Page:Architectural Record 1920-08 Vol 48 Iss 2.djvu/91



The American Legion From an_ Ad- is to erect in San Fran- dress by Willis cisco a monumental group

Polk Before the of buildings in memory of

California the men and women—sol- School of Fine diers, sailors and civilians Arts. —who died that democ-

racy might live. This

monument in commemoration of the vic-

tory of democracy will be a nurturing place for all the highest ideals of a free people. It will be a home of the fine arts—paint- ing, poetry, sculpture, music and archi- tecture.

The faculty and students of the California School of Fine Arts, in this memorial, will be generously provided with facilities of study. Will they be worthy of it? This year your student body was awarded six out of ten of all the honors available to art students throughout the country. Next year you should aim to get seven out of ten, for California is a source of inspira- tion to art.

In the War Memorial the Art Associa- tion will have its galleries, supplementing the ateliers of the California School of Fine Arts. Students from all the world will, in time, seek this center for instruc- tion—that is, if nature, temperament and determination are no less strong with us than were these characteristics with the Egyptians, Greeks, Italians and _ other predecessors of present-day ideals of civilization, order and art.

So far as the students here tonight, and the faculty, too, for that matter, are con- cerned, it must be remembered that suc- cess in any vocation means patient, unend-

ing plodding. There is no short cut. Im- pressionist, cubist, fads are entertaining, but usually are uninstructive and detri-

artistic study the

healthy must

mental to The student

development. methods of

ay

ty (ate is

the old masters, not to copy them, but to seek inspiration.

Michelangelo, Rubens, Rembrandt, Ra- phael, Leonardo, Velasquez—all the mas- ters were artisans as well as artists. Their work was complete to the last detail.

Can you match the incomparable finish of the winged Victory of Samothrace or the immortal sculptures of Phidias with the incomplete and unfinished works of Rodin?

There is a fine indi- viduality in the style of

Old Hardware

ain old Colonial hardware i ‘ which adorns the his- a toric homes of Phila- saan delphia and of Annapolis.

They possess a variety of quaint designs and decorative qualities, and the accompanying sketches, made from data collected by the architect, Charles S. Keefe, during little visits to these cities, show some of the many artistic shapes to which minor dec- orative features can be adapted. The old shutter hinge found in Philadelphia is of a naive, almost crude, type. The uneven surfaces and hand-wrought nail heads in- vest it, however, with unusual interest. The same is true of the shutter bolt from the same city, which is particularly note- worthy for its simple mechanism.

The shutters or blind fasteners are, on the other hand, more elaborate in design and craftsmanship. Frequently the lower portion was wrought into a tapered scroll, circular in section, which gives the whole an effect of great delicacy and airiness, also producing a shadow of decorative charm on the wall behind; while the upper part was hammered out in the shape of the bowl of a spoon, the slight concavity of which presents a more interesting sur-

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