ALEXANDER WYANT BY ELIOT CLARK I Digitized by the Internet Archive i in 2013 http://archive.org/details/alexwyantOOclar VIIJJIM DV HOITD-IJJOO EARLY MORNING COLLECTION OF MR. EMERSON MC MILLIN Canvas. 37 inches high, 50 inches wide. Signed at the lower left, A. H. Wyant ALEXANDER WYANT BY Eliot Clark New York PRIVATELY PRINTED MCMXVI Copyright, 1916 by ederic Faircliild Sherman To MY FATHER ILLUSTRATIONS Early Morning Frontispiece Irisk Landscape P^gs 12 Noon Mark, Adirondacks ''12 In tke Still Forest ''16 Mountain Brook ""22 Trout Stream ''22 Tke Mokawk Valley ''3° An Old Clearing ''34 Passing Clouds ''42 ASunktVale ''46 Landscape '"''54 Driving Mist ''54 Tke End of Summer ''bo Sunset 64 Autumn in tke Adirondacks .... ''■64 ALEXANDER WYANT ALEXANDER WYANT PART ONE LEXANDER HELWIG WYANT was born at Evans Creek, Tuscaras was Co., Ohio, on January i itK in the year 1836. His father, born in Penn? sylvaniain 1814, was a typical Amers ican; hismother was a native of Evans Creek, born in 181 7. Shortly after the birth of their son the family moved to Defiance, Ohio, not far dis? tant, and here the young Wyant was sent to the vils lage school. We may imagine that the early Ufe and environ* ment of our painter was very simple and primitive. Far from the complex sensations of city life, its noise and activity, its passion and competition, his early impressions must have been of the quiet and peace of nature, of the ch angmg seasons, of the grass, the flow? ers and the smell of the earth. But whereas to the sensitive soul nature whispers her secrets and unfolds her beauties, it is difficult to conceive of any direct artistic impulse or stimulant in this little isolated town of Ohio. W^e therefore conclude that his desire to ex= press himself in pictorial form was quite spontaneous. It is said that as a little boy, lying before the open fire, he would endeavor to describe in charcoal his in- 9 fantine images. It was undoubtedly a great trial later to be apprenticed to a harness maker. However be was not to be enslaved, and altbougb tbe only models to inspire bis youtbful ambition and excite bis imagin? ation were tbe crudely colored cbromos and infer? ior engravings peddled tbrougb tbe countryside, be nevertbeless determined to become a painter. Tbe impulse was furtber strengthened in seeing some pictures by George Inness wbile on a visit to Cincinnati in 1857. Wyant determined to meet tbis painter and ask bis advice. It required strong initia* tive and self?confidence to make tbe long trip to New York, but tbe encouragement given bim by Inness and tbe opportunity of seeing otber pidlures, mark tbe first decided step in bis career. Returning to Cincinnati, be immediately sougbt tbe means to fulfiU bis cb erisbed desire and fortunate? ly found material assistance from one interested in tbe Arts, Nicholas Longwortb. Tbus be was ena? bled to return to New York, wbere we find bim rep^ resented in tbe Academy exhibition of 1 864 . A year later he sailed for Germany to continue his art educa? tion. The Dusseldorf school having found favor and pat? ronage in America, in 1863 a large collection of tbe work by these painters was brought together at great expense and exhibited in New York, where it was received with much enthusiasm. In this exhibition there was a typical canvas of Hans Gude, of moun? tains and waterfall. It was most probably that picture 10 wKicK incited V/yant to seek tkis master for instruc? tion. Altkougk kis stay witk Hans Gude at Carlsruke was most pleasant, for ke was received witk kindness and kospitakty, tke artistic influence could not kave keen altogetker a sympatketic one. Wyant was seek* ing a more personal form of expression. His study under Gude was in consequence not long continued. Before returning to America, \Vyant made a skort visit to England and Ireland. In London ke undoukt* edly enjoyed seeing tke pictures in tke National Gal? lery, but kis intense and passionate interest in land* scape, precluded a close study of tke old masters. Tur? ner seemed to leave no memory in kis later pictures. His color was too intense, too unnatural, kis composi? tion skowing too muck of classical artifice. In skort Turner was too visionary, romantic and over emo* tional, for our young painter wkose memory was fresh, witk tke natural ckarm of kis native land. To tkis slender young man, reticent and unassuming, brougktup in a little country town in America, wkose knowledge of cities kad keen acquired merely during skort visits, wkose religion was nature and tke natural, a true pantkeist (witkout tke affectation of tke name) tke sumptuous treasures of tke National Gallery, tke result of generations of culture and sopkisticated tkougkt, must kave seemed studied and somewkat un? real . V/e can imagine kim standing simply and naively before tke pictures of Constable, and seeing in tkis master a kindred spirit. \Vyant was too muck intere^ed in tke ^udy of II nature at this period to loiter long in the cities. The pidtures and records oftKe trip in Ireland bear witness to this facfl . They show a very keen observation of the forms of nature, an endeavor to ^udy and render the simple fadls. It was this desire which prompted him to return to his native land, feeHng more Wrongly drawn to the country which had fir^ awakened his inspiration, its early associations and its natural beauty. In 1868 Wyant was eledled an associate of the National Academy and the following year a full mem? ber on his pidlure of ''The Upper Susquehanna." Notwith^anding this gratifying appreciation of his work, the material trials of maintenance were severe. In 1873 he was led to join a Government expedition bound for Arizona and New Mexico, thinking that in this way he might have an opportunity of ^udy? ing nature and living out of doors. The West was then the land of promise, its great scenic landscape, partly fabulous and fanciful, was much talked of and magnified. Albert Bier^adt had shown its pidlorial possibilities, which offered a vehicle for expression thoroughly in sympathy with the panoramic land? scape of Dusseldorf. Bier^adt had made a trip to the Rocky Mountains under General Lander as early as 1858, and others, among them Walter Shirlaw and Thomas Moran, were induced to follow his example. Wyant was unfortunate in selecting his party, the commander of which was very harsh and severe. The hardship was intense. Under such conditions 12 IRISH LANDSCAPE COLLECTION OF MR. ADRIAN VAN SINDEREN Canvas. 14 inches high, 20 inches wide. Signed and dated at the lower right, A. H. Wyant, 1866. NOON MARK, ADIRONDACKS Canvas. 14 inches high, 17 inches wide. Signed at the lower right, A. H. Wyant tke painter's ae^Ketic impulse found very little patky or encouragement. Wyant was at no time of a strong physique. TKe exposure, fatigue, and lack of proper food, proved too muck of a strain for kis feeble constitution. Completely exkausted, ke was literally skipped on a train bound east. Ratker tkan return to kis kome, kowever, at tke expense of artistic starva* tion, Wyant passed Defiance, Okio, and returned to face tke struggle in New York. His illness resulted in a stroke of paralysis of tke rigkt side. From tkis date Wyant was obliged to paint witk kis left kand. In tkis trying situation, tke struggle for liveUkood be* came doubly difficult, but altkougk tkus kandicapped at an early age, V/yant never lost sigkt of kis kigk purpose and ultimate intention. Corot is reported as kaving said : ""In tke career of an artist one must kave conscience, self-confidence and perseverance. Tkus armed tke two great tkings in my eyes of first importance are tke severe study of drawing and of values." No landscape painter ems bodied tkis ideal more truly tkan Alexander \Vyant. W^e see in ^Vyant a man of tke utmost sincerity, a man of sensitive conscience, one witk a steadfast purs pose and quiet but firm conviction, wkick if emanat? ing from a body weak and sickly, was nevertkeless made manifest by a powerful and exacting will. We skaU see later tkat drawing and values are of paras mount importance in kis work. 13 PART two A N arti^ is related to Kis time, as kis time is related to that preceding it. It is very muck a matter of cause and effect. Therefore in considering tKe work of Wyant it will be interesting for us to note its rela* tion to the work of Kis contemporaries and the deriva? tion of tke tken prevailing style. Climatic conditions and environment are no doubt significant and important factors in tKe development of a people. It is quite natural tKat tKis sKould affect tKeir artistic expression. TKis is additionally apparent in tKe art of landscape painting, for it is not merely tKe psycKological state wKicK is tKereby affected and sub? ject to cKange, but tKe country and tKe climatic mani? fe^ations become tKe very subjedt of representation. TKus we note a striking contra^ between tKe early art of land scape painting in tKe SoutK, in Italy, and tKat of tKe NortK, in Holland, produced not merely by tKe temperamental differences of different people but by tKe great differences of topograpKy and cKmate. TKe early landscapes of Italy, as seen in tKe grounds of tKeir sacred pidlures, are radiant and beau? tiful. TKe sky is unclouded, tKe mountains batKed m atmospKere; not rugged, sombre and uninviting, but calm and serene; tKe valleys witK verdant meadows and winding streams. WitK Claude Lorraine tKese sugge^ions of tKe earlier painters became magnified and developed, and witK Kim tKe so-called classic style in landscape found its fulled development. In contra^ to tKis radiant landscape of tKe SoutK, we Kave tKe 14 sombre landscape of tke NortK. Here the country is flat, the keavens overeat. In consequence we see low horizons and va^ clouded skies; or rocks and romantic mountain streams, wild and desolate. Deligkt in color is seldom to he found, nor mu^ we look for tke lyrical interchange of line. V/e are nearer tke eartk. Tkese two great sckools, tkat of tke Soutk and of tke Nortk, tke Italian and tke Dutck, are traditional in tke kistory of landscape painting, and in its develops ment we clearly trace tkeir influence . In England tke classic line and tke soutkern spirit reawakened by Wilson was empkasized by Turner. True it is not entirely at kome. In Turner it loses sometking of its severity and dignity; and if it gains in emotional content, it loses in form. Never tkeless tke traditional relation is apparent. We see tkis again in tke linear rkytkms and design of Corot. Constable refledted tke nortkern spirit. A student of Claude, as well as tke Dutckmen, ke was, kowever, too absorbed in kis own little corner of England, to explore tke dream world of tke imagination. Unlike kis great contemporary Turner, wko was always experimenting in tke ex? pression of color and atmospkeric perspective, ke wrougkt kis pidtures in tke sombre colors of eartk. Not so muck of a reaU^ as we of tke present age are fond of tkinking. Constable never tkeless became tke Fatker of modern landscape art. From tke classical ideal, wkick kad lo^ itself in meaningless manufacs tures, Con^able rediscovered tke simple, komely beauties of nature. It is tkis spirit we see later in tke expression of tKe so-called Barbiz-on painters and tlie beginning of '"'"paysage in time." The arti^ic ance^ry of \Vyant is quite apparent. His prediledlion for tKe grey and tke sombre, bis love oftbe simple and natural, mark bim at once as a man of tbe Nortb. If Claude was tbe fir^ painter to ''set tbe sun in Heaven," \Vyant Uke Con^able and bis predecessors in Holland, seldom saw tbe sun. For bim tbe beavens were oversea:^, tbe sun, tbe vision, is be? yond, and tbe flying clouds indicate tbe spiritofcbange, tbe introspection and brooding my^ery of tbe Nortb. Tbe early period of \Vyant may conveniently be placed before bis illness in 1873. It covers little more tban ten years, but tbe painter bad assimilated tbe metbods and teacbing of tbe time, and indicated tbe way of bis future development. Tbe style of bis contemporaries was quite fully formed wben Wyant began bis career, being a con= tinuation of Englisb landscape as exempUfied by Tbomas Cole, and reflecting tbe German tendencies tben so mucb in vogue. Tbe scenic beauty of tbe Hudson River formed tbe subject matter for tbeir pic? torial conceptions, and in consequence our early land? scape painters bave become known as Tbe Hudson River Scbool. Dusseldorf was at tbis time tbe Mecca for Amer? ican artists. Here tbe painter found a formula wbicb incorporated in landscape tbe sentimental associa? tions and tbe polisb and finisb wbicb were tben pop? ular witb our people. Tbe German landscape art IN THE STILL FOREST THE WORCESTER ART MUSEUM Canvas. 