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THE MENTOR 1917.01.15, No. 123


[Illustration: (decorative background)]

LEARN ONE THING
EVERY DAY

[Illustration]

JANUARY 15 1917

SERIAL NO. 123

THE
MENTOR

AMERICAN
MINIATURE
PAINTERS

By MRS. ELIZABETH LOUNSBERY
Author

DEPARTMENT OF
FINE ARTS

VOLUME 4
NUMBER 23

FIFTEEN CENTS A COPY




Art and Life

[Illustration: (decorative)]


We are close to realizing the greatest joys to be found in this
workaday world when we accept art as a vital part and not a thing
separate and distinct from our daily lives. Then we come to know the
true values of things--to "find tongues in trees, books in running
brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything."

[Illustration: (decorative)]

"Art, if we so accept it," says William Morris, "will be with us
wherever we go--in the ancient city full of traditions of past time,
in the newly cleared farm in America or the colonies, where no man has
dwelt for traditions to gather round him; in the quiet countryside as
in the busy town--no place shall be without it.

[Illustration: (decorative)]

You will have it with you in your sorrow as in your joy, in your
working hours as in your leisure. It will be no respecter of persons,
but be shared by gentle and simple, learned and unlearned, and be as
a language that all can understand. It will not hinder any work that
is necessary to the life of man at the best, but it will destroy all
degrading toil, all enervating luxury, all foppish frivolity.

[Illustration: (decorative)]

It will be the deadly foe of ignorance, dishonesty, and tyranny, and
will foster good-will, fair dealing, and confidence between man and
man. It will teach you to respect the highest intellect with a manly
reverence, but not to despise any man who does not pretend to be what
he is not."




[Illustration: JOHN LAWRENCE.

BY JOHN TRUMBULL.

Actual size 3-3/4 inches high.

IN THE POSSESSION OF

THE NEW YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY]




_AMERICAN MINIATURE PAINTERS_

_John Trumbull_

ONE


The work of John Trumbull as a historical painter has already been
considered in The Mentor (No. 45), and in that number, too, the main
facts of his life are told. John Trumbull was a patriotic American and
a leader in the artistic and public life of his day, both in England
and in America. His position was much more than that of a painter.
His attitude toward painting was not one of complete and whole souled
devotion. "I am fully sensible," he wrote at one time, "that the
profession of painting as it is generally practised is frivolous,
and unworthy a man who has talents for more serious pursuits. But to
preserve and diffuse the memory of the noblest series of actions which
have ever presented themselves in the history of man is sufficient
warrant for it." We see accordingly that John Trumbull's idea of the
work of a painter was to _write history on canvas with a brush_--and
his pictures bear out his idea.

His life governed and controlled his art. He was born in Lebanon,
Connecticut, in 1756, a son of the Colonial governor of that
State, and from early years he revealed a mental vigor that was
extraordinary. He was an infant prodigy in learning. He entered
Harvard College in the junior year at the age of fifteen, and the time
he spent there was occupied in omniverous reading and study--which
finally came near wrecking his health. When he was a student he
visited the great painter John Singleton Copley, and became impressed
with that great painter's idea of the dignity of an artist's life. He
determined to study art, and he was learning to paint when the War of
the Revolution began. This event determined the character of his art
life. His skill in drawing being noted by General Washington, he was
set to work making plans of the enemy's works. He was then promoted
to a position on the general staff, and, afterward, served as colonel
under Gates. But aggrieved at what he considered a tardy recognition
of himself by Congress, he resigned from the army, went to England and
there, meeting the distinguished artist, Benjamin West, took up under
him the study of painting. When Major André was executed there was a
spirit of retaliation aroused in England, and Trumbull was arrested
and imprisoned as a spy. It was only the intercession of Benjamin West
that saved his life. After seven months' imprisonment he was released,
on condition that he leave the country. He did not leave, however,
but continued his studies with West, and did not return to the United
States until 1789.

And so we see that Trumbull's life was more that of a patriot than a
painter. Art was not the controlling factor with him, but the servant.
He devoted his brush to the commemoration of great historical events,
such as the battles of Bunker Hill and Trenton. And when he painted
portraits he selected the prominent patriotic figures in the public
life of his time--Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and others of like
importance.

It was only natural then that he should turn with an interest little
short of enthusiasm to the portrait of that brave and gallant officer,
Captain Lawrence. The face of Lawrence, as shown in Trumbull's
miniature, is more rotund, more genial--not to say jovial--than we
are led to believe it to be from other portraits. John Trumbull knew
Lawrence, however, and found great satisfaction in this portrait. The
special interest to us that distinguishes the portrait from others of
Lawrence, is that it imparts a sense not so much of the military as
of the personal character of the man. As pictured here, by Trumbull,
he is a very human hero. In studying this portrait, we feel anew the
gripping pathos of Lawrence's tragic end.


PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION ILLUSTRATION
FOR THE MENTOR. VOL. 4, No. 23, SERIAL No. 123 COPYRIGHT, 1917, BY THE
MENTOR ASSOCIATION, INC.




