International studio (14.1901)

American Studio Talk

Passing to the work of resident painters, one
noted two strong portraits by Frederic P. Vinton,
especially that of Mr. Thomas G. Appleton, a work
of remarkable vigor, both in its method and charac-
terization. Another Boston painter who makes
a distinguished showing in portraiture is Wilton
Lockwood. His Gilman Nichols, a boy in a white
sailor suit, is a very charming work ; but in the way
in' which the obtrusion of a red coat has been
assuaged in the Master of the Hounds there is even
greater resourcefulness of artistic expedients, and the
whole treatment of the subject, while it does not
reach below the surface, is full of character. The
very difference in the feeling of the two pictures
testifies to the broadening of Mr. Lockwood’s
observation and method.

The best of several examples by Edward C.
Tarbell is probably The Golden Screen, lent by the
Pennsylvania Academy, though it is only honest to
add that personally I find the picture does not grow
in interest. It represents nothing more than cer-
tain artistic problems of lighting and, in a less
degree, of spontaneous movement successfully
solved; and, while these qualities fascinate at first,
they leave one later on wishing that their cleverness
had been applied to something more intrinsically
interesting. There is a degree of pure aestheticism
which may be self-sufficient, but it is of a more
subtle quality than Mr.< Tarbell has yet essayed.
Nevertheless, the artistic motive is so much in evi-
dence in his work that one must rank it highly.
This is what is noticeable also in The White
Door, by Alfred H. Maurer, a young man from
whom we are waiting to see what more he has to
offer.

Mrs. Dewing sends one of her very individual
flower studies, and Mrs. A. Brewster Sewell’s Portrait
of a Lady has much charm of color and sweetness
of sentiment. Another portrait that interests very
strongly is that of Mr. Louis N Kenton by Thomas
Eakins. We may find it ungainly in composition,
certainly without any superficial qualities of beauty ;
but its intense realism and the grasp which it
suggests of the subject’s personality render the pic-
ture one of notable fascination. A distinctly hand-
some picture, very clever in its rendering of
reflected lights, is William M. Paxton’s The Golden
Cup. Henry W. Watrous is represented by three
genre subjects, of which The Mandolin Player is
perhaps the most agreeable, being less detailed and
more synthetically treated than the others. Two
portraits which should be singled out are the Por-
trait of yared B. Flagg by Charles Noel Flagg,
and the Portrait of a Man by William M. J. Rice.
Robert W. Vonnoh sends several, of which the
Portrait of Mrs. M. E. Potter is perhaps the hand-
somest as a picture. The accessories throughout
are painted with knowledge and considerable appre-
ciation of their artistic value in the ensemble, but the
face, and I have seen it several times, seems sadly
overlooked. It lacks character; suggesting very
little realization in the painter’s mind of what he
wished to convey and a consequent hesitation or
superficiality in the rendering. In all these pictures
by Mr. Vonnoh there is an evidence of facility, un-
accompanied, however, by the suggestion of a very
serious grappling with the personal or psychological
problem confronting him. The result is not as ripe
as the maturity of the method would lead one to
expect.

(To be continued)

RECENT ART BOOKS RECEIVED.

Dante Gabriel Rossetti. An Illustrated
Memorial of his Art and Life. By H. C.
Marillier. Second Edition, Abridged and
Revised. Size, 12^3 inches by 8J2 inches.
George Bell & Sons, London, 1901.

The Study and Criticism of Italian Art.
By Bernhard Berenson. Size, 8^3 inches by
inches. George Bell & Sons, 1901.
Francesco Raiboi.ini, called Francia. By
George C. Williamson, Litt. D. Being one of

the series of “ Great Masters in Painting and
Sculpture.” Size, fif inches by 5}£ inches.
(The above are imported by The Macmillan Company.)

Plant and Floral Studies. For Designers,
Art Students, and Craftsmen. By W. G.
Paulson Townsend, author of “ Embroidery :
The Craft of the Needle,” “ Measured Drawings
of French Furniture,” etc. Size, 9^3 inches
by 7 inches. John Lane, New York and
London.

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