The Brooklyn Daily Eagle from Brooklyn, New York • Page 62

BROOKLYN DAILY EAGLE. NEW YORK, SUNDAY, JANUARY 17, 1932 Story of City's Development Told in Collections at Museum of the City of New York 6 PORTRAIT OF MILE. SOMA Fantin Latour The City Museum Br HELEN APPLETON READ Museum of French Art Shows Distinguished Collection of Paintings and Lithographs by Celebrated French Artist Shipping, Architecture, Industry, Manners and Costume Are Phases of City's History Shown in New Museum ARTHUR SYMONS in his essay on Fantin-Latour quotes the French critic Charles Morie as saying "the course of Fantin-Latour in his work may be traced from the real world to the dream world through a garden." Despite its flowery phraseology, typical 'of French criticism of 20 years ago, it is a penetrating appraisement of the Fantin quality, which quality is sympathetically and authoritatively set forth in the exhibition of his paintings and lithographs arranged by Mrs. Chester THIS Is a museum year the Whitney Museum, the Frick Museum grid now the Museum of the City of New York which opened its impressive Georgian doors last Monday. The purpose of this newest addition to New York's growing list of specialized museums is to tell the Story of New York City industrially, culturally, architecturally and civlcly Irom the days of the purchase of the Island from the Indians to the present phase of its development.

Needless to say, much of the material shown in the museums has little to do with the material generally relegated to an art page. But looking upon the museums as a reflection of a point of view It will be found to have a close connection with some of the important esthetic manifestations of today, notably the growing Interest In an American cultural tradition. Furthermore, Included in the collections is material which can quite justifiably be discussed in these columns, as for example the portraits and prints, the ship models, the costumes and the building itself. Dale and now on view at the French Institute. Portraits, flower still lifes and allegorical figure compositions ara shown.

The grave carefully observed brated portrait of Manet top hatted and mundane- nevertheless reveal the concealed romantic. The allegorical figure compositions Inspired by the music of Wagner and Berlioa of whose work he was an ardent devotee, are the complete revelation of his romantic emotionalism held in restraint in the case of portraits and still lifes by his reverence for a I ,1 I I wwm.jij ni.iii 'i1-1 a. -a i.i iijLjuiiuwiw Wjm A A. Aa: ''A: A I mmmm -mm mmmmm 1 i I 4 A id By ant in Lalour, lent by the Phillipt Memorinl Gallery to the Fanlin Lntour Loan Exhibition now on new at the Mnieum of French Art, portrait of women and the cele- Pcrhaps this is the secret of Fan-tin's very definite appeal for young people today Foreshadows New Trend It is this appeal, as yet only commencing to be felt, which is important. Art during the last IS years has been discussed entirely too much from the point of view of tendencies and Influences.

Artlsta who stood apart from the main current, the movement as it is called who neither Influenced or were influenced, whose work had no nor Inaugurated any. were almost forgotten. Certainly Fantin has not shared the acclaim given to Renoir Cezanne and the their followers with the great majority of art lovers who have become art conscious since 1913. But sensitive observers of the Zeitgeist have noted an important trend a return to simplicity and sincerity. Do not misunderstand me.

There is no question of the sincerity of the great 19th century painters and their followers, the Renoirs, the Cezannes and the Van Ooghs. But their very definite ldiosyncracies of stvle and point of view made It possible to derive cult and stylisms from their work. In the case of Fantin this is not possible. This as I said before is why he was neglected and why now he is hailed as the prophet of a new era. Sincerity is the fashion.

It is not possible to achieve the Fantin quality without doing likewise which means infinite pains, sincerity, knowledge and taste. The present generation wants something that cannot be corrupted and turned into a vogue. The can-nonizing of Thomas Eakins by the younger generation of American painters is other evidence to this effect. Eakins' rugged inteeritv. his unwillingness to capitulate to fash-Ion or surface charm has become the symbol of the honesty and sin' tcruy wnicn iney are seeking.

The Fantin exhibition is an important adjunct to the Eakins revival, because it chows conclusively that charm, the quality that Eakins founds "difficult to encompass with- out loss of sincerity, need not neceS' sarily be mutually exclusive. of an Arab mounted on a camel flying before a storm. An important section of the exhibition is devoted to portrait drawings, a form of artistic expression in which the artists represented give an extremely good account of themselves. Agnes Richmond. Fcn-jamin Egleston, Robert Ryland and William Patty are among the contributors to this group.

