish moss, along the lagoons of the -South-west, where the sequestered shores are haunted by the pelican and -the gayly colored crane, and the groves are melodious with the rapturous -lyrics of the mockingbird, the improvisatore of the woods. If not always -successful in the tone of his pictures, it may be conceded that Mr. -Meeker has approached his subject with a reverent and poetic spirit, and -has often rendered these scenes with much feeling and truth. - -Still another aspect of our scenery has been reproduced with fidelity by -W. T. Richards, of Philadelphia. We refer to the long reaches of -silvery shore and the sand-dunes which are characteristic of many parts -of our Atlantic coast. He has often painted woodland scenes with great -patience, but, as it seems to us, with too much detail, and with greens -which are open to a charge of being crude and violent. But in his beach -effects Mr. Richards maintains an important position; and if slightly -mannered, has yet developed a style of subject and treatment which very -effectively represents certain distinguishing features of our solemn -coasts. Some of his water-color paintings have scarcely been surpassed, -as, for example, the noble representations of the bleak, snow-like, -cedar-tufted dunes along the Jersey shore. - -[Illustration: "THE PARSONAGE"--[A. F. BELLOWS]] - -The extraordinary variety of the effects of American landscape is again -shown by the gorgeousness of our autumnal foliage. It has been objected -by some that it is too vivid for art purposes. We consider this a matter -of individual taste. There is nothing more absurd in trying to render -the effects of sunset, or the scarlet and gold of an American forest in -the dreamy days of the Indian summer, than in undertaking to paint the -splendor of many-colored drapery in an Oriental crowd, which is -considered a legitimate subject for the artist who has a correct eye -for color. It is not in the subject, but in the artist, that the -difficulty lies. Some of our painters have seized these autumnal -displays with fine feeling and excellent judgment. Kensett is an -example; another is J. F. Cropsey, who, beginning life as an architect, -became eventually an agreeable delineator of our autumnal scenery, and -at one time executed a number of paintings remarkable for their truth -and artistic beauty. His later work has scarcely sustained the early -reputation he justly acquired. At its best, his style was crisp, strong -in color, and sometimes very bold in composition. Mr. C. P. Cranch, who -was associated with Cropsey in Italy, and who is well known as a writer, -has exhibited in his Venetian landscapes a correct perception of color, -while his method lacks firmness of drawing, and shows traces of foreign -influence more than that of many of our artists who studied abroad at -this time. R. H. Fuller, who was a night-watchman on the police force of -Chelsea, Massachusetts, and died in 1871, was an artist whose -educational opportunities were excessively meagre. But he had a fine eye -for color and atmospheric effect, and some of his landscapes are painted -with a full brush, and are tender and beautiful. F. D. Williams, before -he left Boston for Paris, also developed a strong scheme of handling and -color which was at once pleasing and original. F. H. Shapleigh has -likewise shown an excellent feeling for some of nature's more quiet -effects, and his coast scenes are attractive, although lacking somewhat -in force. - -[Illustration: LANDSCAPE WITH CATTLE.--[JAMES HART.]] - -As one considers this field of American art, he is increasingly -astonished to find how strikingly it exemplifies one of the leading -traits of a national school in the entire originality and individuality -with which each of our prominent landscapists of this period interprets -nature, even when he has studied more or less in Europe. Whatever may be -the general defect of refinement rather than strength, and other -weaknesses characteristic of our school of landscape art, it must be -admitted that its representative artists have been often sturdily -independent, and that their merits as well as their defects are entirely -their own. What difference there is between the carefully finished but -rich, massive foliage of David Johnson, suggesting the strength of the -old English masters of landscape, and the dreamy, mellow pastoral meadow -lands, wooded slopes, and dimpling lakes of our Green Mountains, veiled -by a luminous haze and steeped in repose, which are so delicately -portrayed by the brush of J. B. Bristol! Few of the landscape-painters -of this school have produced more agreeable results with their brush. -What points of divergence there are, again, between the landscapes of W. -L. Sonntag and A. F. Bellows!--the one adopting a scheme of tone and -color apparently out of the focus of nature, yet so using it in -rendering ideal compositions as to achieve results which place him by -the side of our leading poets of nature. To him landscape-painting seems -to be not so much a means to give faithful transcripts of actual scenes -as to represent the ideals of his fancy; and as such we accept them with -thankfulness, for they not only serve to give us pleasure, but also to -illustrate the many-sided phases of art. Bellows, on the other hand, -both in oil and _aquarelle_, has attempted minute reproductions of -nature; and, while sometimes suggesting the impression of labor rather -more than is consistent with breadth of effect, has faithfully and -charmingly interpreted the idyllic side of our rural life. If he had not -been a poet in color, we might have expected of him pastoral lyrics -imbued with the spirit of Cowper or Thompson. Early study at the school -of Antwerp, and the pursuit of _genre_ for some years, have enabled Mr. -Bellows skilfully to diversify his attractive village pictures and -representations of our noble New England elms with groups of figures. He -is justly entitled to be called the American Birket Foster. - -It is instructive, in this connection, to observe the first landscapes -of George Inness, which properly belong in style to the early and -distinctively American school of landscape, while his recent method has -identified him with the later graduates of the ateliers of Paris. Samuel -Colman is another landscape-painter whose art is identified both with -this school and with that of the period on which we are now entering. -Educated here, and influenced by a fine eye for color, foreign travel -has broadened his sympathies, modified his technique, and led him to -look with favor upon later methods. - -The landscapes of William and James Hart represent still another phase -of our art. Both began life as apprentices to a coach-painter, but -gradually identified themselves with the great throng of all ages who -have become the votaries of nature. There is cleverness and dexterity in -their work, a fine perception of the external beauty of the slopes and -vales and woods of our land, and brilliant color; but it is sometimes -marred by hardness of handling, and lack of juiciness or warmth of -feeling; in other words, it is too exclusively objective, as if only the -physical and not also the mental eye had been concerned in the painting -of their works. James Hart has of late years added cattle to his -landscapes with excellent success, and holds a prominent position among -the very few respectable painters of animal life whom the American art -of this period can justly claim. - -[Illustration: "SUNSET ON THE HUDSON."--[SANDFORD R. GIFFORD.]] - -Mr. Horace Robbins, successful in seizing certain aspects of mountain -scenery, with a fine feeling for atmospheric grays, and Mr. Arthur -Parton, who very pleasingly renders trees, and some of the sober effects -of our dim November days, although among our younger painters, justly -belong to this period, as do also Messrs. James and George Smillie, who -have been equally happy in water and oil colors. The former is another -of our many landscape-painters who began as engravers on steel. The -later style of these talented brothers has been evidently modified with -advantage by the influence of foreign technique, although they have -studied wholly in this country; and they now display an attractive vigor -and freshness in their landscape pieces, and a somewhat original choice -of subjects. - -The style of each of the artists we have mentioned can be distinguished -at once. Individuality of expression is stamped upon the canvas of all; -but among them there is no one more thoroughly original than Sanford R. -Gifford, who, if he had lived in Persia or Peru two thousand years ago, -might well have been an enthusiastic fire-worshipper, or daily welcomed -the rising sun with reverent adoration. To him landscape-painting, -whether of scenes in our own Far West, or on the legendary Hudson, or in -the gorgeous East, has been alike the occasion for giving expression to -his feeling for glowing atmospheric effects, for lyrics which on canvas -reproduce the splendor of the sunset sky. But it would be a mistake to -suppose that Mr. Gifford's poetic sense has been confined to the -contemplation of serene and glowing atmospheres: he has also -successfully rendered the lazy mist, the trailing vapor of morning -enmeshed in dusky woodlands by the silent lake. His style combines to a -remarkable degree deliberation and inspiration--a happy union of the -analytical and emotional elements in art. - -The objective school of American landscape-painting has found its -culminating excellence, as it seems to us, in the art of Frederick K. -Church. In his art-life the tendencies and aims of the chief national -school we have produced during the last half century have been typically -represented. In his works the technical weakness of this school is -apparent, and, at the same time, its noble sympathy with nature, and its -love for the grander aspects of the external world. It also represents -the restless, unsatisfied genius of our people during this period, ever -reaching out and beyond, and yearning, Venice-like, to draw to itself -the spoils, the riches, the splendors, of the whole round globe. To our -art the paintings of Mr. Church are what the geographic cantos of -"Childe Harold" have been to the poesy of England, or the burning -descriptions of St. Pierre and Châteaubriand to the literature of -France. If such a topic is permissible in letters, may it not also be -allowed sometimes in painting? Whether the one is as lofty as epic -poetry, or the other as great as historical painting or subjective -landscape, is a question which we do not need here to analyze. It is -sufficient that each holds an important position; and to carry off the -palm in either can only be the result of consummate genius. Yes! what -"Childe Harold" did for the scenery of the Old World, the art of Church -has done for that of the New. The vastness and the glory of this -continent were yet unrevealed to us. With the enthusiasm of a Raleigh or -a Balboa he has explored land and sea, combining the characteristics of -the explorer and the artist. A pupil of Cole, he has carried to its full -fruition the aspirations of his master, first gaining inspiration along -the magical shores of the Hudson, and amidst the ideally beautiful -ranges of the legendary Catskills. Our civilization needed exactly this -form of art expression at this period, and the artist appeared who -should teach the people to love beauty, and to find it among the -regions which first rang with the axe of our pioneers. - -[Illustration: A COMPOSITION.--[FREDERICK E. CHURCH.]] - -But, although dealing not so much with nature, as such, as with some of -her little known and more remarkable and startling effects, there is a -very noteworthy absence of sensationalism or staginess in the paintings -of Church; while, on the other hand, the somewhat too careful -reproduction of details has not prevented them from possessing a grand -massing of effect and a thrilling beauty and sublimity. "Cotopaxi," the -"Heart of the Andes," or "Niagara," may transgress many rules laid down -by the schools, but the magnificent ability with which they are -represented disarms criticism. Church's first painting of Niagara -occupies the culminating point in the objective art of this period of -our history, executed by an artist who up to that time had never crossed -the Atlantic, and whose merits and defects were entirely his own. - -Mr. Church's "Niagara" is doubtless familiar to many through the fine -chromo-lithographic copy made from it; but those who have not seen the -original have only an incomplete idea of the grandeur of this great -painting. It grows on acquaintance somewhat as does the cataract -itself, until we seem to hear even the roar of the mighty waters that -rushed over those tremendous cliffs ages before this continent was -trodden by man, symbolizing the endless, remorseless, and irresistible -sweep of time. The green flood pouring evermore into the appalling abyss -veiled by mist wreathing up from the surging vortex below; the distant -shore lined with foliage, touched by the burning tints of October; the -rosy gray sky over-arching the scene, and the ethereal bow uniting -heaven and earth with its elusive band of colors--all are there, -rendered with matchless art. - -The subjects of Mr. Church's more recent works have been taken from the -storied shores of the Mediterranean. We perceive in them no sign of -failing power, but more breadth and less opulence of detail. The artist -has treated the splendors of classic lands with the dignified reserve of -matured strength and a higher sense of the ideal. The melancholy -grandeur of the Parthenon in ruins has been painted with a stately -reticence in consonance with the character of the subject; and the -magnificent composition called the "Ægean" may well hold its own by the -side of some of the superb Italian canvases of Turner. - -A landscape-painter who chose a range of subjects similar to those of -Church, and accompanied him in one of his South American trips, was -Louis R. Mignot, of South Carolina, who died in London some eight years -ago. He was inspired by a rapturous enthusiasm alike for the tender and -the brilliant aspects of nature, and appears to us to have been one of -the most remarkable artists of our country. He can be justly ranked with -the pioneers who first awoke the attention of the nation to a -consciousness of the beauty, glory, and inexhaustible variety of the -scenery of this continent, which had fallen to them as a heritage such -as no other people have yet acquired. Mignot was at once a fine colorist -and one of the most skilled of our painters in the handling of -materials; his was also a mind fired by a wide range of sympathies; and -whether it was the superb splendor of the tropical scenery of the Rio -Bamba, in South America, the sublime maddening rush of iris-circled -water at Niagara, or the fairy-like grace, the exquisite and ethereal -loveliness of new-fallen snow, he was equally happy in rendering the -varied aspects of nature. It is greatly to be regretted that the most -important works of this artist are owned in England, whither he resorted -at the opening of the civil war. "Snow in Hyde Park," which he painted -not long before his death, is one of the noblest productions of American -landscape-painting. - -[Illustration: "A WINTER SCENE."--[LOUIS R. MIGNOT.]] - -The American marine art of this period has been represented by a number -of artists, although they have been by no means so numerous or capable -as the maritime character of our people would have led us to expect. -William Bradford, by origin a Quaker, has made to himself a name for his -enterprise in going repeatedly to Labrador to study icebergs, and has -executed some effective compositions, which have won him fame at home -and abroad. Some of his coast scenes are also spirited, although open to -the charge of technical errors. Charles Temple Dix, who unfortunately -died young, painted some dashing, imaginative, and promising -compositions; and Harry Brown, of Portland, has successfully rendered -certain coast effects. But our ablest marine-painter of this period -seems to have been James Hamilton, of Philadelphia, who was beyond -question an artist of genius. His color was sometimes harsh and crude; -but he handled pigments with mastery, and composed with the virile -imagination of an improvisatore. Errors can doubtless be found in his -ships, or the forms of his waves; but he was inspired by a genuine -enthusiasm for the sea, and rendered the wildest and grandest effects of -old ocean with breadth, massiveness, and power. We have had no -marine-painter about whose works there is more of the raciness and -flavor of blue water. - -When we turn to the department of animal-painting, we discover what has -been hitherto the weakest feature of American art, both in the number -and quality of the artists who have pursued this branch of the -profession. T. H. Hinckley at one time promised well in painting cattle -and game, but his efforts rarely went beyond giving us Denner-like -representations of stuffed foxes with glass eyes. The hairs were all -there, the color was well enough, although perhaps a little foxy--if one -may be permitted the term in this connection; but there was no life, no -characterization, there. William Hayes showed decided ability in his -representations of bisons and prairie-dogs and other dogs. Weak in -color, he yet succeeded in giving spirit and character to the groups he -painted, and holds among our animal-painters a position not dissimilar -to that of Mount in _genre_. - -[Illustration: "SHIP OF 'THE ANCIENT MARINER.'"--[JAMES HAMILTON.]] - -Walter M. Brackett, who has been able rarely well to enjoy the triple -pleasure of catching, painting, and eating the same fish on a summer's -morning by the limpid brooks of New Hampshire, has justly won a -reputation as an artistic Walton. If he would but paint his rocks and -trees as cleverly as he renders the speckled monarch of the stream, his -compositions would leave little to be desired. Henry C. Bispham has -given us some spirited but sometimes badly drawn paintings of cattle and -horses; and Colonel T. B. Thorpe, an amateur with artistic tastes, in -such semi-humorous satires as "A Border Inquest," representing wolves -sitting on the carcass of a buffalo, struck a vein peculiarly American -in its humor, and carried to a high degree of excellence by William H. -Beard, whose brother, James Beard, can also be justly ranked as an -animal-painter of respectable attainments. Mr. Beard, although -remarkably versatile, has made a specialty, if it may be so termed, of -exposing the failings and foibles of our sinful humanity by the medium -of animal _genre_. Monkeys, bears, goats, owls, and rabbits are in turn -impressed into the benevolent service of taking us off, and repeating -for us the old Spartan tale of the slave made drunk by his master as a -warning to his son. Of the skill which Mr. Beard has exhibited in this -novel line there can be no question. The "Dance of Silenus," the -pertinacious, iterative, pragmatic ape called "The Bore," and "Bears on -a Bender," are masterly bits of characterization. There is also a deal -of comic satire in "The Bulls and Bears of Mammon's Fierce Zoology," -which, with a multitude of struggling fighting figures, takes off the -eccentricities of the Stock-exchange. Beard can justly be called the -American Æsop. It is asserted by many that this is not art. The fact is -that it is exceedingly difficult to draw the line, and to prescribe what -subjects an artist shall choose. In art the result justifies the means. -And this certainly seems as legitimate a subject for the brush of the -artist as the graphic pictorial satires of Hogarth, or the mildly -comical genres of Erskine Nicol. - -[Illustration: "WHOO!"--[WILLIAM H. BEARD.]] - -In a previous chapter we alluded to some of the figure, historical, and -_genre_ painters of this period. William Mount was the precursor of a -number of _genre_ artists of more or less ability, among whom may be -mentioned Thomas Hicks, a pupil of Couture, and one of the first of our -painters who studied at Paris. In this admirable school Mr. Hicks became -an excellent colorist, although of late his art has appeared to lose -some of this quality. He has painted landscape and _genre_, meeting with -respectable success in the latter, but portraiture has chiefly occupied -his attention. His portrait of General Meade is a striking and -satisfactory work. Then there was Richard Caton Woodville, who followed -Whittredge to Düsseldorf, and promised much in _genre_. His paintings -show very decided traces of German influence, but behind it all was a -strong individuality that seemed destined to assert itself, and to place -him among our foremost painters. But he died young, and (shall we not -say?) happily for him, since little fame and less appreciation are -destined to the artists who come ere the people are ripe for their art. -George B. Flagg at one time promised well for our _genre_ art, but his -abilities were too precocious, and unfortunately the splendid -opportunities he enjoyed as a pupil of Allston, and as a long resident -in London, do not seem to have been sufficient to give growth or -permanence to his talents. - -About this time our frontier life was coming more prominently into view, -and that picturesque border line between civilization and barbarism was -becoming a subject for the pen of our leading writers. Irving, Cooper, -and Kennedy, Street, Whittier, and Longfellow, were tuning the first -efforts of their Muse to celebrate Indian life and border warfare in -prose and verse, while the majestic measures of Bryant's "Prairies" -seemed a prophetic prelude to the march of mankind toward the lands of -the setting sun. "Evangeline," the most splendid result of our poetic -literature, attracted not less for its magnificent generalizations of -the scenery of the West than for the constancy of the heroine, and the -artistic mind responded in turn to the unknown mystery and romance of -that vast region, and gave us graphic pictures of the rude humanity -which lent interest and sentiment to its unexplored solitudes. It is -greatly to be regretted that the work of these pioneers in Western -_genre_ was not of more artistic value; from a historical point of view, -too much importance cannot be attached to the enterprise and courage of -men like Catlin, Deas, and Ranney, who, imbued with the spirit of -adventure, identified themselves with Indian and border life, and -rescued it from oblivion by their art enthusiasm, which, had it been -guided by previous training, would have been of even greater value. As -it is, they have with the pencil done a service for the subjects they -portrayed similar to what Bret Harte has accomplished in giving -immortality with the pen to the wild, picturesque, but evanescent mining -scenes of the Pacific slope. In this connection the fact is worth -recording that the important mutual life-insurance association called -the Artists' Funding Society took its origin in a successful effort to -contribute to the support of the family of Ranney after his death. - -Our historical painters of this period rarely created any works -deserving of note or remembrance. Here and there a painting like that of -Huntington's "Republican Court" was produced, which is a graceful and -elegant composition, and one of the best of the kind in American art. -Peter F. Rothermel, the able portrait-painter of Philadelphia, also -composed a number of historical works, of which the last is probably of -most value. His "Battle of Gettysburg" is a bold and not ineffective -representation of one of the critical moments in the world's history, -although open in parts to severe criticism. J. G. Chapman, well known at -one time as a skilful wood-engraver and _genre_ painter, also aspired to -the difficult field of historical painting; but it is to an artist of -German extraction, Emmanuel Leutze, that we owe our best historical art -previous to 1860, excepting perhaps some of the compositions of Copley -and West and two or three of the battle-pieces of Trumbull. Although -born abroad, Leutze may be justly claimed as an American painter, for he -was taken to Philadelphia in childhood, and remained in this country -until thoroughly imbued with a patriotic love for the land and its -history and the spirit of its institutions; and although he -subsequently passed a number of years at Düsseldorf, whither he went at -twenty-seven, the last ten years of his life were here; here he died, -and the subjects of his art were almost entirely inspired by American -scenes, and have become incorporated with the growth of our -civilization. - -[Illustration: "LAFAYETTE IN PRISON."