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Newspaper article with a photograph of a sculpture bust with the wrighting beneath "'Bust' - Miss Meta Vaux Warrick". Beside the article written in pencil is "New York __ter" Newspaper article is as follows: "Among Philadelphia artists of note at the exhibition is Miss Blanche Dillaye, who exhibits an attractive moonlight - a row of old houses with a lamplit window or two reflected in quiet water - and a twilight, entitled 'Nuit d'Ete.' The latter is the charming view of a vast field with gently sloping hills beyond a wooded hollow. Ther far horizon is defined against a luminous sky where fleecy clouds reflect the last rays of the sun. The sense of distance and the tranquillity of evening are very finely interpreted. Another Philadelphian, whose name is not yet so well known, is Miss Mary Smyth Perkins, a former student at the School of Design in Philadelphlia, and at present a pupil in Mr. Parker's studio. Miss Perkins exhibits three very creditable little views of the Luxembourg ; nice in tone and composition. Other Philadephians include: Mrs. Inez Addams, an apprentice of Whistler's; Mrs. E. Plaisted Abbott, whose plaster advertising the present exhibition is not the least attractive thing t obe seen there ; Miss Edith Bristol S. Stone, whose portrait of Miss K., whose Holland scene and those still-life all display a wide range of talent, and Miss Veta Vaux Warrick, who has the distinction of being the only sculptor represented."
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Newspaper or magazine article in French titled 'Femina' dated March 1, 1902. On white paper with curved text to the upper left as if once around an oval image. In French: "Beaucoup moins nombreuses sont les femmes sculpteures: ici, vingt-deux exposantes en tout. Mais ce ne sont pas les moins vaillantes et l'effort d'art, pour être plus rare, n'en est pas moins grand. L'Endymion de Mme la duchesse d'Uzès n'est qu'une esquisse, mais le groupe atteste une belle inspiration. L'oeuvre de Mme Coutan-Montorgueil est toute de délicatesse et de charme: c'est de la sculpture très féminine - et par cela même - intéressante. Je ne ferai pas le même compliment à Mlle Warrick; il n'y a rien de féminine dans son oeuvre; ses satyres, son Bûcheron et la mort, son groupe des malheureux, voilà assurément un art dont on ne peut dire qu'il est plaisant; il y a là une fougue, une aprêté, une imagination exubérante et violente, qui étonnent, qui choquent peut-être, et dont l'intérêt est intense. Mais comme on voudrait que ce soit un homme et non une femme qui ait signé une aussi belle hallucination! Citons encore Mme Malvina Brach, qui sait bien son métier, Mme de Frumerie, très vivante et très intéressante, Mme Berthe Girardet, pittoresque, avec son Départ de l'Islandais, Mmes Gruyer-Caillaux et Maginot. Et avant de quitter le Salon des Femmes peintres, n'oublions pas les bijoux de Mlle Jeane de Montigny, qui n'est pas une inconnne pour les lectrices de Femina, les cuirs repoussés de Mlle Marguerite Roy, de Mme Matyld Mourier, de Mlle Combette, etc. " SMILIS In English: "Much fewer are the women sculptors: here, there are two exhibitors in all. But they are not the least valiant and the artistic effort, to be rarer, is no less great. The Endymion of Mme la Duchesse d'Uzes is only a sketch, but the group attests to a beautiful inspiration. Mme Coutan-Montorgueil's work is full of delicacy and charm: it is very feminine sculpture - and by that very fact - interesting. I will not give the same compliment to Miss Warrick: there is nothing feminine in her work: her satyrs, her Lumberjack and death, her group of the unfortunate, here is certainly an art which one cannot say that it is. pleasant: there is an ardor, a sharpness, an exuberant and violent imagination, which astonishes, which perhaps shock, and of which the interest is intense. But how we would like it to be a man and not a woman who has signed one: so beautiful a hallucination! We can also cite Mme Malvina Brach, who knows her profession well, Mme de Frumerie, very lively and very interesting, Mme Berthe Girardet, picturesque, with her Depart de l'Islande, Mme Gruyer-Caillaux and Mme Maginot. And before leaving the Salon des Femmes Peintres, let's not forget the jewels of Miss Jeane de Montigny, who is no stranger to Femina readers, the repousse leathers of Mlle Marguerite Roy, of Mme Matyid Mourier, of Mlle. Combette, etc."
