the wall, as opposed to the work of the easel painter, who wants to
assist in forgetting that there is a canvas and to suggest that we are
looking into the far distance. A good decoration should, as it were,
allow the driving of a nail into any part of its surface - it should not
make a hole in the wall.

In the two triumphal arches of the Nations of the East and the West,
Frank Vincent Du Mond and Edward Simmons, respectively, contributed to
the scheme of decorations. In the western arch, DuMond painted a
continuous frieze of the march of civilization towards the great West.
His work is most conscientiously done, very intellectual, and most
effective in color, as well as in arrangement. You see in his continued
scheme the entire story of western development.

It begins with the youth departing from his old father, who only
reluctantly - feeling the infirmities of old age - stays behind.
Preceding the young man, the historical prairie-schooner, accompanied by
pioneers, continues the procession. This is developed further in
historical groups of soldiers, priests, and men representing the
intellectual rise of the great West. There is William Keith, with the
palette, Bishop Taylor, Bret Harte, Captain Anza, and other well known
western figures, taking their place in the procession of tent wagons and
allegorical figures, all striving towards that very fine group
representing California in all the gorgeousness and splendor of the
Golden State. This composition of "California," taken by itself, is one
of the very best passages in the whole decoration, and could very
effectively be used all by itself.

On the east, Edward Simmons presents two very charming compositions,
full of great refinement and delicacy. The refined coloring of his