The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, December 6, 1896, Page 19

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, DECEMBER 6, 1896 91 THE SCHOOL OF DESIGN AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF ART 1 SR A—— " and of course can see the developmental 4N THE winter exhibition of the San ;; ncisco Art Association at the Hop- (L kins Institute of Art it is interesting to:note that nearly one-third of the paint- ings :ahd sketches displayed are by pupils of the Califorma School of Design. And them,glancing over the catalogue and the bupifs’ work, one can distinguish a really encouraging advancement in tne charac- ier and quality of these pictures. There appears beyond a doubt clearly a step in the right direction, which would indicate that the school has accomplished much in ike Tast year. For, as an exhibition by thiemselves alone, the pupils’ pictures now on view 1n the galleries of the Hopkins mansion would form a collection well worthy of study, and this not from a crit- ical: point of view tracing any development of taste or refine- merit 1n the ensemble, but rather from the work itself as it is presented. As an srtist truly remarked on examining the éxhibition of sohool sketches and paint- ings, ““The work speaks for 1tself.” Those who have followed closely the work accomplished each succecding year Dy the School of Design are free to declare :that.the present showing surpasses those of - former years. They arein a position to comment on the comparative standards of each exhibition of the pupils’ pictures, progress in resuits. And on this occasion they claim there is easily discernible evi- dence of new strength and ambition Wmong the pupils. As, for instance, the pupil exhibitors for the most part have contributed portraits and studies from barely enough still-life subjects 1o make a variety. Indeed, the still-life things are noticeable by their absance, which fact may be taken asan indication of-a foryurd step from that class of work to the higher and more difficult branch of painting— the human figure—with all its possibili- ties for the ambitious and talented young | artist. in connection with | The first serious effort of the student when he begins to handle colors is ex- pended on still-lifestudies, which afford +im an insight into mixing colors an_d open up a new vista on the path heis | traveling. From tbis plane he passes on to the life class, in which he learns more about painting and working in the higher realm of his art. Apparently the best stu- dents in the School of Desien have done very well in this high stage, if one may draw conclusions from the several clever studies from life in the winter exhibition. In the past many of the pupils con- tented themselves with paintings of such objects as lamps, vases, copper pots, books and so on, or little studies of flow- ers or fruits. Such pictures were sure to form a goodly part of the exhibition from the school, but here is a large display of the year's work, combrising many ambi- life, with fewer studies of landscape, and tious attempts and a creditable sprinkling C.E.RIXFORD Francisco Winter Exhibition of student pictures that would grace the walls of any house or be acceptable in any private collection. With few exceptions one feature is espe- cially noticeable in these pictures—the evident sincerity of the painters, If the OFFERING TO CHAC-MOL - instance—every branch -is studied, the play of light and shade portrayed with an effort to be correct. Idealism and im- pressionism are tabooed, as no doubt the teachers have convinced the pupils that things must first be understood as they seem. Some of the pupils have been honored with positions in the main gallery, though the best work from them is in the con- servatory, where pictures are seen to ad- vantage in the superior light. It may artists have preferred hanging their pic- tures in the conservatory to displaying them in the main gallery, where visitors gather and receive first impressions. Among the pupils’ paintings in the main gallery is a portrait, No. 30 on the catalogue, by Miss Caroline E. Kixford, young woman sitting comfortably in a chair; the color is worked out in harmon i- ous tones, above which a nicely molded and expressive face appears in a warm light. The picture is a strong study, with much to commend it. Manuel de Urunuela, a pupil, who of This is a large cauvas representing a | | | work on which indusery better be stated here that some of the best | late has been doing considerable out-of- door work, has “*A Sketch in Alameda” —a small painting, in which the artist has put the character of the marsh country with truthful coloring. Joseph C. Eckler has a cool bit of na- subject be a study from nature—a tree, for | ture, ‘‘Evening in Sapsalito,” as evidence | worthy of notice, as the face represents an that he has been occupied with foliage and | sunset effecis. Direcily opposite is a tiny study, “An Oak,” by Mrs. Geneve Sair- geant, on the line. Mrs. Jane G. Powers, another pupil, exhibits ““A Sunny Roa which will be found interesting in the | study she has made of sunshine and sunny | colors. \ The largest canvas sent in by a pupilis | one by Mrs. Mary T. Menton en:itled | “Glenwood G B an ambitious | stamped, and | with it the talent of the painter which | brings out the clusters of rich, purple | grapes 1n their transparency and bri iancy. | What appears to be the best thing from | the pupils is in the conservatory. This is | the mysterious painting by J. Martinez, medalist, “Offeritg