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Elle a vingt ans à peine; et il y a déjà plus que promesses dans ouvrages. Même ils étonnent par les plus rare qualités.
Mlle Meta Warrick sait réfléchir, sait vouloir. Elle ne traduit pas n'importe quel aspect des choses, --mais, parmi les aspects les plus caractéristiques, choisit le plus caractéristique. Cette recherche exige une extrême acuité d'observation, et, dans l'esprit, la faculté tout intellectuelle de saisir en chaque objet les principes qui formeront synthèse.
Il faut aussi de la hardiesse, oser s'exprimer librement, et ne pas faire de concessions aux mannieres convenues de voir et de sentir. Sur la jeune artiste ne pêse aucun dogme d'Ecole. Elle médite, elle rêve, elle travaille sans que la tyrannie des formules l'intimide.
De plus, on doit estimer les statues, statuettes, groupes exposé ici pour l'équilibre, les heureuses combinaisons de lignes, le mouvement.
Le movement surtout, la vie nervouse, inquiète, tourmentée, L'imgination de Mlle Warrick est, en effet, tournée vers les effrois, les fievers, les souffrances. Elle a dédié aux Malheureux un groupe des plus dramatiques, d'une belle vigueur de conception, d'une ordonnance plastique tout à fait louable. De la même compassion sans mièvrerie est né l'Homme qui a faim, le misérable qui n'a plus que son coeur à manger, et qui le ronge avec les grimaces, les contorsions du désespoir. Désespoir sans grossièreté, sans prosaïsme même, qui est realisée sculpturalement--la peine affreuse déscrite, se figure-t-on, par quelque conte, quelque ballade, quelque légende... Même impression est donnée par le Mauvais larron, morceau considérable, qu'il faut espérer voir l'an prochain au Grand Palais.
Et je veux citer encore des figurines comme l'homme qui rit, l'Homme à l'épine, Falstaff, la Mort dans le vent, si bizarrement souples, des groupes mouvants, turbulents, énergiques comme les Lutteurs, Feux follets, les Satyres.
Mlle Warrick est une Américaine de Philadelphie. Elle travaille là-bas selon le système d'un professeur allemand, -- système propice au développement de l'imagination, de la volonté, de la franchise dans l'expression. Trente, quarante, cinquante equisses différentes étaient demandées sur le même sujet à la toute jeune élève. C'était l'habituer à ne pas s'en remettre aux premieres impulusion de son instinct d'artiste, à les raisonner, à s'interroger profondément; c'était rendre sa vision pénétrante.
Depuis trois ans qu'elle est en France Mlle Warrick a continué, dans la discipline du travail, à prendre posession d'elle-même. La Fronde 26 Juin"
In English: "Sculpture / Miss Meta Warrick / She is barely twenty; and there is already more than promises in his works. Even they amaze with the rarest qualities. Miss Meta Warrick knows how to think, knows how to want. It does not translate just any aspect of things - but, among the most characteristic aspects, chooses the most characteristic. This research requires an extreme acuity of observation, and, in the mind, the entirely intellectual faculty of grasping in each object the principles which will form a synthesis. It is also necessary to be bold, to dare to express oneself freely, and not to make concessions to the agreed manners of seeing and of knowing. No school dogma weighs on the young artist. She meditates, she dreams, she works without the tyranny of formulas intimidating her. In addition, we must estimate the statues, statuettes, groups exhibited here for the balance, the happy combinations of lines, the movement. Above all, movement, nervous, restless, tormented life. Ms. Warrick's imagination is, in fact, turned towards fear, fever, suffering. She dedicated to the Unhappy a group of the most dramatic, of a beautiful vigor of conception, of a quite laudable plastic order. From the same compassion without meekness is born the Man who is lazy (Lazy Bones), the miserable one who has only his heart to manage, and who gnaws at it with grimaces, the contortions of despair. Despair, without rudeness, without even prosaism, which is carried out sculpturally - the awful