DOI issue:
No. 96 (March, 1901)
DOI article:Baldry, Alfred Lys: The work of J. M. Swan, A.R.A., [1]
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.19787#0097
/. M. Swan, A.R.A.
memories and hopes to spur him to renewed
exertions; but there is not the same incentive in
the case of the man who is supported only by faith
in his capacity to realise his intentions. His
patient plodding may seem hopeless to anyone
who does not understand him, and may be un-
accompanied by any signs that he possesses powers
sufficient to justify his confidence, so that he gets
little encouragement from his fellow students.
There is, in fact, nothing but his own strength of
will to keep him in the path that he believes will
lead to lasting fame ; and only a dogged resolve
to arm himself at all points before he sets out to
play his part in the world, will save him from enter-
ing half-equipped upon his professional career.
In a study of the art of Mr. J. M. Swan the first
point to note is that he must be reckoned among
the men who have waited for full maturity before
deciding upon any serious attempt at production.
Although he was born in 1847, it was not until
1878 that he made his first appearance at the
Academy, and another eleven years elapsed before
he scored the convincing success that fixed him
definitely in the public mind. Yet this delay came
from no hesitation on his part about his mission in
life, and he was not hampered in his development
by being tied down at first to occupations that
contradicted his true vocation. On the contrary,
he seems to have had full opportunities of acquiring
many kinds of technical experience, and to have
availed himself of them to the fullest extent. His
training began at the Worcester School of Art, it
was continued at Lambeth and the Royal Academy
Schools, and was rounded off by a long stay in
Paris, where he went, in 1874, to put himself under
the tuition of M. J. L. Gerome. But through it
all he was dominated by the idea that his know-
ledge had to be flawless and complete. To make it so
he was prepared to give years of ungrudging labour,
and spare neither time nor trouble in mastering
the most intricate problems of artistic practice.
The chief impression that he seems to have
made upon everyone with whom he came in
contact during the long period of his student-
ship was, that he was never in doubt as to the
ultimate reward he would reap as a compensation
for his unusual efforts. He had a gift of intro-
spection that helped him to see through the work
of the moment into results lying far off in the dim
future. He believed in himself implicitly, and yet
his confidence had no tinge of the conceit that
magnifies small successes into great achieve-
ments. What always filled his mind was the
feeling that he could, and would, reach the fore-
most rank in his profession if only he took the
trouble to construct solidly enough the stages by
which he would lift himself above the heads of his
less gifted or less industrious competitors. The
memories and hopes to spur him to renewed
exertions; but there is not the same incentive in
the case of the man who is supported only by faith
in his capacity to realise his intentions. His
patient plodding may seem hopeless to anyone
who does not understand him, and may be un-
accompanied by any signs that he possesses powers
sufficient to justify his confidence, so that he gets
little encouragement from his fellow students.
There is, in fact, nothing but his own strength of
will to keep him in the path that he believes will
lead to lasting fame ; and only a dogged resolve
to arm himself at all points before he sets out to
play his part in the world, will save him from enter-
ing half-equipped upon his professional career.
In a study of the art of Mr. J. M. Swan the first
point to note is that he must be reckoned among
the men who have waited for full maturity before
deciding upon any serious attempt at production.
Although he was born in 1847, it was not until
1878 that he made his first appearance at the
Academy, and another eleven years elapsed before
he scored the convincing success that fixed him
definitely in the public mind. Yet this delay came
from no hesitation on his part about his mission in
life, and he was not hampered in his development
by being tied down at first to occupations that
contradicted his true vocation. On the contrary,
he seems to have had full opportunities of acquiring
many kinds of technical experience, and to have
availed himself of them to the fullest extent. His
training began at the Worcester School of Art, it
was continued at Lambeth and the Royal Academy
Schools, and was rounded off by a long stay in
Paris, where he went, in 1874, to put himself under
the tuition of M. J. L. Gerome. But through it
all he was dominated by the idea that his know-
ledge had to be flawless and complete. To make it so
he was prepared to give years of ungrudging labour,
and spare neither time nor trouble in mastering
the most intricate problems of artistic practice.
The chief impression that he seems to have
made upon everyone with whom he came in
contact during the long period of his student-
ship was, that he was never in doubt as to the
ultimate reward he would reap as a compensation
for his unusual efforts. He had a gift of intro-
spection that helped him to see through the work
of the moment into results lying far off in the dim
future. He believed in himself implicitly, and yet
his confidence had no tinge of the conceit that
magnifies small successes into great achieve-
ments. What always filled his mind was the
feeling that he could, and would, reach the fore-
most rank in his profession if only he took the
trouble to construct solidly enough the stages by
which he would lift himself above the heads of his
less gifted or less industrious competitors. The