International studio (19.1903)

^777<?7Y<r%72 <S7m/7<7 y'<r7Z<&

itself for the impressiveness it created, instead of
receiving any reinforcement from association of
ideas as did the candiestick. So, for my own part,
I Hnd it iess chaste and dignihed than the iatter,
though not without considerable attractiveness.
When, however, the same generai design, but with
a different proportion of spacing and parts, was
eniarged, as in Mr. Barr's other eiectric iamp, the
design seemed to have a tendency to sprawi.
The oniy other exampie of metal work which
need be noticed was a pair of bronze doves by
Montrose W. Morris, which, aibeit without much
originaiity of feeling, offered a handsome F7AKW/M?
and appeared to be excellently constructed.
The mixture of embroidery and applied sea-shells
in Miss Rhead's Aw/ <y <S<M A(r777^77ryhT* c F<?<r.%7'
impressed one as rather an instance of misapplied
ingeniousness. She would do better, one may
think, if she tried for originality along the true lines
of embroidery, like the Japanese or the Italians of
the Renaissance. In the same way the Misses
Ripley might be invited to compare their carved
leather screen with the examples of 7%777?'.n%
^5/7777^/77^, exhibited close by. The latter
made their work, despite its indubitable rnerit, seem
tame and tentative, and, considered as the decorat-
ing of a space, naked.
Probably the handsomest exhibitin this section was
the carved and burnt wood decoration by William
FuIIer Curtis, representing three draped figures,
with the descriptive title, /%777* 77c Zfw'/, <%« 7«7 <5&Z/,
77<? <5W/. The long panel was divided into
three parts, each containing the head and bust of a
woman, with the arrns bare and the hands raised
as a barrier before the ears, eyes, and iips, respec-
tively. These parts of the design were in a quarter-

inch relief with the modelling represented by brown
shading ; while the background was richly carved in
bolder relief, with doves fluttering around the heads,
against an interlace of boughs and foliage, dark
brown upon a background of duli gold. The con-
ception was original, peculiarly grave and sweet;
the design charming in color and in its diversity
of richness and delicacy, presenting altogether a
decoration of most unusual dignity and charm.
I have never seen an example of carved and burnt
wood decoration so completely fascinating.
BOOK NOTICES :
BARBIZON DAYS. By CHARLES SPRAGUE SMITH.
(A. Wessels Company, New York.)
This book, agreeable to hand and eye, is a tribute
to the beauty and associations of the Forest of
Fontainebleau. Especially it summarizes the lives
of Millet, Rousseau, Corot, and Barye in relation to
their art. It adds nothing to what we might have
learnt hitherto, since it draws upon recognized
sources of information, but the mere coliating of
the material and its reproduction in English wili be
of great value to a large number of readers. More-
over, and this is the chief virtue of the book, the
story has received a fresh lease of interest through
the personality of the author. Mr. Smith is at
once an ardent student of nature and of art, and in
a rnost vivid and delightful way keeps one continu-
ally reminded of the interdependence of the two
in the work of the four artists whom he commemo-
rates. This gives the book a vitality and sugges-
tiveness that should commend it to a wide circ.Ie
of readers.
C%<77*/?r A/. C<Z^?77.

BOOKS RECEIVED

THE GAY GoRDONS : Ballads of an Ancient Scot-
tish Clan. Edited, with an Introduction, by
ARMiSTEAD C. GoRDON. i6mo. Edition lim-
ited to two hundred and fifty copies. Staunton,
Yirginia : Albert Schultz. MCMII.

OCTAVES IN AN OxFORD GARDEN. By ARTHUR
UPSON. Decorated and lettered by Margarethe
E. Heisser. qto. Edition limited to three
hundred and fifty copies on hand-made paper,
and twenty-hve copies on Japan paper. Min-
neapolis : Edmund D. Brooks. MCMII.

CXXII