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 the Munich traditions, in the successful treatment of a variety of subjects for which he has always been famous.  Closely associated with Duveneck, and showing all the rich qualities of the Munich men, Chase’s picturesque personality finds a reflection in his subjects, which all seem to have been chosen to give him an opportunity to display a certain bravado of handling which characterizes all of his work.  The Chase collection gives a good idea of the career of this most useful of all American painters, who in an astonishingly active life has been teacher, friend, and counsellor to hundreds of the younger people in the field of art.  His life has been most useful — always in the interest of the very best, with conspicuous success in aiding the uplift of American art.  His still-lifes have for years been famous for their fidelity of interpretation of a variety of contrasting things, like fishes, copper bowls, and onions.  No less interesting have been his portraits of the great mass of people who have sat for him.  He has never been afraid of painting anything, and whatever it may be, he has treated it with great breadth, fine pictorial feeling, and charm of colour.  His “Woman with the White Shawl” has become a classic during his lifetime, and some of his still-lifes are sufficient to serve as a permanent solid foundation for his reputation.  Chase’s art, while decidedly academic, excels in esprit, in a certain elegant yet energetic expression which after all is nothing but the painter’s own personality reflected in his work.  The delightful set of small landscapes of Italian and American subjects adds much interest in this collection, which is very well hung against an effective blue background.