[Illustration: THE HOURS, BY EDWARD G. MALBONE

Actual size: 7 inches high, 6 inches wide.

COPYRIGHT, 1895, BY THE PROVIDENCE ATHENAEUM

IN THE PROVIDENCE ATHENAEUM]




_AMERICAN MINIATURE PAINTERS_

_Edward G. Malbone_

TWO


Edward Greene Malbone was born in Newport, Rhode Island, August 17,
1777, and died in Savannah in 1807. While a boy he frequently visited
the local theater in his native town to watch the process of scene
painting, and, later, tried his hand at this work--attaining what
was considered by the townspeople great success. As a child he was
quiet, reserved and self-absorbed. At sixteen he showed an indication
of great talent in his first portrait miniature. Encouraged in his
efforts by the English Consul at Providence, he devoted himself to the
study of drawing heads and painting miniatures, and, at seventeen,
he became professionally identified with miniature painting in
Providence, and, in 1796, fairly established as a miniature painter in
Boston.

In 1800 he accompanied his friend and fellow artist, Washington
Allston, to Charleston, and the following year the two went together
to Europe. It was during his stay in London that Malbone painted his
most important miniature, "The Hours," now owned by the Providence
Athenæum. This shows, at three-quarter length, the figures of three
beautiful women, who represent, as the Greeks personified them,
Eunomia, Dice (die´-see) and Irene--the Past, the Present and the
Coming Hour. They have a general resemblance and seem as if they might
represent the same individual in different moments of emotion and
development.

On the left is seen Eunomia or the Past, with an expression of
pensive reluctance rather than regret. The central figure is Dice,
or the Present--looking straight out from the picture. Her right arm
is slightly raised toward Eunomia, at the left, while the left hand
reaches half deprecatingly toward the Coming Hour. Irene, or the
Coming Hour, is shown leaning upon the left shoulder of the Present.

This miniature was given to his sister by the painter during
his lifetime, and, later, was purchased from the family by the
subscription of twelve hundred dollars for the Providence Athenæum.

Although urged by Benjamin West to remain in England, where his art
would win him ample appreciation and employment, Malbone preferred
to return to America, and on his arrival traveled for several
years--stopping in the principal cities to paint miniatures. "These,"
to quote Tuckerman, "are among the few pleasant and precious artistic
associations with the past in this country."

Ill health finally took Malbone to Jamaica, but finding that his
illness was incurable he left there, with the intention of returning
to New England, but died in Savannah--in the prime of his life and
success--before he could reach the North. Malbone is now considered
the most important of all miniaturists of his time.


PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION
ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 4, No. 23, SERIAL No. 123
COPYRIGHT, 1917, BY THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION, INC.





[Illustration: THE GOLDEN HOUR.

BY W. J. BAER

Actual size. 4 inches high, 5 inches wide.

COPYRIGHT. 1896, BY W. J. BAER

IN THE POSSESSION OF

MR. ROBERT S. CLARK, NEW YORK CITY]




_AMERICAN MINIATURE PAINTERS_

_William J. Baer_

THREE


Art beckons and the artist follows. Only an artist knows what the lure
of art is. The field of art is full of enticements. Little incidents,
apparently insignificant, have sometimes been sufficient to change an
artist's career and direct him toward his most brilliant achievements.

William J. Baer was thirty years of age before he painted a miniature.
More than that, he had never seen a miniature that interested him, and
he believed that miniature painting had limitations that precluded it
from serious consideration. He was an instructor of drawing at Cooper
Institute, New York City, an illustrator for magazines, and a painter
of portraits, and had no thought of painting miniatures when, in 1892,
he finished a very successful portrait of the late Alfred Corning
Clark of New York. Mr. Clark was so pleased with the painting that he
expressed a desire to have a copy of it in miniature. Mr. Baer did not
believe that a result could be obtained worthy of the effort, so he
refused to try it. Mr. Clark renewed his request, and Mr. Baer again
refused. A short time after, however, having some leisure, his mind
turned back to Mr. Clark's request, and, upon consideration, he was
prompted to make a quiet attempt at miniature painting. He supplied
himself with the necessary materials, and made his first experiment
by copying a head from one of his own pictures, a profile of a young
woman. The result was surprising to him--detail, patience, eyesight
and hand served him well. In another week he had painted the miniature
of Mr. Clark from his original sketch in oil colors. When Mr. Clark
saw it he was delighted and asked for another. And so, out of what was
at first a mere diversion, Mr. Baer developed a perfected art.

With the showing of Mr. Baer's miniatures at the First Portrait Show
in 1894, his success was definitely assured.

In 1896 he painted his first ideal miniature, "The Golden Hour,"
now owned by Mr. Robert S. Clark of New York City. The idea of this
exquisite picture developed from an effort of Mr. Baer's to paint
in profile from memory the head of an auburn-haired girl that he
had seen. A well-known English girl who had posed for Sir Edward
Burne-Jones and Sir Frederick Leighton, happened then to call at his
studio. Several sittings, in which a number of pencil and red chalk
drawings were made, gave him an entirely different idea. The profile
developed into a lovely dream picture, in which woman's crowning
glory, her glowing hair, was poetically idealized. The picture shows
two profiles, like twin sisters--the first with hair of dark copper
tinge, the second at the left with hair of brilliant auburn, melting
into the sunset colors of the sky.