56 inches high, 55 inches wide. Dated at the lower right, 1882 had, like tke Frenck and the English, derived from the southern tradition. Following the philosophy of Goethe, Winckleman and Lessing, the German painters found their only inspiration in the classical countries and the classic ideal. \Vhen later, under the influence of the Romantic movement, Germany discovered herself as a northern people, she became intere^ed in northern art and the northern country. The Norwegian painter, J. C. Dahl, exercised adecid* ed influence on German landscape. His pupil. An? dreas Achenbach, was the mo^ prominent painter of the Dusseldorf school, and it was under him that Hans Gude received his artistic training. Hans Gude was an accomplished painter. A correct and able draughtsman, a ski Ued technician, his work though demanding respedlful admiration, does not create much enthusiasm. Wyant learned from him, how* ever, a method and a pidlorial form with which to portray his accumulated fadts. The work of the early period is charadterized by a photographic fideUty to nature. Much attention is given to the subjedl, not because of its essentially pics torial quahties, in the sense of arrangement and the proper relation and balance of forms and colors, as be? cause of its scenic intere^ and the associative idea. It is not the beauty produced through the creative ar? rangement of the arti^, but the natural beauty of the scene itself that inspires him. Thus, as with the Diis* seldorf school, we see a prediledtion for expanse. The angle of vision is wide and extended ; the subjedt grand and heroic : mountains, rivers, valleys — scenic, pano? ramie, in efFedl. We kave ecKoes romanticism of Scott, of the traditional pidtorial formx of Claude. Iftke art of V/yant at tKis period attained to tech.- nical proficiency and dexterity, and an ability of con? ceiving and rendering the subject in tbe prevailing manner, an accomplishment wKicb placed Kim as one of the foremo^ landscape painters in America at tbe time, it did not achieve di^indtion or greatness. In facft tbe ideas on wbicb sucb painting is based, are too superficial to produce a great or noble art. Being es^ sentially representative, it nevertheless does not rep= resent essentials. Thus the surface details of a rock are quite perfedl, but without the sense of its weight, its cubic dimension. The minute forms of foreground grasses are quite corredtly imitated, but the solidity of the earth is lacking . The bark of a tree is elaborately painted, but its particular color and relation to the general effedl is ignored. The arti^ insi^ed on fine* ness of finish, and a superficial perfedrion, at the ex? pense of truthful color, quality, volume, and creative design. Merely to complete the details in a pidlure does not necessarily make the pidlure complete. But this undoubtedly excited the admiration of the cons noisseurs of the time, for whom to paint detail which would bear the inspedtion of a magnifying glass, was a great achievement. From a reali^ic standpoint it may be said that the technique of a pidlure should be governed by its size, because its size governs the di^ance from which the pidlure should he seen. A small pidlure which mu^ necessarily he seen more or less closely and thus hear careful scrutiny demands definition and detail; hut in a large pidture, which to come entirely within the focus of the eye mu;^ he seen at a greater distance, this detail is not effedlive. The large canvas requires broader masses and greater simplicity to give it the required carrying power. The technique of a Vers meer or a small Meissonier is admirable, but enlarge the pidlure to greater dimensions as we see it in the latter 's ''Friedland" and the effect is no longer con* vincing. In the early pidlures of Wyant the larger picture is painted with the same technique as the smaller, and in consequence loses that volume and simplicity which we shall find in Wyant's later pic? ures. In the large picture of the ' ' Mohawk Valley," for example, we find the same method and the same careful elaboration of detail as in the small canvas of ''Keene Valley." Moreover this insi^ence on detail takes away from the unity of effect, each part is con? sidered as carefully as another, and the subjedt is fo? cused at all points simultaneously. The knowledge of form acquired in the early pic? tures and ^udies of V/yant was, however, invaluable. It gave to his later work a simplicity and sugge^ion attained only through under landing. V/e may con? elude that form is more important and significant than color, insomuch as form is con^ant and eternal, but color changeable and transient. The latter appeals more diredlly to the eye, is more purely sensuous. 19 wKereas the former is more intelledlual. It was uns doubtedly this sensitive understanding of tke forms of nature that created tKe significant and appreciative touch wKick made Wyant's later pictures so intimate and so sympathetic. The color in the early canvasses is more or less conventional. This is largely the result of the uni* versal method of painting over a brown undertone, and the general conception that all pidtures to be effective must be painted in a warm key. This was the heritage from the pa^ made effed:ive in our mods ern art through the practice of Reynolds, Turner, Couture, Achenbach and others. Moreover the fore? ground objects are made darker and browner, to give the required contra^ to the Ughter and cooler dis= tance, and thus create the illusion of aerial perspec? tive. It was an accepted formula and follows certain laws of nature under modi fled conditions. It is ah ways effective if oftentimes false. With Wyant, who early showed a predilection for greys and a re? stridled palette, these limitations were particularly fortunate. In the pictures painted between 1865^70 we note this personal element becoming more pro? nounced. There is a delicate relation and variation of neutral colors, and a closer observation of nature. V/e remark also, a more sensitive appreciation of light, not as seen in the contra^s of sunset or uncloud^ ed days, but the diffused light, when the sun, though behind the overhanging clouds, casts a veiled radiance over the landscape. This already gave his pictures 20 a poetic cKarm wkicli di^inguisKed them from the harder forms and more prosaic coloring of Kis prede^ cessors. That Wyant accomplished so muck during tke skort time wkick we kave designated as tke early- period, is due not only to assiduity and application but to concentrating kis energy in a single direction. Less interested in tke transient and fleeting effects of ligkt and color, tke painters of tkis period spent Kttle time in experimenting. Tkeir work out of doors was not so muck in tke nature of a '"'"sketck", to attain tke impression of a particular time, of ligkt and atmos? pkere, but ratker a study of form, of particular ob? jects, tke details of wkick were to be used later in tkeir pictures. In consequence tke pencil was more in use tkan at present. Tke pencil and tke brusk were for tke German painters and tkeir American followers during tke first part of tke nineteentk cen? tury wkat tke camera is to tke modern tourist. Tkey were essentially topograpkical draugktsmen bringing kome records of foreign lands and unusual scenes to satisfy tke interest of tke curious. Tkeir aim being essentially to inform and instruct, tkeir work is pure? ly illustrative. Wyant lost little time in following vague and uncertain ideas and tkeories, but was con? tent to apply kimself in tke given manner. Tkis was in a certain sense painting over drawing, and it is only in understanding tkis metkod tkat we will get a clear idea of tkese early pictures and understand tkeir de? ficiency as well as tkeir significance. 21 TKe subject Kaving been selected, and tbe compo* sition conceived, the outline was carefully drawn on the canvas witb pencil or brusb. Tben, witb a trans* parent wasb of warm color (probably burnt sienna and black, tbinned witb turpentine) tbe values were fully rendered, tbus enabling tbe painter to concen? trate entirely on tbe form before tbe pidture was con? tinned. On tbis warm monotone tbe cooler opaque and more local colors were appKed, not allowing tbe drawing underneatb to be entirely obliterated. Care was also taken to keep tbe darker masses and sbadows quite tbin and transparent. Tbe ligbts were painted more beavily witb body pigment. In tbis manner of painting tbe pidlure need not be completed wbile tbe paint is ^ill wet, as is more or less tbe case witb tbe present day painter wbo endeavors to produce bis effedt ''a premier coup." One can carry out tbe paint* ing part by part witbout losing tbe general tonality and unity of effedl; moreover tbere is a gain in ricbness of color, in transparency and a freedom from painti* ness wbicb cbaradterizes so many efforts of today. Tbis manner of observing nature and metbod of imitating it on canvas, insi^ed on tbe form and tbe details of objedls, but tbe more subtle and illusive effedts of ligbting and atmospberic coloring were neg* ledted. Moreover tbe paint being applied very tbinly tbe canvas bad more tbe effedl of a tinted drawing. Tbe undluous quality of pigment is lacking, a quaUty wbicb not only gives greater soHdity to tbe objedls represented but is a deligbt in itself, appealing to tbe 22 MOUNTAIN brook: A STUDY COLLECTION OF MR. CHARLES W. GOULD Canvas. 9 inches high, 15 inches wide. Signed at the left, A. H. Wyant TROUT STREAM : A STUDY COLLECTION OF MR. CHARLES W. GOULD Canvas. 