to Chac-Mol,” thi Aztec fire god. There is something of | weirdness in the ject and the treat- ment of it that causes veopie to stop be- | fore the picture. An Aztec kneels before | a stone altar covered with character writ- | ing, and above is Cbac-Mol, tg appease | whom fire is burning in a vase il front of | the suppliant form. Orver all there is ex- { pressed a deep feeling. The picture has already been sold. Miss Marion Holden has a ‘‘Study in Black and Green,”” a nicely treated por- trait of a young girl. There is alsoa por- trait, “Worried,” by Miss Rixford, that is -J. MP‘\RTINEL interesting study, and the.color is pitched in an odd key. Mrs. L. Sleeth is here represented by a portrait of a girl, an attractive subject, painted in airy colors and evidencing re- fined taste in the general treatment. This portrait shows out against its neighbors. J. Raphael, a medalist, has an oil paint- ing on exhibition for the first fime. He calis it “A Mother.” Ttis in a way quite clever. this first picture of his, but the painter affected something beyond the student’s province when striving after a bizarre effect, combining impressions and other things not always found in nature. And yet the picture 1s rich 1n suggestion, and shows clearly that there is good ma- terial in-its painter, as well as his search- ng propensities for something higher in Tt Sidney Armer has a small study care- fully worked out of a butcher's shop in the Chinese quarter. Though a trifle .ark at first view, the interior coloring bas much to commend it, and a peep inside may not be amiss, since by degrees the obj:cts in the shadows come into view afier an agreeabte fashion. Some Remarkable Pictures Shown by Pupils at the San A happy subject that brings to mind an illustration from a story book is a picture of “The Village,” by Mrs. Jane G. Powers, Y feputation a bright pupil of the art school. Itscom- position gives a chance for study on trees, houses and bright sunny effects. The village has its quaint steeple and its rude homes showing through foliage, and a strong light seems to color the whole scene after a blithesome fashion, which may appear perhaps exuberant. But there is evidence of close study and thought in the picture. Sidney J. Yard exhibits a pastel sunset scene with much feeling in it, ana also a clever sketch from nature entitled, “Sketch From Penitencia Creek.”” This latter picture has a flavor of the open air and indicates that the man who painted it is at home with California landscapes. “The Outskirts of the City,”” by Mr. Urunuela, is a clever interpretation of a gray afternoon in some spot 1n the suburbs that appears famitiar. It isa suggestive bit of landscape, with a few houses in the middle distance. Miss Nora G. Cashin exhibits an “Out- door Study,” which is nothing more than a cluster of trees in shadow, yet it is con- | scientious and a faithful portrayal of the trees and the shafts of sunlight upon the sward. She has another *Outdoor Study”” that has truth in it. Mrs. Lucia K. Mathews has a small pastel, a “‘Skeich at Menlo,” with good color, though the sketch is a modest thing in its way. Wallace von Helms and J. C. Eckler, pupils, contribute to the collection of pen and ink sketches. In the National Academy. It1sa week since the fall exhibition of the National Academy opened in New York, and from all accounts it is coming in for a generous share of patronage on the part of the public. Taken on the whole it is id to be better than last year's exhibi- tion, but much inferior to some of the ex- hibitions of past years. A glance over the catalogue shows that there are 340 pictures hung, and all'of a fair order ot merit. 1n fact, the exhibition may be said to be unusually good in this respect. Nine-tenths of the exhibitors ar? painters who have worked up some repu- tation. Of real bad work there seems to be practically none. But on the whole the exhibition is un. satisfactory to those interested in the progress of American art. The really good painters seem to have gotten into a rut, and bob up with their same old sub- jects painted in their same old styles. Not one of all the men who have National has contributed anything really new. The impression of all their work is that you have seen 1t before. | But there is hope in the work of the | younger painters, because the exhibition |is lacking in impressionist imitators. There is not a work in the whole exhi- bition that suzgests Monet, which in it- self is'a promising sign. Of course it may be that a large quantity of this sort of stuff was turned in and rejected by the hanging committee, but even that is a MOLLY G.. HUTCHINS M good beginning. There is nothing like discouraging those insincere workers. For some reason the exhibition is wo- fuily lacking in marine pictures. There are hardly half the number of these works that are generally hung. Carlton Chap- man hangs the best of these, the picture being a view of the coast of Maine show- ing a wave breaking over the end of a reef. Of the older men, J. G. Brown is quite conspicuous with a picture of a bootblack entitled ‘“‘Looking Ahead.” But it is the same bootblack he has been painting for years. To give an idea of the way the ar- tists have worked in their old ruts it is only necessary to state that Bruce Crane sends a ‘“‘Rainbow,”” De Forest Bolmer “*S8hadows Over the Marshes,” James M. Hart “A Landscape,”’ Charles F. Naegle “Young Mother,” George Taggert *“The Raffle,”” Thomas Moran “Sinbad the Sailor,”” Edward Gay “Mother Earth,’” Frederic