V. (continued 2)
Reading edition
It should be duplicated in permanent form. No doubt a proper site, with a setting of water and trees, can best be found in Golden Gate Park. The steel frame and roof of the main gallery could easily be transferred there and set up again. While it would cost too much to duplicate in real marble the pillars of the colonnade and dome, yet these can be reproduced in artificial stone as successfully as they have here been imitated in plaster. In the Pennsylvania Railroad station in New York travertine has been counterfeited so well that no one can tell where the real ends and the imitation begins.
Every other considerable city in the civilized world has its art gallery. San Francisco has already the full-sized model of surely the most beautiful one in the world. Made permanent in the Park, this Palace of Art would not only honor San Francisco, but would be "a joy forever" to all America.
The Fine Arts Exhibit[1].—The Palace of Fine Arts contains what the International Jury declares the best and most important collection of modern art that has yet been assembled in America. The war in Europe had a two-fold effect on this exhibition. While it prevented some countries, like Russia and Germany, from sending their paintings and sculptures, it led others, such as France and Italy, to send more than they otherwise would have sent. The number the Exposition might have was limited only by its funds available for insurance. So many were the works of art sent over on the Vega and the Jason that an Annex was required to house them.
It must be remembered that this art exhibit, like the other exhibits of the Exposition, is contemporaneous. It represents, with exceptions, the work of the last decade. Most of the exceptions are in the rooms of the Historical Section, the Abbey, Sargent, Whistler, Keith, and other loan collections, and the great Chinese exhibit of ancient paintings on silk. In general, the paintings and sculptures made famous by time are not in the Fine Arts Palace. Its rooms are mainly filled with the latest work of artists of the day, exhibited under the Exposition's rule which limits competition in all departments to current production. This explains, for instance, why the French Government has placed its Meissoniers and Detailles, with Rodin's bronzes, in the French Pavilion. A Michelangelo, works of Benvenuto Cellini, and many old paintings and statues are in the beautiful Italian Pavilion. Other paintings of value are in the Belgian section of the French Pavilion, and in the Danish Pavilion.
This limitation of the Fine Arts exhibit has made room for a great representation of the men of today. The Palace contains a multitude of splendid pictures. While of course, as in all such collections, there is some inferior work, the most pertinent criticism is that there are too many really notable things, and the scope of the collection is too broad, to be seen with due appreciation in a limited time. There is so liberal a showing of different schools, styles and lands, that one is liable at first to be bewildered. But the exhibit is most popular. The great number of visitors constantly thronging the galleries is significant of the value the people put upon art. Excellent as the collection is as a school for artists, it was made for popular enjoyment and education. The best result to be looked for is its stimulation and culture of the public taste. The people are already in love with it, and what they love they make their own.
The exhibits are arranged in fifteen sections, consisting of national, sectional, or personal, collections of paintings, besides many important displays of miniatures, etchings, prints, drawings, and tapestries. The art of the sculptor is abundantly illustrated in grouped statuary, single pieces, panels in low or high relief, and wood carvings. Passing the heroic emblems of history or allegory in marble, bronze or plaster, nothing is more beautiful or appealing than the hundreds of small bronzes shown. In brief, the Fine Arts exhibit embraces all the classifications of modern art, save the "arts and crafts" exhibits, which are scattered among the several exhibit palaces.
First in importance to a citizen of this country is the art of the United States. Possibly it may also be of first importance to foreign visitors. For the phrase "American art" no longer raises a doubt. It is at last recognized that America has something of its own to offer the world,—a style developed within the last, two decades. The prime movement of the times presenting boldness, brilliance and a laxity of detail in portrayal, the art of America, as shown in this exhibition, embodies these characteristics without emphasizing them. Keeping in mind the fact that the Palace contains little American art earlier than 1905, American artists are showing marked individualities, even in their acceptance of popular precepts. The virile men of the day love luminosity; it dominates all else, and marks their canvases with light; they restrain the too bold stroke of the radical Impressionist, but outline with firmness, so that details are more easily imagined by the observer, even when an expected delineation is absent. Even the older men, though still under the influence of earlier tradition, show a distinctiveness of style that sets them well apart from their English, French or German contemporaries.
The International Section, in Room 108 and in the Annex, is peculiarly interesting in that it makes easy a comparison of the characteristic fingerprints of each country represented. There is ample opportunity here for a discriminating and profitable study. Unfortunately, because of the war, the gallery contains no special rooms for the art of England and Germany. Both countries are represented only by loan collections. Of German art there are forty well chosen paintings.
France, Italy, Holland, Sweden, Portugal, Japan, China and several of the South American countries have installed representative collections in the Palace; while the Annex, made necessary by the unexpected number of pictures from Europe, contains a large exhibit of Hungarian art, a Norwegian display, filling seven rooms, a large British exhibit, and a small group of pictures by Spanish painters, showing that the influence of Velasquez is still powerful in Spanish art. The Norwegian display is one of the largest foreign sections, quite as characteristic as the Swedish, and certain to arouse discussion because of its extreme modernism. The ultra-radical art of Edvard Munch, who is called the greatest of Norwegian painters, and to whom a special room is assigned, is sure to be a bone of contention among the critics. The work of Harald Sohlberg (medal of honor) and Halfdan Strom (gold medal), differing widely from Munch's, though hardly less modern in style, will also attract much attention. The omission of Munch from the honor list is really a tribute to his eminence. An artist who has won the Grand Prix at Rome and awards in every other European capital was deemed outside of competition here.
Axel Gallen-Kallela, the celebrated Finnish painter, winner of the Exposition's medal of honor, fills another room in the Annex. This room, covering adequately Gallen's progress through twenty-five years, is the only one in the Exposition to illustrate the development of a great painter from his student days. The collection runs from his earliest academic work, photographic in its care for detail, to his present mastery of Impressionism, wherein by a few strokes he expresses all the essentials.
The Italian Futurists are well shown in the Annex, and for the first time in this country. The Futurist pictures hitherto seen in America have been French imitations of the Italian originators of the mode. A sample Futurist title, "Architectural Construction of a Woman on the Beach," may or may not indicate what these pictures reveal. The Annex, too, has a splendid exhibit of the etchings of Frank Brangwyn, the great Englishman, who is no less renowned as an etcher than as a painter, and who has won the Exposition's medal of honor in the International Section.
The arrangement of the rooms in the Fine Arts Gallery becomes simple enough when the key is supplied. The United States section is in the center, and, with the historical rooms, occupies, roughly, half the space, flanked by the foreign rooms at either end of the building. Four rooms of the United States section are separated from the rest and form a narrow strip across the extreme north end of the gallery. The prints, drawings, miniatures, and medals are installed in rooms forming a strip along the west wall of the building.
The United States section is opened by a central hall opposite the main entrance, and by a corridor extending on either side through to the foreign sections. The central hall is chiefly devoted to sculpture, including Karl Bitter's strong and characteristic group, "The Signing of the Louisiana Purchase Treaty," Daniel Chester French's "Alice Freeman Palmer Memorial," both winners of the medal of honor, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney's fine central fountain, and other important work. The walls are hung with ancient tapestries of great interest, and paintings, mostly decorative, though Robert Vonnoh's "Poppies" and Ben Au Haggin's "Little White Dancer" are admirable. Vonnoh won a gold medal.
Historical Section.—South of the United States section, a block of ten rooms, with Room 54 at the southwest angle of the central hall, is devoted to painters who either have influenced American art or represent its earlier stages. Room 91, on the east side of the block, contains old Dutch, Flemish, French, and Italian pictures, none very interesting, though Teniers, Watteau and Tintoretto are represented. Rooms 92, 62, and 61, constituting the tier next to the Italian section, show chiefly examples of the French painters, including those of the Barbizon school, who have influenced later American painting. Along with other names less known, Room 92 displays canvases by Daubigny, Courbet, Charles Le Brun, Meissonier, Tissot, Monticelli and Rousseau. It has two Corots, one a delight. Room 62 is even more important. It offers a Millet, far from typical; a capital Schreyer, two portraits by the German Von Lenbach, a small but interesting sample of Alma Tadema's finished style, and the sensational "Consolatrix Afflictorum" by Dagnan-Bouveret. Better still, in Jules Breton's "The Vintage" and Troyon's "Landscape and Cattle" it has two of the noblest paintings to be seen in the entire Palace,— pictures that show these great masters at their best.
Room 61 is mainly devoted to the early Impressionists, with seven canvases by their leader, Claude Monet, and other landscapes by Renoir, Pissaro and Sisley, and a brilliant interior (No. 2343) by Gaston La Touche. The pictures by Monet illustrate his progress from the hard conventionalism of his early academic style (seen in 2636) to such delightful embodiments of light and atmosphere as 2633 and 2637. The gallery contains no more triumphant piece of Impressionism than the saucy "Lady in Pink" by the Russian, Nicholas Fechin. The story set afloat that it is the work of an untaught Russian peasant simply testifies to ignorance of this master. Every splotch of color here breathes technique. As if by way of contrast, the opposite wall shows one of Puvis de Chavannes' classical murals, even more anaemic than usual.
The large room No. 63 shows a Venetian sunset by Turner, two portraits by Goya, another attributed to Velasquez, a splendid Raffaelesque altar-piece by Tiepolo, the like of which rarely leaves Italy, and canvases by Guido Reni, Ribera, and Van Dyke. Almost all the remaining space is taken up by excellent examples of the British art that influenced the early American painters, with some of prior date. Here are canvases by Lely, Kneller, Hogarth, Reynolds, Gainsborough, Hoppner, Beechey, Allan Ramsay, Lawrence, Raeburn, and Romney. The last four are especially well represented. In this room, too, is the bronze replica of Weinmann's figure, "The Setting Sun," here called "Descending Night."
American "Old Masters."—Following logically the English portrait painters, the American historical section begins with Rooms 60 and 59. The former is mainly filled with the work, much of it admirable, of the early American portrait painters. Here are Gilbert Stuart's lovable "President Monroe," Benjamin West's "Magdalen," and portraits by Peale, Copley, West, Sully and others. In Room 59, the antiquarian interest predominates, with a few fine portraits by Inman, Harding, King, and S. F. B. Morse, who, besides inventor, was an artist. But nothing here surpasses No. 1719 by Charles Loring Elliott, a canvas that is irresistible in its vivid setting forth of personality. Room 58 brings the story of American painting well past the middle of the Nineteenth century, with typical examples of Bierstadt, Eastman Johnson and other fading names. Room 57 contains a number of Edwin Abbey's finely illustrative paintings, the most popular of which is his "Penance of Eleanor," and a collection of his splendid drawings; also important canvases by Theodore Robinson and John La Farge. Room 64 covers a wide sweep, from Church's archaic "Niagara Falls" down to Stephen Parrish, Eakins, Martin, the Morans, Hovenden, and Remington. Edward Moran's "Brush Burning" (2649) is capital. Room 54, the last of the American historical rooms, is perhaps the most important, finely showing Inness, Wyant, Winslow Homer, Hunt, and other American masters.