12 inches high, 15 inches wide. Signed at the left, A. H. Wyant sense not unlike jewels or porcelain, or tKe perception of tke surface quality of certain textiles. In conse* quence tke pidtures tkus painted are said in studio pars lance to be ''tKin." \Ve sKall see that in the later works of Wyant lie amplified this method, adding "■'texture" and ""glazes," which gave to his pidtures more intere^ing quality and fullness of tone, and to his forms greater freedom and suggestiveness. Much of this early work was later de^royed, though we have some notable examples which tell us of the painter's conceptions at that time. In the ' Ohio River" painted in 1867, the painter's ideal was danger? ously near the photographic vision, a kind of scientific reality lacking seledlion and di^indlion. In facft Wyant ^udied photographs very attentively at this period. There is no thought of focal concentration or simplicity of design: The foreground is as minutely elaborated as the middle ground or di^ance. We do not see any pidlorial preference. In color it is con* sistent but monotonous, lacking diredl observation of nature. In painting it is thin, unexpressive and *■ 'tight" . It is an example more of patience than of art, and is therein significant, for it shows persi^ent en? deavor , and a very faithful ^udy of the forms of nature . In similar vein we may mention: '•'"Among the Alleghanies," showing mountains and lake over a dark foreground; '"'' Mount Equinox," dated 1866, a romantic subjedl of mountain and ^ream with ap? proaching ^orm, very firm and accurate in drawing (echoing the ^yle of Hans Gude); a ''Scene on the ^3 upper Potomac, We^ Virginia;" and an idealized subjedt, " Landscape— Mountain Scene." Among the pidlures of this time we occasionally see, however, an example more intimate in its con* ception and less scenic in its efFedl, showing something of the painter's personal prediledtion for the more sim? pie and homely aspedts of nature. Today these little pidtures might he passed by with little attention, but to the ^udent of \Vyant they are particuarly inter? e^ing for they show a change from the more popular panoramic pidlures of the period, and indicate at a time before the diredl influence of the Barbizon paint* ers and ''paysage in time" the way which he was to follow. An extremely intere^ing example is an ''Irish Landscape" dated 1866. Although the painting is ^ill timid and unexpressive, the composition is very finely conceived. It shows a wild, lonely, mountainous country; a great angular, precipitous peak rears its dark form in the heavy airs, beyond which the faintly lighted mountains are lo^ in the overhanging clouds. A dark, deep chasm is seen in the centre of the pidture, evidently an inroad from a lake or sea, of which we get a glimpse to the left. Again^ this dark chasm, in a nearer protruding plane, is a peasant's hut in ^riking relief. It is placed under the shelter of two giant rocks. In the foreground to the right is a field which has been cultivated under difficulties. The rhythmic line formed by the arrangement of the rocks and the sparse vegetation is ma^erfully designed. The pic* 24 ure is well drawn and con^rudled, the relative siz-e of things being particularly well presented. Photos graphic in its fidelity to the fadts, it is saved from me? diocrity by the great beauty of the composition and the impressiveness ofthe scene. The dominant colors are grey?green over a warm undertone, becoming more neutral in the di^ance and fading into the grey and greysblue of the sky. Among other pidtures of lesser intere^ this canvas shows a marked power of concentration, and an abiKty to conceive and present a subjedl forcefully and dramatically. Another small pidlure '"The Storm," painted in 1869, shows a similar tendency. It is probably a sou* venir of Ireland, showing a wide expanse of desolate country over which is a heavily clouded sky indicate ing an approaching ^orm. The jagged rocks and verdure lead up to a lonely hut with wind?blown smoke coming from the chimney, while beyond, the sun hits the di^ant hiU with a note of yellow in pros nounced contra^ to the ominous ^orm clouds. A figure in red dress ^ands before the hut. The sky gives us a hint of the later Wyant. In the same year we have the '"Old Homestead" which is particularly intere^ing as a pidture painted from nature of a charadieristic American landscape. It is not so evidently ""composed" as many ofthe pics tures in the Diisseldorf manner, and gives in conses quence more of the local and intimate charadler of the country. Carried out with infinite care in construes tion it has a more immediate and appreciative touch. 25 TKe trees are particularly well modeled, and tKe eartK and rocks Kave great solidity. ''Tke Turbulent Stream" indicates again the close ^udent of nature and an intense endeavor to underhand and portray her forms. TKe mo^ important and representative pidrure of the early period, however, is ''TKe Mohawk Valley" dated 1866, now hanging in the MetropoUtan Muse? um. V/e feel that when Wyant signed this pidlure he was ju^ly proud of his work and had successfully achieved his early aspirations. The models after which he formed his ^yle have been rivaled, if not surpassed. It mu^ take its place as one of the mo^ di^inguished landscapes painted in America under the influence of the Dusseldorf school. From a considerable elevation, standing at a cen? tral point in the pidture, the spectator looks into the valley of the Mohawk, beyond and below. The tur? bulent river, bordered by overhanging rocks, runs from the right foreground to the centre of the pidlure, where the rising spray tells of the falls below. One follows the winding ^ream through the heavily wooded valley, beyond which the rolling mountains gradually recede to the distant plane, bathed in hazy atmosphere, hovering between earth and sky. In the foreground a great pine breaks the horizon, throwing its shadow to the left, where the trees coming again^ the sky gradually decline to the hiUs below. The clouds in delicate sequence of grey move languidly in the great expanse of sky. 26 The composition is exceedingly well balanced without being i^atic or conventional. It is built up on two converging pyramidal attractions meeting in the centre of the canvas at the light rocks on the di^ant mountain slope. The eye leads into the pidlure from the right foreground, following the river to the falls, where it is blocked by rising trees and the upright pine. This gives a vertical division on the left corre? sponding to which we have the smaller upright trees on the right. The eye follows the ^ream in the valley below, being confined by the dark trees ju^ men* tioned ; it is then attracted by the form of the fore? ground tree and is drawn again towards the centre over the farthest di^ance and upwards to the sky. Here the clouds are so arranged that the attention is held towards the centre. Thus the i^ory of the turbu? lent ^ream, the drop of the falls, the pine tree, the ^ream winding through the valley, the dark trees to the right, the mountains, di^ance and sky, is told in a graphic and orderly sequence. V/e note a more sensitive observation of natural effedt, a more subtle appreciation of diffused light, and as always in the later work of the painter an admirable reserve and re^raint. There is no attempt at force or so called virility, nor do we find pigment textures or mannered brush work. It is painted thinly, over a transparent brown undertone, the forms being rendered with great precision and nicety of con^ruction. It is a ma^erpiece of topographical draughtsmanship. But notwith^anding the accomplishment, one respedt? 27 mires, but is not moved. If as a topographical illu^ration it is beyond criticism, as a picture it is wanting in that human message, that sympathetic expression, the underlying personaHty of its creator, the emotional content with which all great art is ims bued. If it challenges the photograph for accuracy, and in the symmetry of arrangement soars beyond the limitations or the camera, adding ab^rad: beauty to material form, we nevertheless see in this insistence on detail, this intere^ which is quite indifferent whether it concentrates on foreground twigs or rocks, the bark of a tree, the distant hills or the movement of the clouds, no personal preference, no impression, no emotion, but a servile rendering of fadts. Away in the di^ance where the forms become obscure, where the land meets the sky and all is bathed in the grey ambient atmosphere, we get the touch of poetry and feeling for which Wyant was later content to sacrifice the less significant details. Let us conclude, however, that this pidlure for one so young, was a great achievement. We mu^ not be misled by over enthusiasm for our painter or patriotic pride and assume that in the early work of V/yant or his associates we have an essential? ly American landscape art. Whereas it is true that lo* cal scenery gives a superficial semblance of something purely American, we mu^ not forget that the choice of subjed:, the pidtorial point of view, and the method of reproducing it on canvas, are entirely of foreign origin, the sources of which we have endeavored to 28 trace. We see a certain sopki^ication, wkicli is not tKe result of a new art and a new interpretation but the endeavor of one who wiskes to be considered skilled, corredl and cultured. In skort an endeavor to meet tke approval of tke time, and gain tke financial support of tke art patrons, wkose taste was formed by- foreign faskion. Tkis is essentially tke mental attitude of tke provincial, and in tkis America was but follow^ ing England and Germany, as tkey endeavored to fol* low wkat was to tkem tke classic style — witk tkis difference, kowever, tkat witk tkem it was tkeir in* terpretation of tke classic style, wkereas in America we simply continued tkeir interpretation. PART Three ONE wko kad been a neigkbor of V/yant's for a number of years once said to me: ''I knew Wy ant well, perkaps better tkan anyone. But I know very ktde about kim. Wyant never said muck." His illness made kim introspective and taciturn. We see kim at kis be^ in kis pictures. Conscious of kis ability, altkougk unassuming and mode^, ke did not divide kis intere^s or dissipate kis energy. He was not socially inclined and to tkose wko did not unders ^and kis nature and kis pecuUarities ke was often gruff and uncivil. At on e time, on returning from tke country, \Vy ant called upon an intimate friend wko was skaring a ^udio witk a fellow arti^. Tke latter, wko was an admirer of W^y ant's work, was glad of an opportunity 29 to meet Kim, and later called upon Kim at Kis ^udio. AltKougK tKe door was open, Ke knocked and entered Kesitatingly. Wyant continuing Kis work looked up indifferently. TKe visitor ratKer embarrassed, ven* tured: ''I was in your neigKKorKood, Mr. Wyant, and tKougKt I would return your call.'' To wKicK Wyant answered bluntly ''I didn't call on you. I went to see S," and continued Kis work. In 1879, Si^^ce Crane, tKen beginning Kis career as a landscape painter, called upon \VilKam Hart to seek advice and in^rucftion. Mr. Hart was not at tKat time taking any pupils but Ke said ''Young man, across tKe Kail, is a great painter." TKiswasintKeoldY.M.C. A. building in New York wKere W^yant Kad Kis ^udio for a number of years. Mr. Crane became Wy ant's pupil and talks very intere^ingly of tKis period. He was given tKe key to tKe ^udio and entered at will. ^Vyant gave little advice in words. His pupil's task was principally to copy pidtures and to learn from tKe pradtice of tKe masfter. At tKis time W^yant was deeply intere^ed in tKe Barbizon painters. He sent to tKe Academy a pidture wKicK Ke called: '"'"In tKe Spirit of Rousseau.' " TKe title is significant, not only because it sKows tKe rec* ognition of tKis influence, but because it Kints at tKe wayin wKicK Ke assimilated tKe work of tKe painters wKom Ke admired, not by copying or merely repeat* ing but by working in tKe spirit of Kis prototype. \VKen an art dealer was sKowing some small exam? pies of W^y ant to a patron tKe latter remarked ' ' TKese 30 THE MOHAWK VALLEY THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART Canvas. 