KERAMIC STUDIO 
191 
PLACQUE— MRS. L. VANCE-PHILLIPS. 
NEW YORK EXHIBITION 
THE New York Society of Keramic Arts held its ninth an- 
nual exhibition November 22d to 24th, inclusive, at the 
Waldorf Astoria. 
The general verdict was that " the best work was better 
and the poor work was worse." This is judging from the 
very highest standard and not as we looked upon the art ten 
years ago. 
We pronounce the exhibition better than the year pre- 
vious, although several of the exhibits (to put it mildly) were 
disappointing, showing an extreme contrast between the good 
and the bad, but considering that there was no jury and that 
each member exhibited what he or she pleased, it is quite 
surprising that there was not more of the reallv bad, showing 
that the standard is perhaps higher with each exhibitor. 
There was an improvement in the finish of the work and in 
the firing, and many of the exhibitions showed better designs 
than formerly. 
The entire exhibit suffered from the poor lighting of the 
room. A soft, beautiful light, that is very becoming in the 
ball room, is hardly the light that brings out the full beauty 
and the detail of delicate porcelaines. Colors and effects were 
entirely lost. The society appreciates this and hopes in an- 
other year to surmount that difficulty. 
The most active members have studied seriously, and 
their work shows it, yet at the same time they are held back by 
others who still cling to the stupid ideas of " china painting " 
instead of "china decoration." 
However, the policy of the club is to be lenient and to 
lend a helping hand to those who want to join, hoping that 
each member will study and improve, and some day be a credit 
to the club. Whether this is the best policy for the reputa- 
tion of the society remains to be seen. There are many mem- 
bers who cling to high standards, and recommend having a 
jury; 
There were dozens of decorators who came to the city to 
attend the exhibition from Boston, Philadelphia and from the 
smaller towns of New England, and this alone is a pleasant 
feature. 
Mr. Bischoff's work attracted much attention and there 
were various opinions of it ; the light being poor it hardly 
showed to advantage, but he still evinces a vigorous handling 
of color. His nasturtion vase was tremendous in color, which 
was enhanced by a superb glaze, but we did not like the dark 
color on the neck of the vase, which gave it a top heavy ap- 
pearance ; the form may have had something to do with that. 
Mrs. Neal displayed a coffee set in lustre with a Japanese 
treatment of iris, which was very broad and decorative, the 
lustre being dull instead of that glaring effect which some- 
times gives a taudry appearance to porcelain when used over 
large surfaces. Her small lustre jar with the swirls of beauti- 
ful colors running around it gave the impression that it was a 
choice bit of Favrile glass, and it was the choice piece in her 
collection. 
Many of the members exhibited lustre decorations which 
were original and clever, showing the greatest possibilities in 
these effects. 
Miss Cora Wright had a vase in a delightful oriental red, 
with dragons in gold and silver, which was good and very 
decorative. 
Miss Genevieve Leonard exhibited a grey vase with a 
single white morning glory, which simple treatment was artis- 
tic and showed her understanding of the solid grey back- 
ground, and the greys of the white flowers. 
We welcomed Mrs. MacLeans new treatment of a "grape 
tankard." Although a trifle overdone she used grapes in a 
decorative way, very small bunches in panels, with ruby and 
gold scrolls. The grapes were nicely painted and the whole 
effect was very rich and pleasing, suggesting the old Dresden. 
Mrs. Fanny Rowell's entire exhibit was of lustres, princi- 
pally on plates, showing a variety of effects. Her work hasa 
striking individuality about it — one recognizes the style at once 
and also her pupils' work. 
LAMP, PERSIAN MOTIF— CHARLES VOLKMAR. 
Mr. Volkmar had a very choice exhibit of his pottery in 
single color effects, — also a lamp decorated in different colors 
under the glaze in Persian motif; we give an illustration of it 
in this number. We think his dull blue tones and peach blow 