Modern American Painting.—We come now to the great and splendid representation of present-day painters. In noting these, the artists achieving grand prizes, medals of honor or gold medals will often be mentioned; but a full list of such honors will be found at the end of this chapter. It should be remembered that no member of a jury, and no man who received the honor of a separate room, was eligible for award. In general, it may be said, the Exposition puts forward the work of artists who have "arrived" since the opening of the century. In accordance with this helpful policy, older painters who had won many honors at previous exhibitions were passed over for the encouragement of younger men. It should also be noted that awards were not made for particular pictures, but upon each artist's exhibit as a whole.
Rooms 55, 56, 65 and 85 show contemporary Americans,—the last two with great credit. No. 65 is a large room of canvases by American women painters. One who has not kept abreast of woman's work in art in this country has a surprise awaiting him in the the high quality shown here. Two pictures by Ellen Rand (2919, 2918), Mary Curtis Richardson's captivating "Young Mother" and her "Professor Paget" (3000, 3002), and Alice Stoddard's inimitably girlish group, "The Sisters" (3329), will reward very careful study of their sincerity and strength of treatment. Especially brilliant are the works of Cecilia Beaux and M. Jean McLane,— the first winning the Exposition's medal of honor, the latter rather theatrical in their gayety of color. Here also is a canvas (2743) by Violet Oakley, another honor medallist.
Room 85 is enriched by the canvases of Charles Walter Stetson, Horatio Walker, Charles W. Hawthorne, Douglas Volk (gold medal), and George de Forest Brush. Volk's three charming pictures deserve to be better hung. The Stetson group illustrates the Impressionist method and result as well as anything in the Palace. Take his "Smugglers" or his "Summer Joy" (3311, 3317), and note how a few heavy and apparently meaningless dabs of color may be laid side by side on canvas in such a way that, when seen from a distance, they blend, until the picture not only outlines figures and foliage, but also glows with atmosphere, life and movement.
These rooms complete the south half of the American section, with the exception of the very interesting, though not fully adequate, Whistler Room, 28; the Print Rooms, 29 to 34, in the tier along the west wall, and five more one-man rooms along the east wall. These five, in their order from the main entrance are: No. 87, devoted to the old-masterlike works of Frank Duveneck, who, more perhaps than any other American, shows the great manner of Velasquez, Rembrandt and Franz Hals, and to whom the jury has recommended that a special medal be given for his influence on American art; No. 88 filled with the admirable Impressionist landscapes of E. W. Redfield; 89 and 93, given up to the widely contrasted work of Edmund C. Tarbell and John H. Twachtman, each in his own fashion a master and enjoying a well-earned popularity, Twachtman's pictures in particular commanding almost as high prices as those of the men in Room 54; and No. 90, just off the Tarbell room, containing a small loan collection which very incompletely represents William Keith. Five other individual rooms are north of the main entrance: No. 79, portraits and still life by William M. Chase; 78, Childe Hassam's radically Impressionist work; 77, Gari Melchers' pictures of Dutch types and scenes; 76, the charming western pictures of Arthur F. Mathews and Francis McComas, both Californians; and 75, the John S. Sargent room, containing among other works his famous early portrait of Mme. Gautrin, his "John Hay," and the sympathetic portrait of Henry James which was mutilated by the British suffragettes. All these one-man rooms exhibit characteristic work of the men thus distinguished, though the younger men are the more completely represented. The Whistler, Keith, Chase and Sargent rooms, which may be classed with the historical block, show few of the best-known masterpieces of these artists.
Room 80, cut out of the northeast corner of the central hall, a gallery of well restrained pictures, contains the interesting work in light and color of William McG. Paxton, member of the jury; portraits and figures by Leslie P. Thompson (silver medal), Philip L. Hale's warm-toned portraits, the delicate but brilliant landscapes of Willard L. Metcalf (medal of honor), and those by Philip Little (silver medal). The portraits are in the older academic style; the landscapes, modern. Rooms 67 and 68 are distinguished by some notable landscapes and marines. No. 67 shows Emil Carlsen's fresh "Open Sea," his single picture here, but the winner of a medal of honor, and Albert Laessle's small animal sculptures (gold medal), and capital examples of Paul Dougherty, J. F. Carlson, Leonard Ochtman and Ben Foster. No. 68 holds two fine snowy landscapes by W. Elmer Schofield (medal of honor), two engaging studies in brown by Daniel Garber, brilliant figures by J. C. Johansen, and California coast views by William Ritschel. The last three artists are gold medallists.
Room 69 is made noteworthy by works of three of the nine American winners of the medal of honor,—Lawton Parker's voluptuous "Paresse" and two portraits, and single paintings by John W. Alexander and Richard E. Miller (1035, 2606). Alexander's airy "Phyllis" is his only picture in the Palace. Miller shows one more canvas, a colorful "Nude" (2607) in Room 47. Room 70 is entirely devoted to portrait painters, among them Julian Story, H. G. Herkomer, Robert Vonnoh, and Irving C. Wiles (3668), the latter two both winners of the gold medal. No. 74 shows admirable small landscapes, among them the "Group of White Birches" by Will S. Robinson (silver medal), Charles C. Allen's "Mountain and Cloud," and land and water views by Charles J. Taylor, especially No. 3404. Room 73 shows good landscapes by Ernest Lawson (gold medal), Paul King (silver medal), and the two Beals. Gifford Beal's work won a gold medal. Room 72, a gallery in the academic style, contains a variety of portraits, figure paintings and landscapes, including W. R. Leigh's spirited "Stampede," and the more conventional work of Walter MacEwen. No. 71 is another varied room. In addition to some landscapes, the visitor will be struck by the small but exquisite exhibit in gold, enamel, and precious stones of Louis C. Tiffany.
The western tier of this section, Rooms 43-51, contains work of all grades of merit. No. 43 is conglomerate. Perham Nahl's well drawn "Despair" (2690) is perhaps best worth mention. In No. 44 Putthuff's two brown western scenes and Clarkson's portrait of E. G. Keith are interesting. No. 45 is better. Walter Griffin's opulent landscapes (medal of honor) are well worth studying. Here also are two canvases by Robert Reid, one almost Japanese in its effect; the restrained landscapes of William Sartain, and Charles Morris Young's sharply contrasting "Red Mill' and "Gray Mill," with his characteristic wintry landscapes. Reid and Young won the gold medal. In No. 46 are a half-dozen delicately handled landscapes by Frank V. Du Mond, a member of the jury. In No. 47 E. L. Blumenschein's warm Indian pictures and A. L. Groll's desert scenes won silver medals. But the best thing here is Richard E. Miller's "Nude," already mentioned.
On the east wall of Room 48 hangs "Sleep," the best of the eight canvases shown by Frederic Carl Frieseke, distinguished above all other American painters in the palace by the Exposition's grand prize. Seven other pictures by Frieseke, interesting by reason of comparison with this masterpiece, hang in Room 117. In Gallery 48 are also some good landscapes,—Robert Vonnoh's "Bridge at Grez" and Cullen Yates' "November Snow." In No. 49, a better balanced room than most in this tier, three walls are made noteworthy by J. Alden Weir's luminous and Impressionist landscapes, and D. W. Tryon's more academic canvases. Weir was the chairman of the jury for oil paintings. No. 50 is dominated by Sergeant Kendall, in both painting and sculpture. In the first he won the gold medal, in the second the silver medal. Room 51 has been called the "Chamber of Horrors," because it shows several of the extremists; but it has some masterpieces. Staring things by John Sloan, William J. Glackens, Adolphe Borie, and Arthur B. Caries are relieved by H. H. Breckinridge's highly colored fruits and flowers, Gertrude Lampert's "Black and Green," Thomas Anshutz' two studies of women, and several of Robert Henri's strong figure pieces.
In the extreme northern end of the gallery, beyond the foreign sections, is a tier of four rooms, 117-120, ranging from the mediocre to the admirable. In No. 117 are seven interesting canvases by Frieseke, the grand-prize winner, already mentioned. These pictures show the artist's scope. No. 1816 and others are strikingly like Plinio Nomellini's No. 86 in the Italian section. No. 1811 is as different from these as "Sleep" is from all the rest. In the same room are Mora's "Vacation Time" (2645) and Tanner's "Christ at the Home of Lazarus" (3370), both winners of the gold medal. Room 118 holds the pictures of several gold-medal winners, the "Promenade" (1185) by Max Bohm; the noble "Lake Louise" (1246) by H. J. Breuer, whose pictures of the Canadian Rockies are also to be found in Rooms 56 and 58; the tender "Spring" (1972) by W. D. Hamilton, worthy of a better place; and H. L. Hoffman's clearlighted "A Mood of Spring" (2116), and his vivid "Savannah Market" (2115).
Room 119 is filled with water-colors, drawings, engravings and etchings. Room 120 holds George Bellows' Post-Impressionistic canvases, Myron Barlow's well-drawn figures, W. D. Hamilton's speaking likeness of Justice McKenna (1971), Charles H. Woodbury's "The Bark" (3692), and Waldo Murray's portrait of "Robert Fowler" (366), wrongly catalogued with the International section. All these painters won gold medals. This is perhaps the best room in this tier.
In the tier on the western wall devoted to the minor forms of art, Howard Pyle's illustrations occupy two small rooms, 41 and 42. The first contains ink sketches, the second his works in characteristic color. Room 40 is devoted to admirable miniatures and to water colors. Here on the east wall are Jules Guerin's vividly colored Oriental scenes, which won the gold medal. The walls of Room 39 are given up to a series of charming pastels by John McClure Hamilton. No. 39 also contains cases of medals, as does No. 38. Room 37 is devoted to miniatures, and 36 to drawings.
In the section known as the "Print Rooms," 29-34, along the west wall, are hundreds of famous etchings. This branch of art, old and respected through the examples offered by early masters like Albrecht Durer and Rembrandt, has still to be fully appreciated. It has come to the public slowly, the layman who likes and buys pictures more often holding aloof from the thing called an etching. That there is now a closer acquaintance than before is due in large measure to Joseph Pennell. Working through the practical, he allied his art years ago with such subjects as bridge and railroad building, and by giving the public an easier avenue of approach, has attracted it to the beauty of this method of art. The print rooms show dozens of Pennell's etchings, with those of Whistler and many others. Whistler's etchings, lithographs, and drawings are in No. 29, Pennell's in No. 31. Room 30 holds the work of Henry Wolf, winner of the grand prize. B. A. Wehrschmidt, an honor medallist, is represented in Room 119. J. Andre Smith, Herman A. Webster and Cadwallader Washburn are in Room 32, Allen Lewis and Gustav Baumann (gold medals) are in Room 34. Room 28 holds the loan collection of Whistler's works, already mentioned, chiefly from the National Gallery, Washington. Room 27 contains photographic reproductions of painting and sculpture. Room 26 is devoted to original drawings for illustration.
