New York at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, St. Louis 1904 / Report of the New York State Commission

by DeLancey M. Ellis

It was impossible, however, for the work to be carried on in an adequate and worthy manner without State co-operation and assistance, and a committee of artists, representing the various Advisory Committees, appeared before the Commission, asked that a committee of artists representing the State of New York be appointed to co-operate with the Advisory Committees in the organization of a creditable art exhibit, and that a suitable sum of money be appropriated from the funds placed at the disposal of the Commission to defray the cost of organizing the exhibit, packing, transporting it to and from St. Louis, and insuring it while in transit; the Exposition authorities having agreed to pay the cost of unpacking in St. Louis, installation, insurance while in the Art Palace, and repacking and forwarding at the close of the Exposition.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE ON ART

After several meetings at the offices of the Commission in New York city and a forceful presentation of the condition of affairs (and the urgent necessity of action by the Commission) by Mr. Watrous, of the Artists' Committee, the Commission formally resolved to appropriate the sum of $10,000 for the purpose indicated, and appointed the following "Executive Committee on Art for the State of New York" to assume general direction of the work within the limits of the appropriation: Herbert Adams (sculptor), Grosvenor Atterbury (architect), J. Carroll Beckwith (painter), Francis C. Jones (painter), Louis Loeb (painter and illustrator), Will H. Low (painter, illustrator and mural painter) and Harry W. Watrous (painter). These men variously represented membership in the National Academy of Design, the Society of American Artists, the National Sculpture Society, the Society of Mural Painters, the American Water Color Society, the Society of Illustrators, the New York Etching Club, the American Fine Art Society, the American Institute of Architects, the New York Architectural League, the Municipal Art Society of New York and the Fine Arts Federation of New York. The Committee formally organized by the election of Harry W. Watrous as Chairman. Charles M. Kurtz, Assistant Chief of the Department of Art of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, was appointed Acting Secretary without salary.

At a general meeting of the members of all the Advisory Committees in New York city, called by Chairman Watrous at the National Academy of Design, for each committee representing a group of the classification a chairman and a secretary was elected and general plans were formulated for the carrying on of the work.

Thereafter, frequent meetings were held by the various committees, at nearly all of which the Chairman of the Executive Committee and the Acting Secretary were present and participated in the work.

CAREFUL SELECTION OF MATERIAL

The Juries of Selection for the different groups of the classification of the Department of Art, constituted from the membership of the Advisory Committees representing various sections of the country, met and acted during the last two weeks of March, 1904, in the city of New York, passing upon upwards of 4,000 works submitted for exhibition. Of this assemblage of works a comparatively small number represented artists of high reputation, and a small proportion was found to be of sufficient merit worthily to represent the artists of the State. The number of exhibits secured thus being very small, and many of the more prominent artists not having submitted works, the different group juries held meetings, prepared lists of representative works calculated to reflect credit upon the State, and specifically invited artists and owners to lend the same for the Exposition. By this means the larger and better portion of the exhibit was secured.

The State of New York, the Louisiana Purchase Exposition and the artists in general in the State of New York are under great obligations to the members of these juries who so freely, unselfishly and devotedly gave their valuable time and effort to the organization of the art exhibit which represented so comprehensively the best achievement of New York artists.

A REPRESENTATIVE EXHIBIT

Almost every New York painter of individuality and ability—in oil, water-color and miniature work—was represented adequately and creditably; the exhibit of sculpture was exceptionally fine; etching and engraving were exemplified by the ablest exponents of these branches of art, wood engraving by types of its highest expression; there was an excellent collection of works from the leading American illustrators, and noteworthy examples of the applied arts—of artistic handicrafts—by New York art workers were well in evidence. In architecture, while the exhibit was creditable, it might have been more comprehensive and representative; and the same might be said of the exhibit of mural painting. The latter, however, as readily may be understood, is extremely difficult of representation at an exposition—most of its examples having been executed in place, and only cartoons or photographs of achieved works usually being available for exhibition.