Final Report of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition Commission

by Louisiana Purchase Exposition Commission

The first feeling of a woman who looks back to the history of art during the last ten years is one of pride, for she recognizes that the exhibit made by women in the Fine Art Department of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition is the best, most complete, and important that has ever been made by women at any previous exposition; that it is superior to that made at the Chicago World's Fair in point of quality and character, and by competent judges said to be better than that made in Paris in 1900.

As regards the St. Louis Exposition, that influence is conspicuous which has brought about a development rather than new foundations or new schools. In seeking subjects for the "new thought" the "old masters" have not been lost sight of. "There is nothing new under the sun," and as the musician draws from the old masters his soul-inspiring theme, so the aspiring painter studies the canvases of the past ages for his correct guidance. And to the dispassionate observer these things prove much with regard to the actual work being done by women artists, and the new influences, if such they be, that have made themselves felt during the last decade. Should we regard a work of art as an independent entity, the result of what is called "a separate creative act" on the part of the artist, with no relation to its environment, we must perforce conclude prenatal conditions in the painter which we are loath to admit. Hence we have no reason to be ashamed of the old masters. Critics there are who know how to judge of a picture, and critics who constitutionally can not draw from a canvas a simple salient good feature; they have not the knowledge of the difference between bad and beautiful design and color, or the meaning of harmony.

If we may apply to art what Goethe said of poetry we find that among its votaries there are two kinds of self-half-informed people, "dilettanti," he calls them, "he who neglects the indispensable mechanical part, and he thinks he has done enough if he shows spirituality and feeling, and he who seeks to arrive at poetry merely by mechanism in which he can acquire an artisan's readiness, and is without soul and matter."

This exposition has no doubt been the means of discouraging a number of men and women from continuing in a profession for which they are not qualified by the possession of any rare gift. It is to be hoped, however, that the work accepted and shown at the St. Louis Exposition will prove that a class of women artists has been produced in the decade just past who have at least learned the grammar of their chosen art work—the value of simple lines and pure tones.

The work of the women was placed side by side with that of the men artists and where the pictures would show to the best advantage and harmonize with the surrounding ones.

In examining for awards the merit of the work was discussed and considered regardless of the name the canvas bore; but that this was the better plan for exhibiting women's work leaves room for doubt, because as a whole women's work could not be viewed, thereby leaving the exhibition incomprehensive to the average visitor who could not grasp the importance of woman's contribution to the world of art by the scattered pictures as arranged in the various galleries of the Art Building. I do not hesitate to say that women in general by their representation at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition derived little or no benefit by having their work placed side by side with that of men, chiefly because it was reduced to insignificance by the small proportion of works exhibited. Secondly, the visiting public was not attracted by the fact that women had a picture here and there hanging on some one of the walls in the Palace of Art.

Had their work been collected in one gallery the display would have been more comprehensive and better appreciated. But, nevertheless, this exposition has emphasized the fact that woman fills an important place in the field of art. She wields her brush deftly, conscientiously, and her canvases fit well side by side with those of her brother artists.

Women at the exposition excelled most in figure paintings in oils, and in this line of work have made greater progress since the Chicago Exposition than in any other branch of the fine arts. The execution is bold, free, and shows a greater familiarity with the subject portrayed, though they have reached a very high standard in watercolor landscapes and are notably strong in miniature painting. The innate refinement and delicate sense of detail and color which characterizes women are prominent for the features for the production of the high finish required in a miniature. Mural painting is beginning to attract women, and with their love for beautiful homes they must soon excel in this branch and bring decorative art to a fuller perfection.

One of the crowning glories of this exposition is that it has brought to the few American artists living at home the opportunity to study the salient characteristics of the schools of the various countries exhibiting at the St. Louis Exposition.

Twenty-four countries exhibited in the Fine Arts Department and contributed to Groups IX and X 5,468 pictures from nearly 1,500 professional artists, of which number not more than 300 were women (289) and fully half this number were represented by their work in the United States section. The number of awards bestowed in the United States section was 41 to women exhibitors against 239 to men. The total number given in the foreign sections, collectively, was 17 to women against 398 to men. No work executed prior to the Chicago Exposition was in competition for award.