CHAPTER XXVII.

ART MOVEMENTS IN KANSAS CITY.

The varied and far reaching effects of the English Exposition of 1851 would be most difficult to estimate, but one result is easily determined by the sudden illumination experienced in all foreign countries where manufactures are important industries. Almost overnight nations awakened to the fact that art is not a mere fantasy without consequence, a sort of recreation of the bon ton which interests only people of fashion and amateurs who make collections; men began to see in art not the privilege of a class, but something human, universal, practical, concerning the pleasure, well-being and advancement of the whole people. The relation of art to industry was the prime lesson of England's first exposition. It gave vital force to the fact that whenever art is applied to the simplest, commonest product of labor, then will come, order, intelligence, grace and increased value. A knowledge of drawing, perspective, projection color, design, composition, modelling, mechanical drawing and architecture are needed in degree by woodworkers of all kinds, masons, painters, engravers, printers, carriage makers, tinners, molders and workmen in a host of other trades and occupations. To the capitalist, employer and merchant, and to their employees, this knowledge is of the greatest importance if their product is to find ready sale.

Foreign countries immediately took the initiative in attempts to transform workmen into skilled craftsmen whose products could compete with the artistic creations of the French factories. Under government patronage, schools of design, such as the Kensington art school, and technical institutions of all sorts were established abroad. But the United States was in the birth throes of its great inventions, and art was hampered by our frenzied zeal to put the machine in place of the man. It was left for the Centennial of 1876 to rouse the people at large to the lesson which England learned in 1851. No governmental fostering assisted the gropers after artistic culture in this land. The movement was left to private initiative and, as a result, small art schools sprang up all over the country.

Kansas City felt the influence and fortunately learned the lesson on its broad lines, as is clearly shown, not only by the character of its first art association, but by the early introduction of drawing into our public schools. Its cosmopolitan population embraced many who had brought with them from older centers, the traditions of the cultural and practical value of art training, and needed only to be aroused by some definite plan.

About 1885, a group of artists who had rooms in the Deardorf building on the southeast corner of Eleventh and Main streets, at that time the studio

quarters for the city, furnished the impulse which led to the earliest art organization. Mr. Fred Richardson, long connected with the Fine Arts Institute of Chicago, suggested the formation of a sketch club to consist of laymen and artists, meeting from house to house, to talk over art matters in general, and to judge pictures made by the members in illustration of a subject previously given out. The first available roll of membership is for May, 1886, and includes Lawrence S. Brumidi, Lillian Crawford, J. L. Fitzgibbons, Emma Richardson (later Mrs. Cherry of Denver), Luella Sims, Fred Richardson, Miss Nellie McCrary (now Mrs. Henry McCune), artists; Misses. Ada Pratt and Mamie Woods, Messrs. C. E. Hasbrook, J. V. C. Karnes, S. B. Ladd, Morrison Mumford, D. R. Porter, Homer Reed, C. C. Ripley, W. M. Smith, W. H. Winants, M. B. Wright, with their wives and Mr. John Van Brunt and Mr. Tauchen. An exhibition of the work of the artist members was given in the Deardorf building in the spring of 1887, the first of its kind in Kansas City. While it contained no works of great merit, it was largely attended and served to crystallize public interest.

Mr. C. C. Ripley immediately suggested that the time was ripe for a Kansas City school of design, with its necessary accompaniment of an art collection. Men of means and influence were willing to entertain the idea though it seemed almost a dream at that time when the city was in the rough; when the winning of fortunes, not their spending, was engaging the attention and employing the energies of the men who best appreciated the value of artistic culture. But it has been characteristic of Kansas City from the beginning that its men of action have been dreamers of dreams that come true; and in the fall of 1887, after a vigorous canvass by E. H. Allen, C. C. Ripley and Edwin R. Weeks, twelve men had each agreed to pay one hundred dollars for each of the three succeeding years, as a maintenance fund for the school, and a purchasing sum of $2,065.00 had been raised for equipment. The twelve men were Charles L. Dobson, Homer Reed, Charles C. Ripley, Geo. F. Winter, M. B. Wright, Edward H. Allen, William M. Smith, Jefferson Brumback, Charles F. Morse, Edwin R. Weeks, Charles O. Tichenor and W. A. M. Vaughn.