--[E. LEUTZE.]] - -Leutze was a man who was cast in a large mould, capable of a grand -enthusiasm, and aspiring to grasp soaring ideals. Although his art was -often at fault, it makes us feel, notwithstanding, that in contemplating -his works we are in the presence of a colossal mind which, under -healthier influences, would have better achieved what he aspired to win. -He drew from wells of seemingly inexhaustible inspiration. He was -Byronic in the impetus of his genius, the rugged incompleteness of his -style, the magnificent fervor and rush of his fancy, the epic grandeur -and energy, dash and daring, of his creations. It is easy to say that he -was steeped in German conventionalism, that he pictured the impossible, -that he was sometimes harsh in his color and technique; and so he was at -times, but, with it all, he left the impression of vast intellectual -resources. - -We would not be understood as saying that all the works of Leutze are -worthy of unqualified acceptance; we refer rather to their general -character. His art was very prolific, and as a pupil of Lessing and -Schadow it bore the unmistakable stamp of Düsseldorf. Much of his work, -partaking also of the grandiose style of Kaulbach, was of a -semi-decorative character, like the "Landing of the Norsemen," which -represents two fresh, sturdy Scandinavian rovers stepping out of an -impossible ship, bearing aloft a noble princess, and in the very act of -landing snatching the grapes "hanging wanton to be plucked." Spirited as -it is, the manifest absurdity of the composition as a representation of -reality yet requires us to accept it as decorative in design. "Godiva" -is a somewhat coarse but characteristic work of Leutze, and the -"Iconoclast" one of his most interesting and artistic works. In America, -Leutze will be remembered longest by his large and magnificent painting -of "Washington at Princeton," his "Emigration to the West" (a decorative -composition in one of the panels of the stairway of the Capitol at -Washington), and his "Washington Crossing the Delaware." The latter was -executed at Düsseldorf, and the ice was painted from an unusual mass of -shattered ice floating down the Rhine on the breaking up of the winter. -It is another illustration of the apparent caprice with which man is -treated by destiny, that scarcely had Leutze closed his eyes in his last -sleep, at the early age of fifty-one, when a letter arrived from Germany -bringing official tidings that he had just been elected to succeed -Lessing as president of the Düsseldorf Academy of Art. - -[Illustration: PORTRAIT OF A LADY.--[WILLIAM PAGE.]] - -While we find in Leutze the qualities we have described, it cannot be -said that he sought out any new methods of expression, or that he -undertook to suggest the deeper and more subtle traits of human nature; -he was content to work after the manner of the school in which he -studied. It is to another painter (already referred to), of great -intellectual resource and a thoroughly American discontent with the -actual, that we turn for aspirations after a higher form of art. William -Page, a native of Albany, who studied law, and for a time also theology, -at Andover Seminary, was from the first biassed in favor of art. His -mind presents a combination of the speculative and the practical, and it -is the union of these antithetical qualities which has alternately aided -or hindered the success of Page's efforts and experiments. He is -deliberate rather than inspirational, guided by an exquisite feeling for -color and an admirable sense of form, but too often unduly controlled by -the logical and analytical faculty. Had his fancy only been more -childlike, and been left more to the guidance of its own natural and -correct instincts, Mr. Page's works would have oftener moved us by their -beauty rather than by the dexterity of the technique. Still, it is by -the aid of a few such questioning minds that art makes its advances, and -interprets the secrets of nature. As a portrait painter, Page has placed -himself among the first artists of the age. We see in his portraits a -dignity and repose, a grasp of character, and a harmonious richness of -color that are wonderfully impressive. In attempting to represent the -beauty of the feminine figure Mr. Page has been influenced by great -delicacy and refinement of motive, although in the celebrated painting -of "Venus Rising from the Sea," he gave cause for much discussion as to -the merits of his theories. - -[Illustration: "THE REFUGE."--[ELIHU VEDDER.]] - -When Page was in his prime, our literature had already become -distinguished by several writers of thoroughly original and mystically -creative imagination, native to the soil, and drawing sustenance from -native inspiration: they were Charles Brockden Brown, Judd, Hawthorne, -and Poe. In point of originality in conceiving of scenes powerfully -weird and imaginative, these writers have had no superiors in this -century. With a style essentially individual, they analyzed the -workings of the human heart, and dealt with the great problems of -destiny. Their genius was cosmopolitan, and for all ages. Our pictorial -art, in a less degree, began soon after to be prompted by a similar -tendency. - -Most prominent among these artists whose faltering efforts have most -distinctly articulated the language and aspirations of the soul are -Elihu Vedder and John Lafarge. It cannot be said that either of these -artists has yet accomplished with complete success the end he has -sought; but their efforts have been in the right direction, and as such -are highly interesting, hopeful, and suggestive. - -Mr. Vedder's early _genre_ and landscape compositions are full of subtle -attempts at psychology in color. Outward nature with him is but a means -for more effectively conveying the impressions of humanity; and his -faces are full of vague, mystic, far-off searching after the infinite, -and the why and the wherefore of this existence below. Since Mr. Vedder -took up his residence permanently in Italy, he has improved in -technique, and there is less dryness in his method of using color, as -witnessed by his remarkable painting called a "Venetian Dancing Girl, or -'La Regina;'" but he has not in recent years produced anything so -marvellously imaginative as his "Lair of the Sea-Serpent," or so grand -and desolate as his "Death of Abel." The man who painted the "Lost -Mind," the "Death of Abel," and the "Lair of the Sea-Serpent," did not -need to borrow from the ancients--at least so far as regards forms of -expression. The vast, solemn, appalling solitude of the primeval world, -the terrific sublimity of its first tragedy, are rendered in Mr. -Vedder's painting with the sombre grandeur of Dante; while as a work of -imaginative art, the steel-colored monster reposing his gigantic folds -on the dry grass of a desolate shore by the endless seas, is a -composition of wonderful simplicity and mysterious power, a creation of -pure genius. - -[Illustration: CARTOON SKETCH: CHRIST AND NICODEMUS.--[JOHN LAFARGE.]] - -Mr. Lafarge is by nature a colorist; to color, the emotional element of -art, his sensitive nature vibrates as to well-attuned harmonies of -music. For form he has less feeling; his drawing is often very -defective, and the lines are hesitating, uncertain, and feeble. But we -have had no artist since Stuart who has shown such a natural sympathy -for the shades and modulations of chromatic effects. But, while his -drawing is open to criticism, this artist is inspired by the general -meaning of form, and has sometimes produced some very weird and -startling compositions entirely in black and white, or camaieu. But -whether it be form or color, the various elements of art are regarded by -Lafarge not so much for what they are as for what they suggest; he is -less concerned with the external than with the hidden meaning it has for -the soul. It is because of his subtle way of regarding the beauty of -this world that he has given us such thoughtful landscapes as "Paradise -at Newport," and such exquisitely painted flowers, rendered with a -tender harmony of color that thrills us like a lyric of Keats or of -Tennyson. It is this serious, reflective turn which has given a -religious hue to his art, and has enabled him to succeed so well in the -most ambitious attempt at decorative-painting yet undertaken in this -country--the frescoes of Trinity Church, in Boston; in which, it should -be added, he was ably assisted by Mr. Lathrop. In these compositions we -see the results of a highly ideal and reverent nature, nourished by the -most abundant art opportunities the age could afford. It is not -difficult to find in them points fairly open to attack; but the promise -they show is so hopeful a sign in our art, the success actually achieved -in them in a direction quite new in this country is so marked, that we -prefer to leave to others any unfavorable criticism they may suggest. - - - - -IV. - -_AMERICAN PAINTERS._ - -1828-1878. - - -The discovery of the gold mines of California was a signal for -enterprise, daring, and achievement, not only to our commerce and the -thrift of our shifting millions of uneasy settlers, but also to the -literature and landscape-art of the United States. "To the kingdom of -the west wind" hied artist and author alike; and the epic of the -settlement of California, of the scaling of the Rocky Mountains, of the -glory of the Columbia River, and the stupendous horrors of the -Yellowstone was pictured on the canvas of the artist. Taylor and Scott -conquered the Pacific slope; Fremont pointed out the pathway over the -swelling ranges of the Sierras; and our painters revealed to us the -matchless splendor of a scenery which shall arouse increasing -astonishment and reverential awe and rapture in the hearts of -generations yet to be. In the gratitude we owe to these -landscape-painters who dared, discovered, and delineated for us the -scenery of which we were hitherto the ignorant possessors, criticism is -almost left in abeyance, for the service done the people has been a -double one--in leading them to the observation of paintings, and -informing them of the attractions of a little known possession. If the -art of these paintings of our Western scenery had been in all respects -equal to the subject, the country would have been rich indeed. Among the -artist explorers to whom we are most indebted, Messrs. Bierstadt, Hill, -and Moran are the most famous. The former, by his great composition -entitled the "Rocky Mountains," threw the people into an ecstasy of -delight, which at this time it is difficult to understand, and bounded -at one step to celebrity. - -Albert Bierstadt is a native of Düsseldorf, but came to this country in -infancy. Subsequently he studied at Düsseldorf and Rome. On returning to -America, he accompanied the exploring expedition of General Lander that -went over the plains in 1858. Fitz Hugh Ludlow, the well-known -_littérateur_, was associated with him in a subsequent trip, and several -graphic articles in which he afterward described the journey undoubtedly -helped to bring Mr. Bierstadt into notice. - -The "Rocky Mountains" is not the representation of an actual scene, but -a typical composition, and, thus regarded, is an interesting work, -although it seems to us somewhat too theatrical, and scarcely true in -some of the details. Local truth is desirable in topographical art, -although of quite secondary importance in compositions of a more ideal -character. Since then this artist has executed a number of similarly -ambitious paintings of our Western scenery, including a colossal -painting of the gorge of the Yosemite Valley. All of them are -characterized by boldness of treatment, but sometimes they are crude in -color and out of tone. Of these we prefer, as least sensational and most -artistically correct, the painting of a storm on Mount Rosalie. -Bierstadt's smaller California scenes are generally more valuable than -his large ones for artistic quality: one of the best compositions we -have seen from his easel is a war sketch representing Federal -sharp-shooters on the crest of a hill behind some trees. This is an -excellent piece of work, fresh, original, and quite free from the -Düsseldorf taint; and confirms us in the opinion that Mr. Bierstadt is -naturally an artist of great ability and large resources, and might -easily have maintained a reputation as such if he had not grafted on the -sensationalism of Düsseldorf a greater ambition for notoriety and money -than for success in pure art. - -[Illustration: "VIEW ON THE KERN RIVER"--[A. BIERSTADT.]] - -Some of the qualities we have learned to look for in vain in the -canvases of Bierstadt we find emphasized in the paintings of Thomas -Hill, who succeeded him as court painter to the monarch of the Rocky -Mountains. Hill began life as a coach-painter at Taunton, Massachusetts. -After deciding on a professional art career, he visited Europe, and -benefited by observation in foreign studios, especially of France, -although his style is essentially his own. His method of using pigments -is sometimes open to the accusation of hardness; there is too often a -lack of juiciness--a dryness that seems to remind us of paint rather -than atmosphere, which may be owing to the fact, as I have been -informed, that he uses little or no oil in going over a painting the -second time. But Mr. Hill is a good colorist, bold and massive in his -effects, and a very careful, conscientious student of nature. He has -been happy in the rendering of wood interiors, as, for example, bits -from the Forest of Fontainebleau. One of his most remarkable New England -landscapes represents the avalanche in the Notch of the White Mountains, -which was attended with such disastrous results to the dwellers in the -valley. But Mr. Hill will be identified in future with California, where -he has become a resident, and has devoted his energies to painting some -of the magnificent scenery of that marvellous region, where the roar of -the whirlwind and the roll of the thunder reverberate like the tread of -the countless millions who evermore march to the westward. As he sat on -the edge of the precipice, the forerunner of coming ages, and painted -the sublime, solitary depths of the Yosemite, did the artist realize -that with every stroke of the brush he was aiding the advance guard of -civilization, and driving away the desolation which gave additional -grandeur to one of the most extraordinary spots on the planet? In his -great painting of the Yosemite he seems to have been inspired by a -reverential spirit; he has taken no liberties with his subject, but has -endeavored with admirable art to convey a correct impression of the -scene; and the work may be justly ranked with the best examples of the -American school of landscape-painting. - -[Illustration: "THE YOSEMITE."--[THOMAS HILL.]] - -[Illustration: "THE BATHERS."--[THOMAS MORAN.]] - -The first fever of the California rush had subsided when the uneasy -explorer again stirred the enthusiasm of adventurous artists by -thrilling descriptions of the Yellowstone River, its Tartarean gorges, -and the lurid splendor of its sulphurous cliffs and steaming geysers. -Once more the landscape artist of the country was moved to go forth and -make known to us those unrevealed wonders; and Thomas Moran, "taking his -life in his hands," in the language of religious cant, aspired to -capture the bouquet, the first bloom, from this newly-opened draught of -inspiration. We all know the result. Who has not seen his splendid -painting of the "Gorge of the Yellowstone," now in the Capitol at -Washington? Granting the fitness of the subject for art, it can be -frankly conceded that this is one of the best paintings of the sort yet -produced. The vivid local colors of the rocks, which there is no reason -to doubt have been faithfully rendered--for Mr. Moran is a careful and -indefatigable student of certain phases of nature--appear, however, to -give such works a sensational effect. - -This seems to us to be the most valuable of the numerous paintings of -Western subjects produced by this artist. It would be a mistake, -however, to judge him wholly by the more ambitious compositions -suggested by tropical or Western scenery. Some of his ideal paintings -are very clever, and show us an ardent student of nature, and a mind -inspired by a fervid imagination. But while conceding thus much to the -talents of this artist--who belongs to an artistic family, two of his -brothers being also well-known painters, one in marine, the other in -cattle painting--we can not accord him great original powers. He has -studied the technique of his calling most carefully, and has bestowed -great attention to the methods of several celebrated artists; but we are -too often conscious, in looking at his works, that his style has leaned -upon that of certain favorite painters. There is great cleverness, but -little genius, apparent in the landscapes of Mr. Moran, for the -imitative faculty has been too much for him. - -[Illustration: LANDSCAPE.--[JERVIS M'ENTEE.]] - -Contemporary with our school of grand nature, if we may so call it, and -represented by artists native in thought and education, we find -evidences of another beginning to assert itself, of altogether a -different character. The former deals wholly with externals, and the -subject is the first end sought; it concerns itself altogether with -objects, and not with any ulterior thoughts which they may suggest to -the sensitive imagination. The latter, on the other hand, searches out -the mystery in nature, and analyzes its human aspects. It is the vague -suggestions seen in hills and skies, in sere woods and lonely waters, -and moorlands fading away into eternity--it is their symbolism and -sympathy with the soul that an artist like Mr. Jervis M'Entee seeks to -represent on canvas. This is, in a word, the subjective art to which we -have already alluded. To him the voice of nature is an elegy; the fall -of the leaves in October suggests the passing away of men to the grave -in a countless and endless procession; and whenever he introduces the -agency of man into his pictures, it is as if he were fighting with an -unseen and remorseless destiny. Exquisitely poetic and beautiful are the -autumnal scenes of this artist, the reaches of russet woodlands, the -expanses of skurrying clouds, gray, melancholy, wild. His art sings in a -low minor key that finds response in the heart of multitudes who have -suffered, to whom the world has been a battle-field, where the losses -have outweighed the gains, and have left them gazing into the mysterious -future like one who at midnight stands on the brink of a tremendous -abyss into which he must be hurled, but knows not what are the -shuddering possibilities that await the inevitable plunge. - -A young artist of Boston died in Syria, four years ago, at the early age -of twenty-five, before he had acquired more than local repute, who gave -promise of standing among the foremost of American landscape-painters. I -refer to A. P. Close. Certainly no artist we have produced has evinced -more abundant signs of genius at so early an age. Nor was he wholly a -landscape-painter; the figure was also one aim of his art, and it was in -the combination of the two that he excelled. He also had an eye for -color that has not been too common in our art; and, wholly untaught, -expressed his moods and fancies with a force that, even in its -immaturity, suggested the master. But the one point in which he -surpassed most of our artists up to this time was in the singular and -inexhaustible activity of the imaginative faculty. It is strange that -one so young should have so early manifested in his art a serious, -almost morbid, view of life. It may have been because he found himself, -before the age of twenty, forced to provide for a fatherless family, and -to devote the greater part of his energies to what was to him the -uncongenial work of drawing on wood. - -[Illustration: "COUNTY KERRY."--[A. H. WYANT.]] - -Less subjective and morbid, but moved by a similar feeling for the -suggestions of nature, A. H. Wyant displays a sympathy with scenery and -a masterful skill in reaching subtle effects which place him among the -first landscape-painters of the age. In the suggestive rendering of -space and color, of the manifold phases of a bit of waste land, or -mountain glen, or sedgy brook-side, simple enough at first sight, but -full of an infinitude of unobtrusive beauty, he works with the magic of -a high-priest of nature; his style is broad in effect, without being -slovenly and careless, and gives a multitude of details while really -dealing chiefly with one central and prevailing idea. Mr. Wyant's work -occasionally shows traces of foreign influences; but he is an artist of -too much original power to be under any necessity to stunt himself by -the imitation of the style of any other artist, however great. - -Homer Martin is another painter who views nature for the sentiment it -suggests, while he is impressed chiefly by color and light; for form he -seems to have less feeling. But he is a lyrist with the brush, and his -sympathy with certain aspects of nature is akin to idolatry. With a few -intense and telling strokes, he brings before us the splendors of sunset -or the quietude of twilight, the gray vapors of morning creeping over -dank woodlands or the sublime pathos of lonely sands, haunted by wild -fowl and beaten by the hollow seas. But we have no painter whose art is -so unequal: in all his works there is absolute freedom, freshness, and -originality; his scheme of color is altogether his own, full of -luminousness and purity; but he is weak in technique, and thus he -alternately startles us by the brilliance, beauty, and suggestiveness of -one painting, and the palpable failure to reach the desired end in -another. However, this very irregularity in achievement shows that he is -subject to inspirations, and thus partakes of the character of genius, -which, if it were of a higher order, would be more often successful in -its attempts. - -In the works of these painters we see abundant reason to believe in the -permanent vitality of American landscape art, and evidence that it is -not inclined to run in a conventional groove. Just so long as the -artists who represent it continue to assert their individuality with -such nerve and keen perception of the essential truths of nature, art is -in a healthy and progressive condition. If further evidence of this were -needed, we might cite the landscapes of J. Appleton Brown, who, after a -rather discouraging servitude to Corôt, is at last beginning to show us -the reserve power of which he is capable when he is more concerned with -nature than with imitating the style and thoughts of another. Ernest -Longfellow, a son of the poet, is another exemplar of the sturdy and -healthful personality which everywhere crops out in our landscape art. -While it cannot be said that his paintings suggest greatness, they -breathe a true spirit, and possess a purity of color that is very -attractive. - -D. W. C. Boutelle, long resident at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and rarely -exhibiting in public in late years, is well known by such works as "The -Trout Brook Shower" and engravings of other paintings by him, as an -artist of originality and force, who seems to combine in his style some -of the best traits of the American School of landscape-painting. - -[Illustration: "THE ADIRONDACKS."--[HOMER MARTIN.]] - -E. M. Bannister, of Providence, is also a man of genius. In the matter -of drawing he is weak; but, although he has never been abroad, we -recognize in his treatment of masses, and the brilliance of his method -of managing light and color, the progressive transition through which -our landscape art is passing, even when it does not pay allegiance to -foreign influences. - -[Illustration: A LANDSCAPE.--[J. W. CASILEAR.]] - -Our marine art of the last fifteen years has shown that the illimitable -aspects of the sea are also receiving increased attention, and are -calling forth some of the best art talent of the country. It may be -partly due to the advent of M. F. H. De Haas, who came here from Holland -already an accomplished artist, who had done so well in his native land -as to be appointed court painter to the queen. An artist of brilliant -parts, although sometimes inclined to sensationalism, he has undoubtedly -created some splendid compositions; and his influence must have been of -decided importance during this period. While he has been working in New -York, two marine painters of Boston have also executed some striking and -beautiful works. I refer to John E. C. Petersen and William E. Norton. -The former died young, in 1876. He was by birth a Dane, and in personal -appearance a viking: tall, handsome, tawny-haired, with a clear, sharp -blue eye, and a bearing that reminded one of an admiral on the -quarter-deck of his frigate swooping down with flying sheets across the -enemy's bow and pouring in a raking fire. Those who have seen him will -never forget the grand figure of Petersen, the very impersonation of a -son of the sea. When he first began to paint in Boston his pictures were -weak in color and rude in drawing. But he improved with marvellous -rapidity, and at the time of his death had few peers in marine art. -Every inch a sailor, to him a ship was no clumsy mass laid awkwardly on -the top of the water, as too many painters represent it, but a thing of -life, with an individuality of its own, graceful as a queen, and riding -the waves like a swan. "Making Sail after a Storm," representing a -clipper ship shaking out her top-sails in the gray gloom that succeeds a -storm, and rising massively but easily against the sky on the crest of -the weltering seas, is a very strong picture. So also is his "After the -Collision," and "A Ship Running before a Squall." When shall we see his -like again? - -Mr. Norton began life as a house-painter, and is related to a family of -ship-builders. He has himself made several voyages before the mast, and -is therefore well equipped, so far as observation goes. He has painted -many works, sometimes with more rapidity than comports with artistic -success; and his style is occasionally hard, mannered, and mechanical. -But he is an enthusiast for his art, and sometimes a happy inspiration -enables him to turn off a painting that entitles him to a high rank -among the marine painters of the age. He has been most happy in quiet -effects and fog scenes, and a composition called the "Fog-Horn," -representing two men in a dory blowing a horn to warn away a steamer -that is stealthily approaching them out of the fog, is a very -interesting work. "Crossing the Grand Banks" is the title of another -painting by this artist, in which the luminous haze of a midday fog and -a large ship threading her way through a fleet of fishing-schooners, are -rendered with a truth of color and majesty of form that give this work -an important position in contemporary American art. - -[Illustration: "SHIP ASHORE."