THE SUNDAY OREGOXTAX. PORTTiAXP. DECEMBER " 20, 1914.
WORLD'S GREATEST ARTISTS PAINT
FOR SAN FRANCISCO EXPOSITION
Eemarkable Canvases Decorate Exterior Walls of Courts and Palaces Allegorical" Pictures, 10 to 100 Feet,
Made by Best Modern Masters, win Praise From Critics as Worthy of Places in Museums.
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AT least two Innovations and a
superlative characterize the 80
great outdoor mural paintings,
by the world's most noted artists, most
of which now are In place on the walls
f the courts and palaces ot the Panama-Pacific
International Exposition at
Ean Francisco.
As for the innovations, this is the
first time in the history of world ex
positions that such paintings have been
ehown on the exterior walls because
it is the first time an exposition has
leen held in a land with a May Day
climate all the year 'round. Also it
is the first time that such paintings,
Instead of being executed directly
upon the plaster of the walls, to be
destroyed with the ephemeral struc
tures, have been done on canvas, to
be preserved to posterity.
That such magnificent ' allegorical
pictures ranging in length from .10 to
100 feet are well worth preserving in
TWO OF MANY SPLENDID EXHIBIT BUILDINGS OF PANAMA-PACIFIC EXPOSITION NOW COMPLETED
the art museums of the country, is
evidenced, though faintly, by the min
iature photographic representations
recently made. And it is here that the
use of the superlative becomes insis
tent; for art critics agree that never
before has any exposition shown such
superb specimens of the handiwork of
so many masters of their craft as are
On, view back of the colonnades and
beneath the lofty arches of the many
festival courts - of this : most . superb
of world's expositions. -
Particularly is this true of the work
of Frank Brangwyn characterized by
Jules Guerin, chief of -the exposition's
color department as the greatest liv
ing colorist and of such masters as
Edward Simmons, Robert Reid, F. de
Leftwich Dodge and Frank Vincent du
Mond, while the symbolical paintings
already in place, by Chile Hassam,
Charles' Holloway and Milton H. Ban
croft, constantly call forth expressions
of admiration and appreciation from
the myriads of .visitors, nearly 300,000
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of whom already throng the exposi
tion grounds each month.
In all there are 30 of these great
canvases now completed all of the
artists with the exception of Brangwyn
having come to San Francisco to get
the inspiration of the California sky
and sunshine in putting the finishing
touches on their paintings and these
now tre all In place upon the weath
ered" Roman Travertine walls of the
great palaces and. courts.
Brangwyn, who finished his can
vases in London in 'November, has
four large murals to his- credit in the
Louis Mullgardt Court of Abundance.
These, which comprise ' some of the
most powerful work of Great Britain's
greatest master of color, are symbolical
respectively of Earth, Fire, Air and
Water.
In the beautiful rotunda of the great
fireproof Palace of Fine Arts a build
ing one-fifth of a mile in length and
containing 100 different galleries
there are shown' eight mural canvases
by the celebrated Robert Reid. of. New
York, each 22 by 29 feet These include
the Four Golds of California golden
popples, golden wheat, golden oranges
and the metal of the Argonauts, be
sides four paintings symbolical of the
birth and influence of all the arts.
These canvases, done in rich, warm
tones, are lighted from below -by a
brilliant flood of golden light the
sunshine of California and reach up
into the intense blue of the skies of
the golden land.
Under the triumphal arches of the
Rising and Setting Sun, 240 feet in
height, are four of the most notable of
the mural masterpieces; two by Frank
Vincent Du Mond and two by Edward
Simmons; the former symbolizing the
march of the pioneers from the bleak
New England coast to California, an'd
these of Simmons (-on the Oriental side
of the universe), typifying the, influ
ence and westward trend of , War, Com
merce, Conquest. Imagination and Re
ligion, from Atlantic, ,;.gypt, Greece,
Rome and all Europe the Pacific
lands. His second painl.ng is devoted
to depicting the dreams which led the
adventurers westward; Hope and Illu
sory Hope, scattering bubbles, lead the
procession of beautiful women. They
are followed by Adventure, the Arts.
Imagination. Truth, Religion, the Fam
ily and Wealth. The technique here
shown is unique and full of charm.
The Du Mond paintings, like those of
Simmons, are 12x46 feet in dimensions.
Most of the figures shown are actual
portraits of noted Westerners Bret
Harte,- Keith, the artist. Judge Field,
Captain Anza, the -great Spanish ex
plorer, and others.
W. de Leftwlch Dodge is represented
by two enormous and brilliant can
vasses, each 16x96 feet to be used to
decorate the passageway in the 435
foot Tower of Jewels. The first of
these is the Atlantic and Pacific and
the Purchase. The second, the Gateway
of All Nations and Labor Crowned
symbolical of the mighty Influence of
tne great Isthmian canal and executed
in a. masterly style in keeping with-the
eunject.
Milton M. Bancroft has 10 canvasses
14X18 and SxlO feet in dimensions in th
Court of Four Sessions. These are sym
bolical of the seasons and of earth's
products. Charles Holloway and Childa
naesam each is represented by a large
lunette. 11x22 feet, over the two por
tals of the Court of Palms. The Pur
suit of Pleasure and Fruits and Flow
ers.
In perfect harmony with tha rich vi
soft Oriental tints and pastel tones to
which every palace, garden and court
of the vast exposition conforms, these
great mural paintings the first of their
type ever seen at an exposition give
the one final touch which spells per
fection to the alluring ensemble of the
r air Jity py tne Golden Gate.