The Foreign Sections.—These are placed north and south of the United States collections. In the extreme south end, Japan occupies a large block of rooms, numbered from 1 to 10. With this abundant floor and wall space at her disposal, that country left nothing undone to make her art exhibit comprehensive and beautiful. The display stands alone for completeness. Japan's art is as old as her history; and now, with her advent among the modern nations, she has added Occidental art to her more ancient forms. The essayal, as shown here, is still beyond her, but the strides are noteworthy. In the wonderful display of her own art, she shows both the beauties of antiquity and the masterpieces of her present day artists. The paintings upon silk, landscape embroideries, porcelains, ink drawings, metal work, and scrolls will occupy the art lover many hours.
France adjoins Japan, filling a block of rooms from 12 to 18, and Italy follows, in Rooms 21 to 25. The intervening rooms, Nos. 19 and 20, are assigned respectively to Uruguay and Cuba.
The French and Italian exhibits had to wait for the arrival of the Jason. Now they are installed, and beautifully hung and set. Though France is the home of the Post-Impressionists, and Italy that of the Futurists, the flagrancy of neither of these schools is on view here. Both countries show their best balanced art since 1905. In the French exhibit, the mode of the day prevails, color, luminosity, richness of texture. All that differentiates the art of France to-day from that of other countries is her own inimitable, delicate, inherent taste and touch. The subject matters little; the French perception and execution are there. Where other canvases offer—say a beautiful glow—the French picture "vibrates." If other works are finished, these have finesse. There is similar spirit in the Italian galleries, with a variation due to national characteristics rather than to difference of opinion or method. The Italian pictures fully occupy the mind and eye; the French often fascinate by something more than skill and color. Both countries have placed their older art, and some of its best, in their official pavilions.
France.—In the French Section, Room 12 contains a diverse collection of water color, drawing, engraving, and painting, among the latter, Henry Grosjean's "The Bottoms" (365). Room 13, full of strongly contrasting work, is distinguished by Maurice Denis' daring decorative panels. Here also is Claude Monet's "Vetheuil" (452), the same scene, though not the same picture, as his No. 2634 in Room 61. Comparison is interesting for the difference in touch, though both were painted in the same year. Francois Flameng is represented here by "Paris" (346), not so compelling as his "Madame Letellier" (345), and "Fete Venetienne" (344), in Rooms 18 and 14. Room 14, containing a good many decorative canvases, has also, besides Flameng's "Fete," two of the extreme Impressionistic paintings of Henri Martin, "The Lovers" (432), and his own dim "Self Portrait" (433). Two colorful Breton scenes (302) by Darrieux, and (406) by Le Gout-Gerard stand out on the north wall. Room 15 shows some charming pieces,—Lucien Simon's strongly contrasting work in the spiritual "Communicants" (494) and his barbaric "Gondola" (495); Domergue's "The Frog" (324), Besnard's glowing "Gipsy" (255), and Lemordant's "The Wind" (409). These last give a strong color to the room, relieved by Leroux' calm "Lake" (416), and Maury's delicate young girls (440).
Room 16 is better balanced. Remembering "The Frog," Domergue's versatility appears in the portrait of Gina Mabille, the danseuse. A delicate bit of Impressionism in Le Sidanier's "The Harbor: Landernau" (418). Two canvases by Menard are hung here. His "Opal Sea" (445) is charming. Auburtin's decorative panels hang on the north wall. One of the most notable works of P. Franc Lamy, his golden "Venice: Morning" (393), will be found on the west wall.
Room 17 shows little of striking interest. Augustin Hanicotte, one of the few French painters to adopt the strong colors and lights of the Scandinavian artists, is represented by the gay "Winter in the Low Country" (381). Andre Dauchez' "Le Pouldu" (304) is a fine brown lowland landscape. In spirit, though in richer colors, Jean Veber's captivating "Little Princess" (515) reminds one of John Bauer's Swedish fairy-tale pictures. Strength and truthfulness characterize Jeanniot's fine group of Norman fisherfolk (388). (See p. 125.)
Room 18 is better. Note Marie Cazin's "Diana Asleep" (289), done in a single brown. Here, too, is Flameng's "Portrait of Madame Letellier" (345). A soft, delicate bit of landscape is Brouillet's "Among the Dunes" (272), which deserves better than to be hung in a corner. One who has seen the Futurist pictures in the Annex should not overlook here Albert Guillaume's "Le Boniment" (370), a rich burlesque on Futurist art.
Italy.—No other section in the Palace is so finely hung as the Italian. As no attempt has been made to crowd the rooms, each canvas is properly placed. Room 21 holds the most important paintings honored by the jury. On the west wall is the work of Ettore Tito, the winner of the grand prize, five canvases demonstrating both his versatility and his mastery of color. On the north and south walls are the medal-of-honor pictures of Onorato Carlandi and Camillo Innocenti, the latter striking in their golden tone. Coromaldi's rich harvest scenes (26, 27), and a Leonardo Bazzaro (4) (both gold medallists), hang on the east wall. Not to be overlooked, though passed by the jury, are Casciaro's warm landscapes on the north wall and Ricci's "Butterflies" (96), which help to make this collection one of splendid color.
Room 22 also glows with color. Ferraguti's "Portrait in Red" (46) (gold medal) holds the place of honor on the west wall. On the north wall is the glowing "Fiametta" (49) by Matilde Festa Piacentini, wife of the architect of the Italian Pavilion, and beside it the equally warm "Golden Rays" (47) by Ferretti. On the east wall burns Traiano Chitarin's "Evening Fires" (31). Among the sculpture is Dazzi's "Portrait of a Lady" (160) (gold medal).
Room 23 holds the greater portion of the sculpture, including Amigoni's simple "Adolescence" (151), Brozzi's spirited "Animals" (155), in relievo on bronze, Graziosi's "Susanna" (165), and Pagliani's "On the Beach" (180). All of these won gold medals, but the really striking piece in the room is "Proximus Tuus" (162), the weary peasant, by Achille D'Orsi. Of the few paintings nothing is very remarkable, though Bazzani's "Arch of Septimus Severus" (3) is interesting for its workmanship.
Room 24 presents extremely varied styles from Morani's No. 80 to Domenico Irolli's heavily painted "Violin Player" (64), and Enrico Lionne's gorgeous purple figures in the extreme of Impressionism. One of Nomellini's effects in light and shade appears in No. 86, on the east wall. Paolo Sala's "Along the Thames" (100) deserves better place and notice. Irolli, Lionne and Nomellini are gold medallists.
Room 25, without any remarkable canvases, is very pleasing as an example of harmonious hanging. This is best illustrated by the west wall where hang four pictures by the three Ciardis, Beppe, Emma, and Guiseppe, and one, No. 6, by Bartolomeo Bezzi, the group admirably centered by Beppe Ciardi's large "Venetian Scene" (32). All three of the Ciardis won gold medals. In the center of the north wall is a fine ruddy sunset (102) by Francesco Sartorelli. The south wall is dominated by Z. V. Zanetti's richly decorative "Tree" (116). Beside it, on the cut-off of the wall, is Guiseppe Mentessi's gripping "Soul of the Stones" (75). Mentessi won the gold medal with this picture, as Italo Brass did with his "Bridge Across the Lagoon" (10). Sculpture in this room is represented by small bronzes and Ernesto Biondi's almost terrible "St. Francis d'Assisi" (154).
Uruguay.—The Uruguayan exhibit of painting and sculpture is in one small room, No. 19, against the west wall, next to France. The work has characteristics in common with that of the south of Europe, and shows national feeling. Manuel Rose (52-57) was awarded a gold medal.
Cuba.—The Cuban section in Room 20, adjoining Uruguay, though small, is interesting. The jury thought well enough of Leopoldo Romanach's canvases (16-29) to give him the medal of honor. M. Rodriguez Morey (13-15) won the gold medal.
China, occupying four rooms, 94-97, adjoining the northern end of the United States Section, though desirous of appearing before the world as a modern republic, has wisely brought here the most beautiful examples of her ancient art. Many of the pieces go so far beyond the records of man that their authorship is lost in darkness. The exquisitely beautiful ink paintings on silk, the finest collection of these works in existence, represent the master painters of all the dynasties of China. Their subjects deal with tradition and religious precepts. Precious cloisonne in heroic pieces has been used for the background of paintings. There are picture-screens made of five or six attached panels of fine porcelain inlaid with cloisonne, and many splendid carvings and porcelains. The medal of honor for water color went to Kiang Ying-seng's "Snow Scene" (348) in Room 94. The water colors of Su Chen-lien, Kao Ki-fong, and Miss Shin Ying-chin, and the exquisite carvings in semi-precious stones of Teh Chang, all gold medal winners, are in the same room.
The Philippines, Room 98, by the west wall, have an exhibit which shows that their march toward civilization includes well-grounded ambitions of art. Mentality, feeling, spirit, all reveal themselves in the canvases. Crudity is apparent, but it comes more from an untutored hand than from failure to grasp the significance of the subject. Many pictures are flamboyant, some are melodramatic, nearly all are big subjects handled with great boldness; what they lack in finish they make up in sincerity. Felix R. Hidalgo's contributions (10-20) won him a gold medal.
Sweden.—The achievements of Sweden, Rooms 99-107, next to China, have surprised everybody. That country has sent the most distinctively national of all the European exhibits. Swedish artists are stay-at-homes, and their pictures are filled with the Scandinavian love of country. The scenes and portraits are all Swedish, from Carl Larsson's intimate pictures of family life and forest picnics (see p. 126), or Bruno Liljefors' great paintings of the misty northern ocean, down to John Bauer's captivating little illustrations of Swedish goblin tales. No one who has viewed the snow scenes of Anshelm Schultzberg can ever forget the impression of cold and impenetrable depth. Swedish painters are heroic in method, very lavish with their pigments, and generous in the size of their canvases. Some of the pictures, in fact, like "The Swans" (202) by Liljefors, are too large to be seen to the best advantage in the small rooms where they hang. Liljefors won the grand prize, and Gustav Fjaestad the medal of honor, for Swedish painting; Larsson, the grand prize for water color. Anna Boberg, Room 106, whose masculine paintings have always won her honor hitherto, is without award. This famous painter is the wife of the architect of the fine Swedish Pavilion. The jury offered her a silver medal, but Commissioner Schultzberg refused to accept it.