--[M. F. H. DE HAAS.]] - -Inferior to these artists as a draughtsman or in knowledge of ships, -Arthur Quartley has, however, won a rapid and deserved reputation for -coast scenes and effects of shimmering light on still water. Prettiness -rather than beauty is sometimes too evident in his work; but he composes -with decided originality, showing a real passion for the effects after -which he strives, and his skies are often very strong. A "Storm off the -Isles of Shoals" is one of his most important compositions. Mr. Lansil, -of Boston, seems to be practically ignorant of the first principles of -drawing and perspective, but he has shown a feeling for color and light, -and we have at present few artists who equal him in painting still -harbor scenes, marbled with reflections wavering on a glassy surface. -Among our more clever coast painters we cannot omit the mention of A. T. -Bricher, who renders certain familiar scenes of the Atlantic shore with -much realistic force, but little feeling for the ideal. J. C. Nicoll -seems to show more promise in this direction. The color and technique of -his pictures are very clever and interesting, and well illustrate the -sea as it looks to a landsman from _terra firma_. Both of these artists -have painted extensively in _aquarelle_, in which medium they have -achieved some important results; which may justly be added regarding the -marine paintings of F. A. Silva. As a water-colorist Mr. Nicoll is not -excelled by any of our artists now concerned with coast scenes; and -some of his landscapes in _aquarelle_ sometimes rival his marines. What -we observe in most of our marine-painters, however, is weakness in the -matter of original composition. One would think that no object in nature -would stimulate the imagination and expand the mind more than the sea. -But it does not seem to have that effect in our marine art as yet, -excepting here and there a solitary instance. - -[Illustration: "A FOGGY MORNING."--[W. E. NORTON.]] - -No fact better attests the active and prosperous character of American -art than the rapid success which the culture of water-colors has -achieved among us. In 1865 a collection of English water-color paintings -was brought to this country, and exhibited in New York. It attracted -much attention; and although a few artists, like Messrs. Parsons and -Falconer, had already used this medium here, generally as amateurs, this -seems to have been the first occasion that stimulated our artists to -follow the art of water-color painting seriously. A society, headed by -such men as Messrs. Samuel Colman, G. Burling, well known -notwithstanding his early death, as a painter of game birds, J. M. -Falconer, and R. Swain Gifford, was formed within a year; Mr. Colman was -the first president, and the first annual exhibition was held in the -halls of the Academy of Design in 1867. Twelve exhibitions have now been -held, and Messrs. James Smillie and T. W. Wood have in turn succeeded -Mr. Colman in the presidency. A numerous school of artists has sprung -up, finding expression wholly in water-colors, like Miss Susan Hale or -Henry Farrar, the able landscape-painter; while many of our leading -artists in landscape and _genre_ have learned in this short period to -work with equal success in _aquarelle_ and oil. The later exhibitions -have been characterized by an individuality and strength that compare -most favorably with the exhibitions of the older societies of London. - -Another interesting feature of the last part of the period under -consideration is the increasing attention bestowed on the drawing of the -figure. The number of _genre_ artists has notably increased; and the -quality of their work has, on the whole, been on a higher plane. The war -gave an impetus to this department, with its many sad or comic -situations, and the increasing immigration of the peasantry of Europe, -and the growing variety of our national types and street scenes, have -all contributed to attract and stimulate the artistic eye and fancy. To -mention all the artists among us who have, especially of late, achieved -more or less success in this line, would be to enumerate a long -catalogue, and we must content ourselves with the brief mention of a few -who seem, perhaps, to be the most noteworthy, and, at the same time, -indigenous in their style. - -[Illustration: "A MARINE."--[ARTHUR QUARTLEY.]] - -J. B. Irving, who has but recently passed away, executed some very -clever cabinet compositions, delicately drawn and painted, somewhat in -the modern French style, generally interiors, with figures in old-time -costume. A very favorable specimen of his work is represented in a -painting entitled "The End of the Game." B. F. Mayer, of Annapolis, has -also devoted himself to a similar class of subjects successfully. He is, -however, very versatile, and gives us at will a gentleman in Louis -Quatorze costume, elaborately painted, or a bluff tar on the forecastle -on the lookout, or aloft tarring down the rigging, or a religious -ceremonial in the wigwams of the North-west. Marcus Waterman, of -Providence, has displayed much dash in _genre_ combined with landscape, -and is fresh and vigorous in style; while such a carefully executed work -as his "Gulliver at Lilliput" is highly creditable to our art. J. W. -Champney studied abroad under Frère, and also at Antwerp, and is one of -the most broad-minded of our younger artists; indeed, it is refreshing -to meet an artist so unbiassed by prejudice. His foreign studies have in -no wise narrowed his intellectual sympathies. His small _genre_ -compositions, especially of child life, often together with landscape, -have been carefully finished--latterly with an especial regard to the -values. Professor John F. Weir, who comes of an artistic family, and is -Superintendent of the Academy of Art at New Haven, has shown capacity -and nerve in his well-known painting called "Forging the Shaft," -forcibly representing one of the most striking incidents in a foundry; -and A. W. Willard, of Cincinnati, has struck out in a similar vein. -Energy of action, and an effort after effect verging on exaggeration and -caricature, are the characteristics of the style with which he has -attempted such novel compositions as "Yankee Doodle" and "Jim Bludsoe." -They suggest in color the literature of Artemus Ward and Walt Whitman. -At the same time, we recognize in such thorough individuality a very -promising attempt to assert the possibilities of certain phases of our -national _genre_. These traits have been treated with less daring but -with more artistic success by two of our best-known _genre_ painters--T. -W. Wood and J. G. Brown. Mr. Wood, who is president of the Water-color -Society, and employs both oil and water colors, spent several of the -first years of his career at the South, and discovered of what -importance our colored citizens might prove in our art--their squalor, -picturesqueness, broad and kindly humor, and the pathos which has -invested their fate with unusual interest. This artist's first -successful venture in _genre_ was with a painting of a quaint old negro -at Baltimore; and since then he has given us many characteristic -compositions suggested by the lot of the slave, although he has not -confined himself to this subject, but has also picked up excellent -subjects among the newsboys in our streets, and amidst the homespun -scenes of rural life. Mr. Wood's style is notable for _chiar-oscuro_, -and his drawing is generally careful, correct, and forcible, and his -compositions harmonious. - -Mr. Brown has also found that success and fame in _genre_ can be -obtained without going abroad to seek for subjects. To him the _gamins_ -of our cities are as artistically attractive as those of Paris, and a -girl wandering by our sea-shore as winsome as if on the beach at Nice or -Scheveningen, and an old fisherman at Grand Menan as pictorial as if he -were under the cliffs at Etretât. Fault is sometimes found with the fact -that the street lads painted by Mr. Brown have always washed their faces -before posing, which is according to the commands of St. Paul, but not -of art canons, if we accept Mr. Ruskin's dictum regarding the artistic -value of dirt. Bating this apparently trifling difficulty, however, it -must be admitted that he often offers us a very characteristic and -successful bit of _genre_. Gilbert Gaul and J. Burns, pupils of Mr. -Brown, merit a word of praise in this connection, for giving us reason -to hope in time for some satisfactory work from their easels. - -Child life finds a warm friend and delineator in S. J. Guy, who has made -many friends by the kindly way in which he has treated the simple pathos -and humor of childhood. He is an admirable draughtsman, and finishes his -work with great nicety--sometimes to a degree that seems to rob the -picture of some of its freshness and piquancy; but it cannot be denied -that Mr. Guy has often struck a chord in the popular heart, not merely -by his choice of subjects, but by legitimately earned success in his art -as well. Scenes of domestic life have also been treated sometimes very -interestingly by Messrs. B. F. Reinhart, Ehninger, Blauvelt, Satterlee, -Howland, Wilmarth, and Virgil Williams. Oliver J. Lay, although a slow, -careful artist, has executed some thoughtful and refined in-door scenes, -taken from domestic life, which show a thorough appreciation of the fact -that art, for itself alone, is the only aim the true artist should -pursue. E. L. Henry surprises one by the elaboration of his work, and is -open to the charge of crudeness in color and hardness in outline; but -occasionally he gives us a well-balanced composition, like the beach -scene, with horses and a carry-all in the foreground, entitled "Waiting -for the Bathers." - -[Illustration: "ARGUING THE QUESTION."--[T. W. WOOD.]] - -But it is in the works of Messrs. Eastman Johnson and Winslow Homer that -we find the most successful rendering of American _genre_ of the present -day as distinguished from that which bears unmistakable evidence of -foreign inspiration. Mr. Johnson, as a student at Düsseldorf and other -art centres of Europe, might be expected to show the fact in his art; -but, instead of doing so, we have no painter who has a more individual -style. There is uncertainty in his drawing sometimes, but his color and -composition are generally excellent, and the choice of subjects are at -the same time popular and artistic. We have had no painter since Mount -who has done more to elevate the character of _genre_ art in the -community. Successful in portraiture and ideal heads, Mr. Johnson has -achieved his best efforts in the homely scenes of rustic negro life, or -from a thorough sympathy with the simplicity and beauty of childhood. -None who have seen his painting called the "Old Stage-Coach," -representing a rollicking group of boys and girls playing on the rusty -wreck of an abandoned mail-carriage, can ever doubt again the -possibilities of _genre_ art in this country, although some of his -simpler compositions are more to our liking. There is, however, nothing -startling or especially novel in the style of Mr. Johnson. It is quiet -and unsensational. - -It is to the eccentric and altogether original compositions of Winslow -Homer that we turn for a more decided expression of the growing -weariness of our people with the conventional, and a vague yearning -after an original form of art speech. The freshness, the crudity, and -the solid worth of American civilization are well typified in the -thoroughly native art of Mr. Homer. No artist has shown more versatility -and inventiveness in choice of subject, and greater impatience with -accepted methods. Impatience, irritability, is written upon all his -works--he is evidently striving after the unknown. But the key-note of -his art seems to be a realistic endeavor to place man and nature, -landscape and _genre_, in harmonious juxtaposition; never one alone, but -both aiding each other, they are ever the themes of his brush. His -figures are often stiff or posed in awkward attitudes, and yet they -always arrest the attention, for they are inspired by an active, -restless brain, that is undoubtedly moved by the impulse of genius. It -is the values, or true relations of objects as they actually appear in -nature, that this artist also seeks to render; while in his reach after -striking subjects or compositions he not rarely borders on the -sensational. But in some of his masterly water-color sketches, which are -almost impressionist in treatment, or such more finished works as "The -Cotton Pickers," a scene from Southern plantation life, Mr. Homer -asserts his right to be considered the founder of a new school of -_genre_ painting. The repose which is lacking in his style at present -may come to him later, or be grafted upon it by those who come after -him. - -George Fuller, of Boston, is another artist in whose works we see an -additional proof of the growing importance attached to the painting of -the figure in our art. His paintings indicate the presence among us of a -vigorous, original personality, that is, of a genius striving for -utterance. They are incomplete, rarely altogether satisfactory; but we -feel, in the presence of such a subtle, suggestive, mysterious -composition as the "Rommany Girl," vaguely thrilling us with the deep -meaning of her weirdly glancing eyes, and weaving a mystic spell over -our fancy, that a mind akin to that of Hawthorne is here striving for -utterance, and unconsciously infusing new vitality into our _genre_ art. - -[Illustration: "THE ROSE."--[D. F. NAYER.]] - -As an influence in the same direction, the compositions of William -Magrath command sincere attention. It is not so many years ago since he -was painting signs in New York, and now we see him one of the strongest -artists in _genre_ on this side of the Atlantic. Mr. Magrath generally -paints single figures, associated with rural life--a milkmaid, or a -farmer. Naturally there is inequality in the results achieved, and -sometimes manifest weakness. But we note a constant progress in the -quality of his art, and an evidence of imagination which has been -unfortunately too rare in American _genre_ since the days of William -Mount. By this we mean the identification of the artist with his -subject, which renders it dramatic, and inspires it with that touch of -nature that makes the whole world kin. In this respect he occasionally -suggests the inimitable humanity which is the crowning excellence of the -paintings of Jean François Millet. - -It is with additional pleasure that we note the works of some of our -more recent native _genre_ artists, because we see indicated in them a -growing perception of the fact that abundant subjects may be found at -our own doors to occupy the pencil of the ablest minds. It is not -uncommon to hear young artists who have studied in the ateliers of Paris -and Munich, and who have returned here to work, complaining that they -find no sources of inspiration here, no subjects to paint at home. This -dearth of subjects certainly would be a very grave obstacle to the -ultimate development of a great American school of art, if it actually -existed. But on examining the question, it seems to us that the -difficulty lies not in the lack of subjects, but in the way the artist -has learned to look at things, and the range of sympathies to which he -has become accustomed by his foreign experiences. - -The artist who is the man of his time and his country never yet lacked -material for inspiration in the every-day life and every-day objects -around him. Goethe has said that the truest poetry is that woven out of -the suggestions gained from simple things. There has never yet been such -a state of society or such an order of scenery that the artist who was -in sympathy with it could not find some poetry, some color, some form or -light or shade in it that would stir the finer elements of his genius, -stimulate his fancy, and arouse his inventive powers. Some quality of -beauty is there, concealed like the water in the rock; the magician -comes whose rod can evoke the imprisoned element, and others then see -what he had first seen. - -As we stroll, for example, through the streets and squares of New York's -metropolis, by its teeming wharves, and among its dilapidated avenues of -trade, we are astounded to think that any one could ever look on this -seething mass of humanity, these various types of man, and the various -structures he has erected here, and find in them no inspiration for his -brush or his pen. What if there are no feluccas or painted sails in our -harbor; one has but to cross the river on the ferry-boat at sunrise or -sunset to see wonderful picturesqueness and beauty in our sloops and -schooners, our shipping thronging the piers, all smitten by the glory of -the rosy light, or over-canopied by scowling gray masses of storm-driven -scud. - -Or if one saunters up our streets and gazes on the long vista of -Broadway toward nightfall, as the lazy mist gradually broods over the -roofs and delicately tones and softens the receding rows of buildings, -he shall see effects almost as entrancing and poetic as those which -charm the enthusiast who beholds the sun, a crimson disk, couching in a -gray bank of smoke at the end of the boulevards of Paris, on an evening -in October. - -Is there nothing picturesque and artistic in the Italian fruit venders -at the street corners, especially when after dark they light their -smoking torches, that waver with ruddy glow over brilliant masses of -oranges and apples? - -[Illustration: "DRESS PARADE."--[J. G. BROWN.]] - -There is yet another scene which we often encounter, especially early in -the morning, at a time when perhaps most artists are yet wrapped in -dreams. We refer to the groups of horses led through the streets to the -horse-market. Untrimmed, unshorn, massively built, and marching in files -by fours and fives with clanging tread, sometimes thirty or forty -together, they present a stirring and powerful effect, which would -thrill a Bonheur or a Schreyer. Why have none of our artists attempted -to paint them? Have we none with the knowledge or the power to render -the subject with the vigor it demands? - -[Illustration: "A BED-TIME STORY."--[S. J. GUY.]] - -[Illustration: THE MOTHER.--[EASTMAN JOHNSON.]] - -No, we lack not subjects for those who know how to see them; while -nothing is more certain than the truth that a national art can only be -founded and sustained by those who are wholly in sympathy with the -influences of the land whose art they are aiding to establish. Those who -are familiar with American art will easily recall a number of our -artists, educated both at home and abroad, who have no difficulty in -finding material around home, and at the same time take the lead among -us in point of artistic strength. - -While indicating, however, some of the many subjects which address one -at every turn in our land, and render it unnecessary for artists to go -abroad for a supply of fuel for their fancy, we would not, on the other -hand, imply that an artist should, in order to be an exponent or leader -of a native art, be confined exclusively to one class of subjects. -Although it is one of the most remarkable and indisputable laws in -literature and art that those who are identified with nature and human -nature, as it appears in their native country, are at the same time most -cosmopolitan, still it is, after all, not so much in the subjects as in -the treatment that the individuality of a national art is best -demonstrated. It is when the artist is so thoroughly imbued with the -spirit of the institutions of his native land that it appears in his -art, whatever be the subject--it is then that he is most national. We -hear a great deal about the French school and the English school; but it -is not because each school finds its subjects invariably at home that it -possesses an individuality of its own, but because we see unconsciously -reflected in it the influences of the land that gave it birth. For this -reason, if an English and a French painter shall each take the same -scene, and that a wholly foreign one, say an Oriental group, although -the subject be a foreign subject and identical in each canvas, you can -discern at once that one picture is English, the other French in -treatment. Each artist has stamped upon his work the impression of the -influences of the people to which he belongs. - -[Illustration: SAIL-BOAT.--[WINSLOW HOMER.]] - -Patriotism, a wholesome enthusiasm for one's own country, seems, then, -in some occult way to lie at the basis of a native art, and native art -founded on knowledge is therefore always the truest art; while the -artist who is thus inspired will generally find material enough to call -forth his æsthetic yearnings and arouse his creative faculties at his -own door. - -In passing from _genre_ to our later portraiture we do not find the same -proportionate activity and intelligent progress that we see in other -departments of our art, although some creditable painters in this -department can be mentioned. Harvey A. Young, of Boston, has shown a -good eye for color, and seizes a likeness in a manner that is -artistically satisfactory, while he does not so often grasp the -character of the sitter as his external traits. Mr. Custer, of the same -city, charmingly renders the infantile beauty of childhood, its merry -blue eyes, the dimpled roses of the cheeks, and the flaxen curls that -ripple around the shoulders. There is, however, too much sameness in his -work--a too apparent tendency to mannerism. Mrs. Henry Peters Grey has a -faculty of making a pleasing likeness. She has executed some portrait -plaques in majolica that are remarkable evidences of the progress -ceramic art is now making in the United States. Mrs. Loop is one of our -successful portrait-painters. Her works are not strikingly original, but -they are harmonious in tone and color, and poetical in treatment. Henry -A. Loop has also executed some pleasing portraits and ideal -compositions; of the latter, his "Echo" is perhaps the most successful -rendering of female beauty he has attempted. George H. Story should be -included among the most important portrait-painters of this period. His -work is characterized by vigor of style and pleasing color; he seizes a -likeness without any uncertainty in technique. His _genre_ compositions -and ideal heads are also inspired by a refined taste and correct -perception of the principles of art. William Henry Furness, of -Philadelphia, who died in 1867, just as he reached his prime, was allied -in genius to the great masters of portraiture of the early stages of our -art. He matured slowly. His first efforts showed only small promise; but -he had the inestimable quality of growth, and has been equalled by few -of our painters in the study and rendering of character. When he had a -sitter he would give days to a preliminary and exhaustive study of his -mental and moral traits. - -In Darius Cobb, of Boston, great earnestness is apparent in the pursuit -of art, together with an exalted opinion of what should be the aims of -æsthetic culture. Mr. Cobb has attempted sculpture, monumental art, -portraiture, and the painting of religious compositions. We consider it -a promising sign to see an artist of such energy seeking to exalt the -character of his pursuit. His works seem, however, to show the lack of a -systematic course of training in the rudiments of technique; but in such -strong and characteristic portraits as that of Rufus Choate he has -exhibited decided ability. - -[Illustration: "THE SCOUT."--[WORDSWORTH THOMPSON.]] - -The historic art of the period has been neither prolific nor attractive, -with a few exceptions. The late war has given rise to some important -works, like Winslow Homer's notable "Prisoners to the Front;" and Julian -Scott has been measurably successful in such paintings as "In the -Cornfield at Antietam," representing a charge in that memorable battle, -which belongs to a class of pictures of which we hope to have more in -the future. There is a striving after originality in his paintings that -is in the right direction. Mrs. C. A. Fassett, who has executed some -excellent portraits, has also recently composed an important painting of -the "Electoral Commission," of whose merits the writer can only speak by -report. - -[Illustration: "ON THE OLD SOD."--[WILLIAM MAGRATH.]] - -In Wordsworth Thompson we find an artist who seems to realize the -possibilities of American historical art. Although a pupil of Gleyre, -and for a number of years a resident abroad, there is no evidence of -servile subserviency to any favorite school or method in the style of -Mr. Thompson. He is an excellent draughtsman, his color is a happy -medium between the high and low keys of different schools--fresh, cool, -and crisp--and his work is thoroughly finished, and yet broad in -effect. He evidently has no hobbies to ride. As a designer of horses he -has few equals in this country. If we have a fault to find with him, it -is in a certain lack of snap, of warmth, of enthusiasm in the handling -of a subject, which renders it less impressive than it might otherwise -be. - -[Illustration: "A MATIN SONG."