Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 35, Number 3, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 September 1902 — An Artistic Treat. [ARTICLE]

An Artistic Treat.

The Ladies’ Literary Club held its first meeting of the season of 19(12.3 at the home of its president, Mrs. Alfred Thomson, on Friday Sept. 5. The rooms were made bright and attractive by palms and vines, interspersed with flowers, red and white —the club colors predominating, in the form of roses and dahlias, sweet peas and fragrant lilliea. Mrs Delos Thompson opened the program with Beethoven’s Sonata, rendering the same with exquisite technique and fioe expression, Mrs. Marion A. White editor of the Fine Arts Journal, Chicago, gave a talk on “American Art and Artists at home and abroad,” illustrating the same by some fine three color reproduction of important works of art The speaker was enthusiastically received, her most earnest appeal being made for the promulgation of art local and art national. She urged the ladies to take an active interest in all pertaining to the artistic; to further the stimulation of art study in the schools; to make themselves familiar with the work of the artists of their own town, county and state; to extend their interest to the works of all the artists of America. “Our artists need an enviroment of sympathy of appreciation in order to develop their best,” said the speaker. They go abroad to find this,” she continued, “consequently some of our richest geniuses are lost and our ’best artists are expatriating themselves.”

Mrs. White touched upon the narrowness and unfairness of the existing art juries, and believed the only hope for the furtherance of American art lay in the awakening of the people to a sense of duty, and educating themselves intelligently in art matters. The audience listened with great attention for almost an hour, to the discourse which was given with a clear enunciation and a pronunciation that was pleasing and effective. Mrs. Delos Thompson then gave a delightful rendition of one of Mendelssohn’s songs without words, in which the artists as in her previous rendition pound all her soul. Mrs. White in opening her lecture, paid a graceful compliment to this clever and brilliant pianist. A most cordial vote of thanks was extended to both the participants in a program, that will long be remembered by the members of the Ladies’ Literary Club and their guests. The President announced that the next meeting would be postponed on account of the Methodist conference, which is to be held here next week, and that the meeting of Sept. 19 would be in the nature of a double program