pain described, one imagines, by some tale, some ballad, some legend ... The same impression is given by the Bad Thief (Theif on the Cross), piece considerable, which we can hope to see next year at the Grand Palais. And I still want to cite figurines like the Laughing Man, the Thorny Man, Falstaff, Death in the Wind, so strangely supple, moving, turbulent, energetic groups like Wrestlers, Wisps, Satyrs. Miss Warrick is an American from Philadelphia. She works there according to the system of a German professor, - a system conducive to the development of imagination, will, frankness in expression. Thirty, forty, fifty different exquises were requested on the same subject from the very young pupil. It was to get him used to not relying on the first impulses of his artistic instinct, to reason with them, to question himself deeply; it was to make his vision penetrating. For three years that she has been in France Miss Warrick has continued, in the field of work, to take possession of herself. The Fronde June 26 "
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Newspaper article from 'The Philadelphia Inquirer's Summer Magazine' with written in pencil next to it 'Sum Aug 24, 1902'. The article is as follows: "A young Philadelphia art student, a mulatto, Miss Meta Warrick, has been creating something of a sensation in Paris, by an exhibition of small plaster figures displayed some weeks ago at L'Art Nouveau galleries. Miss Warrick was for several seasons a student at the School of Industrial Art in this city. There she showed an aptitude for modeling wiht a decorative tendencey. Two years ago she went to Paris to study, and since then she has developed rapidly. Though quite young - barely twenty - she has a decided talent and works with much force and originality. She is a follower of the great Rodin, and, therefore, an impressionist in clay. French critics are inclined to predict a brilliant future for her.
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Newspaper article from The __ Daily Eagle of New York dated Sunday August 10, 1902. Contains a long article about Meta as well as a drawing of her, full bodied, leaning back on a couch wearing a stripped dress and holding a hat. The article is as follows: "Miss Meta Warrick/ An American Colored Woman Who Gives Promise as a Sculptor./ Those of you who are interested in American art, must remember the name of Meta Warrick. Meta Warrick is a colored American girl, and a sculptor. She came here two years ago. She had hardly enough money to travel and keep herself in half-starved way, for a year, then her mother managed to keep her another year. What she has accomplished is marvelous; marvelous because she found a way to accomplish it, and marvelous her art will be. I have very little faith in a woman sculptor. They will succeed in making a bust of a pretty woman or a statuette, which, even in marble, will look as soft as putty. But Miss Warrick cannot be classed in that category of woman sculptors. When she went to Rodin with a piece of her work, he said: 'But, mademoiselle, you are a sculptor. Your work is powerful.' I think Miss Warrick, will prove, if she works long enough, to have not only talent, but genius. There is already the sign of it in the works she exhibited at Bings. To critics and amateurs they were a revolution. Now, people who are fond of sweet little sculptured angels, academical art in general, will at once class Miss Warrick's work as vulgar, gross, painful and pay no more attention to it. Every piece of her sculpture, in fact, tells a tale of woe of sorrow, of fear, or of intense love or joy. For instance, her almost life-sized thief on the cross is almost frightful to behold. It is the realistic face of the thief in the throes of death, with protruding lips, that become blanched with blasphemies as well as death. Every line of the body shows anatomical study and that the girl did not hesitate to produce the lines as her vision of the thief revealed them to her. In her studio she has a small plaster relief which was inspired by the lines: be still, sad heart, and