This was the first of a number of ideal works by Mr. Baer, and was
followed at intervals by others of like charm. "Primevera," painted
in 1908, which is Mr. Baer's most important and ambitious endeavor,
represents Flora, the handmaiden of spring, and is a delicate color
poem.

Mr. Baer was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on January 29, 1860. He studied
art in Cincinnati and in Munich. He returned to America in 1885, and
for several years was an instructor in various art institutions.
In 1897 he received the first-class medal for miniature and ideal
subjects in New York, and he was an organizer and a former president
of the American Society of Miniature Painters. Mr. Baer is at present
treasurer of that society and an associate of the National Academy.


PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION
ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR. VOL. 4. No. 23, SERIAL No. 123
COPYRIGHT, 1917, BY THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION, INC.




[Illustration: MRS. BECKINGTON, BY ALICE BECKINGTON

Actual size: 5-1/4 inches high, 4-3/8 inches wide.

IN THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, NEW YORK CITY]




_AMERICAN MINIATURE PAINTERS_

_Alice Beckington_

FOUR


Alice Beckington is one of the leading members of the American Society
of Miniature Painters, and she now holds the office of vice-president.
She was born in St. Charles, Missouri, on July 30, 1868. She was
a pupil at the Art Students' League in New York under Carroll
Beckwith--after that she studied in Paris with Benjamin Constant.
Miss Beckington was a close friend of Miss Thayer's, and the work of
the two shows a sympathetic understanding. Miss Beckington's work is
serious, fine in taste, and dignified in character. She does not play
lightly with her art. Her pictures have a pleasing warmth of color;
that is to say, blacks and browns, golden flesh colorings, and grays
that are never cold. Occasional cool effects are, however, to be
found in her work, for Miss Beckington has a full appreciation of the
value of harmoniously contrasting color. The picture reproduced on
the reverse side of this sheet is taken from an original miniature in
the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It is a portrait of Miss Beckington's
mother, the original ivory plate being slightly smaller than the
reproduction here given.

As may be seen, it is a work of distinction. The character of this
refined woman is portrayed with simple eloquence. The pale blue of
the dress and the delicately toned background set off in a poetic and
sympathetic manner the character of this fine gentlewoman. The picture
is thoroughly representative of Miss Beckington's work, and amply
explains her high standing among our miniature painters. Just as many
persons in social life who are assured in their exclusive positions
dress simply and unaffectedly, so Miss Beckington paints--with
directness and sincerity, without display or striving for effect.

Miss Beckington, referring to her early efforts in miniature painting,
says that it was during the four years when she was working in oils
in Paris that she became interested in miniature painting--and that
in this work she was self-taught. Her first portrait of her mother
was accepted by the Salon in Paris in 1894, and upon her return to
New York she exhibited pictures annually at the National Academy.
She believes that the great principles of art that obtain in oil
painting should apply to miniature work as well; and she paints her
miniatures in the same manner as she would paint in oils--with only
the difference in treatment required by the conditions of a small
sized picture.

PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION
ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 4, No. 23, SERIAL No. 123
COPYRIGHT, 1917, BY THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION, INC.




[Illustration: PERSIS.

BY LAURA COOMBS HILLS

IN THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART NEW YORK CITY

Actual size: 6-3/4 inches high, 5-1/16 inches wide.]




_AMERICAN MINIATURE PAINTERS

Laura Coombs Hills_

FIVE


Laura Coombs Hills is a favorite of lovers of miniature painting. She
has a fine, fresh style of her own. Her spirit is buoyant, natural,
and without affectation. She is a craftsman of extraordinary talent.
No difficulties seem to daunt her. Her coloring is positive, and she
seems undismayed in rendering any tone of dress or background or
face. Her painting of flesh color, particularly, is just and true.
Temperamentally, Miss Hills must be counted as one of the soundest and
truest of miniature painters, by which is meant that she looks at life
with clear seeing eyes, and records what she sees truthfully and with
sympathetic understanding. The accompanying picture, Persis, is a good
example of Miss Hills' work. It shows a child with brownish-red hair,
wearing a dark shade of pink ribbon. Her dress, of the faded pink
variety, wherein the lights approach flesh coloring and the shadows
are silvery, merges into golden tints. The background of sofa and
tapestry offers a variety of greens throughout, with a note of clear
orange in the bit of cushion to the left of the child's right arm.
The floor and the arm of the sofa repeat the color of the hair. A few
patches of blue and blue-green in the tapestry supply a relief for the
colors of the figure and the cushions.