American Art at Brooklyn Museum "An Exhibition of Paintings by American Impressionists and other Painters of the period 1880-1900" will open at the Brooklyn Museum on Tuesday, January 19, with a private reception and review for members on the preceding Monday evening. The exhibition will conUnue through the month of February. The exhibition is not a comprehensive one by design but aims to place a few accents on the period, the exhibitors are all deceased and in the majority of cases sufficient time has passed for a real valuation to be possible. Among the artists whose work will be shown are John W. Alexander, Mary Cassatt.

William M. Chase, Henry G. Dearth. John Twachtman, Johan Alden Weir and others. This span of twenty years is one of the richest in the history of American art and within that comparatively short period many changes and developments occurred.

The Munich School and the Beaux-Arts-Bougureau style reached their apex and then passed away r.i'h the advent of the Impressionist movement. Students returned from abroad full of the enthusiasm of the new view toward color and the charms of the new technic. FRANK K. M. REHN GALLERIES, 6S3 FIFTH AVE.

EXHIBITION A CHAPTER IN AMERICAN ART ANNUAL EXHIBITION The American Society of Miniature Painters JaHrr lata tm seta Graml Central Art Cilleries 15 Vaniferhill Ave N. Y. BRYSON BURROUGHS M0NTR0SS GALLERY 785 FIFTH AVL, N. Y-ss Reviews and News of Recent Events in World of Art Interest in a local and native tra- dltion, whether it is confined to a specifi'- locality, as a city or State or the nation as a whole, is Invariably an Indication of a people's cultural coming of age. It marks the end of the copying and borrowing of the cultural expression of other civilizations because of a distrust in the quality of the native product nd tradition.

It is true that the story of New York's past is still comparatively brief if, for example, one compares It with the story told In the Carna-valet collections, which are in the Museum of the City of Paris. Commencing with relics of Merovingen Kings and coming down through the crowded and eventful days of the Bourbons and Boris partes, there Is dramatic material In plenty. Furthermore, no great economic changes, no rapid growth of population have occurred In Paris which has made It necessary to tear down and build up. with a consequent loss of historic data and material, as has been the case with New York City. Brief Historic Past The comparative brevity of our historic past accounts, however, for lack of interest In preserving historic material, an interest which, as I pointed out In a previous paragraph, is resultant upon a cultural coming of age.

Had the Interest which the Museum of the City of New York symbolizes been of longer atanding it would have beer, possible to have rescued some of the typical phases of the various periods which characterized the city and which today are as lost as any of the seven cities of Troy. Confacades. typical Interiors and architectural trim which the typical color of time and locality have gone Into the Umbo of the housewreckers' secondhand building material supplies. The move from dwelling house to apartment has caused the destruction of innumerable relics that would have immeasurably enriched the museum collections. Now, with the grrwtng consciousness of a native tradition, this- ruthless scrapping of the past Is over.

What Is left will be carefulv preserved and the mistake not repeated. Today 1 Is, after all, tomorrow's past. Hence the Bremen in the marine collections and a panoramic view of the building of the Empire State. The consciousness that we pos-esed of an American cultural tradition of which we could be proud commenced evincing itself at the time of the Hudson-Fulton celebration 1909. The American Wing at the Metropolitan Museum which opened 13 years later and whose Inspiration had been the Boles collections of early American furni-tura shown there at the time of tr celebration, was the first permanent dedication to the idea of an American tradition.

The idea of a museum of The City of New York followed almost Immediately. For several vears the nuclei's of the present rolle-tions were shown in the old Oracle Mansion at 86th at. pnd the Fast River. In 1929. after funds had been raised for a more adeouate structure the corner stone of the present buiWn was laid.

tf one agrees with Emerson that th "fine arts have nothing casual be' spring from the deepest Instinct of th peop'e who create tnt'Sl" then the crowing of American art. can be directly linked tin with this growing consciousness of rare and tradition. Whose most recent manifestations are the Museum of the Citv of New York and the Whtnev Mureum of American Art. And the contention rrexlp in mv opening rarsTaph that the Museum of th City of New York is roit-riil for an art Is substantiated. The Building The museum building is rich snd Impressive, built by Arthur Fried-lander, it has late Georgian derivations, which Judging from the preference given this period for public buildings in this ctty built within the last decade, has come to symbolize the Manhattan tradition.