Spain is to have an excellent exhibit in the Annex building behind the Palace. Thus far Portugal alone represents the Iberian painters. The collection fills three rooms, 109-111, between Sweden and Holland. The Portuguese artists infuse the spirit of revelry into much of their work. Indeed, it sometimes approaches the bacchanalian. The work is of the extreme modern school as to color, although, technically, there is much drawing in and respect for definite form. Most striking, perhaps, is the splendid representation in many of the pictures of the intense sunlight that beats upon that Southern country. No more vivid examples of this can be found in the collection than Malhoa's "Returning from the Festival" (54) and his "Catholic Procession in the Country" (56). Malhoa, deservedly, captured the grand prize for Portuguese art. The single medal of honor went to Jose Veloso Salgado for his scenes of Minho. The portraits, too, have much of the intensity of the South. The most noteworthy are those by Columbano, Room 110, winner of the grand prize at St. Louis. The four rooms show Portugal prolific of artists who seek beauty in scenes of domesticity and the qrandeur of landscapes.
Argentina.—It is interesting to note that the painters of Portugal show more characteristics in common with those of South America and the Philippines than with their European neighbors. Their execution is more tamed than that of the Filipino painters, their style more settled than that of the Argentine. That is not to the discredit of the Argentinos, who, though a new people, have accomplished much that deserves praise. Their exhibit, in Room 112, is important in its showing of the progress of art in so new a country, and it is said to be representative. The artists whose works are shown are almost all young men, a fact which, in connection with their performance, proclaims that Argentina will do something free and original in the future. Three pictures by Antonio Alice, Nos. 1, 2, and 3, have been awarded the medal of honor. They bear witness to Alice's great versatility. Jorge Bermudez' three figure studies (gold medal) are striking. No. 5, "The Daughter of the Hacienda," is wrongly entitled in the official catalog "The Young Landlady." Others in the collection suffer in the same way, as Coppini's "The Old Station" (20), which is catalogued as "The Old Stall." Some of the Argentino landscapes are striking expositions of the spirit of the pampas, particularly Lavecchia's "Near Twilight" (35). As a whole, the paintings are significant of the country of their painters, a truly worthy quality. The sculpture in this room, particularly "Increase and Multiply" (75), by Pedro Zonza Briano (medal of honor), and a splendid Indian portrait (32), by Alberto Lagos (gold medal), is admirable.
The International Room, No. 108, on the east wall between Sweden, Holland and Portugal, contains but a small portion of the foreign pictures. Its chief feature is the exhibit of German art. Franz Stuck's "Summer Night" (459), Heinrich von Zugel's "In the Rhine Meadows" (549), both winners of the medal of honor; Curt Agthe's "At the Spring" (3), and Leo Putz' "The Shore" (387), gold-medal pictures, are worthily characteristic of Germany's best art. "El Cristo de los Andes," by E. W. Christmas (bronze medal) is interesting. The bulk of the pictures under "International Section" are in the Annex.
Holland, in Rooms 113-116, shows an art so different in its characteristics from that of Sweden that she might be at the other end of the earth. Where the Swedish artists show boldness, sometimes almost to the point of crudeness, the Dutch are intent on some degree of finish. Modernity of color is apparent, and while there are few strokes that indicate timidity, there are fine touches of the poetic in which the Hollander's heart shows its love of home and gardens. Those great tulip beds are real and luscious. Family life in the Netherlands is shown in several fine interiors, and the portraits by Dutch artists are more graceful than those of the average modernist. The grand prize in the Netherlands section went to Breitner's snowy "Amsterdam Timber Port" (17). Bauer's "Oriental Equestrian" (7) won the medal of honor. Gold medals were given to seven artists, named in the list following this chapter.
A thoroughly delightful portion of the art exhibit is the sculpture shown in the colonnades and on the grounds of the Palace. This is the first time a great exhibit has been displayed in such a manner. It adds everything to the effectiveness of the sculpture, wherever the pieces have been designed to be erected out of doors. It has been possible to show much of the fountain sculpture in its actual relation to real fountains, and to give the hunters and Indians, the nymphs and the satyrs, the advantage of natural backgrounds. In addition to the contemporaneous sculpture there are some famous pieces here, such as Saint-Gaudens' Lincoln, brought from Chicago, and the copy of Bartlett's equestrian Lafayette. Among recent sculpture, one of the most interesting works shown is a group by C. L. Pietro, of New York, "The Mother of the Dead,"—a powerful story in bronze of the burden which the war has brought to woman. (See p. 120.) Pietro's modeling is worthy of an older artist. Another human tragedy is well told in "The Outcast," a graphic figure by Attilio Piccirilli. (p. 136.) Charming bits of comedy are the whimsical little fountain pieces by Janet Scudder and Anna Coleman Ladd. The honor-winners in sculpture are named in the following list.
Awards
Awards have been completed and announced by the Fine Arts juries in all sections except the French. The following list includes all the grand prizes, medals of honor and gold medals. The numerous silver and bronze medals and honorable mentions are omitted. Numbers following the names indicate the rooms where the work may be found.
United States Section.—
Oil Painting
Grand Prize.—F. C. Frieseke, 48, 117.
Medals of Honor.—John W. Alexander, 69; Cecilia Beaux, 65; Emil Carlsen. 67; Walter Griffin, 45; Violet Oakley, 65; Willard L. Metcalf, 80; Richard E. Miller, 47, 69; Lawton Parker, 69; W. E. Schofield, 68.
Gold Medals.—Myron Barlow. 120; Gifford Beal, 73; George Bellows, 120; Max Bohm, 72, 118; H. H. Breckenridge, 51; H. J. Breuer, 56, 58, 118; C. C. Cooper, 37, 47; H. G. Cushing, 66, 68; Charles H. Davis, 67; Ruger Donoho, 46; Paul Dougherty, 67; J. J. Enneking, 71; Daniel Gerber, 68; Lillian W. Hale, 40, 65, 80; W. D. Hamilton, 55, 118, 120; Harry L. Hoffman, 118; James B. Hopkins, 45, 47; John C. Johansen. 68; Sergeant Kendall, 50; William L. Lathrop, 37, 50; Ernest Lawson, 73; Hayley Lever, 66, 67, 71; F. L. Mora, 45, 71, 117; Waldo Murray, 120; Elizabeth Nourse, 56; Joseph T. Pearson, 69; Marion Powers, 56; Ellen Emmet Rand, 65; Robert Reid, 45; William Ritschel, 68, 71; Edward F. Rook, 45, 48; Robert Spencer, 67, 68; H. O. Tanner, 117; Louis C. Tiffany, 71; Giovanni Troccoli, 48; Douglas Volk, 85; Robert Vonnoh, 45, 66, 70; Horatio Walker, 85; E. K. K. Wetherell, 70, 72; Irving H. Wiles, 70; C. H. Woodbury, 37, 69, 119, 120; Charles M. Young, 45.
Water Colors, Miniature Painting and Drawing
Medals of Honor.—Lillian Westcott Hale, 40; Laura Coombs Hills, 40, 118; Henry Muhrmann, 54, 72, 119, 120; Frank Mura, 54, 119; P. Walter Taylor, 26; Charles H. Woodbury, 37.
Gold Medals.—William Jacob Baer, 40; Jules Guerin, 40; George Hallowell, 40; Charles E. Hell, 36; Arthur I. Keller, 119; Henry McCarter, 26, 37; F. Luis Mora, 45, 117; Alice Schille, 37; Henry B. Snell, 69. 117, 119; N. C. Wyeth, 26.
Etching and Engravings
Grand Prize.—Henry Wolf, 30.
Medals of Honor.—D. A. Wehrschmidt, 119; C. Harry White, not hung.
Gold Medals.—Gustav Baumann, 34; Allen Lewis, 34; D. Shaw MacLaughlin, not hung; 3. Andre Smith, 32; Cadwallader Washburn, 32; Herman A. Webster, 32.
Sculpture
Medals of Honor.—Herbert Adams, 68, Colonnade; Karl Bitter, 66, 68; D. C. French, 40, 68, Rotunda.
Gold Medals.—Cyrus E. Dallin, 30, 32, 35, 36, 37, 63, 66, 73, 83, Colonnade; James E. Fraser, 68, 119; A. Laessle, 51, 66, 67; Paul Manship, 92, 93; Attilio Plccirilli, 23, 42, 66, 73, 83, Colonnade; Bela Pratt, 61, 66, 89, Colonnade; A. Phimister Proctor, 72; Arthur Putnam, 67; F. G. R. Roth, 66.
Medals
Medals of Honor.—John Flanagan, 38, 39.
Gold Medals.—James E. Fraser, 38, 39; H. A. MacNeil, 38, 39.
Argentine Section.— In Room 112.
Oil Painting
Medals of Honor.—Antonio Alice.
Gold Medals.—Jorge Bermudez, Alejandro Bustillo, Ernesto de la Carcova, Fernando Fader, Jose Leon Pagano, Octavio Pinto, C. Bernaldo de Quires, Eduardo Sivori.
Sculpture
Medal of Honor.—Pedro Zonza Briano.
Gold Medals.—Alberto Lagos.
Australian Section.— In Australian Pavilion.
Etchings and Engravings
Gold Medal.—Mrs. J. C. A. Traill.
Chinese Section.—
Water Color Painting
Medal of Honor.—Kiang Ying-seng, 94.
Gold Medals.—Su Chen-lien, 94; Kao Ki-fong, 94; Miss Shin-Ying-Chin, 94.
Sculpture
Gold Medal.—Teh Chang, 94.
Cuban Section.— In Room 20.
Oil Painting
Medal of Honor.—Leopoldo Romanach.
Gold Medal.—Rodriguez Morey.
International Section.—
Oil Painting
Medals of Honor.—Axel Gallen, Annex; Eliseo Meifren, Annex; Franz von Stuck, 108; Heinrich von Zugel, 108.
Gold Medals.—John Quincy Adams, Annex; Curt Agthe, 108; Conde de Aguiar, Annex; Gonzales Bithao, Annex; Istvan Csok, Annex; Harold Knight, Annex; Laura Knight, Annex; Heinrich Knirr, Annex; Lajos Mark, Annex; Julius Olssen, Annex; Leo Putz, 108; George Sauter, Annex; C. W. Simpson, Annex; Harold Speed, Annex; H. Hughes Stanton, Annex; Carlos Vasquez, Annex; Janos Vaszary, Annex; Valentin de Zubiarre, Annex.
Etchings and Engravings
Medal of Honor.—Frank Brangwyn, Annex.
Gold Medals.—R. G. Goodman, Annex; Willy Pogany, Annex; Bela Uitz, Annex.
Medals
Gold Medal.—Ede Telcs, Annex.
Italian Section.—
Oil Painting
Grand Prize.—Ettore Tito, 21.
Medals of Honor.—Onorato Carlandi, 21; Camillo Innocenti, 21.