It was somewhat over twenty years ago that Miss Hills began to paint
miniatures. Up to that time she had done some illustrating and
decorative painting, worked on china, and some commercial designing.
She was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts, September 7, 1859, and
was a pupil of Helen M. Knowlton, of the Cowles Art School in Boston,
and also of the Art Students' League in New York. She was in England
on a visit when a girl friend of hers remarked on her work, and asked
her why she did not turn her brush to miniature painting. Miss Hills
was at first reluctant to attempt a new line of art. But after some
consideration she got several pieces of ivory, persuaded some young
girls to sit for her, and in a short time turned out seven miniatures.
She was surprised to find how easy the work appeared to be. She had
understood that miniature painting was difficult and required a
special talent. She was not wrong about that, but until she undertook
the work she was not aware that this special talent was hers. She was
delighted. Her outlook was clear and full of promise. She had a work
of beauty to do and she knew that she could do it well.

People interest Miss Hills, and the picturing of people, especially
young people, is a delight to her. The people she paints are very
real, and they are distinct and individual. She has painted over
200 miniatures, and they are something more than portraits. They
have a pictorial quality that gives them a very special charm and
distinction. It has been observed that if the subjects that she
has pictured in her miniatures had been rendered in oils on large
canvases, "they would be found decorative and impressive." Miss Hills
was a member of the Society of American Artists in 1897, and was made
an associate of the National Academy in 1906. She is a member of the
Boston Water Color Club, Copley Society, New York Woman's Art Club,
and the American Society of Miniature Painters. She has exhibited in
several of the world expositions, and has received a number of medals
for merit.


PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION ILLUSTRATION
FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 4, No. 23. SERIAL No. 123 COPYRIGHT, 1917, BY THE
MENTOR ASSOCIATION, INC.




[Illustration: PORTRAIT OF A CHILD. BY LUCIA FAIRCHILD FULLER

Actual size: 5 inches high, 3-3/16 inches wide.

IN THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, NEW YORK CITY]




_AMERICAN MINIATURE PAINTERS_

_Lucia Fairchild Fuller_

SIX


The miniature work of Mrs. Fuller, like that of Miss Thayer and Miss
Hills, came close after that of Mr. Baer. These artists were each
independent of the other, and in the history of the modern revival
of miniature painting they stand simply as remarkable coincidences
in taste and inclination. Miss Fuller's miniature work is full of
intimate feeling, reflecting the charm of affectionately considered
detail and giving out an impression that her subjects must have been
near and dear to her. Her work is distinguished for its delicate grace
and simple charm. The picture on the reverse side of this sheet is a
portrait of a child--a very real child. The composition is beautiful
in line as well as in pattern. The human interest predominates,
without sacrifice of fine workmanship. It is not simply a "prettified"
picture, such as we find so often in the shops and soon tire of. It
is a work that attracts the painter, as well as the layman, by its
sympathetic appeal. "Delightful!" we exclaim. A masterpiece of child
life painting is this little girl in her "nightie" holding her doll.
The coloring is tender and fine. The background is a pale blue, under
which the baseboard and floor show a pale golden color, harmonizing
with the child's blond hair. The little print on the wall also makes a
"repeat" of the warm color.

Lucia Fairchild Fuller is the wife of the well known artist, Henry
Brown Fuller. She was born in Boston on December 6, 1872. She was a
pupil of Dennis M. Banker, and studied at the Cowles Art School and at
Mrs. Shaw's in Boston--likewise with Siddons Mowbray, and William M.
Chase in New York. As a member of the Society of American Artists she
became an associate of the National Academy in 1906, and was likewise
one of the founders of the American Society of Miniature Painters,
of which she is now president. Her work has not only won popular
appreciation, but has secured distinguished recognition in the form
of medals awarded at various expositions in Paris and in the United
States.

PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION
ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR. VOL. 4, No. 23, SERIAL No. 123
COPYRIGHT, 1917, BY THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION, INC.




THE MENTOR . DEPARTMENT OF FINE ARTS

JANUARY 15, 1917

AMERICAN MINIATURE PAINTERS

By ELIZABETH LOUNSBERY

_Author and Critic_

[Illustration: Lord and Lady Fairfax

By courtesy of Mrs. Frank Ralston, New York

Attributed to Charles Willson Peale]


_MENTOR GRAVURES_

THE GOLDEN HOUR, _by W. J. Baer_
THE HOURS, _by Edward G. Malbone_
PORTRAIT OF A CHILD, _by Lucia Fairchild Fuller_
MRS. BECKINGTON, _by Alice Beckington_
PERSIS, _by Laura Coombs Hills_
JOHN LAWRENCE, _by John Trumbull_


The revival of miniature painting in America in the last twenty-five
years has awakened interest in its past history. The installation in
the Metropolitan Museum of Art of the comprehensive collection of
miniatures owned by the estate of the late J. Pierpont Morgan has no
doubt done much to increase this, and inspire the purchase and gifts
of examples by American painters, for the Museum collection, that are
now on permanent exhibition there.

