If we may apply to art what Goethe said of poetry we find that among its votaries there are two kinds of self-half-informed people, “dilettanti,” he calls them, “he who neglects the indispensable mechanical part, and he thinks he has done enough if he shows spirituality and feeling, and he who seeks to arrive at poetry merely by mechanism in which he can acquire an artisan’s readiness, and is without soul and matter.”

This exposition has no doubt been the means of discouraging a number of men and women from continuing in a profession for which they are not qualified by the possession of any rare gift.  It is to be hoped, however, that the work accepted and shown at the St. Louis Exposition will prove that a class of women artists has been produced in the decade just past who have at least learned the grammar of their chosen art work—­the value of simple lines and pure tones.

    The work of the women was placed side by side with that of the
    men artists and where the pictures would show to the best
    advantage and harmonize with the surrounding ones.

In examining for awards the merit of the work was discussed and considered regardless of the name the canvas bore; but that this was the better plan for exhibiting women’s work leaves room for doubt, because as a whole women’s work could not be viewed, thereby leaving the exhibition incomprehensive to the average visitor who could not grasp the importance of woman’s contribution to the world of art by the scattered pictures as arranged in the various galleries of the Art Building.  I do not hesitate to say that women in general by their representation at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition derived little or no benefit by having their work placed side by side with that of men, chiefly because it was reduced to insignificance by the small proportion of works exhibited.  Secondly, the visiting public was not attracted by the fact that women had a picture here and there hanging on some one of the walls in the Palace of Art.

Had their work been collected in one gallery the display would have been more comprehensive and better appreciated.  But, nevertheless, this exposition has emphasized the fact that woman fills an important place in the field of art.  She wields her brush deftly, conscientiously, and her canvases fit well side by side with those of her brother artists.

Women at the exposition excelled most in figure paintings in oils, and in this line of work have made greater progress since the Chicago Exposition than in any other branch of the fine arts.  The execution is bold, free, and shows a greater familiarity with the subject portrayed, though they have reached a very high standard in watercolor landscapes and are notably strong in miniature painting.  The innate refinement and delicate sense of detail and color which characterizes women are prominent