On the 18th day of July, 1887, the Kansas City Art Association and School of Design was incorporated, the articles of association being signed by Jefferson Brumback, Edward H. Allen, Theodore S. Case, Charles L. Dobson, Homer Reed, C. C. Ripley, Wm. M. Smith, Edwin R. Weeks, Wm. H. Winants, T. V. Bryant, Thos. B. Bullene, C. F. Morse and Henry D. Ashley. The articles state that the purpose of the association "is to conduct a school for instruction in drawing, painting, modelling and designing, and the construction and maintenance of buildings suitable for such purposes." The first officers were President, E. H. Allen; Vice president, Mrs. M. B. Wright; Secretary, C. C.

Ripley, and Treasurer, Homer Reed. "A complete set of models and casts consisting of statuary, reliefs, architectural and anatomical fragments and drawing solids," one hundred and sixty-four in all, was purchased from the government agencies of Great Britain, together with one hundred and eightyfive fine autotypes and photographs of noted statuary and paintings. Under the direction of Mr. Ripley, these were installed in five rooms on the fourth floor of the Bayard building, 1214 Main street. They formed an unusual collection for an initiatory effort, and the surprise and satisfaction of the public, when the rooms were thrown open for inspection, constituted an asset which carried the undertaking through many troublous times. People seemed to feel that the Art Association had proved itself and was worthy of support.

The School of Fine Arts and a free night school for instruction in mechanical and architectural drawing, modelling and the elements of design were opened on January 2, 1888. The director of the school was Lawrence S. Brumidi of the National Academy of Rome, and the faculty consisted of Miss Lillian Crawford of the Cincinnati school of design, F. L. Fitzgibbon of the National Academy of New York and Miss M. R. Griffin of Spread's academy of Chicago. Thereafter the directors were successively: Elmer Boyd Smith who had studied in Paris; J. Franklin Steacy who had spent three years in Paris under Gerome and Bougereau, and had been supervisor of the art schools of western Massachusetts; and Alfred Houghton Clark of the Boston school. In the spring of 1892, the school had grown both in attendance and scope to such an extent that a curator was necessary, and Mrs. Helen Parsons was appointed in this capacity. The year closed with one hundred and fourteen pupils in attendance. The academic work in drawing and color had been varied by the costume sketching, composition, pen and ink, wash, still life in oil, pastel and water color, and outdoor sketching from nature. Interest in the classes was so great that a summer session of six weeks was opened.

The list of members of the association now numbered two hundred and forty-four. As a result of a new canvass for a maintenance fund, made by E. H. Allen, C. C. Ripley, E. R. Weeks and Henry Van Brunt, fifty dollars was pledged for each of the next three years by each of the following gentlemen: K. B. Armour, J. V. C. Karnes, W. R. Nelson, E R. Weeks, C. F. Morse, E. H. Allen, C. L. Dobson, C. O. Tichenor, T. B. Bullene, L. R. Moore, L. T. Moore, W. E. Emery, Jefferson Brumback, Thos. H. Swope, August R. Meyer, W. B. Clarke, Witten McDonald, James L. Lombard, George Nettleton, Lindley Coates, Robert Keith, Keith and Perry, W. B. Thayer, B. F. Jones, E. L. Martin, John C. Gage, Nathan Scarritt estate, Edward H. Webster, Tiernan and Havens, and Wm. M. Smith.

In the spring of 1892, G. Van Millett, Wm. Weber and Adolf Döring, all recently returned from their studies in Europe, formed the Western Art League. Their rooms were equipped with some casts and many of the drawings and copies made by the teachers while abroad. In a brief period, this school was absorbed by the Art Association, which moved its equipment to the upper story of 1012-1014 Walnut street. Mr. Alfred Houghton Clark continued as director and Mr. Weber, Mr. Millet, Mrs. Louis Koehler, who now has an international reputation as a worker in the applied arts, and Mrs. Edith Whitehead Sheridan, now carrying on a highly successful business in interior decoration, in Chicago, were added to the faculty. The school was becoming widely known as offering facilities for good preparatory work. Patronage came from every neighboring state, and matters began to assume an air of order and permanence. The association now possessed several good oil paintings, one given by the artist Bierstadt. The Daphne club, composed of young women who, under the guidance of Mrs. Flavel B. Tiffany, had long studied the history of art, gave a good copy of del Sarto's St. John, and the people began to be willing to loan to the school really worthy material. The George C. Bingham collection of pictures was hung in its studio.

