conspicuous a member. His importance in the history of art can hardly be
set too high, for the soundness of his methods alone. Only the greatest
ever attain the capacity for direct painting which characterizes this
astonishing collection of his pictures. Juiciness is the only word which
will adequately express the result of his brush. The pictures here are
most interesting for the reason that they were all done while he was not
yet twenty-five and while he lived in an atmosphere of workers of whom
Leibl was probably the most famous. There are few paintings - and then
only the greatest - which give one the same satisfaction at a big
distance as well as at close range as Duveneck's do. Men of his caliber
appear only at great intervals. This Duveneck collection, if brought
together permanently, as we are fortunate enough to see it temporarily
here in San Francisco, would become the Mecca of all painters who want
to refresh their memory as to what constitutes real painting.
Unfortunately these canvases are owned by different people, and to think
that they will all have to be scattered again among individual owners is
a shocking thought. The uniformity of excellence in the Duveneck room
forbids any attempt at picking out individual works; however, Duveneck's
equally great accomplishments on another wall, in the field of etching,
are apt to be easily overlooked. The sarcophagus of his wife, done by
his versatile hand, increases the admiration that we, must hold for this
liberal genius. Duveneck's art, no matter how much it is rooted in
foreign soil, will forever make its influence felt for the best of
American art.

Gallery 79.

Chase.

Balancing Duveneck's gallery on the south, William M. Chase continues