International studio (81.1925)

tnCSRHAOOnAL

odern mechanical devices contribute greatly to
comfort and utility and in many instances place
beauty within the reach of all, but sophisticated
taste forever calls for the painstaking labor of human
hands. Perhaps nowhere in the world is artistic needlework
more perfectly developed and universally appreciated than
in England. Mary Symonds is undoubtedly the leading
authority in England on tapestries, embroideries and
needlework. She is a lecturer of note, consultant of the
Victoria and Albert Museum, and is advisor to the royal
family on topics pertaining to these subjects, having
restored ancient tapestries and works of art of this nature
in the royal palaces of Windsor, Buckingham and Holy-
rood. Miss Symonds has won numerous medals for her
own work in many countries, and not a few fortunate
Americans have seen and taken lessons from her both in
England and here, where she has visited under the most
distinguished patronage. Her fascinating New York shop
offers embroideries and tapestries of all kinds, antique and
modern, and here also such things can be restored and
reproduced. Especially interesting are the patterns ol
every period, which are traced and prepared, and the
materials that are furnished, to be worked by deft-fingered
art lovers. Illustrated is just a hint of the beauty to be
seen in this shop. The cushion is made from an eighteenth-
century panel. Age has given the heavy satin a deep ivory-
tone, and the flowers, done in fine silks, have faded into
indescribable softness and harmony.

cushion cover of eighteenth-century needlework

Courtesy of Mary Symonds

Pictorial photography differs from other branches
of photographic practice in the motive by which it is
prompted. Employing the same tools, it seeks to use
the process as a means of personal artistic expression. It
was about 1846 that David Octavius Hill, a successful
Scottish painter, took up this method of portrayal. Guided
by the knowledge and conception of an artist, and refusing
to be fettered to photographic conventions of the day, he
produced the first photographic portraits. His achievement
ultimately threw a monkey-wrench into the Photographic
Society of Great Britain (now the Royal Photographic
Society), causing a group of secessionists to leave that
august body and form themselves into a brotherhood
called "The Linked Ring." This organization held its first
Photographic Salon in 1893 at the Dudley Gallery, Picca-

dilly. It elected artists as judges, and encouraged exhibi-
tors of portrait photography from all over the world, thus
becoming international in character. Therefore in passing

"danny"
Courtesy of Lena C. Towsley

it is interesting to note that, as a distinct movement, pic-
torial photography is of British origin.

To catch and portray the many-sided and fleeting
fascinations of childhood is difficult and is art indeed. To
this end Lena G. Towsley gives her time and talent, with
pronounced success. She has no studio, preferring to seek
her subjects in their own environment, no matter where,
and using a film camera, she employs methods of her own
to achieve results that are most unusual and artistic.

f~T--*His is a day of specialists, and one saves time, money
/ and effort by using the trained ability that is offered
in every line of endeavor. In Mayfair, London, the
General Trading Company, Ltd., has a shop that is filled
exclusively with things selected by art connoisseurs. The
screen illustrated is of painted antique leather and for
many years has done its bit toward beautifying the home
of a well-known collector of art treasures. The background
is black, and the design and blending of color pay tribute
to the inimitable art of the Chinese.

painted leather screen

Courtesy oj the General Trading Company

june 1925

two thirty-Jive