14 TREES IN" WINTER 



ing principles as simplicity and unity have become generally ac- 

 cepted, still it can be readily seen that art has its styles as well as 

 dress. Landscape architecture has undergone a development and 

 is subject to changes like other forms of art. 



The landscape is a gallery of art always open. The pictures are 

 many, varied, and ever changing. Trees are the principal figures. 

 They are interesting for their individual beauty and for their ef- 

 fect in harmonious groups. It is for us to find these pictures, to 

 discover what in form or composition or situation makes them 

 interesting. The student of art does the same for the gallery 

 masterpieces and opens his eyes to new worlds of beauty. We also 

 may have our eyes opened, for the landscape is always with us. 



Profitable indeed in this connection will be a study of the land- 

 scape artists. In what way do trees appeal to them ? What part do 

 trees play in their compositions? Is it the individual tree or 

 trees in groups that interest them most? Is it in the foreground, 

 the background or the middle distance that we find them most 

 frequently represented? What species are preferred? Compare 

 Euysdael, Corot, Constable and other landscape artists. Are they 

 alike in their preference? 



Claude Monet has given us a wonderful series of pictures of the 

 Thames Bridge in varying moods. We may find for ourselves as 

 interesting a series of even a single tree (figs. 1 to 11). Along a 

 sloping roadside by a farm house stands a Sugar Maple of some 

 eighty winters. Looked at from east or west the tree is narrow — 

 perhaps from crowding in its youth by neighbors now no longer 

 present. From north or south the crown shows the broad, egg- 

 shaped outline more typical of the species. On the eastern side are 

 several ragged limbs broken some four or five years since by an ice 

 storm that blew in a too heavy load of sleet from the east. On the 

 western side the tree seems perfect. From above on the north its 

 outlines are partially blocked by buildings and obscured by the 

 background of the fields below. From the south it seems to raise 

 its head and shows the limbs clear-cut above the sky line. From a 

 distance it is a conspicuous landmark and always interesting . We 

 can picture the tree from different viewpoints. AYe can see it in 

 different lights and shadows. We can follow the changes in the 

 background of the picture — the bare ground, the snow, the green 

 fields; the mists, the rain, the full sunlight, the long shadows and 



Fig. 1. (Upper right hand figure) the tree viewed from the south. 



Fig. 2. (Middle right hand figure) the tree viewed from the west. 



Fig. 3. (Lower right hand figure) the tree viewed from the east. 



Fig. 4. (Upper left hand figure) the tree from the north. 



Fig. 5. (Middle left hand figure) the tree in an ice storm. 



Fig. 6. (Lower left hand figure) the tree in summer foliage. 



