Evening Star Newspaper, February 20, 1897, Page 18

THE WITHOUT A SUPERIOR GRAND STAIRWAY. a monaste thing but Se the surroundings by no +. ve. In some of the Europe an Opening of the Beautiful New Corco- pay MES Se eat y which has just been latest and ran Gallery of Art. DESCRIPTION OF THE BUILDING THE EVENING STAR/ SATURDAY, HEBRUARY 20, 1897-24 PAGES. ception of {tr real size than can be had from” the outside. The basement is composed of Milferd’ pink granite, above which is a superstrvcture of Georgia white marble, while the inside trimmings are of Indiana limestone. The lower story of the building is pierced by windows. The solidity of the secor.d is relieved by panels of marble, orna- mented with carving in open work, and be- tween them and the richly adorned cornice is a narrow frieze, upon which the names of fllustrious painters and sculptors are in- scribed. The roof is of glass, surmounted by a bronze crest, which is finished at either end by winged griffins. An interest- ing feature of the exterior is the pair of colossal bronze lions guarding the main entrance, which were cast from molds made over Canov: famous lions in St. Paul's at Rome. These two Hons are famil- iar figures In Washington, for they crouched and glared on either side of the doorway of the cld gallery for many years. There, it will be remembered, they faced the street, but at the entrance to the new gallery t are so placed that they face each other; like sentinels at the door. The Atrium. Passing through this entrance a broad and easy fiight of stairs leads direct to the main corridor or atrium. It is the largest apartment in the building, and as one en- ters it his first impression ts of airiness, light and dignity. This hall is 100 feet long and 50 wide, running north and south of the main entrance on the first floor, and reaching up to the glass roofiig above. A gallery, the walls of which are reserved for paintings, encircles it, and is supported by ve fluted columns of Indiana lime- | stone. The room itself is used exclusively for the exhibition of statuary, but it con- tains only a portion of the coliection, for there are a number of other rooms leading out of the atrium which are given over to the marbles, casis and bronzes One of these smaller rooms is devoted en- tirely to the collection of Barye bronzes. This numbers over one hundred specimens of this famous scuiptor’s work, and is un- | Perfectly Adapted for Displaying Works of Art. —_-— ARRANGE TAILS OF TW CORCOR- of Art of the sort, and it It matter to conceive of ree thousand a butiding better adapted to the purpose. a Reave neem Character of the Building. 1 for the opening. | With the ground upon which it stands w gallery has cost in round numbers ». It is located at the corner of sirect and New York avenue | han ervation cr park, which ©x- z | tenc that street to the Capitol Wednesday | prounds. The main front ts on 17th street As spectacte to any presents a magnitice 1. on néing in the m: It is a noble and nm that m: * pile, ef white marble. The archi- allery will be open to the public | tecture is ecian style, and the 1 chaste almost to the There is nothing bare or . yet the di nee that lines are s point of sev s in the general nsee ata afternoons fre nd from 1 to 1 to 4 o'clock lock in summer. the Sunday open- ip winter Fer the gla THE EAST FRONT. ing will Jay even. va view ‘ ne severity of the building is happily ken by the curves of the north has heen in is intended for the use of the C School of Art, which conta’ the hall or hemicycle. There two es to the gallery, the main one on another, enly less impos: New York avenue. The lat the entrance to the portion of the building which will be given up to the use of the art were drawn of the galiery and distinct. couvenient arrange- ‘0. portion ne Kept entirely H be a parti e work of the art done in the even when the roper woule é The Old Gallery. allery at the corner of 1 nia avenue has ks of the city, ne trustees have all the land that ding as it stands today covers not more than ha ground the gallery ow in s the present building allowance was for future growth, so that when it is which is not likely to happen for ny years to come, additions can be ony with the original plans. than twenty yeers the old g d been open to the pu but about S$ consist Presiden board of truste h ago the docrs were c the noving the val ntings y to the new building s be- ertaking, but the trustees and F. S. Barbarin, Curator of Corcoran Gallery of Art. curator of the gallery it was carried thro mishap, and for s and every Dr. F. 8. Barbarin, th without in place, awaiting the formal opening. priceles Description of the New Gallery. ‘The new gallery is imposing In its dimen- 1S, as well as in its n of the interior giv 8, but an Inspee- one a better con- FIRST AND SECOND FLOORS, doubtedly the largest collection of the sort to be found anywhere. All the pieces were from “s studio and are not or repro: i ecutive offices of the gallery and the trustees’ rooms are located on the first floor leading out of