--[FIDELIA BRIDGES.]] - -Mr. Thompson, in his Mediterranean wanderings, gathered material for a -number of attractive coast scenes, effective in atmosphere and in the -rendering of figures, feluccas, and waves, all tending to illustrate his -versatility. But he deserves to be most widely known on account of -scenes taken from Southern life, and historic compositions suggested by -the late war, or illustrating notable events of the Revolution. For -pictures of this description Mr. Thompson seems to us to rank next to -Trumbull, whose masterly paintings of the "Death of Montgomery" and the -"Battle of Bunker Hill," now at New Haven, have hitherto been by far the -most remarkable military paintings produced by an American artist. There -is less action, fire, and brilliance of color in Mr. Thompson's works, -but they possess many admirable qualities that entitle them to much -respect. Among the most notable is an elaborate composition representing -the Continental army defiling before General Washington and his staff at -Philadelphia. The group of officers and horses in the foreground is one -of the best pieces of artistic work recently painted by an American. - -[Illustration: STUDY OF A DOG.--[FRANK ROGERS.]] - -When we come to a consideration of animal painting in this period of our -æsthetic culture, we find that it is the most barren of good results of -any branch of our art. We are at a loss to account for this, especially -as the evidences of promise are also less prominent than in landscape -and _genre_. Not only has the number of the artists who have pursued -this department been proportionately small, but the quality of their -work has been of a low average, and lacking in the originality elsewhere -apparent. - -In the painting of pastoral scenes, with cattle, Peter Moran, of -Philadelphia, probably shows the most originality and force; and Thomas -Robinson, of Boston, has displayed exceptional vigor in painting the -textures of cattle, but without much invention in composition. James -Hart for the past twelve years has made a specialty of introducing -groups of cattle into his idyllic landscapes. They are often well drawn -and carefully painted, and are in general effect commendable, although, -like most of our animal painters, Mr. Hart does not seem to have got at -the character of the animal as Snyders, Morland, or Landseer would have -done. Mr. Dolph has painted some creditable cats and pugs in combination -with interiors; and two young artists, Messrs. George Inness, Jun., and -J. Ogden Brown, have executed some promising cattle pieces. - -Miss Bridges must be credited with developing a charming and original -branch of art, of which thus far she seems to enjoy a monopoly. There is -exquisite fancy, as well as capital art, in the method in which, with -water-colors, she composes stalks of grain or wild-flowers in -combination with field birds, meadow-larks, linnets, bobolinks, -sparrows, or sand-pipers, balancing on the apex of a wavering stalk, or -flying over the wheat or by the sands of the sea-beat shore. - -Mr. Frank Rogers, who is still a very young man, takes especial interest -in painting dogs, although not intending to confine himself to that -branch of animal life, and has already achieved considerable success in -his attempts to represent canine traits. He has trained several dogs to -pose for him for ten to fifteen minutes at once. In the decided ability -and success already shown by Mr. Rogers we can see that it is now -possible for our artists, availing themselves of influences already at -work here, combined with an intense love of nature and the ideal, to do -strong original work without devoting half their lives to foreign study, -and thus carry on to a higher stage the national art for which so many -clamor unreasonably, not considering that new schools of art are not -born in a day, nor evolved without the conditions which have invariably -prepared the way for the national art of other people. Art travels by no -royal road. - -[Illustration: "LOST IN THE SNOW."--[A. F. TAIT.]] - -Our continent is not so plentifully stocked with wild beasts and game as -some parts of the Old World, but we yet have the panther and the bison, -although now fast fading into a mere traditionary existence before the -rifle of the pioneer. R. M. Shurtleff has a pleasant fancy for -catamounts and deer, and has been a careful student of their habits, of -which the results appear in dramatic bits of the wild life of the woods -introduced into effective paintings of forest scenery; "A Race for Life" -is the title of a weird, savage, and powerful composition by this -artist, representing a flock of ravening wolves pursuing their victim -over fields of frozen snow, behind which the low red sun is setting; -and A. F. Tait has also devoted his life to rescuing from oblivion -species which are rapidly becoming extinct, unless our game-laws are -better enforced than they have been hitherto. There is often too -finished a touch to the style of Mr. Tait, which deprives it of the -force it might otherwise have; but he has, on the other hand, painted -both game and domestic animals with remarkable truth, and he brings to -the subject an inventive fancy that greatly adds to the variety and -interest of his works. We might add in this connection an allusion to -the ingenious carvings of Alexander Pope, a young artist who not only -cuts out groups of game from a block of wood with much cleverness, but -also truthfully colors the grouse and teal his skilful knife carves out -of pine. - -There is a branch of art which latterly has attracted much attention in -this country. We refer to still-life. George H. Hall, who is also known -as a _genre_ painter, justly earned a reputation years ago for effective -painting of fruit and flowers, in which he has hitherto had few equals -in this country; and M. J. Heade has devoted his attention successfully -to the rendering of the wonderful gorgeousness of tropical vegetation. -The ideal flower-painting of Mr. Lafarge we have already mentioned. Miss -Robbins, of Boston, is at present one of the most prominent artists we -have in this department. She composes with great taste, and lays on her -colors with superb effect. Some of her paintings suggest the rich, -massive coloring of Van Huysams. Messrs. Seavey, of Boston, Way, of -Baltimore, and Lambdin, of Philadelphia, have produced some interesting -results in this direction; and Miss Dillon and Mrs. Henshaw must be -credited with some very beautiful floral compositions. The list of -ladies who have been measurably successful in realistic flower-painting -is very large, and indicates the strong tendency toward decorative art -in the country, which must result ere long in a distinctly national type -of that branch of æesthetic culture. - -In arriving at the close of the second period of American painting, we -are encouraged by abundant evidences of a healthy activity. While some -phases of our art, after a growth of half a century, are passing through -a transition period, and new methods and theories are grafting -themselves upon the old, there is everywhere apparent a deeper -appreciation of the supreme importance of the ideal, and a gathering of -forces for a new advance against the strongholds of the materialism that -wars against the culture of the ideal, combined with a rapidly spreading -consciousness on the part of the people of the ethical importance of -art, and a disposition to co-operate in its healthful development. At -the same time new influences are entering into the national culture of -æsthetics, and branches which have hitherto received little attention -from our artists are coming rapidly into prominence, suggesting that we -are about entering upon a third stage of American art. - - - - -V. - -_SCULPTURE IN AMERICA._ - - -It is a generally conceded fact that since the death of Michael Angelo -the art of sculpture has made little progress in the expression of the -ideal. It has rather indicated, until recently, a lack of steadiness of -purpose, and a want of freshness and intellectual grasp that place the -plastic art of the last three centuries in a lower rank than that of the -Classic and the Middle Ages. It is, therefore, a matter of surprise that -in a people apparently so unideal as our own, and engaged in struggling -to win for itself a right to exist among the wilds of a new world, that -we find that so much evidence has already been shown of an appreciation -for sculpture. It is true that we have not yet produced any masterpieces -that can rank with those of antiquity; but, on the other hand, some of -our plastic art compares favorably with the best that has been created -in modern times. - -But what might have been expected under the circumstances has proved to -be the case. Originality has been the exception and not the rule, even -with our best sculptors. Naturally led to study the antique in Europe, -and also to master there the technical elements of the art of sculpture, -owing to the entire absence of facilities for art education here, it was -only to be expected that they would at first yield to the art influences -whose guidance they sought. It was not their fault that, until recently, -those influences were conventional, and based upon a false perception of -the principles of art. - -[Illustration: "EVE BEFORE THE FALL."--[HIRAM POWERS.]] - -Some of our most successful sculptors have never been abroad, or at -least have not systematically placed themselves under the tuition of a -foreign master; while a number of them have indicated in their -tendencies a natural sympathy with the later movement of modern -sculpture, which is rather in the direction of allegory, portraiture, -and _genre_ suggested by domestic life. When the ancients represented -Venus or Jove in marble, they sculptured a being in whose actual -existence they believed, and thus a profound reverence inspired the work -of the master. When the sculptor of the Middle Ages carved the deeds of -the Saviour, or the saints, or represented the Last Judgment, he was -moved by deep love or reverential awe, and an unquestioning belief in -the events he was commemorating. But when the sculptor of this century -undertakes to revive classical subjects and modes of thought, he -encounters an insurmountable obstacle at the outset, which checks all -progress, and relegates his art to a secondary rank, without even the -benefit of a doubt in his favor. The laws and limitations of mind make -it impossible for an art to be of the first order which depends upon the -imitation of other art. It is only by copying nature directly, under the -inspirations of its own age and country, that a school of art has the -slightest chance of immortality. Thorwaldsen, the greatest sculptor -since Michael Angelo, exemplified this truth to a remarkable degree. -Moved by a realization of classic art which no other modern sculptor -except Flaxman has approached, we yet find his classical subjects -inferior to those allegorical subjects in which he gave expression to -the impulses of his own times. A slowly dawning consciousness that art -cannot by any force of will or free agency escape from these limitations -of growth is becoming at last evident in recent sculpture, especially in -the emotional and sometimes sensational sculpture of France. Lacking -repose, it is yet fresh and original, and is destined by continued -self-assertion to reach a high rank. - -It is in imitations of the antique or in allegory, and portraiture, that -our sculpture has exerted its best efforts, until within a few years. -General Washington has also proved a sort of Jupiter Tonans to our -sculptors. Elevated to a semi-apotheosis by the people, he has hitherto -been the most prominent subject of the plastic art of the West, and has -thus afforded a fair standard of comparison between the merits of -different artists, since very few of them but have tried their hand with -the national hero. As regards popular appreciation or pecuniary reward, -it must be admitted that our sculptors have relatively little cause for -complaint. - -The art of sculpture was by no means unknown here when the white man -first stepped foot on our shores. The pipe-stone quarries of the West -are an evidence of what had already been attempted by the aboriginal -savages. Tobacco, so much maligned by certain zealous philanthropists, -was at least an innocent cause of some of the earliest attempts at -sculpture made on this continent. The writer has in his possession an -Indian pipe carved out of flint, which represents a man sitting with -hands clasped across his knees. Simple as it is, it indicates good skill -in stone-carving, and considerable observation of race characteristics -and anatomy. Evidences of great technical skill in the plastic arts, but -with an unformed perception of beauty, are being constantly discovered -among the relics of the extinct Mound-builders of the West and South. - -[Illustration: "ORPHEUS."--[THOMAS CRAWFORD.]] - -Before the Revolution, however, excepting in the carving of -figure-heads, plastic art, unlike painting, seems to have been hardly -known in the United States. And so little sign was there of its dawn -that John Trumbull declared to Frazee, as late as 1816, that sculpture -"would not be wanted here for a century." But even then the careful -observer might have noticed indications that a genius for glyptic art -was awakening in the new republic. In the early part of the last century -Deacon Drowne made a vane for Faneuil Hall, and one for the Province -House, in Boston, which appear to have gained him great repute in his -day in New England. The latter work, although turning with the wind on -an iron spindle, was a life-size statue of an Indian sachem holding a -bow and arrow in the act of aiming. It was hollow, and of copper, and -would seem, from the impression it made, to have been a work of some -merit. Somewhat later, Patience Wright, of Bordentown, New Jersey, -displayed considerable cleverness in modelling miniature wax heads in -relief, and by this process succeeded in making likenesses of Washington -and Franklin, among the celebrities of her time. William Rush, who was -born some twenty years before the Revolution, had also shown already -that even in ship-carving the sculptor may find scope for fancy and -skill, as Matthew Pratt, in the previous generation, had proved that -even in the painting of signs genius can find vent for its inspirations. -Rush was undoubtedly a man of genius; for, although all the art -education he ever had was confined to an apprenticeship with a -ship-carver, his figure-heads of Indians or naval heroes added a -singular merit to the beauty of the merchant marine which first carried -our flag to the farthest seas, and the men-of-war that wrested victory -in so many a hard-fought battle. Hush worked only in wood or clay; but -original strength and talent, which under better circumstances might -have achieved greater results, are evident in some of his portrait -busts, and in a statue of a nymph at Fairmount. A bust of himself, -carved out of a block of pine, is remarkable for a realistic force and -character that entitle it to a permanent place in the records of -American sculpture. - -Sculpture, however, was much more backward in gaining a foothold in the -country than the sister arts; for it was not until 1824 that the first -portrait in marble by a native was executed--that of John Wells, by John -Frazee, a stone-cutter, whose sole art education was obtained during an -apprenticeship in a yard where rude monumental work was turned out for -the bleak cemeteries in use before such sumptuous retreats as Greenwood -and Mount Auburn were planned. There was a feeling after the ideal in -the nature of this unassisted artist which enabled him to be potential -in influencing younger artists; while his opportunities were unfavorable -to the just development of his own abilities. - -Rush began to model in clay in 1789, and at that time not one of the -artists who have since given celebrity to our native sculpture had seen -the light. Frazee was born in 1790; and Hezekiah Augur, of New Haven, in -1791. The latter was engaged in the grocery trade, and failing in that, -took up modelling and wood-carving, without any guide except his natural -instincts. Like many of our first sculptors, his efforts are interesting -rather as evidences of what talent entirely uninstructed and untrained -can accomplish, than for any intrinsic value in his work. Many of the -artists who have succeeded him have also begun life in some trade or -profession altogether at variance with the art to which they afterward -consecrated their lives. - -It was not till the year 1805, long after Copley, West, Malbone, -Allston, and Stuart had demonstrated our capacity for pictorial art, -that the genius of the country seemed inclined to allow us a plastic art -of our own. In that year Hiram Powers was born, one of the best known -sculptors of the century. The same year witnessed the birth of Horatio -Greenough. In the remote wilds of Kentucky, still harried by the -Indians, Hart was born in 1810; and Clevenger, Crawford, and Mills -followed in 1812, 1813, and 1815--all artists of note, even if of -unequal merits, and important as pioneers in the art rather than the -creators of a great school of sculpture. Thus we see that without any -apparent previous preparation a strong impulse toward glyptic art and -the men to direct and give it strength simultaneously sprung up in the -land. When one considers the disadvantages under which they labored, and -that, so far as can be known, they were not even aided by any heredity -of genius in this direction, criticism is tempered by surprise that -they achieved the results they did, and that two of them at -least--Powers and Crawford--succeeded in winning for themselves a -European renown which made them almost the peers of some of the leading -foreign sculptors of the age, who were born amidst the trophies of -classic and Renaissance art. - -[Illustration: "COLUMBUS BEFORE THE COUNCIL."--[FROM THE BRONZE DOOR OF -THE CAPITOL AT WASHINGTON.--RANDOLPH ROGERS.]] - -Hiram Powers must always be assigned a commanding position in our -Western art, even by those who are not enthusiastic admirers of his -works. A farmer's boy of the Green Mountains, he early exchanged Vermont -for the bustling streets of Cincinnati, where an ampler scope was -offered to the aspiring energies of the founder of American sculpture. -Like many of our sculptors, a turn for mechanics, characteristic of the -inventive mind of the people, was combined in him with a capacity for -art, and this, which at first found vent in a study of the inventions of -the time, enabled him in maturer life to facilitate the means of art -expression by valuable inventions. Palmer and several other American -sculptors have also aided the art in a similar way. From modelling in -wax, which aroused great local interest, young Powers proceeded to -modelling in plaster, under the tuition of a German artist resident in -Cincinnati, and, aided by the generous patronage of Mr. Longworth--to -whose liberality toward our artists American art is greatly indebted--he -soon received numerous commissions for portrait busts of some of our -most notable public men, such as Webster, Jackson, Marshall, and -Calhoun. Notwithstanding his lack of training and art associations, -Powers executed some of these portraits with a vigor worthy of the -subjects, and scarcely equalled by any of his subsequent work. - -In 1837 Powers decided to go to Italy, whither Greenough had already -preceded him, led thither, like many since, by superior art advantages -and economical reasons, which still sway our sculptors at a time when it -would seem that it would be more profitable, so far as native art is -concerned, for them to remain here. Several of our sculptors have -acknowledged to the writer that the time has come for their art to grow -up under the home influences which are to regulate the art of the -future, but that the question of economy forces them to live in Florence -and Rome. - -Residing in Florence until his death, Powers devoted his long career to -the creation of many works of high finish, and occasionally of a merit -comparing well with the works of an age whose plastic arts were -conventional. Who has not seen the famous "Greek Slave," inspired by the -enthusiasm for the Greeks struggling with the Turk for existence? The -"Penseroso," "Fisher Boy," and "Proserpine" are also among the most -pleasing works of this artist. The "California," a nude, symbolical -female figure, is less satisfactory in conception, and is also open to -criticism as to its proportions. In these works we see expressed the -thoughts of an artist skilled in the technical requirements of the art, -and moved by a lofty ideal, but marked by tender sentiment rather than -force, and suggesting sometimes a dryness of style and a coldness or -reticence of emotion inherited from the undemonstrative people of New -England, as if when the artist was executing them the stern genius of -Puritanism, jealous of the voluptuous or the passionate in art, had -stood Mentor-like at his side and said, "There, that will do; beware -lest your love of beauty lead you to forget that you are an American -citizen, to whom duty, principle, example, are the watchwords of life." -But sometimes genius proved superior to tradition even with Powers, as -when he composed the two great ideal statues of Eve before and after the -fall. By these noble works, inspired by true, untrammelled artistic -feeling--which we must consider his best ideal compositions--he earned a -rank very near to that of Gibson and Canova, and rendered his art worthy -of lasting remembrance. - -[Illustration: "THE GHOST IN HAMLET."--[THOMAS R. GOULD.]] - -The art of Powers was best exemplified in his portrait busts. His -imagination was not prolific or active, as one may infer from the -following expressions of his own: "I could never satisfy myself with an -ideal in a hurry. The human form is infinite. It is the image of God. I -have found that, do my best, there was always a _better_ in nature. Once -knowing this, I have hesitated and sought to find it, and this is the -way to fame. One may fail with all his care and labor, but it is the -only way. Not they who have produced the most, but they who have done -the best, stand foremost in the end. I never felt that I had the power -to charge a hundred statues. I exhaust myself on a few. This accounts -for the fact that I found it necessary to give nearly a year's time, in -all, to the model of your statue of 'Paradise Lost.'" - -The early educational advantages of Horatio Greenough were superior to -those of Powers; and as one of the first in our country to assert -himself in marble, he won a name which we are reluctantly obliged to -consider in excess of his merits as an artist. He impresses one as a man -of intellectual force and culture, but without any special calling to -sculpture. The work by which he will be known the longest is the Bunker -Hill Monument, whose stately proportions he designed. Greenough executed -a number of vigorous and striking busts, like those of Lafayette and -Fenimore Cooper, which deserve favorable mention. But in venturing after -ideal expression he cannot be said to have accomplished satisfactory -results. The elaborate group called "The Rescue," on the portico of the -Capitol at Washington, is ambitious, but leaves one to regret that so -prominent a position could not have been more appropriately decorated. - -Few statues have ever given rise to more conflicting criticisms than -Greenough's "Washington" in the grounds of the Capitol. Colossal in size -and on a massive throne, seated half nude and holding out a Roman sword -in his left hand, some one has jocularly observed that the august hero -of the republic seems to say, "Here is my sword; my clothes are in the -Patent-office yonder." It certainly seems an absurdity in this age to -represent so recent a character in a garb in which he was so rarely seen -by the public, or so closely and incongruously to imitate the style of -the antique. Benjamin West showed more originality and courage when, in -the last century, and in defiance of the opinion of such men as Sir -Joshua Reynolds, he dared to break loose from the conventional, and -created a revolution in historical art by permitting General Wolfe to -die in the clothes in which he went to battle. But in justice to -Greenough, whose statue is in some respects meritorious and important, -especially in the bass-reliefs on the elegant chair, it should be said -that he never designed to have this statue placed in its present -position, but under the dome of the Rotunda, where it would undoubtedly -be far more impressive, and being sheltered from the winter snows, its -nudity would be less incongruous. - -[Illustration: GEORGE WASHINGTON.