33% inches high, 53% inches wide. Signed and dated at the lower right, A. H. Wyant, 1866 pictures are very much like tke Barbizon men." Wyant, informed of tke remark, was appreciably pleased, and proudly acknowledged bis allegiance. While not communicative or fluent in speech, he was often droll and witty. His remarks were brief, epigrammatic and significant. A ^udent who had come to Mr. Wyant for criticism, was showing some of his work. In explaining his difficulties he said : "•You know, Mr. W^yant, I don't have much trouble in finishing my pidlures. What I want to learn is how to begin them." ''"Well, young man," Wyant re? plied, ''I think we had better go into partnership. I can ^art them all right, but I have a great deal of trouble in finishing them." Although \Vyant was successful in the sale of his pidtures he seemed rather indifferent in this regard. He was too absorbed in producing them to think of their disposal. At Arkville, a lady who admired his work and was desirous of acquiring one of his pic* tures, spoke of her intention to a mutual friend, ^uite naturally the friend replied : ^ ^ Why don't you speak to Mr. W^yant, or go to his studio?" W^ell," said the lady, ''I don't dare. Fm afraid." On another occasion a patron who was furnishing his home and wished several pidlures called upon Wyant at his ^udio. He seledled two and was in doubt about the third. ^^I don't know whether this pidlure will exadt* ly fit the place or not." This remark a^onished the painter. He was indignant. The idea of buying pic? tures ju^ for a wall space was unbearable to him and 31 as a result Ke refused to sell the gentleman any of his pidlures. In 1880 ke married Arabella Locke, daughter of J. B. Locke of New York. Miss Locke was a pupil of \Vyant's, and is the painter of many charming water colors. Their summers were spent at Keene Valley in the Adirondacks and later, in 1889, they moved to Arkville in the Catskills . The house was on the moun* tain slope opposite the town. A small piazza was built on the we^ end of the house, and from here the painter could ^udy the surrounding country, looking up the valley of the Delaware and into the nearby woods. In the later years this was the limit of his pic* torial material. Apart from occasional drives he seh dom ventured far from this immediate vicinity. This, however, seemed entirely satisfying. He would sit with unwearied and ever increased intere^ watching the clouds and the different Hghts and colors that passed over the landscape. Then he would retire to his ^udio and transfer his impressions to canvas. He suffered greatly from bodily pain. Physical ex? ertion became more and more difficult. He was there? fore incapacitated for the occupations and enjoyments of a normal life. This drew him more and more to his work. This was his great passion, his unceasing de? sire until the end. He died November 29, 1892. 32 PART FOUR A MERIGAN painting bears muck tke same res ^/^^ lation to foreign schools and tendencies as Amer? ican literature. But painting being a more universal language is not so limited to tbe mother tongue. Thus, as we have seen, our early landscape painters turned quite readily from tbe English influence to the Ger? man, and we now find an adtive influence coming fi?om France. Although painting is naturally a more imitative ex? pression than writing, its ^yle is governed largely by the spirit and thought of the time. As thought fir^ de* fines itself in words, it is therefore evident that the literary expression of a given time precedes the pic? torial. V/ith the breaking down of the e^ablished or? der of things in the latter part of the eighteenth cen? tury and the beginning of the nineteenth, we see the druggie for fi:eedom giving rise to new social condi? tions. The natural was associated with freedom, as opposed to the ari^ocratic and the artificial. This is the beginning of the great movement of the return to nature. Jean Jacques Rousseau was its prophet. This sentiment is echoed in mo^ of the poets ofthe time. Nature is imbued with a soul and the poet is a passionate worshipper. V/e see it vividly refledled in the American writers. It is the dominant theme of W^hittier, Lowell and Longfellow, it gets into the philosophy of Emerson, finds a living and intimate expression in Thoreau and a worshipper in Lanier. During the second half of the nineteenth century land* 33 scape painting became a real and vital religious ex* pression. As opposed to tKe formal observance of rite and ceremony, it did not assume this significance, but to tbose to wbom tbe outward manife^ation seemed insincere and insignificant, nature was a place of ref? uge and a consolation. Tke fore^ became tbe catbe? dral and tbe sky tbe beavenly abode. Nature was a sacred grove and tbe arti^ its bigb prie^. Contra^ed to tbe earlier landscape wbicb served as a magnificent background for tbe noble deeds of man, tbe new scbool saw in nature tbe refledtion of tbe soul witb wbicb man bimself is imbued. Landscape art became pantbei^ic. It is tbis spirit seeking expression in vis* ual form wbicb unites tbe so-called Barbizon painters, otberwise so seemingly separated. It is tbis spirit wbicb makes Inness, Wyant and Martin one witb tbem, tbeir mo^ legitimate and significant successors. Had Wyant not become ill, but returned i^rengtb? ened and invigorated from bis early ^Ve^ern adven* ture, we migbt bave bad many intere^ing records, topograpbically corredt, of tbe wonders of We^ern scenery. He would not only bave been tbe rival of Bier^adt and Cburcb for popular applause and appre? ciation, but would bave added a more sensitive and trutbful account of tbe country wbicb be observed. His ill bealtb and subsequent lack of pbysical ^rengtb, bowever, tended to create an introspecftive and reflec? tive attitude, resulting in a more subjedlive interpreta* tion of nature. It was undoubtedly a great bandicap to be obliged to paint witb bis left band, but be came 34 AN OLD CLEARING THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART Canvas. 48 inches high, 36 inches wide. Signed and dated at the lower left, A. H. Wyant, 1881 to see tKat a certain generalization of form gave a greater simplicity of effecft, and moreover he felt the need of expressing something more tkan fadls. Works ing in tke early manner Ke Kad produced pidlures pleasing and ''"finislied" but tke knocking at tke door was not answered. Witk tke completion of tke '■''Mokawk Valley" so di^indiive in kis early career, Wyant could go no furtker in tkis direction. He now endeavored to find a means of expressing tke more personal significance of nature, its appeal to tke soul. It kappened tkat about tkis time tke fame of tke Barbizon painters reacked our skores, and examples of tkeir work were skown in tkis country. To tkose accu^omed to tke poHsk and nice color of tke current ^yle tkese pictures were a great skock. Connoisseurs talked guardedly about tke Barbizon painters wkose works would not bear tkeir carefiil and critical scruti^ ny. Corot was too vague, indefinite, careless, color? less, and in a word, unfinisked. Witk Rousseau tke subjedt was lacking. For tkose wko measured tke beauty of a scene by tke number of miles seen in one ""coup d'oeil," kis pictures were wanting in grandeur and scenic intere^. Dupre was scarcely intelligible. His insistence on texture to produce not merely illu* sion but quality of paint, kis romantic expression in color, were cabali^ic symbols to tke uninitiated. But to V/yant tkese pidtures were a revelation. It res quired a kindred spirit to recognize tkeir arti^ic value. To kim tkey opened a new door and skowed tke way. 35 More enligKtened and less easily satisfied tkan the connoisseurs ofKis time, Wyant perceived tkat tke superficial surface and finish, of a pidlure was a poor indication of tke mind behind it. \Ve can see why Rousseau would so Wrongly ap* peal to \Vyant. He was essentially classic in the sense of the perfect unison of form and idea. More? over, his idea was not merely the repetition of elegant lines and meaningless compositions. It was inspired by the simple, homely landscape of the North, by the communion of mind with nature. Thus it was a re? adlion again^ what had falsely been called ''classic" and brought to landscape art a new leven. Rousseau was au^ere. His painting had an almo^ rehgious reverence for the subjedt. Trees became his deare^ friends and under his sympathetic brush are imbued with the law of growth and life . They are not merely decorative accessories treated in a conventional man= ner for fashionable drawing?rooms, they have weight and depth, are organic and real. Romanticism brought to painting the poetry of the earth . Cor ot had said ' ' one mu^ seek above all else in a pidlure for some manifestation of the arti^'s spirit? ual ^ate, for a portion ofhis reverie." This awakened appreciation of nature brought with it the ^udy of nature, and thus we find in these works a healthy realism going hand in hand with romanticism. The school was changed from the Academy to the fields. In the development of V/y ant's art we see a more sympathetic appreciation, a more intimate response 3fe to nature. It is the difJused light on things and their illusive sugge^ion that attradls the painter, rather than the literal and photographic attention to fact. The mental mood, the emotion inspired by nature, its spirs itual import, becomes significant. Landscape is inter* e^ing to him now, not only because the scene is re* markable or unusual, grand or romantic, but because of its simplicity, its naturalness, its lack of affectation. We recall the phrase of Emerson Nature is never to be surprised in undress. Beauty springs everywhere." The painter's highe^ purpose is no longer that of a mere recorder of fadls for the curious . Science had in* vented an in^rument with which no human hand could vie. For information, for detail and topograph? ical in^rudtion, the camera had taken the place of the painter. No longer have we need of an arti^ to tell us merely scientific fadls . It is what nature means to man that is of paramount importance. Thus landscape painting becomes human, and fulfills again that ideal of art as Nature seen through a temperament." The fir^ evidence of this new influence in Wy ant's pidlures was a redudlion in the angle of vision. The eye concentrated at one place cannot take in a great radius. The impression is received from this single vision. The ch ange of subjedl is thus from a wide, extended, panoramic view to the more intimate and nearby objedls, seen while the eye is concentrated at a single place. It is the seledtion of the arti^, his crea? tive arrangement of the subjedl that assumes mo^ significance . Henceforth he does not paint only those 37 evident situations, seledled because tKe view IS won? derful, but rather those httle spots seen in everyday- rambles, from which he gathers his impressions. It IS now the discerning eye of the arti^ who has become a poet, that speaks to us. Not a hundred things at once are to attrad: the attention, but one unified im* pression of a passing phase of nature is sufficient ma? terial to satisfy the emotion and awaken the sympa? thetic creative impulse. V/hether environment determines the work of a painter or whether by some happy chance he dis* covers a place to which his soul had already been attuned and to render which his accomplishment had been formed, is a mo^ subtle que^ion. What would the work of Millet have been had he not discovered himself at Barbizon? How would the later work of Turner have been created had he not taken those Con? tinental rambles which simulated his imagination? Or what should we have had from our own Winslow Homer had he not lived on the Maine coa^? The environment of the landscape painter undoubtedly plays a mo^ important part in his produdlion and fixes to a great extent the kind of subjedt he is to paint. Thus when Wyant moved to the mountains it de? termined his choice of subjed:, and in his pictures he so completely portrays this country that his name mu^ always be associated with it. At Keene Valley the wood interiors are particularly beautiful, and here we see the beginning of that wonderful series of lyrics of the woods which brings us to the true Wyant 38 wkom we honor as a great American painter. It is tKe beauty and tke poetry of our own woods and clearings wKicK he portrays in pidlures imbued with sympathetic and intense feeUng, wrought with con? summate skill and knowledge. He was not defined to be a painter of pa^oral country, of cultivated lands showing the indu^ry of man, of hamlets sugge^ive of human interei^; but the painter of sylvan woods, of the birch, the beech, the fir, of mossy