Just when the art had its beginning has never been definitely
determined, but its evolution from the portrait painting in
illuminated manuscripts and parchments of the fourteenth, fifteenth
and sixteenth centuries is generally accepted. In these, small
heads and portraits were painted into the text and often in the
first letter of the first word of a paragraph. This was extensively
practiced in Italy, where this work assumed a necessarily religious
character, being executed almost exclusively in the monasteries, for
ecclesiastical use.

Minium, the Latin name for a red mineral coloring matter, was the
pigment used by the early scribes for the initial letters and headings
of these manuscripts. Thus, the term "miniatura" generally came to be
applied to these portraits, which later became known as "miniatures."
Miniature painting on ivory, or paintings "in little," as they have
been called, gradually developed into a "personal" art, because of
their peculiar appeal to the sentiments and affections, and for their
"companionable proportions." They were often framed in black wood,
usually in gold, however, sometimes mounted in jewels or set in a
locket that could be readily worn on a chain or ribbon about the neck,
or kept in intimate touch upon the dressing table or desk. In them the
fashions and vanities of costume and head-dress of all periods have
been recorded in the daintiest and most minute detail.

[Illustration: GENERAL PHILIP SCHUYLER, BY JOHN TRUMBULL

In the possession of the New York Historical Society]

The history of miniature painting, however, is not complex--the
methods and materials being much the same throughout its development
or decline. The art is largely confined to the simple portrayal of
heads, with only occasional contributions of fanciful subjects.
Were it not, therefore, for the changes of fashion, one would have
difficulty in remembering the painters, and an approach to monotony
would result.

[Illustration: MAN'S HEAD, BY JOHN SINGLETON COPLEY

In the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City]

Curiously enough, the first notable miniature painter, Hans Holbein,
has remained the undisputed prince of miniature painters. Indeed,
it may be said that the birth of miniature painting as an enduring
means of expression in art dates from the time of Holbein's arrival
in England, in 1526. Following Holbein, Nicholas Hilliard became
England's most distinguished exponent of the art--then Richard Cosway
and his contemporaries in England, France and Italy. This period, the
eighteenth century, marks the introduction of miniature painting into
America, where it became popular as an expression of art during and
after the Revolution, as large oil portraits had been before.

Charles Willson Peale, the famous painter of George Washington (of
whom Peale is said to have painted fourteen portraits) was the best
known of his era, many of his miniatures being painted while in camp
on the battlefield. His brother James, likewise won a reputation in
miniature painting, his work being notable for its extreme delicacy
and beauty. We are told that starting life as a carpenter, he was able
to make the frames used by both his brother and himself for their
portraits and miniatures.

[Illustration: MARTHA WASHINGTON GREENE, BY EDWARD G. MALBONE

In the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City]

[Illustration: WASHINGTON ALLSTON, BY RICHARD M. STAIGG

In the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City]

[Illustration: MRS. RICHARD C. DERBY, BY EDWARD G. MALBONE

In the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City]

John Singleton Copley was another famous artist of this period. He
was renowned for his large portraits in oil, which were characterized
by a skilful treatment of silks and rich fabrics for both costumes
and elaborate backgrounds, and yet he painted many miniatures. John
Trumbull, known chiefly as a painter of stirring historical subjects
of the Revolutionary era and for his portraits of Washington, also
worked in miniatures, as did John Hesselius, in Annapolis. Gilbert
Stuart, while a prolific painter of portraits, is not said by his
biographers to have painted miniatures, although several have been
attributed to him.

The fact that many miniatures, even by the greater artists, were
not signed or dated, has made it difficult to determine the origin
of some of the most beautiful examples, or to place them definitely
as the work of American painters. Moreover, miniatures brought back
as souvenirs by those who were able to travel abroad in those days
introduced the work of foreign artists, often unsigned, among American
miniatures, thus making identification more difficult.

[Illustration: JULIANA M. McWHORTER, BY BENJAMIN TROTT

In the possession of the New York Historical Society]

Edward G. Malbone, born in Newport, R.I., in 1777, was destined to
become the most important miniature painter of his time in America.
Malbone had the gift of realism; of simple, unaffected grace and a
sureness of rendition that compelled attention. His portraits were
likenesses of intimate and convincing truth. "The Hours," Malbone's
most famous work, a fanciful subject depicting the past, present and
future hour and painted in 1801, after a short period of study in
England, is now the property of the Providence Athenæum. Many of his
portrait miniatures are owned by individuals throughout the South,
where he spent several years, and prematurely died in the height of
his career, at the age of thirty. A group of his portraits is also
included in the Metropolitan Museum collection.

[Illustration: GILBERT STUART, BY SARAH GOODRIDGE

In the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City]

[Illustration: GILBERT STUART, BY ANSON DICKERSON

In the possession of the New York Historical Society]

Charles Fraser, Malbone's contemporary and friend, likewise excelled,
especially in male portraiture. Others of this period and men who
afterwards forsook their art for other interests, but who were
recognized as successful miniature painters, were Robert Fulton
(1765-1815) the inventor of the steamboat, and Alvan Clark, the most
notable of all lens grinders. John Ramage, an Irishman by birth,
became a well known miniature painter in Boston and New York about
this time, and also Richard M. Staigg, who, though born in England,
was prominently identified with American art as one of the original
members of the National Academy of Design and a miniature painter
of distinction, strongly influenced by Malbone. Benjamin Trott
was a contemporary of Malbone's and Fraser's, whose painting was
characterized by strength and delicacy.