The advisability of using a definite period for a museum which en- deavora to be undated, that is does not stress any particular period. Is open to question. Furthermore the museum has not attempted to meet the problems of Installation and lighting and wall space in its design. It is a handsome building of a lavlshness in material and detail not paralleled elsewhere among recent buildings. It is a forcible reminder, a bit of valuable data in Itself of the now historic days when there was money to be spent on marble stairways and carved woodwork and the idea that the richest etty in the world deserved nothing less than the richest city museum The oroblem might have been more effectively solved if some of the principles of functionalism, the bugaboo of the traditionalists had been observed.

And this could have bamxned without too great a sacrifice of magnificence. Lack of Tunetionali'm 'functionlism In this ease maning the reouirements of sincere statement of visual reality. The flower still lives, melodious in their pattern and color, are the transition between the two phases. AU of which is a substantiation of Morie's metaphorical appraisement. The exhibition Is an event in the art world.

For two reasons First, because it affords the art lover his first opportunity of seeing a representative collection of Fantin's work In this city and because it is a symbol, a foreshadowing of a changing point of view with people who interest themselves in artistic matters. Museums which have co-operated in making the exhibition the distinguished and sympathetic representation of Fantin-Latour's work are the Louvre, the Metropolitan and Brooklyn Museums, the Hartford Atheneum and the Chicago Art Institute. Collectors who have lent pictures are Mr. and Mrs. Chester.

Dale. Duncan Phillips, Senator A. C. Hardy. Mr.

and Mrs. John Corliss and John Kraushaar. Not An Impressionist Fantin-Latour was a close friend of Manet's and Whistler's. He died in 1904. His career paralleled the Impressionist movement but he remained apart from the principles which it stood for.

His portraits achieve their rare distinction because of their limpid sincerity directed by cultivated taste. Meier Graeffe says that he was the most cultivated artist of his time. A fact borne out by his painting. Mrs. Dale, in the postscript which she attaches to the catalogue and which modestly labels "Remarks," makes the following sympathetic and penetrating observations on his work: "He eliminated all exciting or brilliant exterior accidents from his pictures no dramatic poses, no elaborate decor.

His portraits of a past so recent have a strangely re mote inaccessible charm, no ex- travagances, no trivialities. In a Just and measured ensemble of only the essential details he achieved a nobleness that is classical and as symbolic of his time as Greek statues. "There is in these portraits of gentle serious people above all else a sense of peace, quiet almost silence. Brooklyn Artists Show Water Colors The second exhibition by members of. the Brooklyn Painters and Sculptors Is now on view at the society's galleries at 212 Hicks St.

and comprises water colors and drawings. Water color in being so favorite a medium with American artists and one in which thev are especially proficient Invariably results in an effective exhibition and the present one is no exception to the rule. It Is, if anything, a better show than the one that preceded it. Unquestionably it gives a more accurate account of some of the artists' work and point of view largely because in the majority of cases the artists are represented by three or more examples of their wort Exhibitions such as these offer the potential collector an excellent opportunity for starting a collection. Because none of the painters belong to the group exploited by the dealers and fashionable collectors, which incidentally has nothing to do with quality, the prices are reasonable.

Furthermore the collector has the opportunity for making his own appraisals, since few of the exhibitors are graded and ticketed as to merit. Herbert Tschudy shows a group of landscapes painted in the Southwest. Specially noted among them Is one entitled, "Wind and Rain." Despite Its dramatic massing of dark clouds there is no suggestion of a forcing of effects. As is always the case in Mr. Tschudy's pictures the effect is one of a direct, sincere statement of visual reality.

The subject also allows for a display of Mr. Tschudy's dextrous use of pure wash. Lars Hoftrup shows a group of landscapes color in rhich nature serves as a point of departure for what might be best designated as rhapsodies in pure color and Win-throp Turney has two of his clear cut observations of reality, in this case one of his closeups of plant forms the other a locomotive. William E. Spader has made a stride forward In the two figure compositions which he shows.

Always sensitive he has acquired a firmer mastery of line and composition and a broader treatment of his material which lifts it safely out of the pictorial class into the realm of pure painting. James shows a group of fresh sensitive landscapes and William Mathews contributes some attractive experiments in monotypes notable for their refinement of color and interesting pattern. Other water colors that call for special mention are Isabel Whitney's "Brooklyn Roofs," Edmond Weil's "Boatyard Flatlands," Harry Rose-land's portrait of a young girl. Charles Aiken's flower still life. Hans Srheiriacker's still life and Nlcolss Macscud's "A Flight" the last named a dramatic laconic statement it extremely difficult to arrange the exhibits to their best advantage.