the atrium and to the right as one enters. They are handsomely fitted up and are quite in keeping with the | taste and elegance that characterize the entire building. The floor of the atrium is of mosa: In the other rocms and gal- 3 it is of oak, laid in narrow strips foot in le gth and polished so that i ) a handsome surface, but is much pleasanter to walk or stand upon | ‘tence of the art qgommittee and the curator to the utmost. t they have succeeded will probably bethe general opinfon whea the gallery is thrown open to the public. The great expanse of wall space has done away with the difficulty formerly met with in finding room for row pictures and has made it possible to group the collection in a On the Second Floor. way that will be more than pleasing to the visito} In several of the rooms only a single line of pictures has been hung and there has been no necessity for “skying” any. The Walls. The choice of a background for the pic- tures strikes the visitor as a most happs one. The walls are all hung with burlap in dull and suitable colors, for the most | part reds and greens, and this dead back- ground seems to bring out to the fullest ex- tent all the light and coler in the pictures Another novelty is seen in the ingenious manrer of hanging the pictures. No wires are in sight anywhere. Set in the plaster of the walls at intervals of a foot are wood- cn uprights (nat are securely fastened <o the stone of the walls. It is possible to Grive into these iron brackets capabie of sustaining the heaviest frames and can- vases. On these the pictures rest and are held in place by hooks driven into the woodwork of the walls. In case it is de- sired to change the position of the pictui the brackets can be pulled out and leave no warks or scars in the burlap, such as they yould in plaster walls. ‘Whe new gallery is lighted at night by electricity and is heated by steam gener- ated by huge bollers located in the base- ment. In the gallery there are in all nearly 4,000 incandescent burners, so that it can Le open of evenings and thus be a source of pleasure to thousands whose occupations are such as to bar them from visiting the gallery in the daytime. It is also an as- sured fact that the gallery will in time be thrown open on Sunday afternoons. The Main Galleries. The main galleries for paintings are three large rooms that together form a gal- lery 26 t wide by 170 feet long. These extend along the 17th street side of the building. ive other smaller galleries, equivalent in dimensions to a gallery 26 feet wide by 230 feet long, extend along the south and west sides of the building as often meets with in public buildings. The next room to the south tains only marble room has for i b The southeast principal figure the Greek Slave, which stands in the center of the he Peri and a number of other r figures are placed about the walls. The main room on the south side of the building contains the collection of electro- t in the southwest room are a num- ber of different siatues of Venus, with the Venus de Milo in the most prominent posi- tion. The big west room contains some of the larger pieces, among them the Laocoon and the Torso of Hercules. On the west side, north of the stairway, is a large room, which is to be devoted to the display of modern statuary. At pres- ent there are but tew pieces in place. One of them is a copy or reproduction of one of Mr. Partridge’s recent figures, and tho 5 hope that in time other sculptors like manner may see fit to donate or eposit specimens of thelr best work. All the pieces of statuary in the gallery have been thoroughly cleaied since the old building was closed. Among the workmen in the new gallery was a clever Italian, who remarked to Dr. Barbarin one day that many of the statues needed cleaning very badly, and that he thought he could do the work in a satisfactory manner. Dr. Barberin gave him permission to try his hand on the Torso of Hercules, and when the former arrived at the gallery the next morning the huge figure was hardly recog- nizable, it was so clean and white. The man was directed then to go ahead with the work, and the results have been most pleasing. The Grand Stairway. ‘The main stairway from the atrium to the second floor, where the pictures are dis- played, is on the opposite side of the build- ing from the entrance. It is an imposing affair of Georgia white marble, and more than fificen feet wide. The asccnt is un- usually casy, the treads being only a few inches in height. Half way up, where the stairway branches to right and left, is a wide platform. In the wall is a niche, where now stands the figure of Augustus, but where in time it ts expected will be placed a handsome statue of Mr. Corcoran. In the center of the upper atrium 1s the familiar figure, “The Last Days of Na- poleon.” It faces the stairway and occu- pies perhaps the most conspicuous position in the building. ‘The Second Floor. Around the interior runs a gallery, from which access is had to the rooms in which the pictures are hung, and from which, over