. American painters of yesterday and today . ions. No better illustrations of theartists accomplishment in the way of portraitureare likely to be found. That he was content toadhere to established procedure in the posing ofhis sitters is of no particular consequence inasmuchas they are invariably represented in natural anddignified attitudes that never detract from the illu-sion of life. In the Brook Club in New York hangshis portrait group of Ralph Izard and his is an attractive composition and a distinguishedtechnical performance as well as being an interestinginterpretation of ni
. American painters of yesterday and today . ions. No better illustrations of theartists accomplishment in the way of portraitureare likely to be found. That he was content toadhere to established procedure in the posing ofhis sitters is of no particular consequence inasmuchas they are invariably represented in natural anddignified attitudes that never detract from the illu-sion of life. In the Brook Club in New York hangshis portrait group of Ralph Izard and his is an attractive composition and a distinguishedtechnical performance as well as being an interestinginterpretation of nicely differentiated presentmentsof personality. West wisely eschewed in his por-traiture any approach to that approximation of thedramatic in arrangement that is so considerable afactor in his historical and religious canvases, andspecialized altogether upon the portrayal of per-sonality as it is to be observed in the human counte-nance, translated by a momentary glance or a passingexpression into an intelligible definition of character. 66. Benjamin West: Portrait of a GentlemanThe Art Institute, Chicago, III. THE Nl^VV PUBLIC LIBRARY ASTOrt, AND TILUEN FOUNIJATIONS B ^ Such of Wests subject pictures as have recentlybeen added to American collections are naturallythose of modest size, a matter that we need notregret as they are finer examples than many of themore pretentious works. It is hardly necessary tosay that the purity of his color and the excellence ofhis technic are just as apparent in them as in hisportraits. The Envoys Returning from the Prom-ised Land, in the Hackley Art Gallery, illustrates hiscapabilities and his limitations in this field. Theforcibly and finely drawn figure of the warrior withthe drawn sword at the right of the canvas alonemeets the dramatic requirements of the scene. Theothers hardly emerge from the customary obscurityof the commonplace and even so only as the artistsucceeds in investing one or another with somespecial charm of col
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