The Collections The collections comprise portraits, costumes, a section devoted to the history Industry in New York City, another to the theater, and a Marine Museum which, although it is housed in the same building, is a separate museum with its own director and board of trustees. Hard-Inae Scholle is director of the Museum of the City of New York; Joseph W. Applcton directs the Marine Museum. An exhibit of special interest are six meticulously executed miniature sets telling various episodes in the history of New York designed by Dwlght Franklin and Ned J. Burns.

These are perfect in detail, scale and execution that photographs of them seem to have been taken from life or life size sets. The first set shown in th Colonial Room, de-oicts the Indians as they lived on Manhattan Island when Henry Hudson came sailing up the river In the Half Moon. The last set shows the riveters working on the Empire State Building. In between are typical or historic scenes such as sleighing in Central Park in the '60s. Bowling Oreen in 1831 and Nathan Hale brought before the British commander-in-chief in the old Beekman Mansion.

Portraits of special interest are the Stuart Washington given to the museum by James Speyer, president of the museum, and a Trumbull portrait of Alexander Hamilton. Only two floors of the museum are open as yet. Later on one of the wings will be given over to showing the history of manners. Replicas of Interiors of various typical periods will be shown and mannequins will wear the costumes of the times. The Marine Museum The Marine Collections constitute one of the most Interesting exhibits In the museum.

Not only because of the subject matter, ship models invariably stir the imagination, but, also because of the dramatization of the material. It was high time New York organized a Marine Museum. All of the important museum cities of Europe whether they are sea ports or not. have their marine museums, but New York, the largest port in the world and the museum center of the United 8tates has waited until now to found its marine museum. And this is the more extraordinary In view of the important role shipping has played in the development of the city.

The museum's aim is to outline the history of shipping from the seventeenth century to the present as It has heen related to the harbor of New York. Models of ocean-going craft from the Half Moon to the Bremen are shown and what adds a soecial fillip of local Interest are the river and harbor craft such as the celebrated Mary Powell of the Hudson River Dav line and The Brooklyn, an old time ferry boat. Other models are the Flying Cloud, fastest of the clipper ships: the Britannia, built In 1840. first Cunarder to come to New York, and the Bremen. Walls painted sea blue, a ship's figurehead of a woman used on a clipper ship of the '30's standing at the entrance, and a gold eagle such as was used to decorate the wheel houses of tugboats placed over the door, sets the note.

A Dwight Franklin model of "South Street in 1840," at the height of the clipper ship era is shown in conjunction with the models. Old prints and paintings of famous ships or views of the fcarbor at various stages in Its development add to the educational aspect of the collection as well as to effectiveness of the general impression. Sunday Lectures The lectures of the Sunday afternoon series at the Brooklyn Museum, which commenced last Sunday and will continue to Feb. 23. will be devoted to the general topic of Modern Art.

So much of the creation of art forms of the present day is concerned with the practical and utilitarian side that it has been arranged that several of these talks will deal with that side of the subject. The first three of the series will be concerned with modern painting and sculpture and will Include two lectures by Helen Apple- ton Read. The title for her talk today is "America Interpreted by I Her Graphic Artists. The following Sunday Jere Abbott, associate director of the Museum of Modern Art. will discuss the work and significance of the great Mexican painter.

Diego Rivera. The remaining dates will be 'vcn over to leaders in the fields of furniture design, illustration. raphy and allied professions in the Industrial field. Each of the speakers is of high standing in his field and many of them will be remembered from their work in the exhibition of decora'ive an -sum last Spring and Summer under the ausrices of the A'oerKai) Ttnion of Decora tive Artist and JPP! 4v a way that they suggest water colors. It Is obviously her intention to suggest that the heads and figure compositions are informal impressions rather than finished statements.

The charm md romanticism found in Mrs. Clarke's first exhibition continues to be the characteristic quality of her work. One could wish, however, that she would go a little deeper, give a close, more accurate statement of her subject and not depend too exclusively on charm and taste important and sometimes indispcnsible as these qualities are. At the Milch Galleries The Milch Galleries are showing paintings by modern Americans. An unusual grouping but all the more interesting for that reason.

