The City of Domes Part 3

It was evidently the aim of the sculptors to express in their work, in so far as they could, the character of the Exposition. And the breadth of the plans gave them, a wide scope. They must have welcomed the chance to exercise their art for the pleasure of the mult.i.tude, an art essentially popular in its appeal and certain to be more and more cultivated in our every-day life. Though this new city was to be for a year only, it would surely influence the interest and the taste in art of the mult.i.tudes destined to become familiar with it and to carry away more or less vivid impressions.

The sculpture, too, would have a special advantage. Much of it, after the Exposition, could be transferred elsewhere. It was safe to predict that the best pieces would ultimately serve for the permanent adornment of San Francisco - by no means rich in monuments.

Mural Painting

It was felt by the builders of the Exposition that mural decorating must be a notable feature.

The Centennial Exposition of '76 had been mainly an expression of engineering. Sixteen years later architecture had dominated the Exposition in Chicago. The Exposition in San Francisco was to be essentially pictorial, combining, in its exterior building, architecture, sculpture and painting.

When Jules Guerin was selected to apply the color it was decided that he should choose the mural decorators, subject to the approval of the architectural board. The choice fell on men already distinguished. all of them belonging to New York, with two exceptions, Frank Brangwyn of London, and Arthur Mathews, of San Francisco. They were informed by Guerin that they could take their own subjects. He contented himself with saying that a subject with meaning and life in it was an a.s.set.

In New York the painters had a conference with Guerin. He explained the conditions their work was to meet. Emphasis was laid on the importance of their painting with reference to the tone of the Travertine. They were instructed, moreover, to paint within certain colors, in harmony with the general color-scheme, a restriction that, in some cases, must have presented difficult problems.

The preliminary sketches were submitted to Guerin, and from the sketches he fixed the scale of the figures. In one instance the change of scale led to a change of subject. The second sketches were made on a larger scale. When they were accepted the decorators were told that the final canvases were to be painted in San Francisco in order to make sure that they did not conflict with one another and that they harmonized with the general plan of the Exposition. Nearly all the murals were finished in Machinery Hall; but most of them had been started before they arrived there.

Painting For Out-Doors

Some concern was felt by the painters on account of their lack of experience in painting for out-of-doors. There was no telling, even by the most careful estimate, how their canvases would look when in place.

Color and design impressive in a studio might, when placed beside vigorous architecture, become weak and pale. Besides, in this instance, the murals would meet new conditions in having to harmonize with architecture that was already highly colored. Furthermore, no two of the canvases would meet exactly the same conditions and, as a result of the changes in light and atmospheric effects, the conditions would be subject to continual change. Finally, they were obliged to work without precedent.

It was true that the early Italians had done murals for the open air, but no examples had been preserved.

That the painters were able to do as well as they did under the limitations reflected credit on their adaptability and good humor. The truth was they felt the tremendous opportunity afforded their art by this Exposition. They believed that in a peculiar sense it testified to the value of color in design. It represented a new movement in art, with far-reaching possibilities for the future. That some of them suffered as a result of the limiting of initiative and individuality, of subordination to the general scheme, was unquestionable. Some of the canvases that looked strong and fine when they were a.s.sembled for the last touches in Machinery Hall became anaemic and insignificant on the walls. Those most successfully met the test where the colors were in harmony with Guerin's coloring and where they were in themselves strong and where the subjects were dramatic and vigorously handled. The allegorical and the primitive subjects failed to carry, first because they had little or no real significance, and secondly because the spirit behind them was lacking in appeal and, occasionally, in sincerity.

In one regard Frank Brangwyn was more fortunate than the other painters.

His murals, though intended to be displayed in the open air, were to hang in sequestered corners of the corridors running around the Court of the Ages, the court, moreover, that was to have no color. Besides, there were no colors in the world that could successfully compete against his powerful blues and reds.

The Lighting

The lighting of the Exposition, it was determined, should be given to the charge of the greatest expert in the country. Several of the leading electric light companies were consulted. They agreed that the best man was Walter D'Arcy Ryan, who had managed the lighting at the Hudson-Fulton Celebration and at the Niagara Falls Exposition. Mr. Ryan explained his system of veiled lighting, with the source of the light hidden, and made plain its suitability to an Exposition where the artistic features were to be notable, and where they were to be emphasized at night, with the lighting so diffused as to avoid shadows.

After his appointment as director of illuminating he made several visits to San Francisco, and a year before the opening of the Exposition, he returned to stay till the close. His plan of ornamenting the main tower with large pieces of cut gla.s.s, of many colors, to shine like jewels, created wide-spread interest on account of its novelty. It was generally regarded as a highly original and sensational Exposition feature.

