Appreciation of Beauty Essential in Art

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Broader every day grows the American’s conception of what art really is and of what it means to the social-economic questions arising daily. Art no longer finds its limits with the canvas of the artist painter, nor even is it confined to the “genuine antique” of a decade ago. Its mystery is a thing of the past. Its quality–beauty–is seen as an impersonal thing and man’s desire for it and his joy in its association are accepted as a natural, logical inheritance, common to all. This view makes the impersonal quality–beauty–a personal thing to every man and a desirable one to all alike. Ultra wealth no longer insures an artistic hoe, nor clothes less hideous than those worn by persons who have no means at all. Intelligence plays an important role in every good selection. Historic periods, expressing ideals and conditions of centuries gone, are to be studied, not copied; to be understood, not blindly accepted. This leads to intelligent personal expression.

Source

New York Tribune (12 October 1913): E20. 

Related archival materials: https://findingaids.archives.newschool.edu/repositories/3/resources/30