All of the 12 painters are represented by excellent and typical examples. Some of the unusual Juxtapositions and also the pictures which call for special mention are a Schnack-enberg landscape and Pascln figure composition, a two of Francis Specht's imaginative small town scenes and a Dubois portrait; an Alexander Brook flower still-life and a Leon Kroll figure composition. Donald Olyphant Donald Olyphant is exhibiting oils and water colors at the Fifteen Gallery. In his oils Mr. Olyphant is primarily interested in reducing visual reality into decorative patterns.

He accomplishes this, however, without obvious stylizations or without losing, the spirit and mood of the place which he depicts. In his water colors, on the contrary. It is atmosphere and mood that pai-marily concern hfm. His fluent use of the medium and fresh clear color are characteristics found in both oils and water colors. Announcements "Forty Years of American Painting" is the title under whi-h the Macbeth Gallery has selected a group of forty-three pictures to form the annual exhibition now on view at the Union League Club.

The collection includes one picture by each of fortv-three well known American artists, among them: F. C. Frieseke. Ernest Law-son. Gari Melchers, J.

H. Twacht-man. Childe Hassam. Arthur B. Davies, Leon Kroll.

George Bellows. John Singer Sargent. Albert P. Ryder, Homer D. Martin.

Marv Cas-satt. James McV. Whistler, Winslow Homer. Abbott Thayer. Robert Henri.

Edward Hopper, Gifford Beal, George Luks, Maurice Prendergast, Thelma Grosvenor Is exhibiting a group of paintings at the Marie Sterner Galleries. The majority of the canvasses are recent work and show a more fluent use of her medium and a less stylized point of view. True she continues her interest in pattern whether the subject is decorative still life, animals or humans. Furthermore there is definite advance in emotional content. Comparison with a portrait of her little daughter painted three years ago with a more recent version of the same subject is evidence of this.

Further evidence of the increasing warmth and richness of Mrs. Grosvenor's work is the fact that her interest in pattern and design Is less linear and two dimensional and has become a matter of solid, carefully built up forms. The Ferargil Galleries are holding a memorial exhibition of the work of Robert Spencer, who died last Summer. Mr. Spencer's very personal style, a Dickensonian painting of anecdote in factory town and villase, was more or' less shelved during the la-st 15 years because of the prevailing idea that story telling pictures were bad art.

especially if they were couched in academic terms. The present collection should upset any such old-fashioned opinions. tSome of the opinions until recently believed to be ultra modern have abruptly become demode.) The pictures have quality and style. Despite the fact that thev deal largely with the annals of the poor they have a curious remoteness and imaginative sugeestlveness that sets them far apart from anecdotal realism. At the Macbeth Galleries The Marbeth Galleries are showing paintings of Vermont subjects by Herbert Meyer and portraits and figure compositions by Lily Cush-lng.

Mr. Meyer is one of the increasing number of young painters who finds that straightforward presentation of the American scene inspires him to his best work. There is no pretense here, no effort to assume an arresting personal manner and point of view. The canvasses are sincere statements tempered by taste and imagination. Lily Cushing Clarke made her debut in the exhibition world two vears aeo when she exhibited a aroup of dmwines at the Arden Galleries.

The present group are oils framed and mounted in such 'kfuly figure h-nd rarrrd in iroorf from the narket thin of that name. Shotcn at the Marine Muteiim of the City of Vew York. Lent by Luke Vincent LorktrootT. tic compositions based on Swedish mythology in which Countess von Rosen is much interested. The Delphic Studios announce that the exhibition of paintings by Alice Riddle Kindler first scheduled to close fin Jan.

16 will remain on view until Jan. 25. Owing tio the great amount of interest aroused by the showing of th Sackaille Knole Collection of paintings, for the benefit of the Musicians Ltnertency Aid at Averell House, 141 E. 53d St- the exhibition will be ccptinued until Jan, 23, John Sloan. William Chafe.

Thomas W. Dewing, Emil Carlsen and Guy Pene du Bois. Ladies' days are today and next Tuesday, Friday and Sunday. The exhibition will continue for two weeks. Maud von Rosen, young Swedish sculptor and only pupil e' r--t MiUes.

will exhibit her work for the first time in America a the Arden Gallery beginning Tuesday. Jan. 19. The works in the coming exhibition will include portrait busts, figures, aniioil studies and fantas A 4 Installation and lighting) bu made Cratsmety.