International studio (60.1916/1917)

The Wilmington School


BATHERS

BY DOUGLAS DUER

HE WILMINGTON SCHOOL
A visit to Wilmington, Delaware,
to view their annual exhibition of in-
vited canvases and the work of the
local artists convinced us, if convincing had been
at all necessary, of the extraordinary respect and
admiration with which the late Howard Pyle is
regarded, an influence which is not likely to wane
for many generations. The friendly ghost of
Pyle hovers around the studios and it is no sur-
prise when, on visiting the artists, the door is
opened by his old model garbed in ruffles and an
old blue cutaway coat with brass buttons. The
spirit of Pyle invades the work of his former
pupils but the form is different, and it is inter-
esting to note how step by step the emancipation
makes itself evident in the pictures shown by
such men as Schoonover, Duer, Koerner and
Arthurs, only to mention a few, each one work-
ing out problems in individual manner. Duer’s
Bathers has all the spirit of a Zorn.
The invited work with exception of C. W.

Redfield, did not prove so attractive as people
were led to hope that it would, and more interest
centred in the work of the local men tastefully
hung in the New Century Club with sixty-eight
illustrations by Howard Pyle as piece de resist-
ance. The prize winner, by N. C. Wyeth, was,
to say the least, a disappointment. The picture
with its high and uninteresting skyline, its utter
disregard of accepted composition, seemed to
be a challenge, a pictorial demand to be ruled
out of the prize list. The jury, however, de-
clined to pick up the gauntlet. Schoonover’s
picture, here reproduced, is a stunning symphony
in Corot-like greys and a strong characterization
of solitude and the junction of sea and sky. The
Indian in his bark seems to be taking leave of
the home of his fathers and seeking a happier
one in the Ewigkeit.
Koerner’s landscapes quite escape the reproach
of illustration, if, indeed, that be a reproach.
To us, in the previous case, for instance, it is an
added delight. He paints very directly and with
fine colour restraint. W. H. N.


LXII