splendid pictures. While of course, as in all such collections, there is
some inferior work, the most pertinent criticism is that there are too
many really notable things, and the scope of the collection is too
broad, to be seen with due appreciation in a limited time. There is so
liberal a showing of different schools, styles and lands, that one is
liable at first to be bewildered. But the exhibit is most popular. The
great number of visitors constantly thronging the galleries is
significant of the value the people put upon art. Excellent as the
collection is as a school for artists, it was made for popular enjoyment
and education. The best result to be looked for is its stimulation and
culture of the public taste. The people are already in love with it, and
what they love they make their own.

The exhibits are arranged in fifteen sections, consisting of national,
sectional, or personal, collections of paintings, besides many important
displays of miniatures, etchings, prints, drawings, and tapestries. The
art of the sculptor is abundantly illustrated in grouped statuary,
single pieces, panels in low or high relief, and wood carvings. Passing
the heroic emblems of history or allegory in marble, bronze or plaster,
nothing is more beautiful or appealing than the hundreds of small
bronzes shown. In brief, the Fine Arts exhibit embraces all the
classifications of modern art, save the "arts and crafts" exhibits,
which are scattered among the several exhibit palaces.

First in importance to a citizen of this country is the art of the
United States. Possibly it may also be of first importance to foreign
visitors. For the phrase "American art" no longer raises a doubt. It is
at last recognized that America has something of its own to offer the
world,--a style developed within the last, two decades. The prime
movement of the times presenting boldness, brilliance and a laxity of