Camera Work: A Photographic Quarterly (1914 (Heft 47))

291
An oasis of real freedom—
A sturdy Islet of enduring independence in the besetting seas of Commer-
cialism and Convention—
A rest—when wearied
A stimulant—when dulled
A Relief—
A Negation of Preconceptions
A Forum for Wisdom and for Folly
A Safety valve for repressed ideas—
An Eye Opener
A Test—
A Solvent
A Victim and an Avenger.
Eugene Meyer, Jr.

29I
“291” is the one place where people gather that has never become a
disappointment. And to be welcome is to have a friendship that nothing
can spoil.
All who come there forget, in a sense, who they are. If they don’t get
this feeling of being part of a comradeship which is above prejudice, they
drift off to where they are of more importance.
The things shown are like the frequenters—they test and prove each
other—to think of one is to think of all.
The value of one work is never emphasized. You don’t go there to see
miracles of accomplishment. But when you have been often and drawn the
essence from them all, you find yourself with a standard that is worth tak-
ing any place, even into the precincts where each precious thing seems to be
beyond the reach of judgment.
As long as “291” lasts I’ll always feel that an open road to the world
of artists is accessible.
Arthur B. Carles

40