cease repining; Behind the clouds the sun is shining' The relief is a cloud peopled with the suffering, the sorrowful and the desparing, then around the edge, those who can see the light behind the cloud take courage, and the smile of hope on their faces is intense. Think of the powerful imagination of that woman. Her grandfather, while she sat on his lap, as a little child, fed her mind with ghost stories; she saw much suffering around her: she afterward learned Edgar Alan Poe's weird tales by hear. All this she materailzed in plaster and some of her works, I must repeat, are marvelous. She herself is not at all morbid in disposition. She talks well, has a certain education. She is so much wrapped in her work that she said to me, 'I might stay well with my mother in Philadelphia and be well clothed, have a good table, and a better roof than the rickety one of a studio over my head, but no privation can keep me from my work'"
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Newspaper article in French on blue paper. Cut into three different sections. In French: "Le Petit Bleu De Paris - /Dimamche 22 Juin 1902/ L'exposition de sculptures de Mlle Meta Warrick a L'art Nouveau Bing/ Mlle Meta Warrick est une artiste americaine. Elle releveralt de Rodin et de Rosso par le mouvement qu'elle cherche a donner a sa sculpture. Cette sculpture est plus que vigoureusc, elle est violente. Les danseuses de Mlle Warrick ont des dehanchements excessifs et des faces presque masculines. Quand Mlle Warrick est ealme et modele tranquillement un buste, ce buste a de la vie et de l'interet. C;est un talent a qui un brin d'assagissemeat ne miessierait pas." In English: "Le Petit Bleu De Paris - / Sunday June 22, 1902 / Miss Meta Warrick's sculpture exhibition at L'art Nouveau Bing / Miss Meta Warrick is an American artist. She is similar to Rodin and Rosso through the movement that she seeks to give to her sculpture. This sculpture is more than vigorous, it is violent. Miss Warrick's 'dancers' have excessive swaying and almost masculine faces. When Miss Warrick is quietly modeling a bust, that bust has life and interest. It is a talent that a bit of sobering up(?) would not try.
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Newspaper article with a reprinted drawing image of Meta. The image is her from the side, but facing slightly backwards to the left. She has a flat hat and a bow in her hair, which is tied into a bun at her neckline. Underneath the image is printed 'Miss Meta Warrick/ A young Philadelphia sculptor.' Above this article in pen is written 'Sunday Press July 20 - 1902' The article, cut out seperately, but pasted overlapping the drawing is as follows: 'Miss Meta Warrick, whose portrait from an etching by Duvre appears above, returns to this city from a stay of several years in Paris toward the end of this month. After a visit to Atlandic City, Miss Warrick will open a studio in this city. She had already made her mark among the youngest art students of the city before she left it. A most promising sketch by her, made in 1898, while a student at the Pennsylvania School of Industrial Art, is still on exhibition at the school as worthy permanent attention. In Paris Miss Warrick has studied at the Julian Academy and elsewhere. She has twice had a special exhibition of her work, the last of some twenty-two members, exhibited in June at "L'Art Nouveau, Bing." on the Rue de Provence. "In her work," writes the critic, Mr. Edouard Gerard, "there is much promise because there is in them the most precious qualities that one can find in a young artist - sense of form, originality of view, an easy daring and force of expression." Miss Warrick has sought, as he points out, in her work movement, vigor and a sense of extreme action. "Mlle. Warrick," says Mr. Gerard, "does not feel with the French poet. I hate the movement which displaced the line and believed instead that the line is the chief gift movement has to creat. In her art she constantly seeks it. Nothing seems alien to this young genious which conceives and executes with a singular force."