a massive oak rail, can be had a splen- Gid view of the low atrium and its collec- tien of statuary. The walls of this gallery are also used for the display of pictures, ard here are hung some of the larger and more familiar of the canvases. ‘There are on the upper floor eight mag- nificent rooms for pictures, giving more than twice as much wall space as the orig- iral gallery afforded. One of the largest rooms is set apart solely for the works of American artists and is not by any means the least attractive part of the collection. In arranging the pictures in the new gal- lery great pains were taken to place each in such a position and light as would bring out its than a floor of stone or marble such as one| far as the grand of the one | that is devoted to the Barye bronzes con- | the building on the first floor. This is in the form of a large semicircle, with a diameter of 66 feet, and affording a seating capacity for an audience of 20 persons. The proscenium opening is 37 feet wide and 34 fect high, with a depth of 13 feet. About one-half of the seating space in front of the rostrum is left level, and the rest is divided by three steel riders into succes- sive tiers of seats. Wide aisles give easy access to the entire floor. Light Is afforded from the toof of hammered glass, 5 feet overhead. The entrance to this audito- rium is from the New York avenue door- way. The auditorium is Intended for lec- tures on art and kindred subjects incident gouthe conduct of the Corcoran Schcol of The Corcoran School of Art Is a most fortunate beneficiary of the gallery. It will have a larger and more convenient working home than any similar institution in this country. Seven or eight large studios are provided on the first, second and third floors, besides a room in the basement, cor- responding in size to the auditorium. All of these rooms are from 2) to 30 feet high, and amply lighted by large windows, those on the second floor being $ feet wide and 12% feet high, with piers only 6 feet wide between the several windows, thus secur- ing the greatest volume of light consistent with the safety of the outer walls of the building. The first floor studios haye one window, 8 feet by 10 in the clear, and two others, 3% feet by 8 feet. The studio rooms in the basement beneath have win- dows of corresponding size. A large studio room on the third floor is lit by a skylight in the roof. ‘The Corcoran School. The Corcoran School of Art had its ori- gin in the privilege granted to students of drawing from the casts and marbles and copying from the pictures in the gallery on specified days in the week. The intere shown by these students, and the promise which many of them exhibited, suggested to Mr. Corceran the advisability of secur- ing a teacher for their instruction, and in 1887 E. F. Andrews, a pupil of Dusseldorf Academy, and one of the most prominent artisis in Washington, was put in charge of the class. Under his direction its num- so increased that class rooms became ry for its accommodation, and in Issv a building was erected in the rear of the gallery and fitted up for its use. Mr. The New York Avenue Front. Andrews now employs two assistants, Mr. Hinckley and Miss Cook, and the cla: which in 1885 consisted of fifteen members, has grown into a flourishing school of 200 pupils, whose annual exhibitions testify to their ability and rapid advancement. In the new building the rooms appropriated to the use cf this school are not only larger and more commodious, but are fur- ut ed with improved facilities and ‘$, so that it has every pre in numbers and importan The new gallery has but one elevator. It THE ATRIUM. taircase. The three | main gaileries are 20 feet high. The five smaller rooms are 20 feet high. | One of the most commodious apartments is set apart for the exhibition of loan col- |lections, and enables the authorities to make much better use of such pictures as {may be placed temporarily at their dis- | posal than they were ever able to do in the old gallery. There, owing to the lack of space, it was necessary to place pictures that were loaned to the gallery just 1s a very large one, and {is intended oniy for freight uzes. It is five feet deep and fourteen feet wide. The elevator well is directly behind tre proscenium of the audi- | torium hail, the openings of the elevator j being into the atrium. This elevator will | accommocate the largest pictures or sculp- tures likely ed gallery. to be ever exhib: in the Fireproof Throughout. The entire building is pronounced fire- FIRST FLOOR. wherever room could be found for them. As it is now, these collections can be kept together and hung in such a manner as to be satisfactory’ to owners and visitors alike. In this room now are hung a num- ber of fine modern works that have been loaned by Mr. ‘W. J. Hutchinson, formerly of this city. @thers already in place in- clude portraits of Mrs. A. C. Barney and the late Admiral Porter, and a number of fine pictures that belonged to the late Mr. J. C. McGuire, and have been placed in the