--[J. Q. A. WARD.]] - -Last year a sculptor died at Florence who was born in Kentucky nearly -seventy years ago. His education was confined to three months in a -district school, and his first occupation was chimney-building. James -Hart, although successful in portraiture, was also an idealist, who, -after settling in Italy, produced numerous pleasing works, like his -"Angelina" and "Woman Triumphant." There is a delicate, winning sense of -beauty and a refined emotional tendency in his art, which pleases while -it fails to master us, because it was a facile fancy rather than a lofty -imagination that conceived his creations. - -Shobal V. Clevenger, a stone-cutter of Ohio, presents another instance -of the sudden yearning toward the plastic art which early in the century -sought vent in various parts of the country. Like so many others, he -turned his face to Italy to find the knowledge which it was impossible -for his native land to give him at that time. The nation owes a debt of -gratitude to him, as to several of our early sculptors, for many -truthfully realistic portraits of our leading statesmen and poets. - -In point of date as well as in ability we find that Thomas Crawford, a -native of New York State, was one of the first of our sculptors. If -Powers was remarkable for the refinement of his work, in the sculpture -of Crawford we find a certain grandiose style not too common in our art, -and at the same time so harmoniously rendered as to avoid exaggeration. -Crawford occupies among our sculptors a position corresponding to that -of Allston among our early painters. There is a classic majesty about -his works, a sustained grandeur that is warmed by a sympathetic nature, -and brought within the range of the throes and aspirations of this -tumultuous century. He had what most of our sculptors have -lacked--genius. Were he alive to-day, when a new order of sculpture is -bursting its bonds, he would have few peers. Among his most important -works are the impressive equestrian statue of Washington at Richmond, -and the colossal statue of Beethoven in the Music Hall at Boston. They -were cast in the foundries of Müller at Munich, and were hailed by all, -artists and sovereign alike, with a dramatic enthusiasm which speaks -eloquently for the estimate placed upon them in one of the most notable -art tribunals of Europe. - -The bronze door of the Capitol at Washington, containing panel groups -illustrative of the American Revolution, has been considered by some to -be a masterpiece of Crawford, and it certainly indicates imagination and -technical skill unusual among us until recently; but the statue of -Orpheus descending into Tartarus in search of his wife Eurydice seems, -on the whole, to be the most symmetrical and just representative work of -this great sculptor. His stately and graceful statue of "Liberty" on the -dome of the Capitol is also entitled to high consideration, but one can -hardly think of it without indignation, for certainly nothing was ever -devised quite so absurd as to create a work of imagination like this, -and then to perch it up in the air three hundred feet above the ground, -where it is a mere shapeless spot against the sky, its beauty almost as -completely snatched away from human ken as if it were buried as far -beneath the surface of the earth. - -[Illustration: "MEDEA."--[WILLIAM WETMORE STORY.]] - -The art of the Capitol at Washington presents, indeed, a most -extraordinary farrago of excellence and eccentricity and ignorance. Some -of the alto-relievos in the Rotunda are of such exceptional uncouthness -that one is astounded to think that some of the men are still living who -permitted them to be placed there. They might easily be passed off for -rude Aztec relics. The Sculpture Hall adjoining displays the same -amazing incongruity. Its existence suggests a dim perception in the -builders that at some future time we should need a national gallery of -statuary; while the inequality in the merit of the sculptures already -placed there would indicate that they had been chosen entirely by lot -rather than by deliberate selection. Not until a permanent national art -commission like that of France is appointed can we hope, in the present -unæsthetic condition of Congress, to have such art collected at the -national capital as will be entirely creditable to the country. Such a -commission, owing to the frailty of human nature, might perhaps show -partiality at times toward a favorite school; but what it did admit -would at least be of a higher average merit, and mere tyros in art would -have no chance to storm the public Treasury by the sheer force of -lobbying. - -[Illustration: "THE PROMISED LAND."--[FRANKLIN SIMMONS.]] - -It is to the then absolute ignorance of art on the part of the people -that we owe the equestrian statues of Clark Mills--a contemporary of -Crawford--of which the most noted is probably the statue of General -Jackson opposite the White House, and the one of George Washington, for -which he received $50,000. The former is chiefly notable for the -mechanical dexterity which so balanced the weights that the prancing -steed is actually able to stand in that position without other support -than its own ponderosity. That Mr. Mills has ability is unquestioned, -for it is said that before ever he had seen a statue he was able to take -a portrait bust of Calhoun which is pronounced a striking likeness; but -it is dexterity and talent rather than genius which he possesses. There -is little evidence of art feeling in his works, and the prominence that -has been given to them is a just cause of regret to the lover of art. - -It is pleasant among so much poor art to find here and there works like -those of Crawford, Ward, Brown, Randolph Rogers, and Ball, which -indicate an earnest striving after a lofty art ideal. Henry K. Browne, -one of our earliest sculptors, will probably be best known by his two -equestrian statues--of General Washington, in Union Square, New York, -and General Scott, at the capital. It is extremely difficult to tell -what it is which makes such monuments so rarely satisfactory. If the -horse is anatomically correct, it is, perhaps, ungraceful; or if -pleasing in that respect, then the horse-fancier comes along, who tells -you that it cannot be justly admired, for it is incorrect in the -details. Between these two objections one is often at a loss to give an -opinion; and in point of fact the famous statue of Colleoni by -Verrochio, made in the Middle Ages, seems thus far to be almost the only -wholly acceptable equestrian work since the classic times, so thoroughly -does it seem in its firm, massive, yet energetic lines to embody the -description of the war-horse given in the Book of Job, and so nobly does -his mailed rider bestride him. The cause of the difficulty appears to be -the same as in marine painting. To paint a ship one should love it -intensely, and if he does, he is likely to comprehend the action; to -design a horse in motion one should love horses, and in such case the -study of them begins instinctively in childhood. But most sculptors have -no natural equine bias, and, after accepting a commission for an -equestrian statue, they begin to study the horse for the purpose of -information, rather than from sympathetic, enthusiastic feeling. - -[Illustration: "LATONA AND HER INFANTS."--[W. H. RINEHART.]] - -Mr. Browne has struggled with these difficulties with very creditable -success. Neither of the statues mentioned above gives complete -satisfaction, but they are doubtless among the best yet exhibited in our -country. That of Scott represents the finest horse, and very graceful -and interesting it is, although the proportions are rather those of an -Arab steed than of an American war-horse; while that of Washington is -the most spirited and attractive. It is heroic and impressive in its -general effect. This artist, who still resides at Newburgh, enjoying a -green old age after a successful career, has accomplished much ideal -work, like the pleasing statue of "Ruth," and has shown a fine artistic -feeling in his conceptions, although hardly entitled to a foremost rank -in this branch of the art. - -Thomas Ball, who was originally a portrait-painter, and who continues to -adorn our public squares with meritorious sculptures, is another artist -to whom we are indebted for one of the most spirited and correct -equestrian statues in the country. We refer to his "Washington," in the -Public Garden in Boston. Pleasing when regarded artistically, cavalrymen -also like it for its truth to nature. The group called "Emancipation," -in Lincoln Park, at Washington, is also by Mr. Ball. - -An equestrian statue that is destined to occupy a high position in our -native art is that of General Thomas, by J. Q. A. Ward. It is of -colossal size, and has been cast in bronze at Philadelphia. There is a -force in the action, an originality in the pose, a justness in the -proportions of both horse and rider, that render it exceptionally -excellent. In Mr. Ward we see one of the most vigorous and individual -sculptors of the age. As an influence in our art his example is of great -importance, because while placing at its true value the good that may be -obtained by familiarity with the models of classic art, whether by the -study of casts at home or abroad, he recognizes the basal principle of -all true art--that its originating force must proceed from within, and -that culture can only supplement, but cannot supply the want of, genius -in the artist or the people. And thus, while thoroughly conversant with -foreign and antique art, Mr. Ward has worked at home, and drawn the -sources of his inspiration from native influences. He has a mind -overflowing with resources; his fancy is never still; he is ever -delighting to sketch in clay, if the term may be so used. Many are -familiar with the noble statue of Shakspeare and the "Indian Hunter" in -the Central Park. The latter, although not in all respects anatomically -correct, is in spirit and design one of the most notable works produced -by American plastic art. But the bronze statue of Washington recently -set up at Newburyport is, perhaps, the best existing specimen of Mr. -Ward's skill. The subject is not a new one; in fact, it has been treated -so many hundred times in one form or another that especial originality -was needed to render it again with any degree of freshness and interest. -But the effort has been crowned with success. There is in this statue, -which is of colossal size, a sustained majesty, dignity, and repose, and -a harmony of design rarely attained in modern sculpture. - -Among the foremost of American sculptors in point of native ability we -must accord a place to Benjamin Paul Akers, of Portland. He was indeed a -man of genius, of a finely organized temperament; but he died before the -maturity of his powers, ere he was able to achieve little more than a -promise of immortality. His "Pearl Diver," which is indeed an exquisite -creation, original, and tenderly beautiful, represents a youth whose -corpse the tide has washed on the rocks, where it lies wrapped by the -sea-weed, and tranquil in the repose of death. The anatomy and -composition of this work are evidently the offspring of a -finely-organized mind well grounded in the principles of his art, and -inspired by tender sympathies and a strongly creative imagination; and -his "St. Elizabeth" is also a lovely piece of sculpture. The noble ideal -bust of Milton, and the "Pearl Diver," are grandly described by -Hawthorne in the "Marble Faun." The admirable description of Kenyon, the -young sculptor mentioned in that weird romance, is intended for a -likeness of Akers. - -Edward S. Bartholomew, of Connecticut, who died in his thirty-sixth -year, was another of our most gifted sculptors. There was an affluence -of fancy in his art, rare in our sculpture, which needed pruning rather -than urging by foreign study. Naturally his works are unequal in merit; -but the "Eve Repentant," "Ganymede," and "Hagar and Ishmael" will long -perpetuate his fame. It is a noteworthy circumstance that Bartholomew -was totally color-blind. This, in the opinion of many, is no -disqualification in a sculptor; but some sculptors not only think -otherwise, but are also conscious of a sense of color when creating a -work. - -[Illustration: "ZENOBIA."--[HARRIET HOSMER.]] - -[Illustration: "EVENING."--[E. D. PALMER.]] - -Italy, which has been the home and second mother to most of the artists -we have named, has long given a home to and inspired the art of a number -of our most prominent sculptors, who are now permanently residing in -Florence and Rome--Randolph Rogers, Story, Rinehart, Meade, Gould, -Thompson, Miss Hosmer, and several others, all of whom merit more than a -passing notice. Rogers, who has executed many exquisite works -indicating fine sentiment and fancy, is most favorably known for the -bronze doors in the Rotunda of the Capitol at Washington. Eight panels, -representing scenes in the history of Columbus, have afforded abundant -scope for the exhibition of a genius which, while it borrowed the idea -from Ghiberti, had yet ability sufficient to give us an original work. -The "Angel of the Resurrection," for the monument of Colonel Colt at -Hartford, is also an important and beautiful creation by this artist. -Larkin J. Meade, of Vermont, has justly won a wide reputation for -portrait and monumental works, like that to Abraham Lincoln at -Springfield, Illinois. It is of colossal dimensions, costing nearly -$300,000, and in size and importance ranks with the majestic monument at -Plymouth designed by Hammatt Billings. One of the noblest art -opportunities of the century was offered when that monument was -proposed. If Mr. Billings's original design had been fully carried out a -work would have been erected of which the country might justly be proud. -Lack of funds and a pitiful lack of enthusiasm resulted in reducing the -dimensions of the work by half. Martin Milmore has also executed some -very important civic monuments, and has turned the late war to account -by numerous military memorials erected to our dead heroes. The one -recently finished at Boston is the most noteworthy. The art represented -in these works is, however, not of a high order, perhaps because such -subjects are so trite that even an artist of very unusual ability would -be staggered in treating them. Franklin Simmons, whose abilities have -been chiefly devoted to a similar class of works with those of Meade and -Milmore, often exhibits true art feeling, and a sense of the beautiful -that makes his art exceptionally attractive. The monument to the Army -and Navy, at Washington, which he has designed, is not wholly -satisfactory, but it contains some effective points. One of his best -works is the statue of Roger Williams. Another Americo-Florentine artist -who has created some remarkable and beautiful ideal works is Thomas R. -Gould. Among these may be mentioned "The Ascending Spirit," at Mount -Auburn, "The Ghost in _Hamlet_," and "The West Wind." The latter is -fascinating rather for the delicate fancy it shows than for technic -knowledge, for it is open to criticism in the details; the drapery, for -example, is so full as to draw away the attention from the figure. This -is a blemish quite too common even in our best sculpture. Mr. Gould has -also been very successful in portraiture, and is now engaged on a -full-sized statue of Kamehameha, late King of the Sandwich Islands. In -the ideals of this artist we notice a powerful originality, and an -attempt to render in marble effects usually left to the higher orders of -pictorial art. Allegory he treats with marked power, and such ideal -conceptions as the heads of Christ and of Satan suggest possibilities -scarcely yet touched by sculpture. - -Another of our sculptors, working near the quarries whence comes the -marble into which he stamps immortality, was W. H. Rinehart, of -Baltimore, one of the truest idealists whom this country has produced. -Criticism is almost disarmed as one gazes at his "Sleeping Babes," or -the tender grace of "Latona and her Infants." - -[Illustration: BUST OF WILLIAM PAGE.--[WILLIAM R. O'DONOVAN.]] - -In all these artists we find more or less dexterity of execution and -delicacy of sentiment, but are rarely impressed by a sense that any of -them indicate great reserve force. In William W. Story this idea is more -clearly conveyed. No American in the art world now occupies a more -prominent position or shows greater versatility. Possessed of an ample -fortune, and originally a lawyer, and preparing legal tomes, he then -devoted himself to poetry, the drama, and general literature, and has -succeeded as a sculptor to a degree which has caused a leading London -journal to call him the first sculptor of the Anglo-Saxon race since the -death of Gibson. He certainly occupies a commanding place, fairly won, -among the prominent men of the age. But here our praise must be -qualified; for it may be seriously questioned whether we are not dazzled -by the sum of his abilities rather than by any exceptional originality -and daring in anything Story has done. Of his sculpture it may be said -that it indicates the work of a rich and highly cultivated mind; it is -thoughtful, thoroughly finished, and classically severe. But it commands -our respect rather than our enthusiasm. There is in it nothing -inspirational. It is talent, not genius, which wrought those carefully -executed marbles--talent of a high order, it is true. "Jerusalem -Lamenting," "The Sibyl," and "Cleopatra" and "Medea," are works so -noble, especially the first, that one is impatient with himself because -he can gaze upon them so unmoved. The "Salome" is, perhaps, the most -perfect work of this sculptor, who might have done greater things if he -had not depended so exclusively upon foreign inspiration. - -Miss Hosmer, who has resided in Italy ever since she took up art, has -achieved a fame scarcely less than that of Mr. Story. This has doubtless -been owing in part to her sex, for from the time of Sabina Von Steinbach -until this century it has been exceedingly rare to see a woman modelling -clay. But Miss Hosmer has a strong personality, and if her creations are -not always thoroughly successful as works of art, they bear the vigorous -impress of individual thought and imagination. She is best known in such -versatile works as "Puck," "The Sleeping Sentinel," "The Sleeping Faun," -and "Zenobia," in whose majestic proportions the artist has sought to -express her ideal of a woman and a queen. Miss Hosmer took her first -lessons in sculpture with Peter Stephenson, an artist who died too early -to achieve a national reputation, although not too soon to be esteemed -by his fellow-artists for his abilities. He studied awhile at Rome, and -left a number of portrait busts, and a group of "Una and the Lion," -which indicate undoubted talent. Other ladies who have essayed sculpture -with success are Miss Stebbins, the biographer of Charlotte Cushman, and -Mrs. Freeman, of Philadelphia, who has executed some beautiful works. -Miss Whitney, who studied abroad for a time, but has wisely concluded to -continue her work in this country, has shown a careful, thoughtful study -of the figure, and is moved by a lofty idea of the position of sculpture -among the arts. Among her more important works is an impressive statue -of "Rome," in her decadence, mourning over her past glory; a statue of -"Africa;" and one of Samuel Adams, in the Capitol at Washington. - -[Illustration: ABRAHAM PIERSON.--[LAUNT THOMPSON.]] - -[Illustration: "THE CHARITY PATIENT."--[JOHN ROGERS.]] - -There are other American sculptors deserving more than mere allusion, -like Dexter, Richard Greenough, Barbee, Volk, Edmonia Lewis, Van Wart, -Ives, Macdonald, Kernys, Ezekiel, Calverly, and Haseltine, who in -portraiture or the ideal have won a more than respectable position; but -our space limits us to a notice of several artists who, like Ward, -combine great natural ability with traits distinctively American. One of -these is Erastus D. Palmer, of Albany, who has won transatlantic fame -by the purity and originality of his art. The son of a farmer, and -exercising the calling of a carpenter until nearly thirty, Palmer did -not yield to the artistic yearnings of his nature until comparatively -late in life. When he at last took up the pursuit of art, it was in his -own town that he studied and sought fame, and his success was rapid and -entirely deserved. Few of our sculptors have been such true votaries of -the ideal, few have been able better to give it expression, and none -have shown a type of beauty so national, or have more truly interpreted -with an exquisite poetic sense the distinctive domestic refinement or -religious thought of our people. It is beauty rather than power that we -see expressed in the works of this true poet--moral beauty identified -with a type of physical grace wholly native. It is an art which finds -immediate response here, for it is of our age and our land. Among the -notable works of Palmer are his "Indian Captive," "Spring," "The White -Slave," and "The Angel of the Sepulchre;" but we prefer to these the -exquisitely beautiful bass-reliefs in which he has embodied with extreme -felicity the domestic sentiments or the yearnings and aspirations of the -Christian soul. The radical fault of Palmer's art is that he has -depended more on his fancy than upon a direct study of nature for his -compositions. The natural result has been that he soon began to lapse -into mannerism, which has become more and more prominent in his later -works. - -Another sculptor of great ability owes his first instruction in the -plastic art to Palmer--Launt Thompson. He was a poor lad who early -showed art instincts, but was employed in the office of Dr. Armsby, -until Palmer stated one day that he was in search of an assistant, and -asked Dr. Armsby if he could recommend any one. The doctor suggested -Thompson (who was in the room) as a youth who had a turn that way, but -had been unable to find opportunity to gratify his art cravings. Thus -began the career of one of our strongest portrait sculptors. In the -modelling both of the bust and the full figure, Thompson has been -equalled by very few American sculptors. Among many successful works may -be mentioned his Napoleon, Edwin Booth, General Sedgwick, at West Point, -and President Pierson, at Yale College. It is a cause for just regret -that, after having achieved such success at home, Thompson should have -deemed it necessary to take up his residence permanently in Italy. - -[Illustration: "THE WHIRLWIND."--[J. S. HARTLEY.]] - -[Illustration: "ADORATION OF THE CROSS BY ANGELS." ST. THOMAS'S CHURCH, -NEW YORK.