International studio (52.1914)

A RECENT EXHIBITION OF THE
/\ WORK OF CLARKSON DYE IN
SAN FRANCISCO
The recent exhibition of the work
of this western painter at the H. Taylor Curtis
Art Rooms in San Francisco, proved an interest-
ing note among the displays of the year, and was
marked by peculiarities that caused varying com-
ment.
It has been assumed that a painter must confine
himself to but one metier—must look out into
nature from but one window, so to speak. But
the attention was arrested here by diversities in
treatment which, in a lesser artist, would be
harshly criticised. Yet, even the sternest critic
must admit, that the sincerity with which the
various themes are handled, is ample justification
for what some would term the painter’s idiosyn-
crasies of expression.
The big, distinctive note that pervaded the
canvases was the evident search in nature for
elusive moods; as if scorn were accorded his sub-
jects in any state but that of sunny smiles, of
outbursts of passion or great restfulness. This
was exemplified by five paintings of Mount
Tamalpais, each with a widely varying record of
temperament. One, Glory of Dawn, showed

the earliest beams of the sun on the mountain,
dispelling the mists and rosy clouds above; an-
other, The Invader, handled with much dignity
and restraint, revealed mists of cold fog, rolling
in vast columns and filling the valley below.
Cloud Capped Tamalpais, Toward Evening and
Fog-Banks, showed the same search for tem-
perament in nature and were generally admired.
If any adverse criticism of these paintings were
earned, it might have been in the inclination to
hardness; but this inclination was not disagree-
ably prominent and it is felt that it is not perma-
nent. Even where these faults occurred, one found
recompense in the certainty of draughtsmanship
and effective distribution of light and shade. It
is felt that the pictures have expressed everything
that the artist had wished to say, not always grac-
iously, perhaps, but with precision, directness,
and irresistible appeal.
There were twenty-one canvases in the exhibi-
tion. Outside of the ones referred to, the most
striking were The Cloud, Old Colombo Market
(just before day-break) and The Old Home
(moonlight).
Local critics unite in perceiving a leaning toward
the style of Inness and Keith, without, however,
any reminder of these artists in either theme or
treatment. E. S. L.

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