Gold Medals.—Leonardo Bazzaro, 21; Italo Brass, 25; Emma Ciardi, 25; Beppe Ciardi, 25; Guiseppe Ciardi, 25; Umberto Coromaldi, 21; Visconti Ferraguti, 22; Domenico Irolli, 24; Enrico Lionne, 24; Guiseppe Mentessi, 25; Plinio Nomellini, 24; Feruccio Scattola, 25.
Sculpture
Gold Medals.—Luigi Amigoni, 23; Renato Brozzi, 23; Arturo Dazzi, 22; Guiseppe Graziosi, 23; Antionetta Pagliani, 23.
Japanese Section.—
Water Color Painting
Medals of Honor.—Ranshu Dan, 1; Toho Hirose, 1; Shoyen Ikeda, 2; Keisui Ho, 1; Tomoto Kobori, 1.
Gold Medals.—Bunto Hayashi, 1; Taisei Minakami, 1; Yoshino Morimura, 2; Hachiro Nakagawa, 10; Hosui Okamoto, 1; Tesshu Okajima, 2; Kangei Takakura, 2.
Sculpture
Gold Medals.—Choun Yamazaki, 4; Yoshida Homei, 4.
Metal Work
Grand Prize.—Chozaburo Yamada, 4.
Gold Medal.—Kazuo Miyachi, 4.
Lacquer
Medal of Honor.—Jitoku Akazuka, 4.
Gold Medals.—Kozen Kato, 4; Hikobei Nishimura, 4; Mesanori Ogaki, 4.
Pottery, Porcelain and Cloisonne
Grand Prize.—Kozan Miyakawa, 4.
Medals of Honor.—Sosuke Namikawa, 4; Yohei Seifu, 4.
Gold Medals.—Eizaemon Fukagawa, 4; Yoshitaro Hayakawa, 4; Hazan Itaya, 4; Tomotaro Kato, 4; Shibataro Kawado, 4; Sobei Kinkozan, 4; Meizan Yabu, 4.
Dyed Fabrics and Embroideries
Grand Prize.—Jinbei Kawashima, 4.
Medal of Honor.—Seizaburo Kajimoto, 4.
Gold Medals.—Chokurei Hamamura, 4; Yozo Nagara and Riyoshi Hashio, 4; Goun Namikawa and Torakichi Narita, 4; Saiji Kobayashi, 4.
The Netherlands Section.—
Oil Painting
Grand Prize.—G. H. Breitner, 113.
Medal of Honor.—M. A. J. Bauer, 113.
Gold Medals.—David Bautz. 114; G. W. Dysselhof, 113; Arnold Marc. Gorter, 113; Johan Hendrik van Mastenbroek, 114; Albert Roelofs, 113; Hobbe Smith, 114; W. B. Tholen, 113.
Etchings and Engravings
Gold Medal.—T. H. Van Hoytema, 115.
Norwegian Section.— In the Annex.
Oil Painting
Medal of Honor.—Harald Sohlberg.
Gold Medal.—Halfdan Strom.
Etchings and Engravings
Medal of Honor.—Olaf Lange.
Gold Medal.—Edvard Munch.
Sculpture
Gold Medal.—Ingebrigt Vik.
Philippine Section.—
Oil Painting
Gold Medal.—Felix R. Hidalgo, 98.
Portuguese Section.—
Oil Painting
Grand Prize.—Jose Malhoa, 109, 110, 111.
Medal of Honor.—Jose Veloso Salgado, 109, 111.
Gold Medals.—Artur Alves Cardoso, 109, 110, 111; Ernesto Ferreira Condeixa, 109, 111; Joao Vaz, 109, 110, 111.
Swedish Section.—
Oil Painting
Grand Prize.—Bruno Liljefors, 100.
Medal of Honor.—Gustaf Fjaestad, 107.
Gold Medals.—Elsa Backlund-Celsing, 104; Wilhelm Behm, 103; Alfred Bergstrom, 103; Oscar Hullgren, 103; Gottfrid Kallstenius, 100, 104; Helmer Mas-Olle, 102; Hehner Osslund, 102; Emil Osterman, 106; Wilhelm Smith, 100, 103, 106; Axel Torneman, 100, 104.
Water Color, Miniature Paintings and Drawings
Grand Prize.—Carl Larsson, 101.
Medal of Honor.—John Bauer, 104.
Gold Medal.—Oscar Bergman, 101.
Sculpture
Gold Medal.—Gottfried Larsson, 100.
Medals
Gold Medal.—Eric Lindberg, 99.
Uruguay Section.—
Oil Painting
Gold Medal.—Manuel Rose, 19.
[1] For plan of rooms and national sections in the Palace of Fine Arts, see map on page 8.
XIII.
The Exposition Illuminated
First attempt to light an exposition indirectly, from concealed sources— Notable success of Ryan's work—Transformation of the Tower of Jewels— Details of his method—Weirdness of the Court of Ages at night.
Beautiful as the Exposition is by day, it is at night that it becomes loveliest as a spectacle. Then it is a great glow of soft color, without shadow, but also without garishness. Never before has the attempt been made to light an exposition as this one is lighted. The highest standard before attained was a blaze of electric light secured by outlining the buildings with incandescent bulbs. That was the work of electricians. Here the illuminators are artists who have created a great picture of light and color.
There is no blaze or glare. Light floods the Exposition, but from concealed sources. All-pervasive, seemingly without source, the illumination is rather a quality of the Exposition atmosphere than an effect of lights. Nor is it a white light. It is softened and tinged with the warmest and mellowest of colors. So mellow, indeed, is the illumination that it would not even be brilliant but for the radiance of thousands of prisms hung about the great Tower of Jewels, the intense light of which swathes the lofty structure in a pure glow, at once bright and ethereal. (p. 135.)
Above the glow in which the palaces are bathed, a pageant of light and color marches across the sky, a splendid aurora borealis, its bannered troops now wheeling in ordered array, now breaking their formation in wild riot, until out of the fantastic show huge beams of light separate to pierce the heavens.
This unique system of illumination, devised by W. D'A. Ryan expressly for the Panama-Pacific Exposition depends upon floods of light from concealed sources. Around the walls of the palaces stand tall Venetian masts, topped with shields or banners. Concealed behind the heraldic emblems are powerful magnesite arc lamps. These spread their intense glow on the walls, but are hardly recognized as sources of light by the passer-by on the avenues. Batteries of searchlights and projectors mounted on the tops of buildings light the towers, the domes, and the statuary. Even the banners on the walls are held in the spotlights of small projectors constantly trained on them. That there may be no shadows, concealed incandescent bulbs light up every corner and angle of the towers, the arches, and the cloisters.
The ghostly radiance of the Tower of Jewels comes from huge searchlights aimed at it from a circle of hidden stations. The many-colored fan of enormous rays, the Scintillator, which stands against the sky behind the Exposition, is produced by a searchlight battery of thirty-six great projectors mounted on the breakwater of the Yacht Harbor. It is manned nightly by a company of marines, who manipulate the fan in precise drills.
Concealed lights shine through the waters of the fountains. In the Court of the Universe they are white, the colorless brilliance of the stars; in the Court of Seasons they are green, the color of nature; in the Court of the Ages they are red, with clouds of rosy steam rising around them. Writhing serpents spout leaping gas flames on the altars set around the pool of the Ages, and from other altars set by the entrances of the Court rise clouds of steam given the semblance of flame by concealed red lights. By the high altar on the Tower of Ages the same device is used to make the lights flame like huge torches.
The palaces themselves are not lighted at night, though they have the appearance of being illuminated. Behind each window and doorway are hung strings of lights backed by reflectors. A soft glow of light comes forth, giving animation to the palaces and strengthening the picture outside.
There are two ways to see the Exposition at night, both of which must be followed if one is to get the fullest appreciation of the magic beauty of the lighting. One is to wander about the palaces and courts in the midst of the soft flood of mysterious light, watching the play of the fountains, the barbaric flames of the Court of Ages, the green shimmer of the waters in the Court of Seasons, the banners fluttering in strong white light, the statuary in changing hues according to the color screens used before the projectors, the Aurora Borealis above the Scintillator battery.
The other is from a distance. I have seen the illuminated Exposition from the top of Mount Tamalpais, whence it was a wondrous spectacle. But best of all I like to watch it from the hill at the corner of Broadway and Divisadero streets. It is best to go there early, before the lights are turned on. Then you may see the wonderful rosy glow of the Tower of Jewels and the two Italian towers before the white light of the projectors is flashed on them. Red incandescents are hidden behind all the columns of the Tower of Jewels and concealed in each of the Italian towers, as well as in the open spaces in and around the dome of Festival Hall. These are always turned on first. The Tower of Jewels then glows with a soft mellow red, less brilliant, but warmer and more colorful than its incandescence later on. The rich light wells up from the Italian towers and Festival Hall, and spreads from all their openings to stain the walls around with deep rose.
Then the ray of a searchlight falls on the Bowman atop the Column of Progress, silhouetting that heroic figure in the night as though he floated at a great height above the earth. Beams from other searchlights cause the Nations of East and West to stand out with startling distinctness on their triumphal arches; the great bulls of the Court of Seasons glow against the night; the golden fires are lighted in the Court of Ages. The tall masts around the palaces softly illuminate the walls. First one side and then another of the Tower of Jewels is bathed in white light, until the Tower stands out in ghostly radiance. Two slender shafts of light shoot upward on either side of the globe atop the Tower and stand there, symbols of pure aspiration reaching to the heavens. Behind it all the huge and many-colored fan of the Scintillator opens in gorgeous color in the northern sky.
The illumination is at its best on a misty night. Then its spectacular effects become more spectacular. The moisture in the air provides a screen to catch the colored lights and make them visible in their fullest beauty. The Exposition recognized this need of a background for the great beams of the Scintillator when it provided for the clouds of steam that are nightly sent floating upward through the shafts of colored light. Nothing brings out the wonder of the Court of Ages at night like mist or fog. On the first night that all the illumination was given a full rehearsal it was raining slightly. The incandescence of the great globe of the Earth, the leaping flames on the altars by the pool, the rosy clouds over the bowls by the entrances and from the torches on the high Altar of the Ages, became strange, mystic, almost uncanny.
Of the beautiful light that falls upon the Palace of Fine Arts (p. 137), I can do no better than to quote from Royal Cortissoz: "At night and illuminated, it might be a scene from Rome or from Egypt, a gigantic ruin of some masterpiece left by Emperor or Pharaoh. The lagoon is bordered by more of those heavenly hedges that I have described. There are trees and thickets to add to the bewilderment of the place, to make it veritably the silenzio verde of the poet. And with the ineffable tact which marks the lighting of the Fair, this serene spot is left almost, but not quite, to the dim loveliness of night. The glow that is given its full value elsewhere is here at its faintest. The pageant ends in a hush that is as much of the spirit as of the senses."
XIV.