Remington ‘‘Vaquero,”” F. A. Bridgman ‘“Algerian Figure Composi- tion,” J. Wells Champney ‘“Nude Figure.” And so one might go through the entire catalogue. There are very few pictures contributed that have been painted by men in Europe, which certainly shows that artists are meeting with some en- couragement in this country. OUR STATE UNIVERSITY At’ a recent meeting of clergymen in this City the Rev. S. H. Wiliey, D.D., de- livered an adoress on ‘“The College of California; Its Founders and Our Inheri- tance in Their Labors.” As Dr. Willey is ‘the only surviving member of the criginal board of trustees, the address embodies the most authentic history of the early days of the State University, and wil therefore be of great interest to the alumni and the many well-wishers of the university who are proud of its rapid de- velopment. Inasmuch as the university at Berkeley now takes rank among the leading educational institutions of the United States and has prospects of greatly increased endowments and wide exten- sion, Dr. Willey’s sketch of its early strug- gles and mention of the benefactors who were instruments in its organization and growth is of historic importance. Dr. Willey isone of the pioneer clergy- men of San Fruncisco—perhaps the one whose experience has extended farthest back into our early history. He started from New York hither in December, 1848, and when in New Orleans first heard the momentous gold news. He did twelve years’ pastoral work in this City, from 1850 to 1862. Then came his long presi- dency of the College of California, and in more recent years he has served the cause of education aus principal of Van Ness Seminary. His mind is well storea with recollections about early events in the State and City, which are history to most 1 of the inhabitants now. His address was not intended for publication, bur was composed soisiy to interest the circle of clergymen to whom it was delivered and at their request. The first promoters of the Colleze of California were: Revs. 8. . Willey, John 'W. Douglass, Joseph A. Benton and T. Dwight Hunt. Douglass, Benton and Hunt were graduates of Yale and Dr. Wil- :-ley graduated at Dartmouth. They be- gan to correspond and plan about a Cali- “fornia college in the spring of 1849. The first effort at getting a site and property was in San Jose, but the proposed dona- ‘tions were not secured, and this plan failed in 1850. In 1853 the Rev. Henry Durant came to California and proposed todevote his whole time to the founding of ‘the; college. He became the leader and ‘the other four promoters co-operated with bim. He began with a school for boys, though there were very few of them in California. There was no great wealth in the State at that time, and the school bad to depend upon such annual sums as the business men could afford to give from their small incomes. This school was located in Oakland and by Mr. Durant’s | fores.ght four blocks and includea streets, - buildings east of Twelfth street, were obtained and erected thereon. Although this was only intended as a tempo- rary location, the preparatory school grew t there under Mr. Durant, till there was . promoters roused the enthusiasm of their | among the hundred pupils a class of four ready to enter college in 1860. Then the [riends and tne money necessary to or- ‘ganize the colle; e was secured. The college bad received its charter in 1855, and now elected Rev. Henry Durant and Rev. Martin Kellogg professors. Under them the first freshman class was organized. In the second year two finely qualified assistant teachers were employed. third year Dr. Willey was appointed president, a new building was erected and paid for, the third college class was ad- the ablest trustees at that time was Fred- erick Billings. The presidency was of- mitted, and an endowment of the presi- | away, and the college was in dency was pledged by good men. One of | straits. The authorities of the college‘ fered to him, but bad health prevented educators in all the old colleges gave him from accepting. In the fourth year the curriculum was | nians. on a level with the best Eastern colleges, and the scholarship was kept well up to | are shipping millions every month—how In the | the best average. Dr. Willey was still | can you expect us to zive there, when we | president. Then came a time of hardship. Some of the ablest trustees died and some went financial went East for aid. The College Society became interested, and the best known their highest indorserment to the Califor- But the moneyed men of the East | said: “Your State is producing gold—you | are so pressed at home?"” All the aid the | college has received from the East does | not amount to$10,000. After this failure | to get Eastern aid the college was in a perilous position. | Expenses were incréasing and the trus- | tees knew not where to look ior support. | Butr scue was closer than they thought, and Dr. Willey thus tells the history of it: Just at this time Dr. John Todd visited the fornia institution and was very favorably impressed with it. He found it under the in- fluence of good men, and it seemed to recon- cile toa larze degree State control with moral and religious influences. This turned the thoughts of many of the trustees and iriends to the idea of a possible university here, in which the college might be the central life. Governor Low, who was one of our supporte ers and was present at commencement, re- marked to me as he looked over the audience: “Here you have a well-organized institution; you