--[ST. GAUDENS.]] - -Another artist whose work is entirely native to the soil is John Rogers, -whose numerous statuette groups in clay have made him more widely known -in the country than any other of our sculptors. A native of Salem, -Massachusetts, and for awhile engaged in mechanical pursuits, this -artist was at last able to turn his attention to plastic art, and went -to Europe, where he seems to have gained suggestions from the realistic -and impressional school of the later French sculptors; but this was -rather as a suggestion than an influence, and, finding his mind more in -sympathy with home life, he soon returned, and has ever since worked -here, and from subjects of homely every-day _genre_ around him. The late -war has also furnished Rogers with material for many interesting -groups. The art of Rogers is to the last degree unconventional, and in -no sense appertains to what is called high art, but it springs from a -nature moved by correct impulses, beating in unison with the time, and -occupying the position of pioneer in the art of the future, because he -has been true to himself and his age. - -Daniel C. French, a pupil of Ward and Ball, is a young sculptor who, -like Rogers, finds inspiration for his ideals in his native land, and -gives promise of holding a prominent position in the field of American -sculpture. He made a sudden and early strike for fame when, with scarce -any instruction, he modelled the spirited and original, although -anatomically imperfect, statue called the "Minute Man," which is at -Concord. - -Another strong representative of the new realistic school of sculpture -that is gradually springing up in the community is W. R. O'Donovan, of -Richmond, Virginia. Fighting sturdily on the side of the South during -the late war, he as earnestly gives himself now to the pursuit of the -arts of peace. He is not a rapid worker, but handles the clay with -thoughtful mastery, and the results are stamped with the freshness and -individuality of genius. Mr. O'Donovan's efforts have been most -successful in portraiture, of which a striking example is given in the -bronze bust of Mr. Page, the artist. Another bust, of a young boy, is as -full of _naïve_ beauty and refined sentiment and character as this is -vigorous and almost startling in its grasp of individual traits. - -[Illustration: THOMAS JEFFERSON'S IDEA OF A MONUMENT.] - -The transition stage through which our plastic art is passing is also -indicated by the stirring, realistic, and sometimes sensational art of a -number of earnest and original young sculptors who have studied abroad, -but have wisely concluded to return home, and to found, and grow up -with, a new and progressive school of sculpture. One of these was the -late Frank Dengler, of Cincinnati, who had studied at Munich, and was -professor of sculpture at Boston; and others are Olin M. Warner, of New -York, and Howard Roberts, of Philadelphia, who made the singularly bold -statues of "Hypatia" and "Lot's Wife." To these may be added J. S. -Hartley, who was recently Professor of Anatomy at the Art Students' -League, and is now president of that flourishing institution. He began -his career in Palmer's studio, and afterward studied in London and -Paris. The art of these young sculptors is still immature and highly -emotional or lyrical, and often verges on the picturesque rather than -the severely classic. But if it lacks repose, on the other hand it is -imaginative and powerful; its faults are those of an exuberant fancy -that teems with thought; and these artists are undoubtedly the -forerunners, if not the creators, of a thoroughly national school of -sculpture. Superior in technic skill, moved by a genius thoroughly -trained in the best modern school of plastic art, that of Paris, St. -Gaudens, a native of New York, has given us, in the exquisite groups -called "The Adoration of the Cross by Angels," in St. Thomas's Church, -New York, one of the most important and beautiful works in the country. -The Astor Reredos behind the altar at Trinity Church, designed by Mr. -Withers, and partly executed here, is also a very rich addition to our -plastic art, and is another sign that it is taking a direction little -followed heretofore on this side the Atlantic. Dr. William Rimmer, who -has recently died, powerful in modelling, a master of art anatomy, and -author of a valuable work on that subject, also exerted an important -influence in directing the studies of our rising sculptors. Having -little sense of beauty, he understood art anatomy profoundly, and -modelled with energy if not with grace. His statue of "The Gladiator" -aroused astonishment in Paris; for as it is impossible for a living man -to keep a falling position long enough for a cast to be taken, this -masterly composition was necessarily a creation of the imagination based -upon exhaustive knowledge of the figure. - -Wood and stone carving and monumental work, and the decoration of -churches and civic structures, have rarely been satisfactorily attempted -here until recently. A curious paper and design left by Thomas -Jefferson, of which we give a reduced fac-simile, is one of the earliest -attempts at original monumental art in the United States. Here and there -one of our sculptors has executed some good work in this field, but -costly monuments have too often been erected in the country without much -pretension to art. The increasing attention given to wood and stone -carving, as in the new Music Hall at Cincinnati, the State Capitols at -Albany and Hartford, and in some of our later churches, is a favorable -sign that a broader field is opening at last for the fitting utterance -of the rising genius of sculpture; while the numerous schools for -instruction in this art that have been founded within the last decade, -and the well-stored galleries of casts of the masterpieces of antiquity, -are increasing the facilities for the growth of a home art. Enough has -been said in this brief sketch to show that sculpture, if one of the -latest of the arts to demand expression in the United States, has yet -found a congenial soil in the New World. - - - - -VI. - -_PRESENT TENDENCIES OF AMERICAN ART._ - - -At the close of the fourth chapter of this volume it was briefly stated -that new influences and forms of art expression have recently become -prominent in our art, and are rapidly asserting their growing -importance. With perhaps one or two exceptions, these new influences so -gradually shade out of our former art that it is difficult to tell the -exact moment when they assume an individuality of their own, and appear -as new and distinct factors in the æsthetic culture of our people. - -It is only when we take a retrospect of the whole field, and compare one -generation with another, that we discern the vanishing point of one set -of influences and the genesis of new schools, with the introduction of -new branches of art culture in the community. Considering the progress -of American art from this point of view, we find it divided most -decidedly into periods, advancing with regular pace from one phase to -another like the tints of a rainbow, shading off at the edges, but -gradually becoming more intense. Thus we are able to trace in -geometrical ratio the progress from primitive silhouettes and rude -carvings up to the present comparatively advanced condition of the arts -in this country. - -And yet a closer inspection into the history of American art enables us -to detect in its growth the same rapid spasmodic action, when once a -start is made in a certain direction, as in other traits of our national -development. There is a tropical vivacity in the manner in which with us -bloom and fruition suddenly burst forth after a period of apparently -unpromising barrenness. Thus West and Copley appeared almost -full-fledged in art genius and capacity to adapt themselves to occupy -prominent positions in Europe, and yet there were but few premonitory -signs to indicate that the country was prepared for the advent of such -artists. - -[Illustration: "THE MOWING."--ALFRED FREDERICKS.] - -Until recently, also, owing to some cause yet unsolved, we have not -seemed able to develop more than one or two forms of art at once. At one -period it was historic painting and portraiture; then portraiture, -including for a time very marked success in miniature painting, headed -by Fraser and Malbone, and continued by such able artists as T. S. -Cummings, J. H. Brown, Miss Goodrich, and Mrs. Hall; then, all at once, -landscape-painting made its appearance, and almost at a bound reached a -good degree of merit. Hand in hand with landscape art came remarkable -facility in line engraving. How rapidly excellence in this art was -achieved in this country may be judged from the fact that in 1788 the -editor of the _American Magazine_ said apologetically, in presenting an -incredibly rude plate of a dredging-machine in the magazine, "The editor -has given the plate of the new machine for clearing docks, etc., because -he had promised it. The want of elegant plates in a work of this kind is -extremely regretted, and will, if possible, be supplied. If it cannot, -the editor flatters himself that the infancy of the arts in America will -be accepted as an apology for the defect." And yet not twenty years from -that time Peter Maverick was doing good steel-engraving in New York; and -scarce ten years later Durand was executing the masterly engravings of -Trumbull's "Declaration of Independence" and Vanderlyn's "Ariadne." And -from that time until recently engravers like James Smillie, senior, A. -H. Ritchie, and John Marshall have carried this art to a high degree of -excellence; while John Sartain has attained celebrity in mezzotint. - -Strange as it may seem, while portraiture, landscape, and steel -engraving were pursued with such success by our artists, a feeling for -the other arts could hardly be said to exist. A sympathy with form, -generally the earliest art instinct to show itself, was long in -awakening, as proved by the tardiness of the plastic arts to demand -expression among us; while to the resources of black and white, or -_camieu_, or a perception of the matchless mystery and suggestiveness of -_chiaro-oscuro_, the people have, until within a very short time, seemed -altogether blind. Water-colors, also, were almost hooted at; -wood-engraving was for long in a pitiful condition; and as for -architecture and the decorative arts, nothing worthy of the name, and -scarcely a sign of a perception of their meaning, could be said to exist -on this side of the Atlantic. - -Some years ago W. J. Linton, one of the most distinguished -wood-engravers of the century, came to this country to live. Whether -that had anything to do with the very rapid development of -wood-engraving here since that time cannot be stated with certainty; -but, judging from analogy, we should say that he has exerted a marked -influence in stimulating the remarkable progress already reached by our -engravers within a very few years. A.V.S. Anthony was one of the first -to respond to the awakening demand for good wood-engraving here, and has -shown great delicacy and skill in interpreting the drawings of our very -clever artists in black and white. Charles Marsh is also an engraver of -remarkable character and originality of style. In the rendering of a -decorative or highly ideal class of subjects he brings to his aid an -artistic genius not surpassed by any engraver we have produced. Messrs. -Morse, Davis, Hoskin, Wolf, Annin, Juengling, Kingsley, Müller, Cole, -Smithwick and French, Kreul, Dana, Andrew, and King, among a number who -have distinguished themselves in this art, are especially noteworthy, -not only for correct rendering of the spirit of a drawing, but often for -individuality of style. - -One of the most interesting phases of the development of wood-engraving -in this country has been the discussion as to its position among the -arts, and the merits of the recent method of engraving drawings or -paintings photographed directly on the wood. This discussion has been -interesting and valuable as another evidence of the activity and -importance which the art question has already assumed in the community. -That engraving is an art, one would think could never be disputed, if -the question had not already been raised with a certain degree of -acrimony on the part--strange as it may seem--of those who are often -dependent upon the genius of the engraver for the recognition of their -abilities by the public--the artists themselves. It seems to us to be -sufficient answer to those who consider it purely a mechanical pursuit, -that the simple fact that the higher the artistic perceptions of the -engraver the better is the engraving he does, proves it to be a work of -art. - -[Illustration: "BIRDS IN THE FOREST."--[MISS JESSIE CURTIS.]] - -On the other hand, it appears that the engraver may in turn assume too -much when he claims to improve upon an illustration, or objects _per se_ -to cutting photographs on wood. While granting to engraving the rank of -art, it cannot justly be forgotten that it is, after all, a means to an -end,--an art, it is true, but an art subordinate to other arts which it -is designed to interpret. Once this is allowed, it follows, as a matter -of course, that it is the duty of the engraver to render faithfully the -drawing or painting that is to be cut; and to magnify himself not at the -expense of the artist who made the drawing, but by rendering, as nearly -as possible, a fac-simile of the original picture. If this be granted, -then is it not clear that, instead of opposing, he should hail with -satisfaction any new process which enables him to give on wood or any -other material a closer copy of the style and spirit of the artist whom -he is interpreting. That this can be done by a clever engraver by -photographing a pen-and-ink drawing or painting directly on the wood, -and then studying also the original work as he cuts it, seems to be no -longer an open question. It has been demonstrated by too many excellent -engravers within the last five years. - -Another advantage of what we cannot but consider an advance in this art -is, that it admits of a larger variety of styles, and a freer expression -of the designer's methods of thought and feeling, and also enables many -who do not care to work in the cramped limits of a block of wood to make -a large composition in black and white, whether with Indian-ink or -monochrome in oil, which is then photographed on the wood. In this way -far greater freedom and individuality of handling is obtained, and a -nobler utterance of the truths of nature. Can there be any question that -a process which allows of such variety of expression must inure to art -progress, and still more to the instruction of the people, who are -directly benefited by the illustrations which are brought to their own -doors, and placed in the hands of the young at the time when their -tastes and characters are forming, and their imagination is most plastic -and impressionable? - -It would seem as if the art of wood-engraving had received in the most -direct manner the action of some unseen hand, impelling it suddenly -forward in this country by concerted action with the genius of -illustration; for apparently by secret agreement that branch of art has -within the last decade developed a comparative excellence yet reached by -none of the sister arts in the land. And this turn for illustration has -naturally been accompanied by an active movement in black and white -drawing, particularly in crayon. - -Samuel W. Rowse was one of the first to give an impetus to crayon -drawing by a style of portraiture especially his own. As such he ranks -with our leading portrait-painters; while the fact that he employed -crayon as a medium for a time gave him a position almost entirely alone -in this country. There is a wonderful subtlety in his power of seizing -character and the rendition of soul in the faces he portrays. Equally -happy in all the subjects he treats, he will be longest remembered, -perhaps, for the many beautiful children's portraits he has executed. -The success of Rowse naturally led to similar attempts by other artists; -and in all our leading cities one may now find crayon artists who are -more or less successful in the department of portraiture, among whom may -be mentioned B. C. Munzig and Frederick W. Wright. Out of this has grown -a school of landscape-artists employing charcoal--a medium that Lalanue -and Allongé had already used with magical results. John R. Key, who is -well known as a painter in oil, has, however, done his best work, as it -seems to us, in charcoal. There is great tenderness in his treatment of -light and shade, together with harmonious composition. J. Hopkinson -Smith, known as a water-colorist, also handles charcoal like a master. -He seizes his effects with the rapidity of improvisation, treats them in -masses, and shows a feeling for _chiaro-oscuro_ that is almost unique in -our art. - -[Illustration: Representing the manner of PETER'S Courtship. - -[Howard Pyle.]] - -When we come to the book illustrators we encounter a number of artists -of merit, and occasionally of genius, who are so numerous that we can -select only here and there a few of the most prominent names. Felix O. -C. Darley was one of the first to show the latent capacity of our art in -this branch. His style soon became very mannered, but, at the same -time, undoubtedly showed great originality and invention in seizing -striking characteristics of our civilization, and a refined fancy in -representing both humor and pathos. His linear illustrations to "Rip Van -Winkle" and Judd's "Margaret" placed him, until recently, among our -first two or three _genre_ artists. Less versatile and inventive, -Augustus Hoppin has, however, earned an honorable position among our -earlier illustrators. Louis Stephens also won distinction for an elegant -rendering of humorous subjects. Then followed a group of landscape -illustrators, among whom Harry Fenn holds a high position for poetically -rendering the illimitable aspects of nature and the picturesqueness of -rustic or Old World scenery and ruins. Under the guidance of his facile -pencil how many have been instructed in art, and learned of the varied -loveliness of this beautiful world! Thomas Moran ranks with Mr. Fenn as -a master in this field. It appears to us that in this branch he displays -more originality and imagination than in the elaborate paintings by -which he is best known. - -Within a very few years--so recently, in fact, that it is difficult to -see where they came from--a school of _genre_ illustrators have claimed -recognition in our art, educated altogether in this country, and yet -combining more art qualities in their works than we find in the same -number of artists in any other department of American art. It is a -little singular that, notwithstanding the recent interest in black and -white in this country, the _genre_ artists who represent it should at -once have reached an excellence which commands admiration on both sides -of the Atlantic, while our painters in the same department have rarely -achieved more than a secondary rank. - -[Illustration: SOME ART CONNOISSEURS.--[W. HAMILTON GIBSON.]] - -Alfred Fredericks has distinguished himself by combining landscape and -figure in a most graceful, airy style; and Miss Jessie Curtis, in the -delineation of the simplicity and beauty of child life, has delightfully -treated one of the most winsome subjects which can attract the pencil of -the poetic artist. Miss Humphreys, in the choice of a somewhat similar -class of subjects, has yet developed individuality of method marked by -breadth of effect and forcible treatment. Of the ladies who have found -scope for their abilities in the field of illustration perhaps none have -excelled Mrs. Mary Halleck Foote. We cannot always find her style of -composition agreeable, and in invention or lightness of fancy she seems -deficient, while her manner is strong rather than graceful. But she is a -most careful student of nature, and the effects she aims at, and -sometimes reaches, are inspired by an almost masculine nerve and power, -and show knowledge and reserve force. Some of her realistic landscapes -are almost as true and intense in black and white as the daring realisms -of Courbet in color, but showing fine technical facility rather than -imagination. Miss Annette Bishop, who died too early to win a general -recognition of her talents, was gifted with a most delicate poetic -fancy, and singular facility in giving expression to its dreams. - -F. S. Church is an artist of imagination, painting in oil and -water-colors, but perhaps best known for striking and weird compositions -in black and white, often treating of animal or bird life. He is an -artist whose advent into our art we hail with pleasure, not because his -style is wholly matured or always quite satisfactory, for it is neither, -but because it is inspired by a genuine art feeling, and yet more -because it shows him to be--what so few of our artists have been--an -idealist. What is art but a reaching out after the ideal, the most -precious treasure given to man in this world? It includes faith, hope, -and charity. To search after the ideal good, to live in an ideal world, -to yearn after and try to create the harmony of the ideal, is the one -boon left to man to give him a belief in immortality and a higher life. -The more of an idealist the poet or the artist, the nearer he comes to -fulfilling his mission. The idealist is the creator, the man of genius; -and therefore we hail with joy the appearance of every idealist who -enters our art ranks, and infuses vitality into the prose of technical -art, and inspiration into the dogmas of the schools. The most hopeless -feature of American art has always been hitherto, as with our -literature, the too evident absence of imagination; and wherever we -recognize an idealist, we set him down as another mile-stone to mark the -progress in art. It is through the idealists that Heaven teaches truth -to man; and hence another reason why we regard with such importance the -present school of artists in black and white. In no department is there -more scope for the imagination than in the drawing of the pure line or -in the suggestions of _chiaro-oscuro_. Therein lies the enormous power -of the art of Rembrandt. He dealt with that seemingly simple but really -inexhaustible medium, light and shade: in the hands of a master, potent -as the wand of a magician to evolve worlds out of chaos. - -[Illustration: "WASHINGTON OPENING THE BALL."--[C. S. REINHART.]] - -Barry, Bensell, Shepherd, Davis (who is also known as a decorative -artist), T. A. Richards, Eytinge, Frost, Merrill, Ipsen, Shirlaw, -Lathrop, Lewis, Perkins, and Davison are other artists who have justly -acquired repute for success in the department of black and white, or -book illustration. Kelley has a sketchy style that is very effective, -and of which the correct rendering on wood would have been well-nigh -impossible with the old processes; but there is danger of carrying it to -the verge of sensationalism. The facilities afforded by photographing -a design on wood has seemed to be the occasion for aiding the -development of a class of artist-authors who both write and illustrate -their own articles for the magazines. How remarkably well this can be -done is proved by such clever artists as Howard Pyle and W. Gibson, who -display at once fertility of imagination and technical facility as -draughtsmen. C. S. Reinhart has become widely known as one of the most -versatile illustrators we have produced. Excelling as a draughtsman, he -brings to his aid an active fancy that enables him vividly to realize -the scenes he undertakes to represent; and he seems equally at home in -the portrayal of quaint old-time scenes, or the brilliant costumes and -characters of the present day, combined with forcible delineations of -scenery. The Puritan damsel or the belle of Newport may alike be -congratulated when Mr. Reinhart ushers them before us with the grace of -a master. The success of this school of artists, who have made their -mark in the department of illustration, has doubtless been due in part -to the increasing study of the figure in this country, and the greater -facilities afforded for drawing from the life. Most of these artists are -young men, whose abilities have been vastly assisted by their studies in -life schools, which it would have been well-nigh impossible for them to -find in the earlier periods of our art. Although perhaps better noticed -under the head of Ethics rather than of Æsthetics, we may allude to the -surprising growth and influence of caricature-drawing in this country, -represented by such able artists as Nast, Bellew, Kepler, or Cusack, as -associated with the development of our black and white art. - -An artist who seems to combine the qualities we see more or less -represented by other artists in black and white, who has already -accomplished remarkable results, and gives promise of even greater -successes, we find in E. A. Abbey. It must be taken into consideration -that he is still very young; that he now for the first time visits the -studios and galleries of Europe; that his advantages for a regular art -education have been very moderate, and that he is practically -self-educated. And then compare with these disadvantages the amount and -the quality of the illustrations he has turned out, and we see -represented in him genius of a high order, combining almost -inexhaustible creativeness, clearness and vividness of conception, a -versatile fancy, a poetic perception of beauty, a quaint, delicate -humor, a wonderful grasp of whatever is weird and mysterious, and -admirable _chiaro-oscuro_, drawing, and composition. When we note such -a rare combination of qualities, we cease to be surprised at the cordial -recognition awarded his genius by the best judges, both in London and -Paris, even before he had left this country. - -If I have spoken strongly in favor of our school of illustrators, it is -because I think such commendation has been rightly earned, and to -withhold it when merited would be as unjust as to give censure when -undeserved. Criticism need not necessarily be the essence of vitriol and -gall, as some critics seem to imagine it to be. A jury is as much bound -to approve the innocent as to condemn the guilty. - -[Illustration: MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, BOSTON.] - -In another department of our arts we also feel called to award praise to -a degree that has never before been possible in the history of American -art. I refer to the department of architecture. It is difficult to say -exactly when the new movement toward a fuller expression of beauty in -our civic and domestic building began; but we are conscious that about -ten years ago what was for a time a mere vague feeling after more -agreeable examples of architecture shaped itself into a definite and -almost systematic impulse. The Chicago fire, and more especially the -great fire in Boston, accelerated the action of the forces that already -directed the people to demand nobler forms and types in the -constructions that were henceforth to be erected in our growing cities. -The advance of landscape-gardening, as evidenced in the Central Park of -New York, and the public parks of other cities, doubtless aided to -increase the yearning for material beauty. But whatever the influences -at work, there is no question as to the results already apparent. I -would not be understood as approving all the buildings of importance -that have recently been put up in this country--very far from it. But, -on the other hand, one cannot avoid seeing that the general tendency is -toward improved styles, and that here and there groups of buildings or -single structures have been erected which are at once elegant, -commodious, and artistic; and, if not strictly offering new orders of -architecture, presenting at least graceful adaptations of old orders to -new climatic and social conditions in a way that gives them the merit of -originality. - -So prominent has this improvement in architecture already become in -American cities, that already their external aspect or profile has begun -to partake of the picturesque character hitherto supposed to belong only -to the Old World, and to present that massing of effect so dear to the -artistic eye. We can illustrate this by mentioning only two or three -examples among many. One who looks toward Philadelphia from the railway -station on the east side of the Schuylkill, may see a cluster of spires -and domes centering around the Academy of Fine Arts, which is so -agreeably composed that one would almost imagine the position of each to -be the deliberate choice of a master in composition. Twenty years ago -one would have looked in vain for any such harmonious outline of -structural beauty in this country. The small, quaint fishing-port of -Marblehead has also found itself suddenly transformed into one of the -most pleasing cities of the Union, as viewed from the Neck across the -harbor; for on the very crest of the hills upon which the place is built -a town-hall has been erected, of brick, neatly faced with stone, and -surmounted by an elegant tower. At once the old town has emerged from -the commonplace into the region of the picturesque. The new structure -has given character and symmetrical outline to the city by producing -convergence to a central point of effect; and when the sun sets behind -it, and brings its outline into bold but harmonious relief against a -golden background, while a mist of glowing rays glazes the whole into -tone, the view is in the highest degree artistic, and so resembles some -of the scenes one so often sees in the Old World that he can hardly -believe he is gazing at an American prospect. - -We find a somewhat similar effect, but on a much larger scale, presented -by the new Capitol, or State-house, at Albany. This city, as beheld from -the opposite banks of the Hudson at Greenbush, has always been one of -the most pleasing of American cities, situated as it is on several lofty -hills, divided by ravines in which purple shadows linger when night is -approaching; but the addition of the vast structure now in course of -completion there adds greatly to the glory of the spectacle. It -dominates over the city of eighty thousand inhabitants with superb -dignity; and the whole place borrows beauty from it, and is elevated -above prose into poetry. Again one is reminded of the cathedral towns of -Europe, where some lofty, venerable minster guards through the ages the -roofs that cluster below. Not that this pile, which is rather hybrid in -its style, is to be considered equal to the masterpieces of old-time -architecture; but it is a long step in advance compared with the civic -buildings formerly erected and admired in our cities, and its presence -at the capital of a great State cannot but have an ennobling and -educational influence upon rising generations. - -The styles, whether pure or modified, that are most employed by our -architects in this new movement have been chiefly the Romanesque, the -Palladian Renaissance, the French Renaissance of Mansard and Perrault, -and the later Elizabethan or Jacobean. The first two have entered -chiefly into the construction of civic buildings; the second has been -followed in religious edifices; while the last has been used with -excellent effect in domestic architecture. A fine example of the success -achieved in the employment of the Romanesque is seen in the new Trinity -Church on the Back Bay lands, in Boston, designed by Gambrel and -Richardson. This is one of the most conscientious and meritorious -buildings erected on this continent, although less imposing than it -would have been if the original design had been fully carried out. There -is, also, an affectation of strength in the massive blocks of undressed -stone under the windows, in a part where such strength is -disproportionate to that employed in other portions of the building. But -the general effect is excellent, and the covered approaches or cloisters -are quite in the spirit of true architecture. Color enters judiciously -into the selection of the stone used to aid the general effect; and the -same observation may be applied to the very elegant tower of the new Old -South Church, close at hand, designed by Peabody and Robinson, in the -Italian Gothic style, and which for grace, beauty, and majesty has -not been surpassed on this side of the Atlantic. The church edifice to -which it is attached, although sufficiently ornate--perhaps too much -so--is lacking in that repose of outline or just proportions that are -required to bring it into harmony with the campanile. - -[Illustration: "THE ASTONISHED ABBE."