DOI issue:
Nr. 222 (August, 1915)
DOI article:Wyer, Raymond: Permanent collections for small museums
DOI article:Book review
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.43459#0189
Book Review
nothing more depressing than to see large sums
of money spent in forming worthless collections
of “art objects.” This, of course, applies to
private individuals as well as to public insti-
tutions.
An institution should give special attention to
the art of its own country, but it must be remem-
bered that a public gallery is not a laboratory.
Its purpose is not to encourage artists or to gam-
ble with the future; except in very unusual
cases, it cannot afford to experiment. Those
responsible for the formation of permanent
collections must be conservative but with just
enough of the revolutionary spirit to enable
them to appreciate a new man’s work possess-
ing unfamiliar and distinguished qualities.
There should be no compromise in selecting
works of an educational character for a public in-
stitution; no more compromise than a physician
would make between the medicine which he pre-
scribes for his patient and that which the patient
finds more to his liking. The fact is, we all really
want the best, and it should be the aim of an edu-
cational institution (I use educational in its widest
sense) to point out and demonstrate what is the
best, instead of lowering the standard formed by
expert opinion to please those who have given little
thought to the subject and do not know.
One thing worth remembering is that the most
important collections have been formed by mu-
seums in which the policy and choice of art
objects have been left to one man. It is inter-
esting to note, also, that in large museums it is
those departments covering phases of art, the
character of which necessitates the choice being
made by one man, in which are to be found the
most complete collections in the institution.
Book review
What Pictures to See in America.
By Lorinda M. Bryant. Publishers:
John Lane Company. $2.00.
The yearly exodus to Europe is very much
attenuated this summer, and few, indeed, will fol-
low their wont in making a tour of the European
Galleries. Americans no less than others object
to the dangers and difficulties involved, and will
therefore have to try a new game. Mrs. Bryant
Art Institute, Chicago
PORTRAIT OF HARMAN HALS
BY FRANZ HALS
has leapt Curtius-like into the breach. With
infinite toil this seasoned author has combed the
public collections contained in this country, pre-
senting a very readable book laden with illustra-
tions expressive of the best in ancient and modern
painting to be seen on this side of the globe, from
the Atlantic to the Pacific. The reader may ob-
tain a consecutive history of art, reaching from
Jonas Lie back to Giotto, or from Fra Angelico
forward to Childe Hassam. The art treasures of
this country are by no means confined to the
museums. A still richer harvest awaits the
quester who can gain admission to privately owned
pictures which would yield a companion volume of
surpassing interest. Many private collections,
however, are very jealously guarded from prying
eyes and the curious camera.
It is interesting to note how in the topography
of museums some of the lesser peaks have
equalled the highest in the importance of their
acquired masterpieces. The Hackley Museum,
at Muskegon, Michigan, is an instance of a small
museum rising to the greatest importance through
the ability of its director to buy only what is
of significant value. The fact that a number
of paintings from the Hackley gallery were
specially invited to the Panama-Pacific Exposi-
tion is further evidence.
XXXIX
nothing more depressing than to see large sums
of money spent in forming worthless collections
of “art objects.” This, of course, applies to
private individuals as well as to public insti-
tutions.
An institution should give special attention to
the art of its own country, but it must be remem-
bered that a public gallery is not a laboratory.
Its purpose is not to encourage artists or to gam-
ble with the future; except in very unusual
cases, it cannot afford to experiment. Those
responsible for the formation of permanent
collections must be conservative but with just
enough of the revolutionary spirit to enable
them to appreciate a new man’s work possess-
ing unfamiliar and distinguished qualities.
There should be no compromise in selecting
works of an educational character for a public in-
stitution; no more compromise than a physician
would make between the medicine which he pre-
scribes for his patient and that which the patient
finds more to his liking. The fact is, we all really
want the best, and it should be the aim of an edu-
cational institution (I use educational in its widest
sense) to point out and demonstrate what is the
best, instead of lowering the standard formed by
expert opinion to please those who have given little
thought to the subject and do not know.
One thing worth remembering is that the most
important collections have been formed by mu-
seums in which the policy and choice of art
objects have been left to one man. It is inter-
esting to note, also, that in large museums it is
those departments covering phases of art, the
character of which necessitates the choice being
made by one man, in which are to be found the
most complete collections in the institution.
Book review
What Pictures to See in America.
By Lorinda M. Bryant. Publishers:
John Lane Company. $2.00.
The yearly exodus to Europe is very much
attenuated this summer, and few, indeed, will fol-
low their wont in making a tour of the European
Galleries. Americans no less than others object
to the dangers and difficulties involved, and will
therefore have to try a new game. Mrs. Bryant
Art Institute, Chicago
PORTRAIT OF HARMAN HALS
BY FRANZ HALS
has leapt Curtius-like into the breach. With
infinite toil this seasoned author has combed the
public collections contained in this country, pre-
senting a very readable book laden with illustra-
tions expressive of the best in ancient and modern
painting to be seen on this side of the globe, from
the Atlantic to the Pacific. The reader may ob-
tain a consecutive history of art, reaching from
Jonas Lie back to Giotto, or from Fra Angelico
forward to Childe Hassam. The art treasures of
this country are by no means confined to the
museums. A still richer harvest awaits the
quester who can gain admission to privately owned
pictures which would yield a companion volume of
surpassing interest. Many private collections,
however, are very jealously guarded from prying
eyes and the curious camera.
It is interesting to note how in the topography
of museums some of the lesser peaks have
equalled the highest in the importance of their
acquired masterpieces. The Hackley Museum,
at Muskegon, Michigan, is an instance of a small
museum rising to the greatest importance through
the ability of its director to buy only what is
of significant value. The fact that a number
of paintings from the Hackley gallery were
specially invited to the Panama-Pacific Exposi-
tion is further evidence.
XXXIX