rocks, and mountain brooks; or following in the path of the axe in northern woods he sees his pidlure in the clearing, the mountain valley and the clouds. As a result of this life in the country \Vy ant's work became not only more personal but more truly American. It was diredledin three general channels: the careful i^udy of natural objedls, of rocks, tree? trunks, brooks, foreground objedls and the Hke; the small pidlure painted outsof?doors; and the ^udio pic? ture. As time passed his well^^ored memory and his con^ant observation took the place of ^udies, and mo^ of his work was done indoors. But during the seventies and early eighties he did considerable work out^of doors, as numerous pidlures bear witness. The pidlure of the mouth of the ''Ausable River," dated Aug . , 20th, 1 872, is a very careful ^udy of nature in which the arti^ has endeavored to describe, faith? fully, its aspedl. The color is rather dead and monot? onous but the forms are firmly modeled. In^ead of the servile and conscientious copying of details we note a more comprehensive brush ^roke, a greater 39 freedom in painting and more consideration for mass. TKe subjedt is seen from the Kills overlooking Lake CKamplain. In the foreground is a field termmated by a dark hedge, over wKich are tke trees bordering the lake. A point jutting out indicates the mouth of the river. In the di^ance is the long line of hills and mountains lo^ in heavy atmosphere. Another pic* ture evidently painted at Keene VaUey at about this time, shows a similar tendency. It is a mo^ severe and conscientious study of nature. The pidluresque mountain side, placed high in the composition, is sen* sitively felt and solidly con^rudied. The clouds that break its edge float lightly in the air . In the foreground is a shallow ^ream bordered on the right by overhang; ing bushes, while the middle plane coming in contra^ to the mountain side shows a group of trees with sum* mer foliage, minutely rendered. If as a pidlure, one feels that it is over elaborated and the intere^ rather scattered, as a ^udy, a portrait of the place, it is en? tirely satisfying. One of the large^ and mo^ important pidlures of the Adirondacks is ''In the Still Fore^." It was paint? ed at Keene Valley with the intention of using it as a decoration over the fireplace ofhis home, to be made a part of the wall. But the pidlure developed so well that \Vyant's friends persuaded him not to make it a fixture of the house. This proved advisable for not long afterward he sold his house and moved his sum; mer ^udio to the Catskills. The pidture now hangs in the Worce^er Art Museum. Through the ar; 40 rangement of mass and color the arti^ kas imparted to the subjedl true nobility and grandeur. One does not feel that it represents a particular spot, yet the natural is so combined witk tbe purely abi^radl tbat we get the sense of reality and at the same time the more elusive message of the composer. The painter evinces his consummate knowledge of nature in making its forms follow his own definite conception of composi? tion without creating any inconsi^encies or solecisms. He is not the slave of nature in servilely following her lea:^ significant forms and infinite fadts, but rather her interpreter. If in the individual parts of nature we see beautiful symmetry and balance, as in the flowers, leaves and trees, we seldom find the larger forms combining to create a perfedt harmony in the landscape. Although the general topographical relation gives to a certain country its type and charadler, it is merely a matter of chance whether a tree be placed here, a rock there, or that the sky follows the rhythmic line of the lands scape. \Ve invariably get consi^ent color harmonies when we see objedls under the same lighting; it is rare that we see this harmony in the composition. Work? ing indoors Wyant had a great advantage over the painter working dired:ly from nature. Although the latter may get a more immediate touch which often makes his pidlures more convincing from a purely reah^ic ^andpoint, he is nevertheless apt to be over? influenced by insignificant facts and the random spac? ing and composition of nature. The painter works 41 ing indoors Kas more control over h.is arrangement. V/yant represented not alone tke image of a particu? lar place, but ratlier that inner vision wkicK is formed by con^ant intercourse and communion with nature, by observation, and careful ^udy. Fully conversant with form and color, be was enabled to make bis pics tur es botb consi^ent and convincing . In consequence bis subjedts bave a universal appeal, for tbey ^and as eternal types of typical scenes. Tbey are not merely illustrations or representations of a place but tbe im? aginative and creative work of a poet wbo tells in con? cise and fitting pbrases of tbe beauty oftbe woods. An intere^ing comparative ^udy iUu^rating tbe care witb wbicb tbe maimer worked and bis sensi* tiveness to adjustment is seen in tbe two subjedls ''Autumn in tbe Woods" and ""Adirondack Woods." Tbe fir^ is tbe completed pidlure, tbe second is a ren? dering of tbe form in a warm transparent monotone, mo^ probably Parted diredtly from nature and left unfinisbed. In tbe pidlure, altbougb tbe subjedl is pradticaUy identical, tbere bave been minor cbanges in tbe composition wbicb bave added mucb to its dig? nity and subtle balance. Differences tbat appear sHgbt at tbe fir^ glance, but impart to it a spiritual signifi? cance incalculable in definite terms. It is ju^ tbat subtle difference wbicb we remark in individuals wbere tbe outward signs are similar but one bas more inner poise tban tbe otber. It is in tbis way tbat tbe ab^radt elements in pidlure making are so significant, for tbrougb delicate balance and barmony tbey teacb 42 PASSING CLOUDS COLLECTION OF MR. EMERSON MC MILLIN Canvas. 40 inches high, 50 inches wide. Signed at the lower left, A. H. Wyant tkat order and relation wkicK is so essential in life. In this way art assumes a higher purpose and plays a more important part than is generally assigned to Ker . Another large and important picture of this period is ''In the Adirondacks," formerly in the Evans Coh lection. It combines as do the other pictures the beau* ties of the forest with the ordered conception of the artist. Looking through the woods from the shadow, we follow the winding stream to the sunhght beyond. A stately beech tree rises from the foreground, be^ hind which we get the dark note of the firs, and on the other side the slender balancing lines of the grace? ful birch. The distant clouds hint at passing shadows. For those who see in a picture something more than a duplication of facts, and in nature something more than its immediate impression on the eye, this pidiure is a veritable symphony of the woods. Wyant used nature. He took from her only what he needed. His study was not only objective. He was constantly searching for rhythm, balance and harmony. While walking with a friend in the coun* try the silence was broken when Wy ant said : *■ ' How do you like that line of distant mountain?" ''"Just what do you mean, Mr. Wyant?" ''\Vell," said he, ''don't you think it would be finer if the Hne came down just a little lower where it meets the nearer plane?" He was thinking in terms of abstract harmo* ny, and when he was out of doors he was always thinking. One day when he was leaning against a fence an artist friend going out to work said: "Ah, 43 good morning, Mr. Wyant, not working today!" -Yes," responded Wyant, '■'rm working." As a tree draughtsman, V/yant's work must he ranked with tke greatest of kis predecessors. In ''Modern Painters," Ruskin declares tkat no painter ever drew a tree accurately before Turner ; and pro* ceeds to show tke inaccuracies in tke tree construes tion of Claude and Poussin. Ruskin was speaking as a naturalist and thinking of tke early work of Turner . Had ke brougkt tke same careful scrutiny to Turner's later work ke must kave seen tkat ke followed to a great extent tke southern tradition of Claude, and tkat accuracy of representation was not kis ckief aim. We may excuse or explain tke tree construction of Claude wken we tkink of its kigker function in kis pictorial conception. Claude painted trees not as a naturalist but as an artist. His tree forms served kis decorative purposes and formed stately settings for kis scenes of grandeur and romance. But tkere is notking intimate in kis tree drawing and we accept it as a part of kis conventional sckeme. \Ve must go to tke Nortk to find tke trees of nature. In Ruisdael, Hobbema and tke otker Dutckmen we see tke tree tkat kas stood tke strain and stress of time. Its roots are deeply imbedded in tke eartk. It lives and grows. Tkis firmness and solidity of construction, tkis intis mate study and knowledge of form wkick gives to trees type and ckaracter, was interpreted at a later time by Tkeodore Rousseau, probably tke greatest tree draughtsman in tke kistory of landscape art. • 44 Wyant followed the Nortkern tradition. In his early work the trees are accurate in drawing and elaborate in detail, though they are painted without expression and without feeling. It was only in his later work when he underwood the trees more thor* oughly that he drew them with freedom and express sion. Then we see the value of accent and emphasis and that selediion which comes in knowing what to leave out. In this he was guided hy the Barhizon paint* er s who taught him the importance of mass and values . A great admirer of these painters, and in particular Rousseau and Corot, V/yant never became merely a follower or imitator. This is particularly shown in his tree drawing. Rousseau had preferred the heavy trees, the giants of the fore^, the great oaks of Fontaine ebleau with their limbs low to the ground and gnarled and heavy trunks. Wyant preferred the graceful trees, tall and slender, seeking their way to the light. He found his models in the Adirondacks and the Cats= kills where the woodman had chopped down the great pines and left the birch, the beech and the smaller trees . Like the slender figure ofthe painter, deUcate but firm, they grow heavenward. Great draughtsmanship is not alone the ability to follow a given Kne or form. It does not depend merely on clarity of vision and accuracy in execution. It is more than representation. It is expression. This is acquired through the personal intere^ in the subjedl, the knowledge which follows from observation and ^udy, and that intimacy which is the result of both. 45 Thus it combines tKe objedlive and subjedlive faculs ties. Always a indent of nature, Wyant Kad a pro* found knowledge of form. It was tkis knowledge, tKe result of Kis love of nature, tKat brougkt to kis drawing tkat freedom and sugge^ion combined witk sureness and soKdity tkat gives kis work Kfe and vitals ity. In kis early work ke kad ^udied form for itself. Eack part was rendered accurately and completely. Later it is not tke isolated form, but form related to tke general pidtorial conception tkat assumes signifi? cance. In consequence, values are of tke utmo^ im? portance. Tke ^udy of values, tkeir proper relation from a reaK^ic ^andpoint, tkeir significance in pic= torial composition in producing tke proper ""ensems ble," are given more and more consideration. Draws ing, modekng and color become one. Tkus in kis ""Passing Clouds" tke forms of tke landscape are sub* ordinated to tke dominant pidlorial motive wkick is centered in tke dark, wind-blown trees again^ tke ligkt, swaying forms of flying clouds. Tke tkeme be? comes, as it were, tke symbol of c kange. Tke draws ing kas more relation to tke significance of tke wkole tkan tke mere record of a part; tke values serve not only to illumine tke fadts but to enlarge upon tke illus sive idea of ligkt and aerial expanse. Tke maker's problem in ckiaroscuro is essentially tke same as Rem? brandt's, insomuck as it is tke gradual gradation of ligkt coming out of darkness tkat intere^s botk paint? ers. Tke pidlorial intere^ is attained tkrougk ckange 46 A SUNLIT VALE COLLECTION OF MR. H. H. BENEDICT Canvas. 