Anson Dickinson, John Wesley Jarvis, Joseph Wood, Henry Inman of
Philadelphia, and Charles Cromwell Ingham, may also be mentioned among
the miniature painters of the early nineteenth century, together with
Sarah Goodridge, a protégé of Gilbert Stuart's, and whose work reached
a great degree of excellence about 1840, and later John Henry Brown.

[Illustration: PORTRAIT OF A WOMAN, BY ISAAC A. JOSEPHI

In the possession of the New York Historical Society]

About this time miniature painting began to decline, owing to the
introduction of the daguerreotype and the photograph. Such American
artists as devoted their efforts to miniature painting struggled on
without sufficient recognition until, feeling the need of organization
and the encouragement in this branch of art that an association would
lend, the American Society of Miniature Painters was founded in
1899 by William J. Baer, Alice Beckington, Lucia Fairchild Fuller,
Laura Coombs Hills, John A. McDougall, Virginia Reynolds, Theodora
M. Thayer, and William J. Whittemore. It was the intention of the
Society to hold annual exhibitions, where the work of all American
miniaturists could be passed upon by a competent jury and then be seen
by the public. The first annual exhibition was held in January, 1900,
at the Galleries of Messrs. Knoedler & Co., New York City. Isaac A.
Josephi, prominent as a miniaturist at this time, became its first
president, and is accredited with the conception of the Society.
William J. Baer, sometime president and afterwards treasurer of the
Society, contributed largely through his efforts to make the Society
the factor that it has since become in the art world.

The impetus thus given to miniature painting led, unfortunately, to
the production of cheap substitutes of artistic work in the form
of colored photographs made to simulate miniatures. These tawdry
imitations were sold broadcast to undiscriminating persons, and did
much toward creating the opinion that a miniature could not be a
serious work of art. Some merely regarded miniature painting as a
remarkable feat of technical skill--a "stunt," in which the feature
of interest was the astonishing minuteness of detail that could be
introduced on a very small area. It was to counteract this popular
fallacy and encourage the work of really good artists that the
American Society of Miniature Painters lent its best efforts--with the
coöperation of the Pennsylvania Society of Miniature Painters,--an
offshoot from the older organization.

[Illustration: PRIMAVERA, BY W. J. BAER]

[Illustration: NANETTE SIEBERT, BY W. J. BAER]

These exhibitions revealed a miniature art of a high order of merit.
But even among examples supremely fine in quality there are to be
found many productions that were simply good, honest workmanship,
without inspiration. Painting on ivory is not easy of control, and
it is unresponsive to the intention of the hand. The colors wash
up readily, or at best are apt to be spotty and unmanageable. In
consequence, the painter must resort to stippling (a process of
drawing by means of dots) and repeated light touches to produce the
required flow of form or surface. The results, therefore, except under
the hand of a master, are apt to run to labored effects, due to the
loss of freshness and directness. The expression, "It is art to hide
art," may be taken to mean that an artist's results should appear
comfortable, spontaneous and unrestrained.


_William J. Baer_

In these characteristics there is no more proficient exponent than
William J. Baer, although his earlier efforts in art were devoted to
magazine illustrating, painting in oil and teaching drawing at the
School of Applied Design for Women, Cooper Institute and Chatauqua. It
may be interesting to note here how circumstances often cause the door
of opportunity to open for a man, in fields quite different from those
to which he dedicated himself. For example, S. F. B. Morse (1791-1872)
who was the most able portrait painter in the United States in his
time, found his place in the Hall of Fame as the inventor of the
telegraphic code.

[Illustration: BETTY, BY W. J. BAER

(copyright) Doubleday, Page & Co.]

[Illustration: JEANETTE, BY W. J. BAER]

So Mr. Baer's activities as a portrait painter were turned into
another field of art. Having painted a successful portrait of the
late Alfred Corning Clark, of New York City, in 1892, and afterwards
a replica in a miniature, Mr. Baer began his career as a miniature
painter, showing unrivalled skill and an acknowledged excellence
of conception, character, color and suggestion of detail. In 1896
he painted his first ideal subject,--"The Golden Hour," and in
1908 what he considers his most important and ambitious endeavor,
"Primavera," representing "Flora," the handmaiden of spring, in which
the color scheme is rendered in delicate pinks, blues, greens and
grays. "Aurora," owned by Mr. Henry Walters of Baltimore; "Daphne,"
a charming conception of the nude; "Summer"; "Mildred," a fancy head
representing spring; "Doris," another female nude, and "Young Diana,"
are also among the ideal subjects for which Mr. Baer has become
famous, while the portrait miniatures of many prominent persons can
be numbered as the result of his able brush.

