International studio (56.1915)

■ STUDIO

VOL. LVI. No. 222

Copyright, 1915, by John Lane Company

AUGUST, 1915

American painting at the
/\ PANAMA-PACIFIC EXPOSITION
Z—X BY CHRISTIAN BRINTON
Picture a colonnade over a thou-
sand feet in length sweeping majestically around
the tree-lined marge of a gleaming lagoon, with,
behind the colonnade, a vast, crescent-shaped
structure containing a hundred or more separate
rooms, and you have some idea of the Palace of
Fine Arts at the Panama-Pacific Exposition.
Viewed from the opposite side of the lagoon, the
rotunda fronting the encircling columns recalls, in
its deeply romantic suggestion, Bocklin’s Island, of
the Dead. The sense of antiquity is there, the
silence, the remoteness from the world of actual-
ity, and the summons to a realm where one surren-
ders to the magic of a mysterious, indefinable
beauty. Such is the appeal exercised by this
memorable fusion of elements traditional, natural,
and frankly inspirational.
The Palace of Fine Arts seems indeed an island

set amid a shimmering sea of colour, a haven where
the spirit seeks grateful repose. This island is
not, however, Die Toteninsel of Teutonic imagina-
tion, nor is it the Cythere of more ingratiating
Gallic fancy. If it is impossible to repress a cer-
tain feeling of exaltation as you approach this
building which on the outside promises so much, it
is equally difficult to dispel a sense of disillusion on
examining its contents as a whole. In the rooms
devoted to American painting classic calm and
romantic reverie give place to something closely
resembling confused incompletion. While there
are certain sequestered spots where beauty has
been successfully wooed and won, the combined
impression is far from inspiring. We all realize
that there are mitigating circumstances, that it
has been difficult to assemble an exhibition of pic-
tures during a world crisis, not to say cataclysm,
yet nevertheless such restrictions do not apply so
rigorously to the American section. Moreover, in
general arrangement and not infrequently in ques-
tions of specific choice, the native display is infe-


Panama-Pacific International Exposition
IN THE SUN ■ BY THEODORE ROBINSON

XXV