have scholarship and prestige, but you lack money. The State has none of these things, but it has money. What a pity the two things could not be brought together.” Next came the question, Would the State establish a university? It had never proposed todo that. There had been bills and aiscus- sions about the establishment ot some indus- trial institution—some agricultural and me- chanical and mining arts college—but noth- ing had ever been said abouta literary and scientific college, and there was no popular demand for the use of the State’s money in that way. T HE subject of the accompanying illustration (by W. A. Coulter) is the famous Yankee brig Pilgrim, in whose forecastle Richard Henry Dana Jr. passed much of his two years before the mast. type of vessel was quite common along the Pacific Coast nearly fifty years ago; but to-day not a single one of that rig can be found in these waters. This brig, it may be noted, is square-rigged on both masts. | It is a type of & time gone by, so far as this coast is concerned. The sketch herewith produced was madefrom a painting done by a nephew of Captain Thompson of the Pilgrim. This brig sailed from Boston Angust 14, 1834, on a trading voyage along the coast of California. She was under the command of This Thi W A COULTER'S SKETCH OF THE FAMOUS BRIG PILGRIM Captain Frank Thompson, a bluff New England skipper, whose favorite: expression wasthat he was ‘' reg- uiar down-East Johnny-cake, good when hot but bad when cold.” Dana, while in the Pilgrim, visited the ports of San Diego, Santa Barhara and Monterey, and describes accurately in his book those places. He also visited the port of San Francisco, but not in the Pilgrim; it wasin the ship Alert, August 13, 1835. ship was destroyed off the Azores Isiands by the Confederate steamer Alabama September 9, 1862. The Pilgrim first entered San Francisco harbor October 1, 1835, by fire off the coast of North Carolina, In the end she was accidentally destroyed STORY OF ITS FOUNDATION It was suggested, however, that if the col- lege would become the literary center, and offer its fine Berkeley site, selected after years of search and study, the State might broaden its plan, and undertake to build a full university. Governor Low thought so, and said he would recommend it to the Legis- lature in his message, as he was abous to retire from office. Witu 50 many things in favor of joining in the university idea, and such a complication of difficulties in the way of developing the college, a majority of the board of trustees voted to make the transfer, if the State would establish a university, and the rest of us were silent for it wasof no use to oppose. The property value of the four blocks in Oak- lana with the buildings thereon was more than enough to pay all the indebtedness of the college, leaving the Berkeley site, which ine cluded the hill land, comprising almost the entire watershed of Strawberry Creek, ample water rights covering the whole flow of Wild- cat Creek, and a costly topographical survey by Fred Law Olmsted, laid down on maps with drawings for engineers, all as a donstion to the State. Though Governor Haight in his inaugural message recommended the establishment of a university he was no special friend of the col- lege. Butin the Legislature the offer made by the college reconciled differences of opinion, and it was accepted and the university was es- tablished. It certainly would not have been established at that time had it not been for this offer, and it might never have been in its present com- plete and comprehensive form. It was gene erally accepted as a reasonable expectation that in the boara of regents first appointed, to whom would fall the shaping of the new in- stitution in a considerable degree, some of the original trustees of the college wouid be called to take part. But that was not the Governor’s opinion, and through his influence and by his authority the board of regents was made to consist largely of zentlemen unacquainted with the cotlege and unfamiliar with the man- agement of institutions of learning, but the most experienced college trustees were all omitted. The result was that the State lost entirely its invaluable water rights in Wildcat Creek; also its possession of the hill land and the topographical survey of the university grounds and the prospect for their improve- ment, made after long study by the mos: &'~ tinguished landscape architectin the Unitea States. Hence the commendable efforts of the present regents to retrieve as well as they can these losses. Butin these later years the ad- ministration of the university has fallen into more competent hands, and it has become a great institution, worihy of this noble com- monwealth. If itdoes not aud cannot fulfill all the hopes of the founders and friends of the College of California, in many respects it far surpasses what we ever expecied to see, Protecting the Admiral. “'While the company of which I wasa member was in Africa we were surprised to hear that an American man-of-war would soon put in an appearance. It came, and after cheering its flag, which was a pleasant sight to us, we saw it was the Lancaster, one of the old wooden ships of the past. When we asked why one of the new iron battleships did not come the admiral said he was suffering very much from rheumatism, and that iron ships were much damper than wooden ships, so much so that he couid not ride in an iron ship. This was a new one on us, but the admiral was very serious about it.”—Washington Star.