Camera Work: A Photographic Quarterly (1903 (Heft 1))

asking him to call and discuss the matter. Mr. Strauss rejoins with an
invitation to the Colonel to step into his studio, where he may see and hear
evidences of the reasonableness of Mr. Strauss’s contention that " there
should be a division of photographic displays; one, of the commercial side,
including apparatus, materials, processes, etc., the other the art side.
The two are wholly distinct.” The Colonel acknowledges the letter which
he has read " with much interest,” and will take an early opportunity of
calling. Presumably the interview took place, and Mr. Strauss urged some
definite plan, for he writes later to the Colonel: " In my first letter to
Governor Francis with reference to our World’s Fair Photographic Exhibit,
I claimed that the plan suggested by me would arouse interest in every part
of the civilized globe.” And he encloses a letter he has received on the sub-
ject of the exhibition from the South Australia Photographic Society. Three
weeks later he forwards others, respectively, from the American Institute of
New York and the Camera Club of Nelson, New Zealand, and concludes:
" But none of these people, whether they are in New York or in far-away
New Zealand, will be represented at St. Louis in 1903, unless you can
arrange to place their productions in the Art Building.” The Colonel writes :
" I hope you will appreciate the fact that, personally, I shall be very glad to
meet the wishes of the photographic fraternity. I doubt, however, if anything
can be done that will change the decision already made to leave all phases of
photographic work in the Department of Liberal Arts.” The following day
the Colonel supplements this with the following letter (given in entirety):

In thinking over the situation as to photog-
raphy, it occurs to me that the photographers
are taking entirely the wrong stand in their
claim of “ photography in the Fine Arts Build-
ing or nothing."
Now, in the first place, as I understand it,
photographers wanted to flock entirely to them-
selves and put up a building of their own, at
their own expense, in which should be housed
everything pertaining to the photographic pro-
fession. It was not then considered out of
place for the artistic photographer to touch
elbows with the so-called commercial branch of
photography. Why should it be more so if
housed in a group of the Liberal Arts Building ?
Under existing conditions, would it not be
best for the photographers to take the ground
that they will prove themselves equal to the
emergency, and will not be smothered out, but
will club together and prepare a place in the
Liberal Arts Building for their art-work that
will establish, beyond a doubt, their claim to a
high position as a fine art ? Get up something
that will make the Fine Arts Department " green
with envy.” By this means you can establish
your position before the world and set the ques-
tion as to your rights forever at rest.

Your art is evidently still in a transition state.
You are making giant strides toward greater
perfection every day, and no man can yet say
where the end will be.
It strikes me that it would be very undigni-
fied and unworthy of your exalted profession to
stay out of the Exposition becauseyou can not
get all you want ; that it would be far better
to raise a fund to fix up a gem of a place in the
Liberal Arts Building, according to your own
ideas and plans, and fill it with pictures that
will challenge the skill and the admiration of the
old-school artists who hold that fine art is con-
fined exclusively to work done with the brush
and the chisel. Challenge them in this way to
measure lances with you, and I am confident
that in the end you will be more than glad that
you did not yield to the first impulse to hold
aloof.
To this very laudable end I pledge you all
the assistance in my power.
Trusting that you and your associates will
come to see this matter in the light set forth
in the above lines, I beg to remain,
Yours very sincerely,
(Signed) J. A. Ockerson,
Chief Department of Liberal Arts .

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