26 inches high, 40 inches wide. Signed at the lower left, A. H. Wyant and sequence of values. TKere is no surface tkat is flat. All of tke values lead to tke point of focal cons centrationm the centre of tke dark tree. Here tke eye finds re^. In consequence, altkougk tke motive is expressive of ckange and adtion, we kave a perfecft ad? jusltment and balance wkick creates repose in ckange. Tkis greater insi^ence on values wkick made tke mass more important tkan tke part, tke sense of solidity and weigkt more important tkan tke superficial surface, resulted in tke more sugge^ive treatment of form. Furtkermore tke eye being attracted at tke point of focal concentration, tke fartker tke objedls are re? moved from tkis centre, tke more indi^indl tkey be* come. Tke impression gained is not one of absolute form, and Wy ant was more and more governed by im? pressions. Tkis refradlion and softening of tke edges creates an illusion of atmospkeric ""envelope" wkere all tkings are seen batked in air and ligkt. A friend of Wyant's, in skowing kim a pkotograpk of trees in wkick tke outline was somewkat blurred, remarked: ''Tke pkotograpker apologized for tke pkotograpk by saying tkat tke wind ruffled tke leaves of tke trees and spoiled tke result." To wkick Wyant replied ''You teU your friend wken ke takes anotker pkotograpk to kave tke wind blow just a Httle bit more. " Closely associated witk tke representation of tke effedt of ligkt tkrougk value relation and refradlion, is tke added consideration of pigment quaHty. In cons tra;^ to tke early metkod wkere tke paint was applied very tkinly W^y ant discovered tkat wken tke pigment 47 is used more freely it produces a greater sense of sol* idity, also tKatit tends to sugge^ tKe form ratKer tkan define it, that tke raised surfaces or texture of tke pig? ment refled: ligkt and create empkasis, and tkat tkrougk tke proper manipulation of tke paint it not only sug* ge^s tke surface quality of tke okjedls represented, kut produces a pigment film wkick is a deligkt in itself. Tkis we can only kint at ky tke name quaUty . He also found tkat wken tke form is tkus sugge^ed it kas greater volume and carrying power, and so tke effedt of kis later pidtures at tke di^ance from wkick tkey are to ke seen is very carefully and nicely considered. In tke ki^ory of painting, Remkrandt was perkaps tke first to use texture for itself. Painters before kim kad come to appreciate tke keigktened effedt caused by adding more pigment to tke kigk ligkts and keeping tke skadowstkin, but tkat' 'loading" ofpaint to produce texture, Hgkt and quaUty, was not practiced kefore kis time. It is only witk tke advent of tke moderns tkat we find it employed to any considerable extent. It plays a part in tke more diredl metkod of painting adopted by Con^able ; Turner found it of suck service tkat ke often applied paint witk kis palette knife, as likewise Courbet in kis later landscapes ; wkile Dupre and Monticelli made it a part of tkeir formula. Since tke coming of tke impressioni^s tke indiscriminate and unintelligent use of paint is an accepted convene tion. Wyant used kis pigment intelHgently and witk tke utmo^ consideration of its relation to tke desired effedt. Texture was particularly employed to sugge^ 48 the infinite forms of the foreground and to give to it the proper accent to make it come forward, as on the high hghts of heavy cloud forms to give proper lumis nosity and sub^ance as contra^ed to their smoother and more etherial background. His knowledge of facts and form never allowed this usage to degenerate into an unexpressive and insignificant mannerism. The brush had always the guiding intelligence behind it, the vision of the effect to be produced. Technique is satisfying when we feel that the hand is ever ready to obey the artistic impulse or intention and is the means of clearly expressing the thought. We have become accu^omed in our own day to think of it as an end in itself, and in consequence have seen much brilliant brushwork. This indicates a lack of thought and purpose. It is as if one were using fine words and phrases to hide one's intelledlual deficiency. The more the work of art depends for its intere^ on the execution, precisely does it become limited in significance and more personal in the sense of some? thing peculiar to the arti^. This peculiarity often masquerades under the name of force, virility and originality. It is concerned chiefly with large brushes and much paint. The technique of the great maimers of the past does not display or parade itself, but is un- der full control of the painter, who is able to conceal it, while giving expression to his message; in the same sense that an adlor, ma^er of his art, so conceals it, that we think only of the charadler he impersonates. V/yant was happily free from affedlation. His 49 teclimquegrewgradually andnaturally, asKis tKougKt developed, and ke was always capable of expressing Kis thought. There is no evidence of superficial dex? terity in his painting, no endeavor at brilliancy of technique or cleverness of handHng. He does not try to impress one with his knowledge or skill. Yet his brush is always adlive, aUve and expressive. Als though working in a low key with neutraHzed colors, he never produced a muddy or unanimated surface. His brush worked rapidly from palette to canvas, ah ways refreshing itself. He used small brushes. Being intere^ed in the diffused and vibrant effedls of light he seldom created a flat surface. He is essentially a painter of easel pidlures, pictures to be seen within the normal di^ance of a room. Before the days ofin. tense competition for wall space in exhibitions , he was never tempted to paint a ^artling pidture to attradt the eye across a great gallery. There is nothing about his work savouring in any way of the sensational and in this it was a natural part of himself. His pictures are intimate. They do not cry for one's attention, but having gained it they hold it. Wyant used a very simple palette. Mo^ of his schemes were produced with comparatively few cols ors. Black and white, permanent blue, yellow ochre, burnt sienna, raw sienna and light red were in con? ^ant use. Occasionally we see touches of emeraude or of cadmium to intensify a green. In regard to blues he remarked: ''Give me permanent blue and I will make you any blue you want.'' One is inclined to 50 tkink of a colori^ as using a very extensive palette, and creating kisKarmonies witK powerful and intense colors. TKis might possibly apply to the greater of colori^s, of whom tkere are few. V/ken we mention Titian, Rubens, Turner, or Delacroix and Monticelli, we hesitate for others. There have been few who could run the gamut of the palette without producing incongruous and unrelated colors. Beauty of color does not depend on intensity but on harmony. As cons traced to the figure painter who employs at pleasure different colors in his costumes, background and ac? cessories, the landscape painter is confined to the mod* erated and less defined colors of nature. The Dutch? men being intere:^ed particularly in form, worked almoi^t in monotone; Con^able preferring cloudy days saw nature in sombre garb; while Corot intere^ed in design and values worked with a very re^ridled pal? ette. Yet all, if not briUiant colori^s, were extremely sensitive to color. It is in this sense that \Vy ant may be considered a di^inguished colori^. If in his early work his color is rather unintere^ing and conven? tional, as he developed, his choice and arrangement of colors became more personal and pronounced. At no time, however, did he indulge in ^rong contra^s or play with color for its charm alone, V/ith Inness, for in:^ance, color was a medium with which to express passion and emotion. His effedls change from the ^orm drama to the vigor and briUiancy of sunset; the powerful contra^s of autumn or the deUcate ambient atmosphere of spring. No landscape painter ever pidtured a greater range of subjedt or expressed more various moods. But V/yant preferred tke more sub* dued efFedts of nature. His inter e:^ was in the subtle relations of ligbt and dark. Mo^ of his pidlures rep* resent effedls in grays. He was particularly sensitive to neutral colors precisely because he was intere^ed in problems of light as seen in value relations. His colors were as the bark of the trees, the gray of the moss, of the rocks, of mountain breams, colors of the things he loved so well. He hardly ever attempted sunhght. To introduce sunlight was but to change the colors so surpassingly beautiful. Color was too decidedly emotional for his weak nerves, too blatant, too evident, too ^rong. His mood was refledlive, c|uiet, serene, pensive. This intere^ in chiaroscuro, this expression in light and shadow, became the doms inant theme of the painter. It was his limitation and his ^rength. His ^rength because he worked with* in a given limitation. In his later work ^Vyant is a great tonali^. I speak of tone as that harmonious effedt or ''ensemble" pro* duced when various colors unite and form a dominant color chord. I use the musical phraseology for it is anal* agous to the combination of notes which when sounds ed in unison create an harmonious tone. To produce this effect he not only brought to his aid the use of jux? taposed or ''broken" color, texture, and pigment quals ity, but he added what is technically known as the "scumble" and the "glaze." The glaze is the means of applying color with a vehicle, generally linseed oil, and 5^ thinning it to suck an extent that it becomes transpar* ent. The scumble is a semi?transparent glaze. It is apparent that in this manner of painting, colors can be produced which can be made in no other way. Thus a transparent blue glazed over a yellow which has been allowed to dry, produces a green quite differs ent from that which is obtained by simply intermix* ing the two colors. We get a more luminous and a richer color. This method was employed by the old makers, and accounts for much that is beautiful in their coloring. V/ith the advent of impressionism the painter f^und that contra^ing colors placed side by side produced from a di^ance the effect of colors in? termixed, but with an added vibration. Yet before them arti;^s had made richness, brilliancy, and vibra* tion a part of their result by allowing the under color to be seen through and modify the surface color. Moreover the under color always being lighter, added to the luminosity of the effect. This method is parties ularly happy in colors of the lower and middle scale, for it is in this range of the palette that the colors are mo^ potent and powerful. As applied to landscape painting, where the colors are less pronounced and where one tone tends to dominate the scheme, a glaze of uniform color was often placed over the entire cans vas. Inness who was always experimenting with color, and who used it for its emotional charm, rather than its purely reaU^ic significance, produced mo^ of his fine^ color harmonies through indirect painting eind the use of transparent color. And in this respect 53 V/yant was influenced by Inness. Never striving for powerful and dramatic effects, or for tke pure beauty of color in itself, as did Inness, it Kowever brought to bis pictures a greater deptb and warmtb, and an added beauty. The result we see in many beautiful pictures, wbicb make Wy ant's works wben bung witb tbe greater works of tbe pa^, seem to be in kindred com? pany . Mo^ of tbem are of very mode:^ dimensions, but we see in tbem tbe expression of repose and re? finement, tbat subtle essence of tbe soul wbicb does not depend on time and place and is not governed by dimension. Of tbe larger canvases, one in wbicb tbe painter seems to bave reacbed tbe complete fulfils ment of bis purpose is tbe ''"Early Morning" now in tbe collection of Mr. Emerson MacMillan. It is one of tbe great landscapes of tbe nineteenth century, worthy to rank with the be^ work of the Barbizon makers, tbe tradition of which it so nobly and rightly continues. The thought, the sentiment, the feeUng of the arti^ has been expressed in a most deHcate but compelling manner. The eternal brooding and mys? tery of nature, silence, peace and serenity, speak in illusive but significant language. There is no indica? tion of tbe presence or man, yet the tree stands as a solemn, brooding soul, looking out upon time and eternity. It is not merely tbe ocular vision which the painter has portrayed, it is not alone the beauty of na? ture with which he has been inspired, it is that inner communion and reflection of man, the pensive dream? cr, who searches the soul for the inner meaning, and 54 LANDSCAPE COLLECTION OF MR. ARTHUR J. SECOR Canvas. 