--[E. A. ABBEY.]] - -Other towers and churches are clustered in that neighborhood, erected -within ten years, which present an effect that is really intrinsically -beautiful, without taking at all into question the rapidity of the -transformation which has come over the spirit of our architecture. And -the effect is heightened, to a degree never before attained on this -continent since the Mound-builders passed away, by the excellence of the -domestic architecture which has entered into the construction of the -dwellings of that vicinage, especially on Boylston Street and the -adjacent avenues. Beauty, taste, and comfort are there found combined to -a degree that promises much for the future of architecture in our -country. The gargoyles, gables, cornices, and carvings one meets at -every turn carry one quite back to the Middle Ages. It is interesting to -observe that the sham cornices formerly so common here are gradually -being discarded, together with all the other trumpery decoration so much -in vogue. Good honest work is shown in external decoration, together -with a feeling for color that is adding much to the cheerfulness of our -cities. Brick is made to do service for ornamentation as well as for -mere dead walls, and string courses, or bands of colored tiles or -terra-cotta carvings, all of an enduring character, enter into the -external decorations of private dwellings. - -[Illustration: A CHILD'S PORTRAIT.--[B. C. PORTER.]] - -Not only is the love of beauty shown in domestic architecture, but it is -found displayed in the construction of banks and stores; and it is again -in Boston that we find whole streets of buildings of rich and elegant -design, and conscientiously constructed, devoted wholly to business -purposes. But a building which, perhaps, more than any other is typical -of the architectural movement now passing over the country is the Museum -of Fine Arts in Boston. It is not so much after any one style as a -choice from different schools of later Gothic adapted to modern -conditions. The terra-cotta groups in relievo in the façade, temper what -would be otherwise too large an expanse of warm color, for it is built -of red brick. The grouped arches, turrets, and oriel windows, and the -numerous terra-cotta decorations at the angles and on the gables, are -elegant, but perhaps so generally distributed as to be a little -confusing. The effect is scattered, and thus weakened, instead of being -massed at one or two central or salient points. This is the most -glaring error we discover in the present importation or adaptation of -foreign and ancient styles to our needs here. It is an error which we -share with the modern British architect, and was forcibly illustrated in -the new Houses of Parliament, by Sir Charles Barry. No buildings of this -century are so profusely ornate as some of the magnificent cathedrals -and town-halls of the Middle Ages; but at the same time all this -sumptuousness of decoration was massed upon one or two effective spots, -surrounded by large spaces comparatively simple and free of -embellishment. Thus grandeur and nobility of outline were preserved, -while extraordinary beauty in color and sculpture could be added without -disturbing the general effect or cloying the imagination. But our -architects, not having yet fully grasped the ideas after which they are -searching, scatter instead of concentrating the external decorations of -their buildings. - -[Illustration: A BIT OF VENICE.--[SAMUEL COLMAN.]] - -Interior decoration has also naturally assumed importance as the quality -of our architecture has advanced. Elaborate wood-carvings are entering -into the decorations of the houses of our citizens, and painting is -called in to adorn the walls of private and civic buildings, sometimes -with more affectation or extravagance than taste; although it can be -conceded without hesitation that a remarkable and decided improvement is -noticeable within a very few years in the decoration of interiors in -this country. M. Brumidi made a beginning, some twenty years ago, in the -frescoes of the Capitol at Washington; and quite recently Mr. Lafarge -has beautified the interior of Trinity Church, Boston, and other public -buildings, with sacred designs in fresco, and other decorative work in -gold and red, which are very interesting. Among the last, and probably -the most important, works of the late William M. Hunt were the mural -paintings in oil for the new State-house at Albany. Other artists who -have shown promise in this department are Francis Lathrop and Frank Hill -Smith. - -It is not surprising to find that this advance in decorative art, -together with the increasing luxury accompanying it, should create a -demand and develop a talent for toreutic art, or art in metal-work, -especially the precious metals; and such we find to be the case. The -success achieved in this department is, perhaps, the most remarkable yet -attained in American art, excepting possibly that of some of our artists -in black and white, and has justly merited and obtained unqualified -applause abroad as well as at home. It is to such designers as Messrs. -Grosjean, Perring, Wilkinson, and Moore, assisted by the most skilled -artisans of the age, that our toreutic art is indebted for the -recognition it received at the French Exposition. - -Another sign of the rapidly increasing activity of the interest taken in -the art question in America is presented by the art museums or galleries -which have almost simultaneously arisen in Boston, New Haven, New York, -and Washington, founded at considerable expense, and entirely without -State aid. With the former two are connected important schools for art -instruction, combined with fine casts of the masterpieces of ancient -plastic art. - -Another evidence of the awakening art feeling of a great nation is the -demand for art education--a want which has been met by the establishment -of numerous schools or academies of art in our leading cities all over -the land, from the Atlantic to the Pacific. It is true that in -Philadelphia, Boston, and New York academies were founded early in the -century, and the last especially had become a very important factor in -stimulating the latent love for art in our people. The Massachusetts -Normal Art School, under the able direction of Mr. Walter Smith, while -devoted chiefly to the advancement of industrial art, has also by its -example greatly assisted the growth of the art feeling in the popular -mind. While much may be urged with reason against compulsory instruction -of art in the public schools, it would seem that few could be found to -object to the education of art instructors, and the addition of an -optional art branch to the State schools for the benefit of those who -are desirous of art instruction, but are too poor to avail themselves of -the advantages offered by such admirable art schools as those of the -Cooper Institute and Artists' League in New York, the National Academy -or the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, or the Academy in Philadelphia. -It may, then, be conceded that the founding of the Massachusetts Normal -Art School is not only a strong indication of a growing demand, but that -it has also been a very powerful agent in the diffusion of art knowledge -in the United States. - -[Illustration: "THE OLD ORCHARD."--[R. SWAIN GIFFORD.]] - -Thus we see that by a cumulative effort the arts are making sudden and -rapid progress in America. And there is still another movement which -strikingly indicates this. Slow to be recognized, and meeting in some -quarters with but cold welcome, it is yet by no means the least -significant indication out of many that we are in the full tide of -æsthetic progress, and have fairly entered on the third period of -American art. From the time of West it has been not uncommon for our -painters to go to Europe for study and observation; but they either had -the misfortune to form their style after that of schools already -conventional and on the wane, or they were not yet sufficiently advanced -to accept the methods and principles of new masters and schools. A -possible explanation, that is more philosophical, but which some may -decline to accept, may be found in the general laws directing human -progress, that obliged us, unconsciously, falteringly to tread one after -the other the successive steps which others have followed before us. For -the same reason, when an artist of unusual ability, like Stuart, -appeared in the country, he had little or no following, because he came -before his time. - -[Illustration: A LANDSCAPE.--[GEORGE INNESS.]] - -But it has been evident for some years that a new element was entering -our art ranks and demanding expression, which has at last reached a -degree of vigor and organized strength that challenges respectful -attention, if not unqualified acceptance. By associations, schools, and -exhibitions of its own, it has thrown down the gauntlet to conservatism -and conventionalism, and the time has arrived when we can no longer shut -our eyes to the fact that a new force is exerting itself with -iconoclastic zeal to introduce a different order of things into American -art. We cannot justly consider this movement in the light of reform, for -up to this time our art has been very creditable, and, considering the -environing circumstances, full as advanced proportionally as the other -factors of American civilization. We regard it simply as another stage -in our art progress, destined, when it has accomplished its end, to be -in turn succeeded by yet higher steps in the scale of advance; for, -notwithstanding the somewhat demonstrative assumptions of some of its -promoters, the new movement does not comprehend within itself, more than -any other school, all the qualities of great art. To no school of art -has it yet been given to demonstrate and include in itself all the -possibilities of art, or to interpret all the truths of nature and man. -Perhaps some future school may arise, with all the knowledge of the ages -to choose from, which may comprehend the whole sphere of art in its -compass. But they are probably not yet born who shall see it, or give to -it the symmetry of perfection. Until that time, it behooves those -neophytes and disciples, who proclaim that their art includes all that -art has to tell, to be modest in their claims, and to be satisfied if -they have been able by fasting and prayer to enrich the world of art -with one or two new truths. Nowhere is humility more becoming than in -art; arrogance and assumption dig its grave sooner or later; while -humility is by no means incompatible with earnestness, zeal, and -progress. - -[Illustration: "LA MARGUERETTE--THE DAISY."--[WILLIAM M. HUNT.]] - -The ripeness of our art for a change before the new movement actually -assumed definite shape had already been suggested and welcomed in -advance by such artists as Eastman Johnson, Homer Martin, and Samuel -Colman, the admirable painter in oil and water colors, strong in -_chiaro-oscuro_, brilliant in color, and, although without academic -training abroad, of a most excellent catholic spirit in all matters -relating to art, ready to accept the good of whatever school, and to aid -progress in the arts of his native land by whomsoever promoted. Benjamin -C. Porter, whose massive characterizations in portraiture, broadly -treated and admirably colored, have been among the most important -achievements in recent American art, and Winslow Homer, A. H. Wyant, and -E. M. Bannister are also among the artists whose sympathies are -naturally with the new movement, although receiving their art training -chiefly in this country, and who have thus indicated and prepared the -way for the assertion of new influences in our art. - -R. Swain Gifford should be added to the list of the noteworthy -landscape-painters who have thrown the weight of their influence in -advance to welcome to our shores new elements of progress and change -whereby to quicken American art to fresh conquests. This artist at one -time devoted his efforts to marine-painting, in which he did and still -does some creditable work, his knowledge of ships being sufficiently -technical to satisfy the nautical eye; but since his sojourn in Algeria, -and the observations made in the Continental galleries and studios, he -has devoted himself to landscape, and adopted a bolder style and a truer -scheme of color. The influence of French art is perceptible in his later -methods, but altogether as an influence, and in no sense as an -imitation, for in his works there is always evident a sturdy -self-assertion, whether in subject or treatment. In catching the gray -effects of brooding skies receding in diminishing ranks through an -aërial perspective of great distance and space, and giving with fine -feeling the Druid-like spirit of clumps of sombre russet-hued cedars -moaning by the granite shore of old Massachusetts, and identifying -himself with the mysterious thoughts they suggest, Mr. Gifford has no -superior on this side of the Atlantic. As a professor in the Cooper -Institute, his influence is of great importance to the future of -American pictorial art. - -[Illustration: MOONLIGHT.--[JOHN J. ENNEKING.]] - -George Inness is another painter who, although without training in -foreign studios, should be included with the artists just named, whose -sympathies have gradually led him to exemplify in his works some of the -most characteristic traits of later Continental methods. At first his -style was not unlike the prevailing style of our middle school of -landscape-painting; like that, giving careful attention to the -reproduction of details. But his emotional nature, and intense -reflection upon the philosophical principles of art, gradually led him -to a broader style and a more free expression of the truths of nature, -dealing with masses rather than with details, and handling his -subjects--especially atmospheric effects--with a daring and an insight -that has never been surpassed in our landscape art. To these he has -added a feeling for light and color that place him, at his best, among -the masters of the art. But there is inequality in his works, and -sometimes a conflict of styles, as when he dashes off a composition, in -two or three sittings, that is full of fire and suggestion; and then, -perhaps with a relic of his first method still lingering in his memory -like a habit, goes over it again, and smooths away some of those bold -touches which, to an imaginative observer, gave it additional force. - -[Illustration: "HAVING A GOOD TIME."--[LOUIS C. TIFFANY.]] - -In his latest works Mr. Inness has shown a disposition to yield more -and more to a style at present called impressionist. Impressionism pure -and simple, as represented by its most extravagant supporters, is like -trying to represent the soul without the body. This may be well enough -in another world; but in this a material body is needed to give it -support. But, philosophically considered, there is no question that -impressionism--or the attempt to represent nature according to the -impressions it makes upon the mind's eye, rather than the mere -reflections left on the material eye--undoubtedly presents the -quintessence of the spirit of art; and therefore all good art must have -in it more or less evidence of subjective influence. But just so long as -art finds expression with material means, the artist must make -concessions to the limitations of substance. Naturally, of all the arts, -music comes nearest to the ideal which the impressionist is seeking to -grasp. - -It is useless to deny that, extravagant as some of the works of the -contemporary impressionists appear to many, they undoubtedly present a -keen appreciation of aërial chromatic effects, and for this reason are -worthy of careful attention. That they are not carried nearer to -completion, however, indicates a consciousness on the part of the artist -that he is as yet unable to harmonize the objective and subjective, the -material and the spiritual phases of art. A perfect work of art combines -the two; but, alas! such achievements are as yet rare, although that is -the ideal which the artist should keep in view. The artist who gives us -what is called a finished painting is so far right. He represents what -appears to the material eye. In proportion as he combines with this a -suggestion of the intellectual impression also made on his mental -vision, he approaches the ideal in art execution. On the other hand, the -artist who is impatient of details, and deals wholly with a broad, and -sometimes, we regret to say, dauby and slovenly interpretation of -nature, is yet so far right, because he is endeavoring to interpret the -wholly imaginative and intellectual side of art. When to this bias he -adds the balance of power which enables him to give something of the -other phase of art, he in turn approaches the ideal aim of art. Turner -was an impressionist; so was Corot; so, to go farther back, was -Velasquez; so, also, are the Japanese. But these artists, especially -Turner and Velasquez, had the supreme faculty of uniting the two -opposite poles in art in their best works, and hence the commanding -position which they hold, and always will hold, in the art world. - -[Illustration: SOUTHAMPTON, LONG ISLAND.--[C. H. MILLER.]] - -So far as can be ascertained, it is to the late William M. Hunt that we -must ascribe the initiation of the third period in our pictorial art, -and perhaps, in a secondary manner, the general impulse toward foreign -styles now modifying the arts of design in this country. When Mr. Hunt -went to Düsseldorf to study, in 1846, he did no more than many of our -artists had already done. But when, dissatisfied with the -conventionalism of that school, he turned his steps to Paris, and -became a pupil of Couture, and was one of the first to discover, to -admire, and to emulate the art methods of Millet, then, unconsciously, -he became a power, destined by his somewhat narrow but intense -personality to influence the destinies of our art--especially by -returning to Boston, a city easily brought under the magnetism of a -strong individuality, and more ready than any other city in the land to -surrender the guidance of its opinions to those whom it condescends to -admire. - -The going of Mr. Hunt to Paris meant that technical knowledge and the -perception of the underlying principles of art were now, as never -before, to be systematically mastered and imported to America by our -artists, together with the most advanced theories, truths, or -discoveries in the technical part of the subject. It did not mean that -all our artists who went abroad to study would necessarily be great, or -that any of them would be especially original, but that there would be a -general harmony of action toward improving the means of art education in -America. Regarded in this light, Mr. Hunt must be considered to have -been a most important promoter of the development of art in America. He -was probably not a man of genius--unless great force of character be -considered as such--but he had a true perception of the character and -aims, the limitations and possibilities of art; and the intolerance he -sometimes exhibited was not unusual in those who are introducing new -methods, and have to create a circle of influence. In his own works, as -a landscape, portrait, _genre_, and decorative painter, it cannot be -said that he added greatly to the sum of the world's art by anything -strikingly original; but he exhibited a true perception of the -importance of the ideal in art; and one feels, in contemplating his -works, that he was ever striving to overcome the difficulties of -material means of expressing the ideal. Moved, like most leading -American painters, by a feeling for color rather than for form, yet, in -such compositions as "The Bathers," representing a boy about to dive -from the shoulders of another, who is half immersed in a pool, vanishing -into the green gloom of the wooded banks, we have an admirable example -of the manner in which this artist sometimes combined form, -_chiaro-oscuro_, and color, with a delicacy, force, and suggestion of -outline and tint, to a degree rarely equalled before by American art; -with a technique essentially that of the later French school, yet -modified by individual feeling. - -[Illustration: A STUDY.--[FREDERICK DIELMAN]] - -But the life-work of Mr. Hunt was, after all, not more in his paintings -than in that influence by which he gathered about him a school of -admirers and disciples who disseminated his opinions and imitated his -style, although rarely with his success. Among those who directly -profited by his style and influence may be mentioned Mrs. Darrah, who -effectively paints gray coast scenes and landscapes in a low, minor key; -Miss Helen M. Knowlton; Miss Bartol; F. P. Vinton; and S. S. Tuckerman, -the marine painter. - -The power of Mr. Hunt was still more widely felt in directing a large -number of young art-students to visit Paris, and eventually also Munich, -at each of which the tendency has been for some years toward bolder -methods in the technics of art. The result has been to introduce to this -country a truer perception of the vital importance of style in the -present stage of our art, and to emphasize the truth that he who has -anything to say will make it much more effective if he knows how to -give it adequate utterance. - -Of the many Boston artists who have profited by foreign study and are -now resident in that city, we can mention but three or four. John J. -Enneking, a graduate of the studios of Munich and Paris, can hardly be -called an idealist. There is little evidence of imagination in his -canvases; but in seizing the effects of the brilliant lights of sunset, -or the varied grays of a lowering sky on a cloudy day, he shows himself -equally happy in color, _chiaro-oscuro_, and technical skill in handling -pigments. His versatility is remarkable. He can render the figure from -life with a vigor and freshness scarcely less than that of his -landscapes. There is, unfortunately, an evidence of haste in too many of -his works, which cannot be too much regretted, for he thus fails to do -justice to the very decided ability he possesses. Having studied both in -Munich and Paris, and given careful attention to all the European -schools of art, and adding to this knowledge sturdy independence of -opinion and great earnestness and energy, Mr. Enneking ought to be -strongly influential in the present stage of American art. - -We find much that is interesting in the paintings of E. L. Weeks. They -are marked by a powerful individuality, which delights in glowing -effects of light, and revels in the brilliant coloring of tropical -scenery or the varied splendor of Oriental architecture and costumes. -There is something Byronic in the fervor of this artist's enthusiasm for -the East, and the easy adaptability that has enabled a son of New -England to identify himself with the life and scenery of lands so -exactly the opposite of his own. Although a pupil of Bonnât, and an -ardent admirer of the excessive realism now affected by some of the -followers of the later French school, Mr. Weeks is, in spite of himself, -an idealist, and no imitator of any style. This has, perhaps, been an -injury to him, for he finds difficulty in mastering the technical or -mechanical problems of his profession. A lack of knowledge or feeling -for form, a weakness in drawing which is too often perceptible in his -works, and sometimes an apparent opaqueness in his pigments, impair the -quality of compositions which are inspired by the fire of genius. - -[Illustration: "THE BURGOMASTER."