Watching the Growth

As the building went on the San Franciscans gradually became alive to the splendor. Each Sunday many thousands would a.s.semble on the grounds.

About a year before the date set for the opening an admission fee of twenty-five cents brought several thousands of dollars each week. On the Sundays when Lincoln Beachey made his sensational flights there would often be not less than fifty thousand people looking on.

The Walled City

If there were any critics who feared that the walled city might present a certain monotony of aspect they did not take into account the Oriental luxuriance of the entrances, breaking the long lines and making splendid contrast of design and of color. Those entrances alone were worth minute study. Besides being beautiful, they had historic significance.

Furthermore, the long walls were broken by artistically designed windows and by groups of trees running along the edge. Within the walls, in the splendidly wrought courts, utility was made an expression, of beauty by means of the impressive colonnades, solid rows of columns, delicately colored, suitable for promenading and for protection against rain.

From the hills looking down on the bay the Exposition began to seem somewhat huddled. But the nearer one approached, the plainer it became that this effect was misleading. On the grounds one felt that there was plenty of room to move about in. And there was no sense of incongruity.

Very adroitly styles of architecture that might have seemed to be alien to one another and hostile had been harmoniously blended. Here the color was a great help. It made the Exposition seem all of a piece.

The War

In the summer of 1914 the Exposition received what for a brief time, looked like a crushing blow in the declaration of war. How could the world be interested in such an enterprise when the great nations of Europe were engaged in what might prove to be the most deadly conflict history?

The directors, in reviewing the situation, saw that, far from being a disadvantage in its effect on their plans, the war might be an advantage. In the first place, it would keep at home the great army of American travelers that went to Europe each year. With their fondness for roaming, they would be almost certain to be drawn to this part of the world. And besides, there were other travelers to be considered, including those Europeans who would be glad to get away from the alarms of war and those South Americans who were in the habit of going to Europe. Furthermore, though the Exposition had been designed to commemorate the services of the United States Army in building the Panama Ca.n.a.l, it was essentially dedicated to the arts of peace. It would show what the world could do when men and nations co-operated.

The Department of Fine Arts

Meanwhile, the war was upsetting the plans for the exhibits, notably the exhibit of painting and sculpture.

When John E. D. Trask, for many years director of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, was appointed Director of the Fine Arts Department at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, he had made a careful survey of the field he had to cover. It virtually consisted of the whole civilized world. After arranging for the formulation of committees in the leading cities of the East and the Middle West to secure American work, he made a trip to Europe, visiting England, France, Holland, Sweden, Germany, Hungary, Austria and Italy. With the exception of England and Germany, the governments were sympathetic. The indifference of those two countries was at the time was not quite comprehensible.

There might have been several explanations, including the threat of war.

There were also those who said that England and Germany had entered into a secret alliance against this country for the purpose of minimizing the American influence in commerce, soon to be strengthened by the opening of the Panama Ca.n.a.l. Wherever the truth lay, the fact remained that both countries maintained their att.i.tude of indifference. Individual English and German artists and organizations of artists, however, showed a willingness to co-operate.

Through emissaries, mainly unofficial, Americans of influence, Trask drew on the resources of all Europe. He also entered into negotiations with China and j.a.pan, both of which countries, with their devotion to art, as might have been expected, co-operated with enthusiasm. The display at the Fine Arts Palace promised to make one of the greatest international exhibits in history, if not the greatest.

At the outbreak of the war it looked as if the whole of Europe might become involved and it might be impossible to secure anything that could properly be called a European art exhibit. Meanwhile, the s.p.a.ce reserved for the European exhibitors must he filled. It happened that, at the time, Trask was in the East. He quickly put himself into personal communication with the New York artists, who had been invited to send three or four works, and he asked them to increase the number. He also arranged with his committee for the securing of a much larger number of American pictures. Under the circ.u.mstances he was bound to rely on the discretion of his juries. The result was that he had to take what came.

It included a large number of excellent works and others of doubtful merit.

An Emissary to France and Italy

Meanwhile, during the few months after the outbreak of war, the art situation in Europe began to look more hopeful. It seemed possible that some of the nations concerned in the war would be persuaded to partic.i.p.ate. Captain Asher C. Baker, Director of the Division of Exhibits, was sent on a special mission to France, sailing from New York early in November. The United States collier "Jason" was then preparing to sail from New York with Christmas presents for the children in the war zone, and the secretary of the navy had arranged with the Exposition authorities that, on the return trip, the ship should be used to carry exhibits from Europe. The first plan was that the exhibits should come only from the warring nations; it was later extended to include other nations.