The Salon d’Independants tends to remain radical notwithstanding it was founded so long ago as 1884 because it has but one article in its creed, “the suppression of juries of admission and permission to artists to exhibit freely their works to the judgment of the public.”
By paying five dollars any artist—real or supposed—is entitled to so much space and can fill that space with such pictures as he pleases, irrespective of their merit.
As a result, each exhibition contains original, revolutionary and radical work mixed with an immense amount of painting and sculpture that is hopelessly bad and some positively objectionable.
The continued vitality of the Independent Salon is due to the fact it has no officials or committees to control its exhibitions and check the appearance of radical work.
VAN GOGH
Café
The three other Salons grow conservative in the natural ageing of their management; they start with all the enthusiasm of youth but as both members and officers get older they tend to monopolize much of the available space for themselves and, naturally, they admit only those newcomers whose work does not detract or distract from their own. That is the history of the Royal Academy in London, of the National Academy in New York, and of every organization the management of which has the right to hang their own and reject the works of others.