--[H. MUHRMAN.]] - -J. M. Stone, who is one of the professors at the Museum of Fine Arts, -and a graduate of the Munich schools, indicates considerable force in -rendering the figure, both in color and drawing, and a touch of genius -in the painting of dogs and horses. His service in the army during -the war intensified his interest in equine art, and will probably result -in important compositions suggested by that conflict. C. R. Grant has a -delicate poetic feeling for color and form, and a pleasant fancy tinged -with quaintness; and in his choice of treatment and subject suggests the -works of G. H. Boughton. In T. W. Dewing, a pupil of Lefévre, who has -recently settled in Boston, we find much promise in figure-painting, but -altogether after the clear-cut, well-drawn, but somewhat dry method of -Gérôme. - -J. Foxcroft Cole, who has been a careful student of the best phases of -French landscape art, but has formed, at the same time, a sufficiently -individual style of his own, is an artist whose works command a growing -esteem. Although adding groups of cattle to his compositions, he is -essentially a landscape-painter. We receive from a study of his works an -impression of sameness, like that conveyed by the landscapes of Corot, -chiefly because they are generally on one key, and refer to a class of -subjects so quiet and undemonstrative that only he who observes them -repeatedly and reflectively discovers that each work is the result of a -distinct inspiration, and possesses suggestions and qualities of its -own. Exquisite feeling for space and atmosphere, for the peaceful -effects of pastoral life, and the more subtle aspects of nature, -especially in color, are the characteristics of the style of Mr. Cole. - -In reviewing the Boston school, we note in its development much activity -and earnestness, too often combined, however, with crudeness; while the -foreign influence that is, on the whole, most evident in it is that of -the contemporary French school. As Boston is intense rather than broad -in its intellectual traits, and is inclined to follow the lead of its -own first thinkers and artists, it is the more unfortunate that one -influence should predominate, because in such a case the errors as well -as the good qualities of a style are liable to receive too much -attention; while free growth depends on the catholic eclecticism which -supplements the study of nature by culling the good from different -schools, and correcting one by comparison with another, thus enabling -the artist to arrive at a more just and profound view of a question that -proceeds upon irreversible laws. The mind thus educated learns by -balancing the merits of different schools, and the results are not so -much imitation as assimilation, yielding healthy growth and development. - -[Illustration: "BURIAL OF THE DEAD BIRD."--[J. ALDEN WIER.]] - -In New York there seems to be, with no less activity than that of -Boston, an art movement which is based on broader grounds, and offers -more encouragement for the future of our art. The artists who are the -most influential in this advance are more equally divided between the -French and the German schools than those of Boston, and indicate more -breadth of sympathy and art culture, together with a cosmopolitan love -for the good in the art of all schools, which is one of the most -encouraging of signs in a dawning intellectual reform. So decided had -the tendency toward Munich become soon after 1870, that the colony of -American art students in Munich soon grew sufficiently large to -establish an art association, having stated days of meeting, at which -contributed paintings were exhibited and discussed, and carefully -prepared papers on art topics were read. Opinions were exchanged in this -manly, earnest, sympathetic manner, and breadth and catholicity were -reached in the consideration of the great question in which all were so -profoundly interested. Thus were gained many of the influences which are -destined to affect American art for ages to come. - -[Illustration: "THE APPRENTICE."--[WILLIAM M. CHASE.]] - -The writer regards as among the most improving and delightful evenings -he has enjoyed those passed with some of these talented and enthusiastic -art students at the table where a number regularly met to dine--at the -Max Emanuel café in Munich. Dinner over, huge flagons of beer were -placed before each one, and pipes were lit, whose wreaths of -upward-curling smoke softened the gleam of the candles, and gave a -poetic haze to the dim nooks of the hall that was highly congenial to -the hour and the topics discussed. The leonine head of Duveneck, -massively set on his broad shoulders, as from time to time behind a -cloud of smoke he gave forth an opinion, lent much dignity to the scene; -while the grave, thoughtful features of Shirlaw, and the dreamy, -contemplative face of Chase, occasionally lit by a flash of impetuous -emotion, aided by an eloquent gesture, made the occasion one of great -interest. Others there were around the board whose sallies of humor or -weighty expressions of opinion made an indelible impression. - -Among the resident artists of New York who have recently studied abroad, -Louis C. Tiffany, a follower of the French school, holds a prominent -position. He has done some very clever things in landscape and _genre_ -from subjects suggested by his trip to the East, and has succeeded -equally in oil and water colors, and is now giving a preference to -American subjects, and also turning his attention to the pursuit of -decorative art. He is essentially a colorist, to whom the radiant tints -of the iris seem like harmoniously chorded strains of music. William -Sartain, a pupil of Bonnât and Yvon, has also proved himself an -excellent colorist, and shows vigor and truth of drawing both in figure -and architectural perspective, as well as pleasing composition in work -which he has done abroad. - -The new phase into which our landscape art is passing under foreign -influence is well indicated by the paintings of Charles Miller, a -graduate of the Munich school, who is inspired by a stirring, breezy -love for nature, especially for her more intense and vivid effects, -strong contrasts of light and shade, glowing sunsets, and masses of dun -gray clouds rolling up in thunderous majesty and gloom over landscapes -fading off into the infinite distance. As a draughtsman Mr. Miller is -less interesting than in rendering such effects as we have suggested -with broad, free handling, in which he is often very successful. He is a -poet moved by a powerful imagination, idealizing what he sees, and -possessed of a memory similar to that of Turner; and thus some of his -most striking canvases are the result of a tenacious memory allied to a -vigorous observation. Some of his canvases suggest the landscapes of -Constable. - -[Illustration: "THE PROFESSOR."--[THOMAS EAKINS.]] - -[Illustration: "THE GOOSE-HERD."--[WALTER SHIRLAW.]] - -Frederick Dielman, who has pursued his studies in Munich, is destined to -make his mark in _genre_. In color and tone, and especially in drawing, -he has already shown decided ability, and some of his compositions are -very promising. Messrs. Weir and Muhrman, both young artists of much -promise, and both figure-painters, represent the influence of two -different schools. The former comes from an artistic family, his father -being Robert W. Weir, one of our oldest painters. Young J. Alden Weir -studied in Paris. In portraiture he has a remarkable faculty for -seizing character, painting the eye with a truth and life wholly -original. In _genre_ he is sometimes quite successful, although inclined -to mannerism. Mr. Muhrman is from Cincinnati, and has spent two years in -Munich. While there, he placed himself under no master, but observed -keenly, and devoted himself wholly to water-colors. Avoiding the use of -body color, he yet shows dash and originality in technique, and a fine -eye for form and color. The realistic vigor of his work is quite -exceptional among our water-color painters. The brilliance and purity of -his colors, and the delicious _abandon_ with which he handles the brush -to such admirable result, seem to promise that he will become a master -in this art. Frank Waller, Wyatt Eaton, W. A. Low, A. P. Ryder, J. H. -Twachtman, J. C. Beckwith, A. F. Bunner, Miss Helena De Kay, and Miss M. -R. Oakey are among the leading artists who are aiding the new art -movement in New York. - -But among the later influences which have entered into our art and -promise striking results, there is none more worthy of our consideration -than the return of Messrs. Shirlaw and Chase from a thorough course of -study in Germany. One of the points of most importance in this -connection is that whereas our art for the last thirty years has been in -the direction of landscape, its tendencies are now rather toward the -painting of the figure, and this is strikingly illustrated by the -circumstance that both of these artists have done their strongest work -in this department, and their influence will undoubtedly give a fresh -impulse to figure-painting. Mr. Shirlaw was for a year professor in the -Students' League, but has now abandoned teaching in order that nothing -may interfere with original work. Trained in the school which has -produced such artists as Defregger, Diez, Braith, and Brandt, he has -mastered all the technical knowledge which Munich can give an artist in -_genre_ in our day. There is no uncertainty or weakness in his method of -handling color; his lines are clearly and carefully drawn, and he -undoubtedly achieves excellent results when he attempts simple -compositions. One of Mr. Shirlaw's best known compositions, representing -a sheep-shearing in Bavaria, has attracted favorable attention at home -and abroad. In compositions which include animals, dogs, and birds, he -has been especially happy. His inclinations to delineate the -characteristics of bird-life are akin to those of the artists of Japan. - -[Illustration: "A SPANISH LADY."--[MISS MARY S. CASSATT.]] - -The genius of Mr. Chase is rather for single figures than elaborate -compositions; and his independence of action is shown by the fact that, -although he studied with Piloty, the master whom he made his model of -excellence was Velasquez. A noble sense of color is perceptible in all -his works, whether in the subtle elusive tints of flesh, or in the -powerful rendering of a mass of scarlet, as in his notable painting of -the "Court Jester." In the painting of a portrait he endeavors, -sometimes very successfully, to seize character, although occasionally -rather too impressionist in style. His art-life is fired by a lively -enthusiasm, which must result in genuine and exalted art. "Waiting for -the Ride" is a fine, thoughtful ideal figure of a lady by this artist. - -[Illustration: STUDY OF A BOY'S HEAD.--[W. SARTAIN.]] - -In Philadelphia the new movement has some powerful allies, among whom -should be prominently mentioned Thomas Eakins, a pupil of Gérôme, and at -present professor in the Philadelphia Academy of Art. One of Mr. -Eakins's most ambitions paintings represents a surgical operation before -a class in anatomy. It is characterized by so many excellent artistic -qualities, that one regrets that the work as a whole fails to satisfy. -Admirable draughtsman as this painter is, one is surprised that in the -arrangement of the figures the perspective should have been so -ineffective that the mother is altogether too small for the rest of the -group, and the figure of the patient so indistinct that it is difficult -to tell exactly the part of the body upon which the surgeon is -performing the operation. The monochromatic tone of the composition is, -perhaps, intentional, in order to concentrate the effect on the bloody -thigh and the crimson finger of the operating professor. But as it is, -the attention is at once and so entirely directed on that reeking hand -as to convey the impression that such concentration was the sole purpose -of the painting. In similar paintings by Ribeira, Regnault, and other -artists of the horrible, as vivid a result is obtained without -sacrificing the light and color in the other parts of the picture; and -the effect, while no less intense, is, therefore, less staring and -loud. As to the propriety of introducing into our art a class of -subjects hitherto confined to a few of the more brutal artists and races -of the Old World, the question may well be left to the decision of the -public. In color Mr. Eakins effects a low tone that is sometimes almost -monochromatic, but has very few equals in the country in drawing of the -figure. Some of his portraits are strongly characteristic, and give -remarkable promise. Miss Emily Sartain is devoting herself with good -success to _genre_ and portraiture; and Miss Mary Cassatt merits more -extended notice and earnest praise for the glory of color and the superb -treatment and composition of some of her works. - -When we review the various forces now actively at work to hasten forward -the progress of American art, we see that they are, with one or two -exceptions, still immature; while, on the other hand, the sum of their -influence is such as to prove that they are already sufficiently well -established to give abundant promise of vitality, and of a career of -success that seems destined to carry the arts to a degree of excellence -never before seen in America. While the ideal is a more prominent -feature of our art than formerly, the tide also sets strongly toward -realism, together with a clearer practical knowledge of technique. And -while we do not discover marked original power in the artists who -represent the new movement, we find in them a self-reliance and a -sturdiness of purpose which renders them potential in establishing the -end they have in view. It is to their successors that we must look for -the founding of a school that shall be at once native in origin, and -powerful in the employment of the material to express the ideal. - - - - -INDEX. - - -Abbey, E. A., 177. - -Academy of Fine Arts (of New York), 24. - -Akers, Benjamin Paul, 151. - -Alexander, Cosmo, 16, 24. - -Alexander, Francis, 49. - -Allston, Washington, 16, 29, 31, 44, 47. - -American Art Students' Association, Munich, 200. - -Ames, Joseph, 49. - -Andrew, John, 168. - -Annin, P., 168. - -Anthony, A. V. S., 168. - -Architecture, 178. - -Art Education, 186. - -Artists' Funding Society, 88. - -Artists' League, 186. - -Athenæum, Providence, 31. - -Augur, Hezekiah, 138. - - -Bacon, Henry, 7. - -Baker, George A., 49. - -Ball, Thomas, 149, 150. - -Bannister, E. M., 106, 190. - -Barry, Charles A., 174. - -Bartholomew, Edward S., 152. - -Bartol, E. H., 195. - -Beard, James, 86. - -Beard, William H., 86. - -Beckwith, J. C., 207. - -Bellew, Frank H. T., 177. - -Bellows, A. F., 79. - -Bensell, E. B., 174. - -Benson, Eugene, 7. - -Berkeley, Bishop, 15, 17. - -Bierstadt, Albert, 97. - -Birch, Thomas, 37. - -Bishop, Annette, 174. - -Bispham, Henry C., 86. - -Blackburn, 16. - -Blashfield, Edwin H., 7. - -Blauvelt, C. F., 115. - -Boutelle, D. W. C., 106. - -Bowdoin College, paintings of, 47. - -Brackett, Walter M., 85. - -Bradford, William, 84. - -Bricher, A. T., 111. - -Bridgman, Frederick A., 7. - -Bridges, Fidelia, 131. - -Bristol, John B., 76. - -Brown, George L., 64. - -Brown, Harry, 84. - -Brown, J. Appleton, 106. - -Brown, J. G., 115. - -Brown, J. H., 167. - -Brown, J. Ogden, 131. - -Browne, Henry K., 149. - -Brumidi, M., 185. - -Bunner, A. F., 207. - -Burling, Gilbert, 112. - -Burns, J., 115. - - -Calverly, Charles, 156. - -Casilear, John W., 73. - -Cassatt, Mary, 210. - -Catlin, George, 88. - -Champney, J. W., 113. - -Chapman, J. G., 88. - -Chase, William M., 203, 207. - -Church, Frederick E., 81. - -Church, F. S., 174. - -Cincinnati, Music Hall of, 163. - -Clevenger, Shobal Vail, 138, 145. - -Close, A. P., 104. - -Cobb, Darius, 125. - -Cole, J., 168. - -Cole, J. Foxcroft, 199. - -Cole, Thomas, 47, 66. - -Conant, Cornelia W., 7. - -Colman, Samuel, 79, 112, 190. - -Copley, John Singleton, 16, 17, 88, 138, 164. - -Cooper Institute, 186. - -Cranch, Christopher P., 76. - -Crawford, Thomas, 138, 145, 149. - -Cropsey, Jasper F., 76. - -Cummings, T. S., 167. - -Curtis, Jessie, 172. - -Cusack, S., 177. - -Custer, E. L., 125. - - -Dana, W. P. W., 7. - -Dana, William J., 168. - -Darley, Felix O. C., 171. - -Darrah, Mrs. S. T., 195. - -Davis, J. P., 168. - -Davis, T. R., 174. - -Davidson, Julian O., 174. - -Deas, Charles, 88. - -Decorative Art, 186. - -De Haas, M. F. H., 109. - -De Kay, Helena, 207. - -Dengler, Frank, 161. - -Dewing, T. W., 199. - -Dexter, Henry, 156. - -Dielman, Frederick, 204. - -Dillon, Julia, 133. - -Dix, Charles Temple, 84. - -Dolph, J. H., 131. - -Doughty, Thomas, 47, 56, 59, 66. - -Drowne, Shem, 14, 37, 136. - -Dunlap, William, 18. - -Durand, Asher B., 47, 56, 59, 66, 167. - -Duveneck, F., 7, 203. - - -Eakins, Thomas, 208. - -Eaton, Wyatt, 207. - -Edmonds, F. W., 52. - -Ehninger, John W., 115. - -Elliott, Charles Loring, 49, 50. - -Enneking, John J., 196. - -Eytinge, Sol, 174. - -Ezekiel, Moses J., 156. - - -Falconer, John M., 112. - -Farrar, Henry, 113. - -Fassett, Mrs. C. A., 127. - -Feke, Robert, 16. - -Fenn, Harry, 172. - -Flagg, George B., 87. - -Foote, Mrs. Mary Halleck, 172. - -Fraser, John, 31, 56, 167. - -Frazee, John, 136, 138. - -Fredericks, Alfred, 172. - -Freeman, Mrs. J. E., 156. - -French, Daniel C., 161. - -Frost, Arthur B., 174. - -Frothingham, James, 27. - -Fuller, George, 117. - -Fuller, R. H., 76. - -Furness, William Henry, 125. - - -Gardner, Elizabeth I., 7. - -Gaul, Gilbert, 113. - -Gerry, Samuel L., 74. - -Gibson, W., 177. - -Gifford, R. Swain, 112, 190. - -Gifford, Sanford R., 80. - -Goodrich, Sarah, 51, 167. - -Gould, Thomas R., 152, 154. - -Grant, C. R., 199. - -Greenough, Horatio, 138, 142. - -Greenough, Richard, 156. - -Grey, Henry Peters, 51. - -Grey, Mrs. Henry Peters, 125. - -Grosjean, Charles T., 186. - -Guy, S. J., 115. - - -Hale, Susan, 113. - -Hall, Mrs., 167. - -Hall, George H., 133. - -Hamilton, James, 71, 84. - -Harding, Chester, 47, 49. - -Hart, James, 79, 130. - -Hart, William, 79. - -Hart, Joel T., 138, 145. - -Hartley, J. S., 161. - -Haseltine, H. J., 156. - -Hayes, William, 85. - -Heade, M. J., 133. - -Healy, G. P. A., 49. - -Henry, E. L., 115. - -Henshaw, Mrs., 133. - -Hicks, Thomas, 49, 86. - -Hill, Thomas, 97, 98. - -Hinckley, T. H., 85. - -Homer, Winslow, 117, 190. - -Hoppin, Augustus, 172. - -Hoskin, Robert, 168. - -Hosmer, Harriet, 152, 156. - -Howland, A. C., 115. - -Hubbard, R. W., 74. - -Humphrey, L. B., 172. - -Hunt, William M., 49, 185, 193. - -Huntington, Daniel, 49, 51, 88. - - -Impressionism in Art, 192. - -Ingham, C. C., 49. - -Inman, Henry, 49, 51. - -Inness, George, 79, 190. - -Inness, George, Jun., 131. - -Ipsen, L. S., 174. - -Irving, J. B., 113. - -Ives, C. B., 156. - - -Jarvis, John Wesley, 28, 49. - -Johnson, David, 76. - -Johnson, Eastman, 116, 189. - -Juengling, F., 168. - - -Kelley, J. E., 174. - -Kensett, John F., 63, 76. - -Kepler, Joseph, 177. - -Key, John R., 170. - -King, F. S., 168. - -Kingsley, E., 168. - -Knowlton, Helen M., 195. - -Kreul, G., 168. - - -Lafarge, John, 71, 94, 133, 185. - -Lambdin, George C., 133. - -Lansil, Walter F., 111. - -Lathrop, Francis, 96, 174, 186. - -Lay, Oliver I., 115. - -Le Clear, Thomas, 49. - -Leutze, Emmanuel, 73, 88. - -Lewis, Robert, 174. - -Linton, W. J., 167. - -Longfellow, Ernest, 106. - -Longworth, Nicholas, 140. - -Loop, Henry A., 125. - -Loop, Mrs. Henry A., 125. - -Low, Will H., 207. - - -Macdonald, J. W. A., 156. - -M'Entee, Jervis, 103. - -Magrath, William, 117. - -Malbone, Edward G., 31, 32, 167. - -Marsh, Charles, 168. - -Marshall, John, 167. - -Martin, Homer, 106. - -Mather, Cotton, 14. - -Maverick, Peter, 167. - -Mayer, B. F., 113. - -Meade, Larkin J., 152, 153. - -Meeker, J. R., 74. - -Mignot, Louis R., 83. - -Miller, Charles, 203. - -Millet, Francis D., 7. - -Mills, Clark, 138, 149. - -Milmore, Martin, 154. - -Moore, E. C., 186. - -Moran, Edward, 103. - -Moran, Peter, 103, 130. - -Moran, Thomas, 97, 100, 172. - -Morse, Samuel F. B., 33, 39, 51. - -Morse, W. H., 168. - -Mount, William Sidney, 52, 86, 117. - -Muhrman, William H., 207. - -Müller, R. A., 168. - -Munzig, B. C., 170. - -Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 186. - - -Naegle, John, 29. - -Nast, Thomas, 177. - -National Academy of Design, 37, 39, 49, 51, 58, 186. - -Neal, David, 7. - -Newton, Gilbert Stuart, 27. - -Nicoll, J. C., 111. - -Normal Art School of Massachusetts, 186, 187. - -Norton, William E., 110. - - -Oakey, Maria R., 207. - -O'Donovan, W. R., 161. - - -Page, William, 49, 51, 90. - -Palmer, Erastus D., 140, 156, 161. - -Parsons, Charles, 112. - -Parton, Arthur, 80. - -Parton, Ernest, 7. - -Peale, Charles Wilson, 21. - -Peale, Rembrandt, 28. - -Pelham, 20. - -Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 29, 187. - -Perkins, Charles, 174. - -Perring, 186. - -Petersen, John E. C., 110. - -Pope, Alexander, 132. - -Porter, Benjamin C., 190. - -Powers, Hiram, 138. - -Pratt, Matthew, 16, 137. - -Pyle, Howard, 177. - - -Quartley, Arthur, 111. - - -Ranney, William S., 88. - -Redwood Library, Newport, 15. - -Reinhart, B. F., 115. - -Reinhart, C. S., 177. - -Reynolds, Joshua, 19. - -Richards, T. Addison, 174. - -Richards, William T., 74. - -Rimmer, William, 163. - -Rinehart, William Henry, 152, 154. - -Ritchie, A. H., 167. - -Robbins, Ellen, 133. - -Robbins, Horace, 80. - -Roberts, Howard, 161. - -Robinson, Thomas, 130. - -Rogers, Frank, 131. - -Rogers, John, 159. - -Rogers, Randolph, 149, 152. - -Rothermel, Peter F., 88. - -Rowse, Samuel W., 170. - -Rush, William, 138. - -Ryder, A. P., 207. - - -St. Gaudens, Augustus, 163. - -Sargent, Colonel Henry, 28. - -Sartain, Emily, 210. - -Sartain, John, 167. - -Sartain, William, 203. - -Satterlee, Walter, 115. - -Seavey, G. W., 133. - -Shapleigh, F. H., 76. - -Shirlaw, Walter, 174, 203, 207. - -Shurtleff, R. M., 131. - -Silva, Francis A., 111. - -Simmons, Franklin, 154. - -Smilie, George, 80. - -Smilie, James, 167. - -Smilie, James, Jun., 80, 113. - -Smith, Frank Hill, 186. - -Smith, J. Hopkinson, 171. - -Smith, Walter, 186. - -Smithwick and French, 168. - -Smybert, John, 15, 22. - -Sonntag, W. L., 79. - -Staigg, Richard M., 49, 51. - -Stebbins, Emma, 156. - -Stephens, Louis, 172. - -Stephenson, Peter, 156. - -Stone, J. M., 196. - -Story, George H., 118. - -Story, William W., 152, 154. - -Stuart, Gilbert, 17, 20, 24, 39, 47, 49, 187. - -Sully, Thomas, 28, 49. - -Suydam, James A., 73. - - -Tait, A. F., 132. - -Thompson, Launt, 152, 159. - -Thompson, Wordsworth, 128. - -Thorpe, T. B., 86. - -Tiffany, Louis C., 203. - -Trumbull, Colonel John, 17, 21, 47, 88, 130, 136. - -Tuckerman, S. S., 195. - -Twachtman, J. H., 207. - - -Vanderlyn, John, 17, 29, 44. - -Vandyck, Sir Anthony, 14. - -Van Wart, Ames, 156. - -Vedder, Elihu, 71, 94. - -Volk, Leo W., 156. - - -Waldo, Samuel, 49. - -Waller, Frank, 207. - -Ward, J. Q. A., 149, 151. - -Warner, Olin M., 161. - -Water-Color Society, 112. - -Waterman, Marcus, 113. - -Watson, John, 15. - -Way, A. J. H., 133. - -Weeks, E. L., 196. - -Weir, J. Alden, 204. - -Weir, John F., 114. - -Weir, Robert W., 47, 52. - -West, Benjamin, 17, 29, 138, 142, 164. - -Whistler, J. A. McN., 7. - -Whitney, Anne, 156. - -Whittredge, Worthington, 73, 86. - -Wight, Moses, 7. - -Wilkinson, George, 186. - -Willard, A. W., 114. - -Williams, F. D., 76. - -Williams, Virgil, 115. - -Wilmarth, Lemuel E., 115. - -Wolf, H., 168. - -Wood, T. W., 114. - -Woodville, Richard Caton, 86. - -Wright, Frederick W., 170. - -Wright, Patience, 37, 136. - -Wyant, A. H., 105, 190. - - -Young, Harvey A., 125. - - -THE END. - - * * * * * - - -TIMELY AND IMPORTANT BOOKS - -ON - -ANCIENT AND MODERN ART. - - -American Art. - - By S. G. W. BENJAMIN. Illustrated. 8vo, Cloth, $4 00. - -Contemporary Art in Europe. - - By S. G. W. BENJAMIN. Copiously Illustrated. Square 8vo, Cloth, - Illuminated and Gilt, $3 50; Half Calf, $5 75. - -Art Education Applied to Industry. - - By GEORGE WARD NICHOLS. Illustrated. Square 8vo, Cloth, Illuminated - and Gilt, $4 00. - -Art Decoration Applied to Furniture. - - By HARRIET PRESCOTT SPOFFORD. Illustrated. 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