Music at the Exposition
Early neglect of music by the Exposition management remedied by the appointment of George W. Stewart, of Boston, as manager—Engagements of Camille Saint-Saens and the Boston Symphony Orchestra the musical events of the summer—Original compositions by the French master—Sousa and his great band—Other notable bands—Lemare's organ concerts- Splendid choral performances by famous organizations—A half-million for music.
Music cannot be omitted from any scheme of mundane celebration. In an exposition of the character of this one, where all art has been given so high a place, this gift of the gods must assume an unusual importance. It is important here, not only as a means of entertainment, but as a means of cultural development, and as an intellectual factor in the evolution of the race. This Exposition justifies itself by its storehouses of knowledge. Its reason for existence is, the permanent advancement of the people of the world in all that art, science, and industry, can bring to its palaces for pleasurable study.
With the agreement that a great pipe organ was to be installed in Festival Hall, and that orchestras and bands were to be engaged, the early speculative musical labors of the directorate ended. Casual indeed was the attention paid to music during all of the early part of the pre-Exposition period. Material interests—and there were millions of them—cried for consideration, while the still, small voice of music was drowned in the clangor of construction. Just as music is the last of the arts to receive recognition at our universities, so it was neglected here until so much time had elapsed that only the most fortunate of accidents could give song and symphony their proper places among the wonders that were ultimately to find a home in the Jewel City. Fortunately, accident for once proved kind; vigorous direction emerged fortuitously from apathy.
In the early building period, President C. C. Moore turned aside from his other cares long enough to appoint J. B. Levison Chief of the Music Department. A better choice could hardly have been made. For more than two decades Mr. Levison, an able amateur in music, and a business man of high standing, had been identified with all of San Francisco's larger efforts in its musical life. But Mr. Levison's grasp of the importance of such a post was more comprehensive than President Moore's, for he refused the position. Fortunately, however, he had his attention directed to George W. Stewart, of Boston, a former artist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, a man technically equipped, who had made a great success of the music at the St. Louis Exposition. Stewart was engaged, and to him is due the credit for the remarkable record music has already made at the Panama-Pacific Exposition.
Aside from the construction of the $50,000 pipe organ, which, after the Exposition, will be placed permanently in the Civic Auditorium, the two most important musical items found on the schedule of Exposition enterprises are the engagements of Camille Saint-Saens and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The former, who maintained that "Beethoven is the greatest, the only real, artist, because he upheld the idea of universal brotherhood," is perhaps better fitted than any living composer to write special music for the Exposition. This he has done,—writing two compositions in fact; and their presentation has been an outstanding feature. "Hail, California," was dedicated to the Exposition. Scored for an orchestra of eighty, a military band of sixty, a chorus of 300 voices, pipe organ and piano, its first presentation was an event. The Saint-Saens Symphony in C minor (No. 3) Opus 78, composed many years ago, has become a classic during the life-time of its creator. It was one of the wonders of the Boston Symphony programmes played in Festival Hall. Its yield of immediate pleasure and its reassurance for the works of Saint-Saens to be heard later, grew from the fact that it was scored for orchestra and pipe organ, and in this massive tonal web the genius of the composer to write in magnificent size was overwhelmingly evident, thus forecasting the splendors of "Hail, California."
The other work written by this visitor from Paris is in oratorio form and titled, appropriately, "The Promised Land." A huge choir of 400 voices, directed by Wallace Sabin and named in honor of the visitor, the "Saint-Saens Choir," rendered a good account of the ensemble sections of the choral composition, while the Exposition orchestra of 80 instrumentalists and the Exposition organ added effectiveness to the accompaniment. Sabin presided at the organ. In addition to these appearances, the composer conducted three recitals during the latter part of June, when all of the compositions offered were his work.
The visit of Dr. Karl Muck with his Boston Symphony Orchestra has become a luminous memory. The trip is utterly new in the history of music anywhere, nothing like it ever before having been attempted. It is said that the transportation bills alone amounted to $15,000, and there were no stop-overs en route for concert performances to help in defraying this bulky first cost. It is proper to record here the financial success of the venture. While the season of twelve concerts was yet young, more than $40,000 had been taken in at the box office, and the estimated expenses of $60,000 were liquidated, with a margin of profit. This was enhanced by an extra concert, the thirteenth. Tickets for the season were sold in Chicago, New York, Boston, Seattle, Spokane, Tacoma, St. Louis, Portland, Maine, and Portland, Oregon, while San Francisco and the bay communities in general sent their thousands to the glorious recitals. The result will be seen in a stimulation of music in the West.
But the engagements of Saint-Saens and Dr. Muck with his orchestra do not sum up the important activities of the Exposition's music. There are other features which challenge even these in popular estimation.
John Philip Sousa has spent a long season at the Exposition. A blunder was somewhere made in dating the arrival of the March King and his splendid instrumentalists, who came while yet the Boston Symphonists were playing in Festival Hall. As a result the finest of bands was placed in competition with the finest of orchestras. But nothing disastrous happened. Those who desired, to the number of fifteen thousand, heard Sousa at his opening concert in the Court of the Universe; those who desired heard Dr. Muck's instrumentalists, to the seating capacity of Festival Hall.
Featured concerts have been and are being given by massed bands composed of Sousa's, Cassasa's, Conway's and other military or concert organizations.
Briefly, and regardless of the importance of each item, here are some of the attractions which make this Exposition vocal and harmonious: Edwin Henry Lemare, of London, by general critical agreement declared the greatest living organist, is expected here early in September, when he will begin his series of one hundred organ recitals, to continue till the Exposition closes in December. A unique episode of the Exposition music must not be overlooked in the recital by Madame Schumann-Heink, whose graciousness found another expression in her concert given exclusively and gratuitously to the children. More than three thousand of the little folk were in Festival Hall when the grandest of singers sang for them alone. The visit already accomplished of Gabriel Pares and his famous Republican Guard band of Paris; the engagement already begun of the Ogden Tabernacle Choir of 300 voices; the Eisteddfod competitive concerts; the long stay of the Philippine Constabulary band under the leadership of Captain W. H. Loving; Emil Mollenhauer's big Boston band; the concerts of the United Swedish Singers; the Apollo Music Club's premised visit from Chicago—the organization is coming intact with all of its 250 vocalists and its distinguished composer-conductor, Harrison M. Wild; La Loie Fuller's spectacles, and the engagement of forty noted organists to appear in Festival Hall in addition to Lemare and Clarence Eddy, are a few of the accomplished or promised attractions. To this list must be added the daily concerts given gratis at different periods by various bands other than those named—the official Exposition band of 45 players under the seasoned direction of Charles H. Cassasa; Thaviu's splendid band of 50; Conway's military and concert band of 50, and others yet to be had in the world of music will be spread for their delecta-concerts are booked. As proof of the worth of these, let the achievements of the recent past speak. We have heard the Alameda County 1915 Chorus of 250 voices under Alexander Stewart in a majestic performance of Handel's "Messiah;" the Exposition Chorus under Wallace Sabin in a repetition of the music sung as part of the opening day's celebration—"The Heavens are Telling," from Haydn's "Creation," and the official hymn—"A Noble Work"—by Mrs. H. H. A. Beach; the Berkeley Oratorio Society under the inspiring direction of Paul Steindorff in two splendid concerts, the first given to Rossini's "Stabat Mater" and the second to Brahms' "German Requiem;" and the Pacific Choral Society's performance of Haydn's "Creation" under the musicianly leadership of Warren B. Allen. More music may confidently be looked for from these rich sources.
The Exposition authorities declare that half a million dollars will have been expended on music before the end of the life of the great enterprise. Thus visitors to the Exposition may come at any period of the Jewel City's existence, knowing that the best to be had in the world of music will be spread for their delectation, and that they will be afforded a comprehensive view of the art of tone as it exists today. In this respect the Exposition's musical "exhibit" is similar in its scope to the revealments in all its other departments; for the Exposition is avowedly devoted to contemporaneous rather than historic achievements.
Nothing that extends contemplation over a wider period than the last five years is admitted for competitive exhibition. The modern composer, no less than the modern inventor, is having his day at the Exposition. This is as it should be. We are hearing, have heard, or will hear, the last utterances of present-day musical creators. Indeed, in the case of one—Saint-Saens—we heard, as I have recounted, two massive compositions written expressly for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, and John Philip Sousa has bent his most martial mood to the composition of an inspiring march which is called "Panama." But music also enjoys a privilege not accorded equally to any other department of Exposition display. The works of the past, as well as the present, are given. A history of music at the Exposition properly written—as one surely should be—would be an epitome of the evolution of the art from Cherubini, Haydn and Bach to Richard Strauss, Saint-Saens and Debussy. It would involve in its telling the stories of music in Italy, Germany, Austria, England, France, Russia, Scandinavia, yes, and America, too! It would include an account of the genealogy of the modern orchestra as exemplified in the Boston Symphony or the Official Symphony, and of military bands up to the perfected concert organizations headed by a Sousa or a Gabriel Pares. It would embrace with like inclusiveness the history of the pipe organ through its stages of evolution from the ponderous instruments with men straddling unwieldy bellows to the marvel installed in Festival Hall, and it would embrace the history of the art of organ music up to such exemplars as our own Clarence Eddy, John &. McClellan, Edwin Lemare, and Camille Saint-Saens. What a chapter would be set aside for the record of Exposition choral music! Already there has gone abroad from the Festival Hall an impetus towards better chorus music that will, I feel sure, firmly establish this somewhat neglected department of musical art in the far West.
XV.
Inside the Exhibit Palaces
All competitive exhibits strictly contemporaneous, showing the arts of to-day—Revolution worked by the motion-picture theater in exhibition methods—The lessons of Machinery Palace—Coal and steam fast yielding to liquid fuels and waterpower and electricity—Life-saving devices, accident prevention and employees' welfare made prominent in Palaces of Machinery and Mines—A contrast in locomotives—Building a motor car every ten minutes—Co-operative exhibits in Food-Products Palace—Many great displays by the United States Government—Educational exhibits not duplicated, each state or city showing its specialty.
In its industrial displays, as well as its art, the Exposition keeps steadily in view the fact that it commemorates a contemporary event; it is contemporaneous, not historical. Hence it was decreed from the first that the exhibits must be the products of the last decade, a rule strictly observed save in rare cases where older forms have been admitted for comparison. The result is two-fold. The exhibits are condensed to the essential, giving room for a greater number of exhibitors; and the progress of the world is shown as of today.
Eleven palaces house the exhibits, exclusive of live stock. Officially, the things shown in the state and foreign buildings are not "exhibits," but "displays," and are not eligible for award. In general, the names of the palaces indicate the classes of exhibits to be found in them. No sharp line, however, can be drawn between the Palaces of Manufactures and Varied Industries, or between Agriculture and Food Products. In other cases there is some overlapping of classes. One section of the Liberal Arts exhibit is in the Palace of Machinery.
