Out of the 3957 oil paintings exhibited, our country is represented by 113 pictures, the productions of 83 Americans.  Then we claim 13 of the aquarelle painters, and there are in addition 11 natives of the United States who exhibit designs in charcoal, sanguine, gouache, and paintings on either porcelain or faience; also 7 sculptors—­in all, 114 of our compatriots whose works are in the present Salon.  New York claims the lion’s share of these artists, 40 being accredited to that State.  Of the remainder, 18 are from Boston, 13 from Philadelphia, 6 from New Orleans, 3 from Chicago, 2 from Toledo, 2 from San Francisco, etc. etc.

I think it will be generally admitted that the only really strong pictures exhibited by the American artists are John S. Sargent’s portrait of Madame Pailleron (wife of the author of L’Etincelle) and his Fumee d’Ambre Gris; Henry Mosler’s Toilette de Noce; D.R.  Knight’s Une Halte; Miss Gardner’s Priscilla the Puritan; F.A.  Bridgman’s Habitation Arabe a Biskra; Charles E. DuBois’s Autumn Evening on Lake Neuchatel; and Edwin L. Weeks’s Embarkment of the Camels and Gateway of an Old Fondak in the Holy City of Sallee (Morocco)—­both of which were sold immediately after the opening.  Of course there are several other good pictures by our compatriots, and some that possess great merit.  But the ones indicated above are the only ones which (excepting Picknell’s two landscapes, Sur le Bord du Marais and La Route de Concarneau) have called forth any special notice from French critics or in any way attracted much of the public attention thus far.  Mr. Sargent is a surprise and a wonder to even his master, Carolus Duran, whose portrait, painted by Sargent, attracted great attention in the Salon of last year and received an “honorable mention.”  He has painted this year a full-length in the open air, producing a very sunny, strong out-door effect.  The hands attract much praise, but opinions vary as to the face.  His Fumee d’Ambre Gris represents a woman of Tangiers engaged in perfuming her clothing with the fumes from a lamp in which ambergris is burning.  The white robes of the woman set off against a pearly-gray background, the rising smoke, the curiously-tinted finger-nails of the woman, and the rich rug on which the lamp stands, combine to make a very notable and curious picture.

Miss Elizabeth J. Gardner of New Hampshire has two excellent pictures in the Salon—­Priscilla the Puritan and The Water’s Edge.  They are both well hung, as indeed are most of our American artists’ contributions to this exhibition.  Out of the 111 pictures in oils sent in by the Americans, I can recall 46 which are hung “on the line,” and there may be even more.  This is certainly treating our countrymen very fairly.  Miss Gardner’s Au Bord de l’Eau represents two young girls standing at the edge of a pond, the one reaching down to pluck a water-lily, and the other supporting her by clasping her waist.  There is great purity in the tones of this picture, and, though lacking somewhat in action, the coloring and drawing are both admirable.