26 inches high, 40 inches wide. Signed at the lower right, A. H. Wyant DRIVING MIST Canvas. 26 inches high, 40 inches wide. Signed at the lower right, A. H. Wyant IllB talks in Kis own language witk tKe maker of all tkings. A mere sentiment ? Yes, if you please ? But that sen? timent of reverence, respect and worship witk wKicK all great art is imbued. In tliis picture we see the best elements of Wyant's early work combined and blended with Kis mature thought and feeling. The construction shows the re* suit of that intimate knowledge of nature gained only by constant study, yet kept subservient to the aomis nant pictorial motive. It combines naturalistic form and color with that decorative and more abstract ars rangement which concerns itself with order, balance and the proper relative attention given to each ele? ment of the subject. In Japanese art one of the cars dinal rules is formulated in the curious phrase Heav? en, earth and man. ' ■ This, when explained, means that the picture should have a dominant theme or at* traction, a supplementary adjunct or echo ofthe main theme, and a punctuation in the accessories, adding a human touch. In short everything apart from the main motive should be related and subordinated to it. This we find very beautifully and sensitively accom? plished in this picture. The eye is compelled to feel the stately beauty ofthe tree, the friendly association of other trees, and the awakening day, with the great breathing space of open country beyond. The mod? eling of the tree is marvelous, made apparent not only by correct drawing but by so arranging the Ughting that one feels in this limited flat surface, its height, its continuation upwards, its roundness and its firm and 55 solid kold upon tke eartk. It is an individual tree, a portrait, and yet it stands as a type. It kas taken many years to grow, kut kas won its way to ligkt and kfe and proudly kut silently maintains itself. It is not alone tke naturalist or tke painter tkat speaks. Tkey are united in tke poet. It is tkis feekng wkick makes landscape kuman, and gives an added ckarm to its naturali^ic and decs orative elements. We find it in mo^ of tke later pidlures of Wyant. \Vkat keautiful sugge^ion and poetic inspiration tkere is in tke pidlure '""A GUmpse of tke Sea", one of tke smaller examples in tke Met^ ropoktan Museum. Here we see muck tkougkt witk* m kttle space. Tke color of tke landscape is rick, warm and sukdued. It skows an inroad from tke sea, on eitker side of wkick are dark, pidluresque trees leading tke eye to tke keautiful sky keyond. Wyant often remarked tkat tke key to a landscape was in tke sky. If one could paint a sky ke could paint a landscape. Tkisisintere^ing tonote, not only kecause it indicates tke essential relation of land and sky, kut kecause it skows kow muck tke painter was inter* ei^ed in sky forms and tkeir my^erious sugge^ion. In fact, we migkt say tkat in mo^ of V/yant's finest pictures it is tke sky tkat is of dominant interest, tkat indicates tke spiritual state of tke painter; and tkat tke landscape serves as a keautiful foil or frame to kring out its suktle and illusive gradations. It also gives to kis pictures a great sense of expanse and vastness. Tkougk most of tke landscapes are small in size tkey 5fe are invariably full of feeling and big in effect. This sense of distance and expanse, of tke gran, deur of nature, is perhaps, more forcibly expressed in the art of landscape painting than in any other me* dium of expression. It gives to landscape a decided? ly religious significance. Apart from the idea that nature is associated with the Creator of all things, and is imbued with vital and living impulse, we feel in her presence a certain sense of reverence, awe and mystery. \Ve are impressed by the growth of things, the change of seasons, the wind, the clouds, the com? ing of night, but above all, those vistas over vast stretches of country that give a glimpse of the he- yond. It seems as new life for the soul, a larger room in which it may expand. Shut up in a walled city, man craves the expanse of nature. ' '^Vithout a vision the people perish. ' ' And to man the neavens and a glimpse of rolling country seems like a vision, a sym? bol, teaching him to go on into the world unexplored. In '■'A Sunlit Vale" which we illustrate, from the collection of Mr. H. H. Benedict, this feeHng for space and atmosphere, for the grandeur of nature, is very wonderfully expressed. We look from the shadow of a dark, sloping mountain=side to the sunHt valley and distant mountain range beyond. Over all is the spirit of change, of fast fleeting sunlight and shadow. The sky is remarkably fine in its rendering of atmos? pheric perspective and change of aerial planes. It does not seem to stop at the frame, but we feel its great expanse soaring heavenward to the zenith and around. 57 In tKe collection of Ex?Senator William A. Clark, Wyant's picture, ''Morning at Neversink" Kangs over an example by Rousseau. It sKows a resemble ance and a difference. Tke Rousseau is nearer Ruis? dael. TKe forms of tke landscape are absolute. Noth? ing is undecided or suggested. TKe objects become less important as tbey recede, following tke natural law of perspective, giving tke illusion of distance, tkrougk proportion; but tke problem of Kgkt, atmos? pkere and aerial perspective is not fully considered. Tkis is one of tke essential differences between Wyant and Rousseau. \Vyant added to tke structure al representation of nature, ligkt and atmospkeric envelopment. It was tkis striving for Kgkt and exs panse tkat took Wyant away from absolute form and brougkt to kis work greater suggestion and free? dom of kandling. W^yant in tkis respect is an impor? tant knk between tke earlier sckool and tke later impressionists. Altkougk ke never worked in tke vibrant sunligkt colors of tke moderns, kis problem was nevertkeless largely concerned witk Kgkt, and kis dekcate and sensitive brusk was decidedly adapted to tkis elusive study. He was too faitkful a draugkts^ man to neglect tke relative size of objects as tkey recede, but kis effect of perspective is given more tkrougk relative values tkan absolute proportions. Tkis is clearly indicated in tke picture under consid? eration. Tke delicate gradations of ligkt as tkey grad? ually diminisk into tke skadow create a most alluring and mysterious ckarm, and give one tke languid sense 58 of a lowery day. Tke figure seems unnecessary. The spectator is the natural figure of tke landscape, as he stands upon the summit and looks into the distance, fascinated by its charm. This romantic interest in the sky, and the subtle charm of distance, induced V/yant, in most of his pictures, to place the horizon line below the centre of the canvas , Although in looking towards the distance we appreciate the flatness of the land, the expanse of sky and the trees rising high in the composition at once give a sense of height and dignity to his conception. This is clearly illustrated in the ''Landscape" from the collection of Mr. Arthur J. Secor. The composis tion is extremely simple but impressive. The division of the canvas, the space relation of Ught and dark, through its perfect harmony and balance, gives one a mysterious sense of the absolute. It has a static balance without rigidity. This is due to the subtle sense of rhythm and action that plays about the upright div* ision. The proportion of the canvas being approxi? mately two by three, the horizontal division is placed appreciably below the centre. This is intercepted at right angles by a tall, graceful tree. Its exact position in the foreground and as it breaks the horizon, is so nicely and absolutely calculated, that it could not be changed in the slightest degree without injuring the subtle balance of the whole. It produces a sense of equilibrium and finality. This upright division is echoed by the trees to the right, and the smaller ones in the distance to the left. The action is introduced by 59 the foreground rocks giving a direction to tKe right, witk a parallel repetition suggested by tke water to tKe left. Tke ligKt breaking tbrougb tbe trees relieves tbeir rigidity and in keeping tbe eye from going out of tbe canvas directs it toward tbe centre of tbe picture. Tbis is again repeated to tbe left, tbe eye being drawn to tbe small trees breaking tbe borizon and tben taken towards tbe centre by tbe cloud forms above. Tbe centre of balance falls precisely in tbe middle of tbe picture. In tbe mountains sudden cbanges of weatber are frequent and tbe sky is ever clouded and changing. Tbis gives a wonderful opportunity to study cloud? forms and to follow tbeir rbytbmic action. It was an absorbing study and tbe painter would watcb for bours together their ever varying shapes and colors. Wyant very happily differentiated tbe ethereal ex? panse from tbe solid land. His skies are not limited by the size of the canvas or tbe brush stroke. He was a great master of aerial perspective and deUgbted in the receding cloud stratas. Thus he would bring out three or four different planes, ending almost always with a touch of neutral blue, indicating tbe constant realm beyond. Sky painting depends greatly on tbe proper arrangement of the clouds. It is a most impor? tant element in composition. The most carefully ren? dered forms can appear entirely out of place if not properly related. It is a part of tbe genius of Wyant that the sky always belongs to tbe landscape. It not only indicates through its form and color the season, 60 THE END OF SUMMER COLLECTION OF MR. E. P. EARLE Canvas. 