From the first, the intention of the school's promoters had been to make it appeal to all classes of people, and the sketch club plan of meeting from house to house for talks on art was followed in a modified form in order to interest a large number of citizens. The exhibitions both of school work and of collections brought from other cities, were well attended. Indeed, in these early years, there were a number of exhibitions far excelling any since given. A very large and excellent collection was shown at the first exposition of the National Exposition Company at Thirteenth street and Kansas avenue. Unfortunately the financial embarrassment of the exposition management caused much delay in returning the pictures, some of them being held here for months. This gave our city so bad a reputation among artists that it was thereafter almost impossible to persuade painters to exhibit here. The growing demand for fire proof exhibition rooms also hindered the securing of pictures to such an extent that the association finally gave up efforts in this direction.

Kansas City had a practical demonstration of the need of a fire proof art building on the night of January 12, 1893, when the entire equipment of the association was destroyed by fire. The year of 1893 was one of financial depression, and many who were willing were not able to contribute toward the replacement of the loss. The treasury was not empty, however, and for two years the school was continued in a limited way in the Baird building at Sixth and Wyandotte, and the Pepper building, on the northwest corner of Ninth and Locust streets, in the hope that, with better times, money might

be forthcoming for the old basis of work. In 1894 the school was abandoned for the time being and the treasurer, J. S. Downing, was instructed by the board of directors to put the money on hand at interest.

Many of those who worked so strenuously in those early years, giving not only money but valuable time in a unique effort to raise the standard of culture, have passed over the border, but the good they accomplished is apparent in many directions. No painters of world wide note received inspiration in the school. Bingham and Barse studied elsewhere before its time. But all trades requiring a knowledge of the graphic arts have able representatives from its lists of pupils, men and women who have distinguished themselves in their particular line of work, and this was distinctly the purpose of its founders. Among the school's Kansas City pupils are the teachers of free-hand drawing in our high schools, Miss Floy Campbell, Miss Alice Murphy and Miss Sarah Heyl; and the director of domestic art in the Manual Training High School, Miss Josephine Casey. In the applied arts, Mrs. Lora Dickenson Jones does designing and book binding, and Mrs. Lura Ward Fuller's ceramic work is beginning to have national notice. Mrs. Eugenia Fish Glaman, the well known painter of Chicago, and Frederic J. Mulhaupt of New York, both studied in the old Kansas City school of design. Many of its pupils have won distinction as illustrators. Among these are T. K. Hanna and Bayard Jones of New York, George Walters of Chicago, Gus O. Shaughnessy and Mrs. Maud McNitt Walker, whose husband, Ryan Walker, formerly a reporter on the Kansas City Times, is also an illustrator. One of the best known scenic painters of the United States, Kelley Hann, was a pupil in 1892.

Mr. E. A. Huppert opened a private school in the Bayard building, 1214 Main street, which was later incorporated and was carried on for several years with Mr. Huppert as director. He resigned this position to become super

visor of art in the public schools.

Mr. William R. Nelson, one of the supporters of the Art Association, early conceived the idea of establishing in the city a collection of reproductions of the old masters, for purposes of study. During an extended trip abroad, he engaged the services of the best copyists, many of them painters of distinction, for the reproduction of the greatest pictures of the old masters of the Italian, Spanish, Dutch and Flemish schools. Even the frames, when original, were reproduced. These paintings, together with an extensive collection of large carbon prints and a number of well selected casts, he presented as a gift to the people of Kansas City in 1896.

Under the direction of C. C. Ripley, as president of the Art association, these works were placed in a gallery on West Ninth street, provided by the association. The collection was opened to the public on February 28, 1897,