DOI Heft:
The International Studio (January, 1908)
DOI Artikel:Laurvik, J. Nilsen: Sixth annual exhibition of miniatures at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.28253#0457
Exhibition of Miniatures
When the celebrated miniature en-
titled Hours, by Malbone, was shown
in London, Benjamin WTest is report-
ed to have said: “ I have seen a pic-
ture painted by a young American
named Malbone which no man in
England could excel.”
All this only confirms the con-
tention of the miniaturists that theirs
is an art no less dignified than that
of the painter of life-size portraits,
nor yet limited and confined to por-
traiture alone, as is well illustrated
by the two imaginative pieces by
William J. Baer, shown in the Phila-
delphia exhibition. In largeness of
feeling, in beauty of color and de-
sign, his Primavera, which we re-
produce, combines many of the best
qualities of a good oil painting, with
a luminosity and brilliancy of texture
only to be achieved on ivory. This,
and such productions as his Golden
Hours, will no doubt in time rank
with the best work of Malbone, while
his only rivals in portraiture to-day
are Josephi, Miss Beckington, repre-
sented in this show by four charm-
ing examples of her work, and the
late Theodora W. Thayer, whose fine
portrait of Bliss Carman is one of
the memorable achievements in
American miniature painting. The
best of the various contributions by-
Mrs. Fuller are not unfit to be
classed with the foregoing.
In sharp contrast with the ac-
cepted method employed by most
miniaturists is the work shown by
Alice Schille and Lucy May Stanton.
Their miniatures are executed in a broad, free style,
difficult to attain on ivory, but very delightful when
done with the spontaneity and freshness of color
exhibited in the work of these two artists. The
color in these is spread on the ivory like a stain,
and is left untouched save for a few accenting
touches here and there. The difference in method
may be seen by comparing Miss Stanton’s Por-
trait of Mrs. Forbes and Iler Children with
the Portrait of Mrs. Cox, by Eulabee Dix,
which is painted in the careful style of the old
miniatures, while the charming little miniature
medallion by Eleanor T. Wragg has the intimate
character and quality and the touch of romance of
THE KIMONO
BY ANNA RICHARDS BREWSTER
the early miniaturists. The Bride, a harmony in
gray, gold and blue, by Laura Coombs Hills, was
one of the most evanescently delicate pieces in the
exhibition. One feels, however, that it was somewhat
too heavily framed for a miniature. This anomaly
of framing miniatures as though they were large
easel pictures was affected by several exhibitors to
the utter ruin of what is fine and delicate in their
work. The exhibition, as a whole, however, was
characterized by an uncommonly high standard of
excellence in the choice and arrangement of its
exhibits, which were hung in one of the small
galleries of the Academy. The walls of this room
were specially decorated for the occasion in a light-
CIII
When the celebrated miniature en-
titled Hours, by Malbone, was shown
in London, Benjamin WTest is report-
ed to have said: “ I have seen a pic-
ture painted by a young American
named Malbone which no man in
England could excel.”
All this only confirms the con-
tention of the miniaturists that theirs
is an art no less dignified than that
of the painter of life-size portraits,
nor yet limited and confined to por-
traiture alone, as is well illustrated
by the two imaginative pieces by
William J. Baer, shown in the Phila-
delphia exhibition. In largeness of
feeling, in beauty of color and de-
sign, his Primavera, which we re-
produce, combines many of the best
qualities of a good oil painting, with
a luminosity and brilliancy of texture
only to be achieved on ivory. This,
and such productions as his Golden
Hours, will no doubt in time rank
with the best work of Malbone, while
his only rivals in portraiture to-day
are Josephi, Miss Beckington, repre-
sented in this show by four charm-
ing examples of her work, and the
late Theodora W. Thayer, whose fine
portrait of Bliss Carman is one of
the memorable achievements in
American miniature painting. The
best of the various contributions by-
Mrs. Fuller are not unfit to be
classed with the foregoing.
In sharp contrast with the ac-
cepted method employed by most
miniaturists is the work shown by
Alice Schille and Lucy May Stanton.
Their miniatures are executed in a broad, free style,
difficult to attain on ivory, but very delightful when
done with the spontaneity and freshness of color
exhibited in the work of these two artists. The
color in these is spread on the ivory like a stain,
and is left untouched save for a few accenting
touches here and there. The difference in method
may be seen by comparing Miss Stanton’s Por-
trait of Mrs. Forbes and Iler Children with
the Portrait of Mrs. Cox, by Eulabee Dix,
which is painted in the careful style of the old
miniatures, while the charming little miniature
medallion by Eleanor T. Wragg has the intimate
character and quality and the touch of romance of
THE KIMONO
BY ANNA RICHARDS BREWSTER
the early miniaturists. The Bride, a harmony in
gray, gold and blue, by Laura Coombs Hills, was
one of the most evanescently delicate pieces in the
exhibition. One feels, however, that it was somewhat
too heavily framed for a miniature. This anomaly
of framing miniatures as though they were large
easel pictures was affected by several exhibitors to
the utter ruin of what is fine and delicate in their
work. The exhibition, as a whole, however, was
characterized by an uncommonly high standard of
excellence in the choice and arrangement of its
exhibits, which were hung in one of the small
galleries of the Academy. The walls of this room
were specially decorated for the occasion in a light-
CIII