28 inches high, 35 inches wide. Signed at the lower right, A. H. Wyant the kind and time of day, but tlirough its arrangement and movement responds to the leading lines of tke landscape and brings out the painter's more subtle in* tentions. The clouds, too, cast their shadows over the lands scape, and this gives an additional opportunity to in? troduce the gradations and contrasts of light and dark, of which the artist was so fond. The simplest scenes are made significant though chiarascuro. This is amply illustrated in many ofW yant's canvases. In the '""End of Summer," owned by Mr. E. P. Earle, for instance, we look from the clearing to the edge of a wood on the left. Over the first plane is a note of flat meadow, and the distant wooded country. A SUDS ject which without the wonderful sky and the cloud shadows would be pleasing enough in its proper space relations, but commonplace. Wyant has made of it a poem of the great outsofdoors. We feel the shadow so ftly caressing the land, moving onward, and the light following closely, never to be eluded. The eye is concentrated on the upright tree in the centre, ter* mmatmg the woods . It gives that sense of height and nobility, of a soaring upwards, which we find in so many ofhis pictures. This is emphasized by the cloud shadows, which touching the edge of the wood give an effective and striking contract to the light cloud; forms beyond. The little bush to the right repeats the intention and makes a static note where the eye finds rest. The right angle formed by the trees against the first plane, at once gives a note of solidity through res sistance. TKe korizontal line is broken by the roof of a bouse peeping over tbe bill, wbicb tends to bold tbe attention toward tbe center, and also by tbe dark note of tbe busbes wbicb keeps tbe eye from going out of tbe picture. Observe too tbe cloud sbadow in tbe rigbt foreground; bow it leads one into tbe picture to tbe ligbt, is given direction as it moves on towards tbe bouse, and tben turned again to tbe center by tbe note of a ligbt rock. Tbe dark cloud over tbe upper corner, again directs tbe attention towards tbe point of focal concentration. But all of tbis is done so grace* fully and naturally tbat it makes one wander over tbe landscape and follow tbe play of ligbt and sbad? ow, tbrougbly unconscious of tbe painter's subtle direcftion. V/yant's pictures are re^ful; tbe space relation of Hgbt and dark is balanced; tbe rbytbmic movement plays about a fixed center. He was not so successful in rendering tbe more dramatic effedls of nature, and in avoiding tbem be sbowed an under landing of bis limitations. For a time Wyant occupied a ^udio ad? joining tbat of Inness. But altbougb always a great admirer of Inness's work, be found bis influence and powerful personality taking bim away from bis own more gentle and lyric muse. He cbanged bis ^udio. Altbougb \Vyant's cbaradli^ic mood is pensive and quiet, yet occasionally, being moved by a tran* sient and impressive pbase of nature, be would under its immediate influence, reproduce it witb great vir? ility and intensity. Tbis is ^ikingly exempUfied in 62 his picture ''"Driving Mi^s." It is a fleeting effect of wind, and moi^ure laden clouds, flying over a deso* late mountain country, tKe scraggly windblown tree and busKes bending witK the ^orm. It is a notable example ofadlion, and one adlually feels a physical res sponse to the power of the wind, as it is indicated by the compelling movement of the clouds and the re? peated line in the landscape. V/e mu^ note also that rare record of '■'"Moonlight" in the Hearn collection, painted from an impression at Arkville while driving in company with several arti^s. Wyant was in ex? cellent humor at the time, and laughed with childish glee to the singing of a popular topical song. It was a cool fall evening. The smoke from a passing train hung in the moi^ure laden air, and gave to the color that wonderful effect which he has so faithfully trans scribed. If to these pictures he brought a felicitous form and a facile touch, there are others that show too appar? ently the druggie in their making, where the thought has been too vague, or has not found a fitting pictorial expression . But that very struggle, which marks these pictures with deep Hnes of indecision and trouble, shows the painter who is not merely content to repeat past performances, but is ever seeking a fuller and more complete expression. 63 PART FIVE THE Studies and sketckes of Wyant altKougK so muck a part of tKe pictures, and so necessary to tKeir complete realization, must be considered some? wKat separately. TKeyare tKe notes and facts wkich Ke collected for Kis information, yet many are beauti? ful and perfect in themselves. We speak of tkem as studies and sketches, because we wish to differentiate between two different kinds of records. TKe studies were made for the facts; tbe sketckes for tke effect; tke one constant, tke otker fleeting. Tke painters of tke present time are apt to make only tke latter. In consequence we see in tkeir finisked results a unity of effect as regards kgkting and color, but often tke lack of tkat knowledge of construction, wkick results from tke former. Tke painters of today seek color. \Vyant was more interested in form. Since tke ad^ vent of tke impressionists we prefer tke illusive and ckangeable colors of sunUgkt and tkeir various rela- tions and effects, one upon tke otker ; but W^yant pre? ferred tke skad ow and tke softer ligkt, precisely be? cause it brougkt out form and local color. His studies are made witk tkat tender love of nature for itself, witkout wkick suck close and concentrated effort would be impossible. If in kis typical pictures ke is a reakst imbued witk romantic feeling, in kis studies ke is entirely a naturalist. Order and beauty of arrange? ment, tke expression of tke effect of nature upon tke consciousness of man, is entirely absent in kis studies. Here tke artist kas completely forgotten kimself. 64 SUNSET COLLECTION OF MR. W. A. WHITE Canvas. 10 inches high, 14 inches wide. Signed at the lower right, A. H. Wyant AUTUMN IN THE ADIRONDACKS COLLECTION OF MR. BURTON MANSFIELD Canvas. 18 inches high, 24 inches wide. Signed at the lower right, A. H. Wyant Absorbed in nature, be wisbes not to render bis men* tal mood, but to impersonally represent tbe subjedl before bim. He cares not for tbe impression or tbe unity of effect. He is not tbinking of pictorial compo* sition or tbe cbarm of cbiaroscuro. He wisbes to portray as faitbfully as possible tbe beauty of nature's constant and eternal forms. Even tbe cbarm of atmos* pberic perspective and distance, wbicb witb bim was so irresistible, is entirely forgotten. Tbe tricks of picture?making are tbrown overboard. He is one of tbose passionate worsbippers, recurring tbrougb? out tbe ages, wbo see perfection in nature. Tbe rock becomes tbe subjedt of a portrait as careful and exad: as a buman likeness by Holbein. Tbese ^udies are small in size and minute in rendering. Able to tbe last degree in tecbnical efficiency, tbe bandling is never picayune or tigbt. It is easy, graceful and fluent. Not painted for tbe public purse, tbey bave nevers tbeless found destinations among different people by wbom tbey are greatly treasured. Most of us, wbo bave become so accustomed to tbe startling and biz? arre, pass tbem by unnoticed. But for tbe lover of nature tbese Uttle studies will always be a deligbt. In tbe sketcbes ^iVyant is concerned witb tbe im? pression. If in tbe studies we observe tbe constant trutbs of nature, bere we bave but tbe suggestion of a fleeting effect. It is difficult to find tbe same painter in botb. Tbe ^udies are careful, conscious, precise and metbodical; tbe sketcbes are flowing, spontaneous, instinctive and free. Tbe brusbwork and metbod are adapted to tKe different requirements. Effects change rapidly. Direct painting is necessitated. To tkose who find the studies pkotograpKic and over^elabor? ated the sketches are a revelation. To Wyant, hows ever, tkis freedom and rapidity of execution was not a part of a prescribed formula, but tke outcome of necessity. Tke tecknique is virile and significant; tke bruskwork kas not become a mannerism; bekind tke kaste is knowledge. Tkis fluency and vigor, is kow? ever, not alone tke result of quick and keen observa? tion, but is largely due to understanding and appreci* ation gatkered from careful, constant and painstaking study. We would prefer tke sketckes today because tkey fit into our accepted convention. Witk Wyant botk tke sketckes and tke studies find fulfilment in tke pictures, tke pictures being tke combination of tke study and impression of nature plus tke subjedlive or contemplative spirit of tke artist. Tkose wko find it difficult to reconcile suck different results, must see tkeir answer in tke finisked work. In tkis respect \Vyant may very properly be kkened to Constable. In kis work also we observe a marked differentiation between tke studies and sketckes, tke former being elaborate and precise, tke latter, tke painter's skort? kand notes, bold and decisive. Constable particularly remarked tkat tkey were not designed for pubkc view. Tkis metkod of rapidly recording impressions W^yant later brougkt to kis studio work. It was most effective in small canvasses tkat could be completed 66 at one painting. He kad not tke physical strength to carry out this more vigorous and impromptu pros gramme in his larger pictures. PART SIX E mu;^ not too readily conclude that because the world goes around, and in the measure of days, creates what we choose to call time, that as a result, we have somewhat miraculously, what is proudly termed progress. Art, which has to do with the realm of spirit, does not necessarily follow this mo^ convenient and consoling conclusion. Today the world changes rapidly. We can watch the various tendencies and their effect upon art, and note the results from year to year. The Barhizon movement, and its influence in America, is already seen in perspective, and we can judge somewhat of its relative position in the history of art. Chiaroscuro is common to all the painters of this school. It follows that tradition which began with the more flexible medium of oil paint and its conse* quent realistic tendencies. It reached its culmination in Rembrandt, when it became a principle element in style. It is reanimated in Delacroix and Monticelli; united with Claude in Corot; made a dramatic ele* ment in Millet; and gives to the pictures of Wyant a romantic and lyric charm. He is on the same scaffold but he builds anew. In France the Barbizon painters found few sue? cessors. The impressionists and ultra reaHsts were 67 at once upon the artistic horizon. Light and color were the absorbing problems. Truth and Art were synonymous terms. While the world was thus becoming more mate5 rialistic and art more realistic, in America our paint? ers carried on the older tradition. Inness, Wyant and Martin are its living monuments. Sensitive souls, to whom the word became revealed, it was, however, only in the latter part of their life, that it found com? plete expression. Inness was more emotional than \Vyant. His ex? pression responds to the various phases of nature in calm and in storm, in sunKght and in shadow. He had a strong sense of the dramatic, which in seeking expression in visual form, led to much experimenting. Each picture became a new problem. In consequence his work is more uneven than Wy ant's. Homer Martin was more of a dreamer. Not comparable to Inness or Wyant as a painter, he nevertheless ex? presses something of the poetry of the earth that is imperishable. In Wyant however we find that rare combination, the ability to portray the substance and the soul, the material and the spiritual. A constant and conscientious worker, a keen and sensitive obser? ver he added to painting his own discoveries in truth, his own interpretation of nature. W^e do not look to him for powerful and dramatic representation. We do not look for new arrangements of design or color. He had not the austere solidity of his prototype Rousseau, but he breathed into his forms a more sub? 68 tie, serene and illusive spirit, wKicK we can best hint at by tbe word charm. Associated witk tbe general movement of tbe men of 1830, be must take his place among them as one of tbe great landscape painters of tbe nineteenth century. Though not original in tbe sense of an innovator, Wyant was nevertheless very personeil and individual. His art was not found in formulas, and school precepts; not created to satis? fy a popular fad or fancy, but created out of sheer ne? cessity for creation. This is tbe divine spark of genius. 69 THREE HUNDRED COPIES OF THIS BOOK ON DUTCH HAND^MADE PAPER PRIVATELY PRINTED BY FREDERIC FAIRCHILD SHERMAN ■ 1