HUDSON-FULTON CELEBRATION OF 1909 327 



arouse in the minds of the beholders a more lively understanding of 

 the history and development of our city, and, while delighting the eye, 

 will convey an important lesson in the very best and most effective way 

 — that is, unconsciously. A population like ours is greatly in need of 

 some powerful stimulation of this kind to weld together all its heter- 

 ogeneous elements. But let it not be supposed that this is the only end 

 to be attained; such brilliant spectacles are a good in themselves and 

 none will appreciate this more thoroughly than those whose life is 

 merely a sad and monotonous struggle for their daily bread. On this 

 occasion the poorest and the richest will share equally in the enjoyment 

 of the various splendid and artistic spectacles. 



Of the special exhibitions which have been organized by the Art and 

 Historical Exhibits Committee, the most important is the magnificent 

 collection of masterpieces by Dutch painters which will be seen in the 

 Metropolitan Museum of Art, at Fifth Avenue and Eighty-second 

 Street. Never before have so many splendid examples of Dutch art 

 been gathered together in the United States; indeed, the exhibition as 

 a whole has never been rivaled even in Europe. Here may be seen no 

 less than thirty-five Eembrandts, a larger number than exist in any 

 permanent collection, except that of the Hermitage in St. Petersburg. 

 Then there are nineteen portraits by Franz Hals, who is only inferior 

 to Eembrandt among the Dutch portraitists, and five specimens of the 

 work of Vermeer van Delft, whose pictures are extremely rare, there 

 being only thirty authentic examples extant. Besides the works of 

 these artists there are fine and characteristic pictures by Jacob and 

 Salomon Buysdael, Cuyp, Hobbema, Metsu, Van Ostade and many 

 others who were contemporaries of Henry Hudson. These works come 

 from the finest private collections in the United States and many years 

 will pass before an equally favorable opportunity will be afforded for 

 the study of Dutch pictorial art. 



The special exhibition also embraces a large and valuable collection 

 of furniture, silver, peAvter, porcelain and glass, produced in this 

 country between 1625 and 1815, the year of Fulton's death; and there 

 is also a fine collection of paintings by American artists born before 

 1800, including pictures by Woolaston, Copley, "West, Allston, Peale, 

 Stuart, Trumbull, Fulton, Doughty, etc. 



We have all read of the Indians who were settled on Manhattan 

 Island before the arrival of Henry Hudson, but few realize how many 

 relics of these aborigines have been found here, especially at the upper 

 end of the island. A large and valuable collection of these relics may 

 be seen in the American Museum of Natural History, at Central Park 

 West and Seventy-seventh Street, and a classic monograph, written by 

 Dr. Clark Wissler, can be obtained at the same place, and will enable 

 the visitor to understand the significance of the various relics. The 



