Studio: international art (52.1911)

Recent Work by Frank Brangwyn,

A.R.A.

for the really strong man
to take refuge in a pigeon-
hole, or to depend for
his success upon adver-
tising devices and mutual
admiration tricks. It
proves too that there is a
very considerable section
of the public which can
and does appreciate work
which bears the stamp of
a dominating personality,
and that there are many
people who can approach
the consideration of
artistic accomplishment
in a non-partisan spirit.
It is an encouragement
to other artists, who are
impatient of being
grouped, to take the line
which will lead them
away from the influence

" life amongst ruins" (water-colour sketch). by frank brangwyn, a.r.a. of a clique intO those

spheres of activity which

certainly he cannot be said to show practical sym- offer them space for the expansion of their own
pathy with the mannerisms of any of the fashion- personal capacities and for the assertion of what
able cliques. All his life he has stood apart on original convictions they may possess,
ground of his own choosing, and he has been per- But if Mr. Brangwyn's success points a moral, it
fectly consistent in his effort to work out his own also provides a warning. There is to be learned
destiny in the way he
thought best. He has
taken the risk of being
ignored by the people
who were more concerned
with the party politics of
art than with the advance-
ment of great artistic
principles; he has chanced
the opposition of the
many members of his
profession who could only
see in his isolation a sort
of reflection on them-
selves; and he has
thoroughly justified him-
self as a man of judgment
and as an artist of rare
individuality.

There is something
especially significant in
the prominence which he
enjoys to-day. It proves

how little necessary it is "piazza san spirito, messina " (etching), by frank brangwyn, a.r.a.