ART CRITICS AND CRITICISM IN NINETEENTH CENTURY AMERICA

560 Pages·31.463 MB·English

by  SIMONI, JOHN PETER

COPYRIGHTED
BY
JOHN PETER SIMONI
1958
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ART CRITICS AND CRITICISM
IN NINETEENTH CENTURY AMERICA
DISSERTATION
Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the
Graduate School of The Ohio State
-___________________ University
By
JOHN PT^SIMONI, B.A., A.M.
The Ohio State University
1952
Approved by:
Adviser
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"The Critics"
By Peter Moran^
•*-A reproduction of Peter Moran’s painting, "The C ritics,
printed in Aldine» Vol. VI, January, 1873, p. 19.
921766
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H
\HI
'
III I
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iii
PREFACE
The anticipation of a rich and vital content in the
source material provided the in itia l stimulus in the selec­
tion of the problem, Art C ritics and Criticism in Nineteenth
Century America, for this dissertation. Exploratory study
of the materials indicated the organizational direction of
the research and the requisite emphasis upon a bibliographi­
cal survey of the field. As a result of this need, the
author compiled Writings on Art and Art Criticism in Nine­
teenth Century America, a broadly annotated bibliography
with critical comments and notes. This represents a sig­
nificant part of the total problem and is made available in
the library of the Ohio State University to students in
American art studies through the interest of the School of
Fine and Applied Arts and the Graduate School of the Uni­
versity.
The author is indebted to the following persons and
organizations for their cooperation in the location of
original documents and other materials v ital to this re­
search: Wayne Andrews, Curator of Manuscripts, The New-
York H istorical Society; Clifford K. Shipton, Custodian of
the Harvard University Archives; Mrs. Henry W. Howell, Jr.,
Librarian, Frick Art Reference Library; Marjorie Lyons,
Librarian, Philadelphia Museum of Art; Stephen T. Riley,
Librarian, Massachusetts H istorical Society; Mrs. Betty
Levin, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Robert E. Grayson,
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iv
Director, Editorial Library, New York Herald Tribune;
Emerson Greenaway, Librarian, The Free Library of
Philadelphia; Mrs. Matthew Josephson, The American Academy
of Arts and Letters; Richard G. Hensley, Chief Librarian,
Division of Reference and Research Services, Boston Public
Library; and Rodman Gilder for his personal comments on
Clarence C. Cook and Yifilliam J. Stillman.
For the most meaningful assistance and leadership in
the perception of significant relationships and interpreta­
tions of the historical m aterials, and their organization
into a coherent and unified work, the writer expresses his
sincerest appreciation to Dr. Gibson A. Danes. He is grate­
ful also to Dr. Frank Seiberling, Jr., for his moral and
material support in the successful evolvement of this re­
search, and to Professor Erwin Frey and Dr. James W. Grimes
for their helpful aid as readers of the manuscript. For
both intangible and practical assistance in seeing the dis­
sertation through to its final form the writer is indebted
to his wife, Vera M. Simoni. No words would be adequate to
express his reliance upon her help and advice.
John P. Simoni
The Ohio State University
August, 1952
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
p
i
L _ Page
f; PREFACE...................................................................................................................................I ll
7 LIST OF PLATES................................................................................................... vi
INTRODUCTION................................................; v ii
PART I ART CRITICISM AND CRITICS 1
A. Early Art C riticism ................................................................. 2
B. Art C ritic s .................................................................................... 9
C. Criteria of Art C riticism .......................................... 25
PART II WILLIAM JAMES STILLMAN AND THE CRAYON 57
A— Biographical Sketch............................................................... 60
3. The C rayon...................................................................................... 98
PART III CLARENCE CHATHAM COOK, ART CRITIC 120
A. Biographical Sketch.......................................................... 125
B. Clarence Cook on A rchitecture.....................................165
C. Clarence Cook on Painting and Sculpture . 231
BIBLIOGRAPHY...............................................................................................................349
Notes on Source M a te ria ls ............................................................350
Annotated Bibliography ............................................................. 355
^ AUTOBIOGRAPHY.................................................................................................................549
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LIST OF PLATES
Page
PLATE I "The Critics" ii
PLATE II W. J. Stillman 59
PLATE III W. J. Stillman 67
PLATE IV Clarence C. Cook 122
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vii
INTRODUCTION
The problem of this dissertation, Art C ritics and
Criticism in Nineteenth Centurv America, deals with the
history of art criticism in the United States during the
second half of the nineteenth century. The protagonist
figures, whose writings form the essence of this research,
are Clarence Chatham Cook and William James Stillman.
A review of the related literature in connection with
the problem has disclosed a period of art criticism rela­
tively unexplored in American art studies. Research into a
variety of primary source materials covering this epoch has
indicated clearly that America possesses a rich field of
literary contributions on the work of its architects,
painters, and sculptors. The research has also -unveiled
more than a score of significant and interesting writers on
art.
The lack of criteria in the visual arts made the early
beginnings of art criticism meager and confused, but during
the century art critics rose to achieve professional recog­
nition and to give significance to critical writings on art.
With the exception of a few scholarly essays on the subject
of art, art notices which appeared in periodicals and news­
papers up to about 1850 more generally demonstrated a lack
of aesthetic sensitivity in art. The rise of periodical
literature after 1850 created a growing demand for art
critics, and criticism became a sincere effort in the
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viii
education of the a rtist to its importance and in the eleva­
tion of the taste of the people to an appreciation of the
arts. Although the task proved endless, i'c was conducted
with imagination and creativity by its protagonists.
The period to which a more detailed coverage is given
in this research extends approximately from 1852 to 1900.
It represents the parallel span of activity of William
James Stillman and Clarence Chatham Cook, art critics.
Stillman was a most significant contributor to art lite ra ­
ture and art criticism in the 1850‘s and interm ittently
through the rest of the century, while Cook's productive
and b rillian t career as America's popular writer on art ex­
tended continuously from 1850 through the 1890's.
While it was not the intention to give a complete bio­
graphical account of either W. J. Stillman or Clarence Cook,
it was thought that an outline of the lives of these men
would provide a more comprehensive continuity of their
contribution to art criticism and art literature. Reliable
and organized biographical data on Clarence Cook were not
available through the traditional sources. For the purpose
of this research it was necessary to trace chronologically
Cook's activities as these related principally to his ar­
tistic career, resulting in an amply documented biographi­
cal sketch as an integral part of the problem. The life
of William James Stillman is better documented, due prin­
cipally to his Autobiography of _a Journalist, which he
published the year of his death, and to the writings of
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