Panama Fair to Bask in Arti
ficial Moonlight.
Exposition to We Illuminated at
IV 1Kb t by 00 SearcbllKbta and
Pcreena and Barn .Will Produce
Colors and Shades.
JO FEATURE of the pre-exposition
I period is more interesting than the
constant rehearsals conducted by dif-
rerent departments of the Panama-Pa
cific International Exposition at San
Francinco. the chiefs o which are de
termir to eliminate ail "peradven
ture" m the exposition vocabulary.
The night sky is often barred with
searchlights. Recently the auditorium
was enveloped suddenly in silver moon
light out of season.
The part searchlights, some 900 of
wnicn are to -be used, will- play in
Illumination of the exposition is nninun
A battery of 36-inch lights will be
piayea upon, IiKe cathedral chimes,
from a. replica of Moro Castle built on
the outer arm of the yacht harbor. By
the- use of screens the bars of liirht
may be colored. This will be one of
me main sources of night light.
- San Francisco day at the Panama-Pa
cific International Exposition will be
April 17, 1915, nine years after the
great disaster. It is planned to have
the day begin the first minute after
mianignt or April 16, and continue to
midnight of. April 18, which in 1915
falls on a Sunday. Red fire, will 'be
burned on all the mountain peaks
around San Francisco at midnight, in
salute, and -the gun, of the fort will
boom at sunrise. It will be the aim
of every loyal San Franciscan to see
to it that-the attendance is greater
man tne numDer or admissions at the
World's Columbian at Chicago, on Chi
cago day, or on St. Louis day at the
Louisiana Purchase Exposition, when
the attendance was 761,000 and 361,000
respectively. It ought not to be dif
ficult to outnumber these. At the
Phoenix Fete, held at the Panama
Pacific International Exposition grounds
in 1914, in celebration of the eighth
anniversary of the disaster, the turn
stiles registered 18,000 admissions the
mgnt ot the masked ball.
The measurements of the famous
Oregon flagpole are 222 feet, above
ground, and 12 feet in concrete setting
below ground. It was hewn from a
single Columbia fir log, the gift of the
City of Astoria, and was towed down
together with the giant logs for
columns of the pavilion, of which there
Is one for every state of the Union.
The star which tips the flagpole
measures ten feet across, and the flag,
which requires six men to hoist,
measures 34 feet. The flag also was
the gift of Astoria as her. part in Ore
gon's participation- in the Panama-Pacific
International Exposition 'at San
Francisco.
Tree Juice Smothers Fish.
Indianapolis News.
' Natives -of the eastern slopes of the
Andes, in Bolivia, . scatter the juice
of a certain tree on streams to render
the fish insensible, so that they can
be caught in the hands.
CRANES STRAIN TO LIFT GREAT
ART FIGURES TO THEIR PLACES
Sculptures Set in Position at Panama-Pacific Exposition by Giant Hoists and Myriads of Workmen Fair Has
' Own Railway System.
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A HERCULEAN task is being. ac
complished in putting in place
the hundreds of heroic sculp
tures, columns and monuments that
will adorn the grounds and courts of
the Panama-Pacific International Ex
position at San Francisco.
Recent photographs show several of
the most striking sculptures and monu
ments as they were being finished at
San Francisco the other day. Among
the illustrations are examples of . the
four heroic figures signalizing the ele
ments, "earth," "air," "fire" and
"water" for the Court of the Universe.
The Column of Progress, one of the
great works of sculpture of the expo
sition, is a replica of Trajan's column,
erected in Rome in the year 161 A. D.
This column, which was of" the Romanic
Doric order, was 12 feet in diameter
and 147 feet high. A-spiral band 800
feet long and decorated with. 2500 hu
man figures "extended to represent' the
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unwinding of a roll of parchment giv
ing Trajan's victories. .. ..
The shaft is 163 ifeet 3 . inches high
and 15. feet 6 inches in diameter. The
column proper . is ' 120 feet high." A
steel-structure supports the staff work.
A fret design in spiral' effect appears
on the column with a replica of a Ro
man, galley at each . fourth round.
There is a sculpturaL pedestal 14 feet
high at the base, the frieze embodying
in the procession of figures the succes
sive generations of .- human beings
pressing onward in the pursuit -of -the
golden dreams of life. The-frieze was
executed by Isidore Kontf. The frieze
about the top of the column" represents'
'.'The Toilers." " - -
' The group surmounting the column
embodies a notable conception. Three
human- figures, are noted.; a -kneeling
woman and a guarding man ' support
ing the central figure rof the adven
turous Bowman, who -stands poised.
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holding a bow from' which he has
launched the shaft at the target of
Truth. The group and the frieze of
"The Toilers" is the work of Herman
A. MacNeil.
The colossal statuary- figures . de
signed by Robert Aitkin for the Court
of the Universe represents the four
elements, "air," "earth," "fire" and
"water." The male figures typifying
"fire" and "water" are placed to either
side of the north entrance to the sunk
en gardens. The two female figures
representing "air" and "earth" are
placed at the south entrance. These are
horizontal compositions, and being set
close to the ground, no special illumi
nation has been required.
Great interest attaches to the prepa
ration of these huge statues. Small
models of the studies are used and the
enlarged figures are executed in the
numerous workshops on the exposition
grounds. .
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