THE L ANDSCAPE BEAUTIFUL 



with the weather, and let it go at that. If 

 he cannot make the atmosphere for his 

 picture, he must make his picture to fit the 

 atmosphere, which is a more heroic under- 

 taking truly, and one fit to measure genius. 



The careless reader may feel that this 

 is a rather fine-spun theory of the land- 

 scape artist's work, but the critics know 

 it is not. The truly great work has this 

 for its final merit, that it is always true to 

 its atmosphere. And, per contra, some of 

 the mediocre and unsuccessful pieces seem 

 always to have found an atmosphere alien 

 to them and inharmonious with their spirit. 

 This is one great reason why the Italian 

 garden is a failure in England. 



However, the greatness of art is not so 

 much in meeting obstacles as in overcom- 

 ing them. It is some fair credit to the 

 landscape gardener that he has the courage 

 to attack such difficulties as those which 

 confront him. But it is much more to his 

 praise that he surmounts them. This the 

 best landscape gardeners really do. 



Consider the work of Frederick Law 

 Olmsted. Study carefully the grounds of 

 the Columbian Exposition in Chicago, or 

 the Muddy Brook Parkway, Boston, or 



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