[Illustration: THE GOLDFISH, BY LAURA COOMBS HILLS

Courtesy of Mr. George D. Pratt]


_Laura Coombs Hills_

In freshness and brilliancy of rendition Laura Coombs Hills, of
Boston, is a recognized leader among living miniaturists. Her work
is charmingly natural and unaffected, with vivacity evident in every
essential part of her work. Especially true is this of her miniature
entitled "Persis," in the Metropolitan Museum, a "5 × 6-1/2" oval. In
this a child with brownish red hair, dressed in faded pink, is seated
in relief against the reds and blues of the background. "The Goldfish"
is another beautiful miniature by Miss Hills, in which her treatment
of the bright golden tresses of a girl, her gown and the illusive
tones of the background, denote the artist to be a colorist of the
first rank. "The Bride," a harmony of gray, gold and blue, is also a
notable example of her work that marks her as a craftsman of great
talent.

[Illustration: PARKE GODWIN, BY THEODORA W. THAYER

In Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City]


_Theodora W. Thayer_

Theodora W. Thayer's short career (1868-1905) as a miniature painter
measures well up to that of Malbone's in its quality and good art.
Perhaps Malbone will be more popularly remembered by reason of the
fact that he painted a number of works, whereas the available works
of Miss Thayer are few. The latter artist had the distinction of
being "different" from other miniaturists, although quite without
eccentricity.

In her portrait of Parke Godwin, at the Metropolitan Museum, we
see a person we should like to know. A charming portrait of an old
gentleman, with a mass of white hair that dominates the picture. This
is not only a characteristic example of Miss Thayer's art, but is an
eloquent portrayal of fine manhood. In the profile portrait of Miss
Gray the genius of this artist is again seen, also in her portrait of
Bliss Carman, the poet, in profile.

[Illustration: ELEANOR B., BY WILLIAM J. WHITTEMORE

Exhibited at the Panama-Pacific Exposition]

[Illustration: MISS M., BY WILLIAM J. WHITTEMORE]


_Lucia Fairchild Fuller_

The successes of Lucia Fairchild Fuller, like those of Miss Hills
and Miss Thayer, followed immediately upon Mr. Baer's. Mrs. Fuller's
painting, like Mr. Baer's, is full of tenderness, reflecting
sympathetically and affectionately the details of her subjects.
Feminine grace and the charm of child life are special qualities of
her work. In the Metropolitan Museum may be seen a masterpiece of
child portraiture--a little girl standing in her nightgown, caressing
her doll. In this the color scheme is delicate throughout--in the
tender pearly flesh and the pale blue background. In "Mother and
Child," the portrait of a woman with a classic profile, dressed in red
brocade with ivory white draperies over her shoulders, upholding the
nude figure of a little girl with outstretched arms, is again seen a
perfection of arrangement, line and fine color, and a predominating
human interest that attracts by its sympathy.


_Alice Beckington_

Alice Beckington, like the other miniaturists just referred to, was
one of the original members of the American Society of Miniature
Painters. A close friend of Miss Thayer's in the latter's lifetime,
she profited much by that influence. Her work is distinguished by its
dignity and reserve. Her most successful miniatures tend to warm
schemes of color. In her portrait of her mother ("Portrait of Mrs.
Beckington") in the Metropolitan Museum, the coloring of the dress is
of a faded blue, against a background of a warm, dull coloring--not
gray, not brown, while the reddish color of the chair provides the
only note of difference needed to satisfy the eye. This picture is
essentially characteristic of Miss Beckington's art, representing her
straightforward and sincere simplicity, combined with an appreciation
of subdued color harmonies.

[Illustration: GIRL WITH THE GREEN SHAWL, BY HELEN M. TURNER

In the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City]

[Illustration: BESSIE MOORE, BY VIRGINIA REYNOLDS

In the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City]

[Illustration: ELIZABETH HUMPHREY, BY MARTHA S. BAKER

In the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City]


_William J. Whittemore_

William J. Whittemore is well known as a painter in oils and in water
color--one who essayed miniature painting without ever deserting the
other mediums. His work is marked by a fondness for completeness
of beauty and fineness of finish, whether in oil or miniature.
As a master of form and an excellent painter of likenesses, Mr.
Whittemore has executed a great number of portrait miniatures. His
"Burgomeister," in which an old man wearing a ruff appears against
a somber background, is a fine bit of characterization, strongly
expressed.