A striking feature of almost all the palaces, and one that differentiates this Exposition from its great predecessors of a decade or more ago, is the common use of the moving-picture machine as the fastest and most vivid method of displaying human activities and scenery. Everywhere it is showing industrial processes. Former expositions, for want of this device, have been mainly exhibitions of products. These have hitherto been shown in such bulk as to fill vast floor spaces and become a weariness to the flesh, while it was impossible, from the nature of things, to exhibit the great primary industries of field, forest, sea and mine in actual operation. The motion-picture machine has not only lessened the areas of products shown, thus making this Exposition more compact than former ones; but it has increased the effectiveness of exhibition methods by carrying the spectator, figuratively, into the midst of operations, and showing him men at work in all the important processes of agriculture, in the logging camps, in mines and fisheries, as well as in the mills and factories where the raw materials of these basic industries are worked into finished products. Its value for showing scenery, too, is fully utilized here. Many of the states and foreign countries employ it. Even faraway Siam uses it to instruct the Occident concerning her resources and people. Counting those in the state and foreign buildings, seventy-seven free moving-picture halls are to be found within the Exposition. Their efficiency is indicated by the crowds that throng them daily.
The Palace of Machinery holds three lessons for the observer. It shows not only the state of man's invention at the present moment, the increasing displacement of coal by hydroelectric plants and liquid fuels, but what is perhaps more significant, the changing direction of invention toward devices for human betterment. The Diesel oil engine and multitudes of electrical machines stand for the latest word in mechanical invention. The Diesel again, with a host of other internal combustion engines, the electric motors and waterpower plants, and the absence of steam machines, bear witness to the downfall of steam. But the great space given to safety devices, to labor-saving machines, to road-making machinery, and to mechanical devices for increasing the comfort of country life, are evidence of the part machinery is coming to play in the task of making life more livable. As an exhibition of modern mechanical invention, Machinery Hall is unique, as all this Exposition is unique. There is almost nothing in it that is not the product of the last ten years; it actually represents construction of the last two years. Indeed, the wholly contemporary nature of the exhibits leaves the visitor without visible means of comparison.
As at the Centennial Exhibition in 1876, a prime mover is the central figure in the building. There it was the immense Corliss steam engine. Here it is a Diesel, started by President Wilson by wireless on the opening day, and generating all the direct current used in the palace. Another commanding exhibit is a 20,000 horsepower hydro-electric generator, significant of the modern use of water-power. The United States Government is the largest exhibitor in the building, with numerous fine models of warships, docks, dams and submarine mines; torpedoes, artillery, armorplate and shells, army equipment, ammunition-making machinery in operation, light-houses and aids to navigation, and a splendid set of models illustrating road-making methods. Crowded out of its proper place in the Palace of Liberal Arts, the exhibit of the printing trades occupies a section here, including a huge color press turning out illustrated Sunday supplements.
The Palace of Mines and Metallurgy offers ample evidence of the great figure which steel now makes in the world, and of the vast extent of the petroleum industry. Here, too, as in Machinery Hall, accident prevention is emphasized. From this point of view insurance exhibits are not out of place here. The United States Steel Corporation, with its subsidiary companies, shows in this palace the largest single exhibit seen in the Exposition, save those of the United States Government. Noteworthy are its excellent models of iron and coal-mining plants, coke ovens. furnaces, rolling mills, docks, ships, and barges, and an extensive section devoted to the welfare of employees, with model playgrounds.
Many states and nations, and many world-famous mining companies are represented by exhibits of ores and metals, of mine models, and mining and metallurgical processes in operation. California shows a gold dredger and a hydraulic mine in operation. The great copper mines of California, Montana, Utah, and Japan, have installed significant exhibits. The United States Government operates in this palace a model mint, a model post office, and features a daily "mine explosion," with a demonstration of rescue work.
The Palace of Transportation places its emphasis on automobiles and roads, electric locomotives and cars, and the mammoth types of modern steam locomotives. All of these exhibits represent construction of the last year, with one exception. The first Central Pacific locomotive stands beside a Mallet Articulated engine,—an enormous contrast. One third of the floor space is filled with steam and electric locomotives and modern cars. Some are sectioned, and operated by electric motors, vividly illustrating the latest mechanical devices. Another third of the palace is devoted to motor cars. The Ford Motor Car Company maintains a factory exhibit in which a continuous stream of Fords is assembled and driven away, one every ten minutes.
Plans for a great exhibit of aeroplanes were destroyed by the war. The Exposition, however, maintains a constant exhibit of the spectacular side of aeronautics in remarkable flights by famous aviators. After Lincoln Beachey was killed in one of these performances, his place was taken by Arthur Smith, who was instantly crowned as a far more dazzling birdman. Two aeroplanes are the only representation in the palace. Steamship companies have erected here sections of their vessels. Railroads make interesting exhibits of scenery along their routes, of safety devices and of railroad accessories. The Canadian Pacific, Grand Trunk Pacific, Great Northern, Southern Pacific, Union Pacific, and Santa Fe systems maintain buildings of their own, exhibiting the scenery, agriculture and other resources of the country through which they pass.
The Palace of Varied Industries illustrates the enormous complexity of modern material needs. Packed with severely selected manufactures, it is made especially interesting by the many processes shown in operation. Cotton and woolen mills, linen looms, knitting machines, machines for weaving fire hose, a shoe-making factory, a broom factory, and many others, are particularly attractive because they are engaged in making familiar articles. The machines in use demonstrate the refinements of present-day manufacturing processes. The factories of many nations are represented in this palace. Germany makes here her largest exhibit, notably of cutlery and pottery.
The Palace of Manufactures differs from the Palace of Varied Industries as a bolt of silk differs from a bale of leather. Yet this general distinction between the finer and the coarser classes of factory products is not rigidly adhered to. The Palace of Manufactures is distinguished by a remarkable exhibit of fine wares by the Japanese, and another of commercial art from Italy. Fortunately this Japanese display is of goods in the ancient style, infinitely more interesting, though less significant, than the extensive exhibits in other palaces of Japanese wares manufactured in competition with Western nations. Most beautiful are the ceramics, the lacquered ware, and the silks. Great Britain is an extensive exhibitor of cutlery, pottery, and textiles. Manufacturing processes are shown in operation in this palace, though less than in the Palace of Varied Industries.
The Palace of Liberal Arts found its six acres of floor space insufficient. The exhibits, forming a remarkable demonstration of the breadth of applied science, embrace electrical means of communication, including wireless telegraphy and telephony, musical instruments, chemistry, photography, instruments of precision and of surgery, theatrical appliances, engineering, architecture, map-making, typography, printing, book-binding, paper manufacture, scientific apparatus, typewriters, coins and medals, and innumerable other articles. A great space is occupied by talking machines "demonstrated" in musical theatres, and by cameras. The American Telegraph and Telephone Company maintains transcontinental telephone connection between its theatre and New York, and gives daily demonstrations. The United States Government has installed a great variety of displays. Most striking, perhaps, is the section from the National Museum, where the most modern methods of exhibition are exemplified in cases containing human groups that are almost real life. The great pipe organ in Festival Hall is classed as one of the exhibits of this palace. Germany, Japan, China, the Netherlands, Uruguay, Cuba, and New Zealand are heavy exhibitors here. Of special interest is the German exhibit of radium and its allied metals.
The Palace of Education and Social Economy contains the special educational exhibits of this Exposition, which itself, as a whole, is a world-university. Its striking features are the great number of official exhibits by states, cities and foreign nations, and the emphasis laid on industrial and vocational education, public health, playgrounds, and the training of abnormal children. An educational exhibit is one of the most difficult to make vivid and interesting to the general public. This palace has succeeded by avoiding duplication. To each state or city was assigned a special problem, as far as possible the one to which it had contributed a noteworthy solution. Thus, Massachusetts shows her vocational methods, while Oregon specializes on rural schools as neighborhood centers. Among the cities, St. Louis devotes most of its space to the educational museum, while Philadelphia emphasizes central high schools. The United States Government supplies a branch of its Children's Bureau, with daily conferences for parents. Among the many instructors who have been engaged to conduct classes in the palace is Dr. Maria Montessori, who is to give a course of lessons based on her famous system. The Philippine exhibit shows that Americans have developed in the Islands a system of practical education which American teachers should study.
The Palace of Agriculture is an instructive presentation of modern farm methods, as well as of raw products of the soil. It shows admirably the great advance in agriculture in the United States, giving due space to the work and influence of the state agricultural colleges. Particularly impressive is the array of farm machinery and the wide application to it of the gasoline motor. After seeing it, one wonders what place is left on the farm for the horse. The fundamental nature of agriculture has brought more states and foreign countries into this palace than are represented in any other. A significant representation is that of the Philippines, an exhibition of enormous natural resources. Its display of fine hardwoods is the finest ever made by any country. Similar exhibits of Argentina and New Zealand are also excellent. Forestry takes a large place in this palace, the United States Government making a big forestry exhibit in addition to the great general display of the Department of Agriculture.
The Palace of Food Products is a temple of the tin can and the food package. It is made one of the most interesting of all the Exposition buildings by its numerous processes in operation. A large part of it is really a factory, turning out before the visitor's eyes the different familiar edibles of the magazine advertisements. A mint of money must have been spent by these exhibitors. A flour company, for example, has installed a complete mill in which flour is manufactured, and then made into many kinds of cakes and pastries by a row of cooks of various nations. A bakery in connection with this mill turns out 400 loaves at a baking. As in every exposition, visitors crowd the booths where edible samples are distributed. After viewing many such scenes, a local humorist dubbed this building "the Palace of Nibbling Arts."
The new idea of co-operation among manufacturers appears in a number of collective exhibits. California wine producers have united in a splendid display, far more impressive than could be made by an individual. The Pacific Coast fisheries have joined in an elaborate exhibit of every sort of tinned fish. The United States Bureau of Fisheries maintains an extensive aquarium of fresh and salt-water fishes. The State of Washington has another, with a salmon hatchery in operation. Modern production of pure food is greatly emphasized. In a building of its own, a Pacific Coast condensed milk concern operates a good-sized factory, using the milk of its herd of pure-bred Holsteins, kept in the Live-Stock section.
The Palace of Horticulture, with its gardens, has been planned with a three-fold purpose, to appeal with equal interest to the tourist, the student, and the business man. Its exhibits by states and foreign nations picture the gardens and orchards of the world. Its factory installations exhibit actual processes of preparing and preserving fruit and vegetable products. Under the great dome are the Cuban and Hawaiian collections of tropical plants and flowers, already described in the chapter on the South Gardens. In the flanking rooms are displays of orchids and aquatic plants. In the main hall Luther Burbank shows his creations. An exhibit of fresh fruits in season is maintained. The gardens outside show plants and shrubs from many states and countries, including the great exhibit of the Netherlands Board of Horticulture.
