290 



THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL 



worthy of the name, its influence was 

 felt in even the most commonplace ob- 

 ject. The real masters of form and 

 color drcM^ no snobbish divisional line 

 between the so-called "fine" and "ap- 

 plied" arts. T'he definition of the word 

 "artist" should be: "an individual bv 

 whose mind and hands beauty is im- 

 parted to any object." The method of 

 execiition, the mediums of expression, 

 are of minor importance. If we con- 

 sider a Peruvian poncho, a Sioux war 

 shirt, or a Soudanese burnous as works 

 of art, it is but fair to give to the prod- 

 uct of our costume artists of today 

 (when it merits the distinction) the 

 same consideration. Antiquity, no 

 doubt, has a charm and an interest 

 apart from any other attribute, but it 

 should not be the sole factor that de- 

 termines the merit of artistic expres- 

 sion. 



The costumes shown in this article 

 are the work of five individuals, — Miss 

 Euth Wilmot, instructor of costume de- 

 sign in Teachers College, Columbia 

 University; Miss Mary Walls, of John 

 Wanamaker's; Miss Jesse Franklin 

 Turner, of Bonwit Teller & Co.; Mr. 

 Max Meyer, of A. Beller & Co.; and 

 :\lr. Edward L. Mayer. 



Last fall Miss Wilmot brought a 

 small group of advanced pupils to the 

 American Museum to study certain 

 primitive costumes. As a part of their 

 regular class work they created from 

 these suggestions modern garments. 

 When the garments were ready, ^liss 

 Wilmot asked me to show them for 

 criticism to a professional jury. Miss 

 Turner, Miss Walls, and Mr. Edward 

 L. Maver were good enough to come to 

 the Museum one evening and offer sug- 

 gestions on the work submitted. It is 

 surely a splendid endorsement of Miss 

 Wilmot's effort that Miss Walls and 

 Miss Turner bought from her class vir- 

 tually all the garments shown. It also 

 proves to students of costume design 

 the practical value of museum research. 



Miss Mary Walls, of John Wana- 



maker's, has long been interested in the 

 development of native talent in costum- 

 ing. About six months ago she invited 

 a number of young artists to meet her 

 at luncheon to plan for a practical ex- 

 hibition of their work in her depart- 

 ment. Most of these young people have 

 been constant students of the costumes 

 in the American Museum and have at- 

 tended a number of informal talks 

 there on the subject of the application 

 of primitive designs to modern cos- 

 tumes and fabrics. Some of the cos- 

 tumes that resulted from this interest- 

 ing cooperation are illustrated in this 

 article. 



Miss Jesse Turner, of Bonwit Teller 

 & Co., is a most conscientious and ap- 

 preciative student of the costume col- 

 lections in the Museum. With the 

 assistance of independent artists and 

 her own capable staff, she has created 

 many beautiful modern garments from 

 ideas developed through this study. 

 The type of garment she creates makes 

 it possible for her to follow the docu- 

 ments as closely as her taste and experi- 

 ence suggest. For a number of years 

 Miss Turner has traveled in the Orient, 

 studying primitive costumes in their 

 native environment. Her wide experi- 

 ence in creative research qualifies her 

 to appreciate the artistic and profes- 

 sional value of the Museum collections. 



Mr. Edward L. Mayer and Mr. Max 

 Meyer are wholesale manufacturers of 

 exclusive costumes. Their creations no 

 doubt are worn by many readers of this 

 Joi'RXAL, but have passed unidentified 

 through the hands of some retailer, spe- 

 cialty shop, or dressmaker. Men of 

 their standing in Paris wou.ld have re- 

 ceived public recognition long ago, but 

 unfortunately in America there has 

 survived a faint prejudice in favor of 

 imported goods. Where this prejudice 

 is expressive of superior merit, it is of 

 course quite proper, but the very words 

 "imported" and "domestic" have been 

 distorted from their true meanings and 

 have come to infer excellence and lack 