[Illustration: ALEXANDER PETRUNKEVITCH

BY MARGARET F. HAWLEY

In the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City]

Among other artists who are now prominently identified with American
miniature painting may be mentioned Elsie Dodge Pattie, whose work
is represented in the larger type of miniature, rendered with much
tenderness and directness, as in the portrait heads of her own
children. Also Margaret F. Hawley, of Boston, a thorough craftsman,
as is evidenced in her fine portrait of Alexander Petrunkevitch.
The work of Heloise G. Redfield, who has had a Paris training, is
characteristic of the method of the French school (a method which has
found little favor with American miniaturists generally) wherein there
is a free wash of color on the surface of the miniature instead of the
granulated appearance of stipple work. The work of Katherine Smith
Myrick is in direct contrast, being entirely of stipple-producing
qualities, while Mabel R. Welch uses free washes, qualified with
delicate and well controlled stipple that never obtrudes in her
finished work. The miniatures of Lucy M. Stanton, a southern painter,
now in New York, are rendered rather in the manner of the late
Theodora W. Thayer, and are strong in characterization. Those of
Margaret Kendall are virile and natural, and her portraits of children
are always charming. Maria Judson Strean's portraits are refined, and
painted, with lightness and freedom. The work of Lydia E. Longacre
is personal and has much charm. Harry L. Johnson, of Philadelphia,
known as a miniaturist but a few years, has painted effectively both
landscapes and figures on a diminutive scale. W. Sherman Potts is a
competent and scholarly craftsman, who has established a summer school
in miniature painting in Connecticut. Emily Drayton Taylor, who has
been president of the Philadelphia Society of Miniature Painters since
its organization, has been a prolific worker in the field.

       *       *       *       *       *

     Entered as second-class matter March 10, 1913, at the
     postoffice at New York, N. Y., under the act of March 3,
     1879. Copyright 1917. by The Mentor Association, Inc.

       *       *       *       *       *

_SUPPLEMENTARY READING_

PORTRAIT MINIATURES _By George C. Williamson_

MINIATURES, ANCIENT AND MODERN _By C. J. H. Davenport_

MINIATURES _By D. Heath_

HISTORY OF PORTRAIT MINIATURES (two vols.) _By George C. Williamson_

HOW TO IDENTIFY PORTRAIT MINIATURES _By George C. Williamson_

CHATS ON OLD MINIATURES _By J. J. Foster_


*** Information concerning the above books may be had on
application to the Editor of The Mentor.




_THE OPEN LETTER_


Miniatures are painted in water color and in oil--more commonly the
former. Some of the early Dutch and German miniatures were painted
in oil, and, as a rule, on copper. The miniatures painted during the
eighteenth century were chiefly in water color, and on ivory. It is
said that ivory came into general use during the reign of William III
(1689-1702). Miniatures before that time were painted on vellum or
cardboard.

[Illustration: MRS. PARSONS

By Richard Cosway, R.A.]

[Illustration: SIR CHARLES OAKELEY

By John Smart]

[Illustration: A YOUNG MAN IN MOURNING

(1616) By Nicholas Hilliard]

[Illustration: COL. HENRY SIDNEY (1665)

By Samuel Cooper]

The development of miniature painting, especially as it is applied to
portraits, is largely English, and our early American miniaturists
drew their art from English painters. We present on this page
reproductions of the work of four of the most famous early English
miniature painters. The first of whom anything definite is known was
Nicholas Hilliard (1547-1619). His work shows a close observation of
the art of Hans Holbein. His little portraits look as if they had been
taken out of illuminated manuscripts. His colors are solid, and gold
is used to heighten the effect. Some of his pictures, moreover, are
accompanied by Latin mottoes. Nicholas Hilliard had a son, Lawrence,
whose work was similar to that of his father, but a little bolder in
treatment and richer in color. Some years later came Samuel Cooper
(1609-1672), reckoned by some the greatest English miniaturist. His
work was broad and dignified, and has been referred to as "_life-size
work in little_." His portraits of the prominent men of the Puritan
period are vigorous, and true to life. The picture of Colonel Sidney,
printed herewith, is interesting as showing the photographic fidelity
of Cooper's work. There were many miniature painters during the
eighteenth century, among whom Richard Cosway (1742-1821) stands
prominent. His works were greatly admired for their smartness and
brilliancy. In miniature form he pictured the pretty girl of the day.
There were many people, however, of that same time that preferred the
work of John Smart (1741-1811), for while he lacked the dashing style
of Cosway, he excelled in refinement, power and delicacy--in "silky
texture and elaborate finish." Smart's work was very popular, for he
pictured fine people in fine style. The little portrait of Sir Charles
Oakeley, printed here, is a typical example of Smart's work.

The Cosway and Smart miniatures on this page are taken from the
collection of Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan; the Hilliard and Cooper
miniatures from the collection of the Duke of Portland.

[Illustration: W. D. Moffat signature]

EDITOR




THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION

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WORCESTER, JOHN K. MUMFORD, W. J. HOLLAND, LORADO TAFT, KENYON COX,
E. H. FORBUSH, H. E. KREHBIEL, SAMUEL ISHAM, BURGES JOHNSON, STEPHEN
BONSAL, JAMES HUNEKER, W. J. HENDERSON, AND OTHERS.


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1.   Beautiful Children in Art
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ROMANTIC IRELAND By Dwight L. Elmendorf
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Transcriber's Notes

Last Page: Changed "Elmdneorf" to "Elmendorf."
  (Orig: CHINA By Dwight L. Elmdneorf)

Page Two: Changed "amployment" to "employment."
  (Orig: ample appreciation and amployment,)