gallery by Mr. F. B. McGuire. The Auditorium. One of the finest features of the gallery ts a large auditorium in the north end of proof. There is probably as Iittle wood or combustible material of any kind employed In its construction as in any other building in Washington. ‘The interior finish is large- ly of Indiana limestone and cement. The wooden floors of the second story and the sliding doors constitute about the only combustible material in the building. The spaces between the floors and ceilings are filled in with a fireproof substance, rest- ing on steel beams, and Interlaced with a fine network of strong, galvanized wires. The ceilings are supported by the same steel beams and are also of cement illied with galvanized wire netting. A dead-air space of about three inches between the cement plate of the ceiling and the concrete floors serves to deaden all sound. ‘The Bascment. The basement, which is in part but a few feet below the level of the earth, is all fin- ished off in stone and polished oak. con- tains a large number of rooms that will be put to a variety of uses. The main corridor beneath the atrium Is so well lighted, and altogether svch a bright and cheery plac E Street Front. that it is well suited for the exhi plaster casts, a use to which it may in time. Beside the rooms that a up for studios for the art school the a number of store roon cking and the like. At the southeast the building are the quarters of who wiil reside in the building consist of a sitting room, dining pition of t be pul These room, Kitchen and three chamber and spacious, with a ari E street, and supplied wit 1com and other modern conver 3 cluding an excellent cold storage cellar. With a building such as this, at or pressive, magnificent and fitt the latest appliances and conveni will be no idie boast when Washi hereafter lay claim to the finest art gallery in the world. SS THEATR:CAL GOSSIP —— Women in boys’ clothes are not uncom- mon on the stage, where in the legitimate as well as burlesque they are frequently seen, Blonde wigs, correct clothes and a certain swagger that i t masculinity never for a mom nt cause the least experienced of theatergoers to forget that they are masqueraders. That “the exception prov Dupree, who pla half-siav part of Claude, fellow who of the at chicken steal- only once befor cter—that was in Cadi.” While shi , the play was a failure. Miss Jen- on the other ba who im- the thoroughly manly little fel- and full of he: surrounded as he is by poverty has never before essayed a When seen the other day and as' that st play “I knew I could not. th, even abus role. if she thought at the part she repli Now, however, I have grown accustomed to the part and to the trousers. I like » trousers. I can walk about as I t down when and where I plea i with no fear of inju the more soi t fact, to much soil #astixtures I have to us re tion of half d bandannas t ts to ta York T had an aw time to go on the found. AM the and I was a age wait or go- with W of hair when it ove do you think it wa 22 : bursting into laughter. a will never guezs, so I will tell you. On my head! I Yad forgot I left the Sstaze as stinelively looked fo} when I Was cal ss Dupree and Miss Busley ar feminine the moment they leave stage, but once under the influe ootlights they become living, bre boys, with nothing about them to the two little women that after the fall of the curtain leave th They are not male impe ators becaus2 they do not imper: thing. They sink their indiy ecmpletely in the parts th sorrows and trials become the Sorrows a! trials of each and every one on the other side of the footiigh - of st sug: half an hour the. ter together. Steve Brodie’s carcer is as eventful as most men who have seen but thirty years of life. He knows what it is without food and to sie-p in a dry all over his face, and he knows what it is to sleep in a palatially furn’ room and to wear on his scarf a horse shoe pin valued at least at $1,000, He has been tled to the wheel of fortune turned with it through the mud a of ad ity into the financial prosperity. If any one gets hold of him who wants to get money out of him, he is the easiest man in the world to work with a plausible, tearful story. When spoken to in reference to his. injudicious generosity, Brodie al- ways replies: “I have been in hard luck me- self, see, and I knows what it is to be broke. I'd rather be dead than be without the ‘dough.’ Brodie is married to a most able lady and has three very pretty en. If it were not for her, it is doubt- Steve would have a cent, because he cannot keep his hands out of his pockets. He is the newsbo; idol, and every town he goes into he takes great delight in throwing fistfulls of nickels into the street and watching the little ragged “newsys” scramble for them. d_ mire bright sunlight of Mme. Nordica at her concert next Thurs- day afternoon will sing the aria from “St. zabeth,” which is creating a furore. It is a complete novelty in its way, although it was composed by Eskel in 1 no one has ever dared to sing it except Nordica. There is a romance attached io it. A few years ago Mme. Nordica became acquainted With a young Hungarian nobleman, who was studying music in Paris. He suggested to her that wonderful song, saying that “No one on earth has the voice for it ex- cept yourself. “But,” added he, “it must be sung in the Hungarian language; otherwise it cannot be made effective.” “Oh, yes, but how can I learn the words of a strange song in a strange language and make it effective?” “I will teach you the word young man. “Very well: if you do, I'l! love you all your life,” replied the sprightly and hand- some American singer. The music was procured, and they had to send all the way to Budapest to get it. The young student and Nordica worked away for dear life, and every one who heard the Frima donna declared that she would cre- ate a furore. She sang the aria and she kept her word to the young Hungarian; she will love him all her life. He is Soltan Doeme, and they were married in Indian- apolis only last year. Nerdica now writes her name Lillian Nordica Doeme. said the Mile. Anna Held pointed a moral very effectively at a New York theater recently. She had promised to show her big audi- ence something in connection with the big theater hat that would amuse them all, and possibly instruct the feminine portion. She kept her word. After singing several songs very charmingly she retired and the lights were turned down. When the stage was again illuminated a mammoth hat— supposed to repre- | audience | began, and from behind the hat came the words of one of Mile. Held’s best songs. But the little singer herself was Invistble, hidden by ‘the big theater hat.” Now and again a datnty foot was kicked into view and the andience knew ft was missing scmethirg, just what it couldn't tell. The few ladies in the house who had kept on their hats—and » or two Of those stage ¢ looked = even larger to th poor hung th Is to be counted n there had been b out The rest of the 2 licularly—enjoyed the w theater “big hat kerd tells a good stor un ad- ure on the road, whil a mem. of Miss Fay “Tem, company » few years ax ry one knows that t rings life ts th th the comp: ny during fay wing accounts of th q and ng « h in the waters of the . for which this rei determined water plunge, and r i inquiries as to the im he coin of the assigned a sweating cr a long row of little sev apartments in which was a huge with a thermometer hangin immedia y er the hot {Th negro atte old E Dan suring: . tempera comedian to his held down an wooden bottom chair wh'le m and temperature rise he thermometer began to € not to an alarming extent mereury slowly surely show sire end upward. As th hermom jeter did not register over So Packard srew }impatient and turned on more hot water the steam incr Ain v iit w ary to make a v in order 10 determine the j When the tub was filled to ov mercury was just flirting a mark hed t grown im and be mee he naturally importance to and plung 2 coun gled with a che mations very rarely polite society, startled t other rooms som red attendant find Packard nd shrieking at the tin thunder did s the proper im 4 old negro took in the situat glance and said: “Why, Massa a you must be crazy. Why didn’t you tak ter down and put it he at water is 180 if it's 1 degree.” tions were not only use bat . although Packard did not to take another bath, he red a vow to not in f take another one at a tempe degrees. ew York Dramati Pan, manacer i rWar interest - =a part of C: borigines. IM The Central | living repre | sun hions ads from Aint or one and performs the | aring Surgical operations with them. and his are in the j 3 of the past. He no writ- ten d few oral traditions. In appearance he is a naked, with a type of features ¢ j nouncedly Jewish. He fs by nat hearted, merry and prone to ylendid mimic, supple-jointed, nerring hand that works in pe | son with eye, which is as keen as that of an e: He has ne been known ‘to wash. He has no private ownership of land, except as regards that which {s not overcarefully co: “1 about his ow json. He cultivates nothing, but live j tire y on the of the chi and a tho freq ranges: from 15 de degrees Far. in | twenty-four hours, and his ¢ try is teeming with f game, he makes no use of the skins for clothing. but about during the day and sleeps in the open at ght perfecily nude. He builds nent habitation and usvally « night or fatigue overtakes him. he 4s absoluiely unta’ You clothe and care for him for years, when y the demon of unrest takes pos he throws off all his hing 8 into the trackless of his native bueh, at once reverting to his old and hideous customs, and when sated, after months of privation, he will return again to clothing and civilization, to repeat the performance later on. —— Business and Pleasure, From the Chicago ‘Tribune, “Highmore, what are your plans for your spring vacation?” “I am going to Nevada in March to see the Corbett-Fitzsimmons fight, and then I expect to come back by way of South 1 kota and get a divorce. ss Revenge. Aw From Fliegende Blatter. ti?