A REMARKABLE ART 
GIFT TO AMERICA 
— 
Special to The Christian Science Monitor 
from its Western Bureau 
CHICAGO, Ill.—The exhibition of 
ancient Chinese paintings, sculptures 
and jade objects from the collection 
formed by Charles L. Freer of 
Detroit, recently held at the Art In¬ 
stitute of Chicago, was an event of 
much more than ordinary importance 
in the art annals of the western con¬ 
tinent. It was noteworthy not only 
because of the high aesthetic value 
and beauty of -the works shown, but 
also as being the most extensive ex¬ 
hibition ever made of paintings by 
the old Chinese masters. 
Frederick W. Gookin, who is 
an authority on Chinese art and who 
had charge of the arrangement of 
the Freer exhibition, has given the 
following description of the display 
to a representative of The Christian 
Science Monitor, indicating something 
of its great value. 
“The works exhibited are a part of 
Mr. Freer’s great gift to the nation, 
a gift that has not been heralded as 
widely as it should be, though stu¬ 
dents of far eastern art in all quar¬ 
ters of the world know of it and deep¬ 
ly appreciate its significance. In 1904 
Mr, Freer offered his extensive art 
collections to the United States Gov¬ 
ernment, and in May, 1906, after vari¬ 
ous details had been arranged, he 
conveyed them to the Smithsonian In- -\ 
stitution by deed of gift. 
“The collections then comprised 
about 2250 objects. Others have been 
added since, bringing the total number 
to above 6000. They comprise a large 
number of paintings by the most re¬ 
nowned artists of China and Japan; 
figures, statuettes, sculptures, mir- 
rors, boxes, etc., in bronze, stone, 
wood and lacquer; Egyptian glass; 
pottery—an incomparably fine collec¬ 
tion—chiefly from Japan, Korea, 
China, Mesopotamia, Persia, and 
Egypt; and over 1000 paintings by 
seven American artists, more than 
four-fifths of which are by James Mc¬ 
Neill Whistler and include many of 
his most celebrated works. 
“At .first it was Mr. Freer’s plan, 
while retaining custody of the collec¬ 
tions during his lifetime, to bequeath 
a sum to provide a fireproof building 
in which to house them; but as they 
increased in extent and importance, he 
decided to anticipate the time for its 
erection, and in 1915, after having 
| plans made and carefully studied, he 
gave the Smithsonian Institution! 
$1,000,000 with which to build it, on a! 
selected site near the National Mu-' 
seum. 
“The construction of this build¬ 
ing, which has been designed by 
Charles A. Platt, is now well under 
way. It will be an impressive addi¬ 
tion to the public edifices in Wash¬ 
ington. When it is finished and the 
collections are installed in it, realiza¬ 
tion cannot fail to come that Mr. 
Freer hafe given to the people of the 
United States a gallery of works of 
art worthy to take rank with the 
most famous of the European gal¬ 
leries. 
“In selecting a small number of the 
Chinese paintings for exhibition inj 
Chicago, the first object was to make^ 
a thoroughly harmonious showing, 
and that accomplished, to afford as 
wide a survey as possible of the 
works of the most eminent masters. 
Both of these objects were happily 
achieved. The appearance of the three 
galleries in which the pictures were 
displayed was, by reason of their sim¬ 
plicity and the atmosphere of perfect 
repose which they gave to it, in strik¬ 
ing contrast to any exhibition of Avest- 
ern paintings that the writer of this 
article has ever seen. Though differ¬ 
ing widely in subject and treatment, 
all the pictures are based upon a firm 
grasp of the abiding fundamentals of 
composition—the fundamentals that 
underlie western art as well as east¬ 
ern, whether comprehended by our 
artists or not. As a consequence, no¬ 
where on any of the walls was there a 
single disturbing note. The effect upon 
the mind of a sensitive observer was 
that of ineffable peace;'-not, however, 
as a very positive and inspiring sensa¬ 
tion, for, -viewed separately, the pic¬ 
tures made an insistent appeal to the 
aesthetic sense and prqvided pleasur¬ 
able thrills in full measure. 
“It is difficult to convey in words an 
adequate notion of such an exhibition 
or of its educational value. The pic¬ 
tures are all very old; many of them 
are' faded, others are painted in 
Chinese ink on silk that has darkened 
with age; nearly all had to be seen, 
at comparatively short range. Some 
are -long rolls which had to be ex¬ 
hibited in showcases. Visitors accus¬ 
tomed to violent contrasts and -strik¬ 
ing effects were -sometimes disappoint¬ 
ed at first. But when they came back 
a second time they were held in -spite 
of themselves, and when they made 
a third visit they almost certainly suc¬ 
cumbed to the fascination of works 
that, in spite of their unfamiliar sub¬ 
jects and strange conventions, never¬ 
theless have the -compelling power 
that is inherent in all great works of 
art. 
“One of the paintings shown is a 
famous roll formerly in the collection 
of the late Tuan Fang,- Viceroy of 
Chihli. It is attributed to the Fourth 
Century master, Ku K'ai-chih, but Mr. 
Freer thinks it may be a copy of the 
original made by a Sung artist. Any 
attempt to describe it would -be futile, 
since a verbal -description of any pic¬ 
ture can mean little to those who have 
not seen it, and there is not even a 
reproduction of any part of this roll 
printed in the catalogue. 
“Nine other pictures are, however, 
illustrated, by excellent half-tone 
plates that are really helpful. For 
instance the reproduction of ‘The 
Kuan-yin of Sustenance’ by Wu Tao- 
tzu, though very much reduced and of 
course conveying no idea of the beauty 
of the coloring, shows something of 
! the noble style of the painting and of 
the dignity and serenity of the com¬ 
position. Similarly one may glean 
j from the reproduction -of the painting 
! of ‘Mountain Scenery’ by Ma Yuan, 
some conception of the charm and 
poetic content of the special form of 
art dominated by the philosophic 
thought of the Chan, or contemplative 
sect of Buddhism, of which this pic¬ 
ture is -a typical specimen. And the 
‘Wind-Blown Grapevine in Moon¬ 
light,’ by Wang Liang-ch'en, offers a 
striking example of rhythmic draw¬ 
ing, every detail of which is finely 
felt and superbly painted. 
“The paintings were admirably sup¬ 
plemented by the jade objects, which 
'are of high antiquity, and by the 
sculptures, which afforded a glimpse 
of the achievements of the Chinese in 
other fields of art in the period of the 
Six Dynasties (A. D. 221-617) and the 
T‘ang dynasty (A. D. 618-906). And 
the display in an adjoining gallery of 
the splendid Kelekian collection of 
ancient Chinese potteries, consisting 
of choice specimens of Han, T‘ang, 
Sung, and Yuan wares, rounded out 
an exhibition of exceptional value and 
interest.” 