XVI.
The Foreign Pavilions
Buildings characteristic of the nations represented—Many adaptations of famous old-world structures—Younger countries build expressions of their progress—Noteworthy pavilions of France, Holland, and the Scandinavian kingdoms—Italy's masterpiece in historic architecture— Argentina, Bolivia and other Latin-American republics well represented— Canada and Australia present fine buildings and splendid exhibits— China and Japan reproduce renowned gardens, temples and palaces—Rich treasures of art and industry shown by many countries.
Almost all the twenty-one foreign pavilions at the Exposition are characteristic of the architecture of the nations that built them. Some, like the unique Japanese temple or the beautiful French pavilion, are reproductions of famous old-world buildings. The three fine Scandinavian pavilions reflect notable types of national architecture. Italy's delightful group, which is the most noteworthy of all, is for every one who has visited that country an epitome of her most interesting historic palaces, rich in the art of the Renaissance. The buildings of the newer countries, like Canada or the Argentine, which have not yet had time to develop characteristic styles of their own, are admirable expressions of their progress and prosperity.
Argentina.—The Argentine Pavilion is really a palace. It is the work of Sauze, a celebrated architect of Buenos Aires, in the style of the French Renaissance. (See p. 169.) The Argentino exhibits, with the exception of dioramas, moving pictures, and photographs, are in the Exposition palaces. The pavilion is the center for the social functions of the Commission.
Both exterior and interior of the building illustrate the amazing progress of the South American republic in art, as its exhibits in the Exposition palaces exemplify its advancement in industry and commerce. The entrance opens into a noble hall, imposing in its simplicity. In the clerestory the walls are decorated with fine murals by the brush of the Argentine artist, Colivadeno,—works which show that Argentine art has the beauty, freshness and vigor of the nation from which it springs. In the center of the hall is an exquisite bit of Sculpture.
On left and right the foyer opens into a fine reception hall and a graceful refreshment room. In the rear is a theater, where moving pictures of Argentine scenes are shown daily. In the wall of the corridor surrounding the theater on the first floor are excellent panoramas showing scenery and resources. Among these is a view of the famed Iguazu Falls, the greatest and most magnificent waterfall on the globe. In the corridor upstairs are other panoramas, a series of photographs, and a collection of graphic charts which show the commerce, finance, industry, administration, education and social service of the republic. The second floor ends at the rear in a beautiful library.
The pavilion was built entirely of materials brought from Buenos Aires, and constructed by Argentino workmen.
Australia.—The Australian Pavilion, at the Presidio entrance to the Exposition, was designed by George J. Oakeshott, F. I. A. N. S. W. (p. 148.) Obviously it is intended to symbolize the industrial cohesion of the six Australian States, New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, West Australia, and Tasmania. The facade bears below the cornice the titles of the states, with the state banner waving from a staff above. All are subordinated to the central tower, floating the flag of the Commonwealth.
Because its exhibits are eloquent of the resources of the great young country, the Pavilion has been described aptly as "the shop window of the Commonwealth." The building is, in fact, a huge sample room; and although the large states only, New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, provided the display, each section is adequately representative of all Australia produces. Tropical fruits and other products from the northeast combine with the horticultural and agricultural products of the temperate zone. Minerals from the rich fields of all the states are grouped. The opals and gems from White Cliffs and Lightning Ridge in New South Wales vie with other precious stones from Queensland in forming one of the great attractions. Handsome building stones, including exceptional marble, are side by side with samples of the world-famous hardwoods and the scarcely known but beautiful cabinet woods from the Australian forest, while the pastoral areas have provided wonderful collections of wool, leathers, meat and by-products. The agricultural exhibits have attracted much attention, and were so arranged as to show the productiveness of irrigated areas as well as of the country generally. Carefully prepared literature, distributed liberally, has been a feature of the efforts of the Australians. The commissioners have made it their boast that nothing has been exaggerated; everything is "real." Even art critics who visit the pavilion will not be disappointed, for on the walls they will find many paintings of merit by Australian artists, including loan collections from the National Gallery of New South Wales and the Victorian Art Society.
The Australian exhibits, unlike those of most other countries, have been grouped in this building, instead of being shown in the various Exposition palaces.
Bolivia.—Bolivia has erected one of the most essentially national pavilions at the Exposition, an admirable building that expresses equally the two elements of its population, the Spanish and the Indian. The building is Spanish in its solid rectangular plan; its entrance is copied from the portal of the Church of San Lorenzo, and its central patio fashioned after that of the old mint at Potosi. It is Indian in the curious carved work of the facade and the monoliths flanking the entrance, both being exact copies of ceremonial temple stones from the lake region of Bolivia. The building was designed by Dr. Calderon of the Bolivian Commission and Albert Farr of San Francisco.
Tropical plants and fruits are shown in the brick-paved patio. The rooms in the interior include a moving-picture theater, an art gallery and museum, with pictures by Bolivian artists, and relics of the civilization of the Incas. The national exhibits are shown in the Exposition palaces.
Canada.—The Canadian Pavilion is the largest of the foreign buildings, and the best example at the Exposition of businesslike advertising by a government. (p. 148.) Planned by a permanent commission which has had fifteen years of exposition experience, the Canadian exhibit, down to the last detail, is designed to advertise the country. Even the site, at the junction of the highways leading to the Live-Stock Section, was chosen to get the largest number of the kind of visitors Canada is most anxious to greet. The architects were Humphreys, Limited, of London.
Architecturally, the building is mixed classic, finished in the Exposition travertine. The maple leaf of Canada appears in medallions on the walls, the royal arms of Britain over the entrances, and the British lion on either side of the approaches. Canada's entire exhibit is here. Her commission cares nothing for awards, but is concerned solely with attracting settlers and capital.
With this in view, the chief feature of the display consists of Canadian landscapes, illustrating the agricultural, lumbering, mining, and shipping interests of British North America. The scenes are set to produce a remarkable perspective. The beholder seems to stand on rising ground, looking away over miles of country. In each view the foreground is enlivened with real water and either living or moving things. There is a panorama of the great wheat fields bordering on Lake Superior. Trains move from grain elevators in the interior to the docks on the lake, where model steamers ply on real water. Electricity supplies the power.
The largest scene of all is of Canada as it was and as it is. The foreground represents the North, when the Indian and the game had it to themselves. In the background the visitor looks for miles down a broad Canadian valley filled with wheat fields and pleasant farms. Canada's wild life is represented in the foreground by splendid stuffed specimens, from the bear and the moose and the musk-ox to the marten and the muskrat, and from the great gray honker to the hummingbird. On the right, in a forest scene, is a beaver pond with dam and house, where the real beavers splash in the water. On the left of the scene, where a cascade tumbles into it, is a pool of Canadian trout, maintained in the wonted chill of their native waters by an ice-making plant under the scenery. Canada hopes to draw wealthy sportsmen and vacationists, who will then see for themselves the opportunities for investment. Some of her largest enterprises have begun thus.
The Canadian Pavilion makes no provision for social functions, but it is an attractive place, where everyone is welcomed. By common consent Canada has made the most effective exhibit of its kind at the Exposition.
Central America.—Guatemala, Honduras and Panama have each erected pavilions characteristic of Central American architecture. The Guatemalan Pavilion houses a display of the products of the forests, fields, and mines of the country, with coffee as its most notable exhibit. A native marimba band playing Guatemalan airs makes complete the Central American spirit of this pavilion. The Pavilion of Honduras, which might have been brought entire from Central America by a genie, contains a display of laces, woven hats, tropic ferns and flowers.
China.—The Imperial Audience Hall of the Forbidden City at Peking is reproduced in miniature in the three government buildings of the Chinese compound at the Exposition. The central pavilion is modeled after the great hall where for three centuries the Manchu emperors gave audiences. The two flanking structures, both alike, are copies of the buildings where court officials and the delegations awaited the coming of the Son of Heaven to the throne room. The pagoda and the tower at the left and right of the entrance are likewise copies of structures in the Forbidden City. All the buildings were constructed by native artisans, brought over from China for the purpose. The flag of the Republic floats from the tower, its colors from top to bottom standing in order for Manchuria, South China, Tibet, and Mongolia. The ancient dragon is absent, banished by the spirit of New China.
Within the three government pavilions are magnificent carvings, vases and lacquered furniture, old prints and paintings on silk. The priceless collection of the latter, shown here and in the Chinese section of the Fine Arts Palace, is the finest in the world, the property of a Chinese collector. Its pictures are a complete representation of Chinese painting for more than a thousand years. China is represented by exhibits in all the Exposition palaces, the most extensive participation by any foreign country.
Cuba.—The Cuban Pavilion, designed by Francisco Centurion, is a good example of Spanish-American architecture. It is distinguished by a square tower at one corner, a wide portico, roof of Spanish tile, and a central patio, designed for receptions. On the second floor is a great ballroom approached by a splendid stairway in the old Spanish style. Cuba's most striking exhibit at the Exposition is the display of tropical plants and flowers in the Palace of Horticulture.
Denmark.—Denmark, like the two other Scandinavian countries, has made her pavilion characteristic of her own national architecture. Though not in any sense a reproduction, the building finds its motive in Hamlet's Castle of Kronberg at Elsinore. The architect has softened the grimness and bulk of the ancient fortress into a pleasing building, that has the spirit of the gray land by the German Ocean, and the solid character of the Danes. The dim past appears in the great gravestones on the grounds, copies of monuments on ancient Danish barrows.
In the entrance is a tiled lobby, with the information bureau. Beyond is the "Garden Room," so styled because of its exquisite furnishings and abundance of cut flowers. To the left is a reception room, done in massive Danish decoration, with Danish woods and Danish furniture. A handsome cabinet of mahogany and hammered silver is its most striking piece. Other rooms also contain wonderful antique furniture. An assembly room with a raised dais, and mural decorations suggestive of Danish industry and commerce, is in the northeast corner. The building contains a number of paintings by Danish masters that are of great interest and value.
Funds for this pavilion were contributed by Danish residents of California. The Danish Government supplied the furnishings. No commercial displays are in the building.
France.—The Pavilion of France is a replica of the eighteenth-century home of the Prince de Salm, at Paris, now and for more than a century the Palace of the Legion of Honor. (p. 157.) The original building, in the soberer mode of the French Renaissance, was of Caen stone, the effect of which has been reproduced in the present construction. The erection of this pavilion marks a record in work of such magnitude. On the outbreak of the war, all thought of participating in the Exposition was dropped; but later the American ambassador, Mr. Herrick, succeeded in persuading the French Government to reconsider its decision. The plans were cabled from Paris, at a cost of $10,000, and the structure was completed in sixty days.