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Very thin paper poster printed in French. In French: "Galeries de L'Art Nouveau Bing/Exposition de Sculptures/ Mlle META WARRICK/ a partir du 18 Juin 1902/ Tous le Jars de 10 h. a 6 heurs, Dimanches exceptes" In English: "Bing Moves Art Galleries / Exhibition of Sculptures / Miss META WARRICK / from June 18, 1902 / Every day at 10 a.m. at 6 a.m., except Sundays"
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Newspaper article from the Boston Sunday Journal dated August 17, 1902. "American Colored Girl Startles Paris By Her Art. Paris, Aug. 16 - Americans in Paris are much interested in the work of Meta Warrick, a colored American girl, and a sculptor. She had hardly enough money to travel and keep herself in a half-starved way, for a year, then her mother managed to keep her antoher year. What she has accomplished is marvelous: marvelous because she found a way to accomplish it, and marvelous her art will be. When she went to Rodin with a piece of her work, he said 'But madamoiselle, you are a sculptor, your work is powerful. Miss Warrick will prove, if she works long enough, to have not only talent, but genious. There is already signs of it in the work she exhibited at Bings. To critics and amateurs they were a revelation. Every piece of her sculpture, in fact, tells a tale of woe, of sorrow, of fear, or of intense love or joy. For instance, her almost life-sized Theif on the Cross is almost freightful to behold. It is the realistic face of the theif in the throes of death, with protruding lips, that becomes blanched with blasphemies as well as death. Every line of the body shows anatomical study and that the girl did not hesitate to produce the lines as her vision of the theif revealed them ot her. In her studio she has a small plaster relief which was inspired by these lines: Be still, sad heart, and cease repining; Behind the clouds the sun is shining The releif is a cloud peopled, with the suffering, the sorrowful and the desparing, then around the edge those who can see the light behind the cloud take courage, and the smile of hope on their faces is intense. Her grandfather, while she sat on his lap as a little child fed her mind with ghost stories; she saw much suffering around her; she afterward neared Edgar Allan Poe's weird tales by heart. All this she materializes in plaster and some of her works are marvelous. She herself is not at all morbid in disposition. She talks well, has a certain education. She is so much wrapped in her work that she said: "I might stay with my mother in Philadelphia and be well clothed, have a good table and a better roof than the rickety one of a studio over my head; but no privation can keep me from my work."
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Newspaper article in English from the Atlantic City, New Jersey published Monday July 21, 1902. "Miss Warrick Returns - Daughter of a Resident Here is an Artist of Renown. Miss Meta Warrick, daughter of Mrs. Emma Warrick, of 1002 Atlantic avenue, this city, who went to Paris about four years ago, to complete her education as an artist, arrived in New York Saturday evening on the steamer Umbria. After visiting her mohter here for a time, Miss Warrick will open a studio in Philadelphia. She has already made her mark among the younger art students of the city before she left it. A most promising sketch by her made in 1898 while a student at the Pennsylvania School of Industrial Art, is still on exhibition at the school as worthy permanent attention. In Paris, Miss Warrick has studied at the Julian Academy and elsewhere. She has twice had a special exhibition of her work, the last of some twenty-two members, exhibitied in June, at "L'Art Noveau, Bing," on the Rue de Provance. "In her work," writes the critic, Mr. Edouard Gerard, "there is much promise because there is in them the most precious qualificaties that one can find in a young artist - sense of form, originality of view, an easy daring and force of expression."
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Newspaper article, in French, titled Mlle Meta Warrick. Found in two parts back to back with pencil 'over' written below the first part and above the first 'Europeen'."Chez Bing, des bustes, une grande figure, un petit groupe, puis, dans deux vitrines, des statuettes. Tout d'abord, il me faut citer quelques lignes de la préface du catalogue. Aussi bien, quelque chose d'aussi symptomatique ne se présente, tous les jours. Le préfacier qui nous présente les oeuvres de Mlle Warrick, après avoir affirmé 'que le règne de la démence s'annonce' - il y a quelques printemps déjà que cette aimable prédiction nous a été faite, et on la retrouverait dans le bon Cnoeus Noevius, ainsi que l'affirme quelque part, je pense M. Anatole France, - le préfacier débute ainsi:
'Si nul ne conteste que les artistes du passé aient fidèlement représenté chaque époque de l'histoire avec l'infinie variété de ses caractères, s'ils nous out bien légué les témoignages les plus indiscutables de ce qu'ont senti, aimé, vécu, leurs contemporains, si grâce à leur exquise sensibilité, à l'affinement et à l'acuité de leur vision, ils ont pu subtilement enregistrer tous les frémissements, toutes les passions de leur temps et de leur pays, nous devons constater que ceux de l'heure présente n'ont pas failli à cette noble mission, et qu'ils sont, eux aussi, le pur miroir où se reflète dans toute sa féerie, et sous ses innombrables aspects, l'âme moderne.
'La sérénité et la paix ont déserté nos patries. L'epoque des grands gestes calmes, des pensées simples et des coeurs naïfs n'est plus qu'un vague Eden où s'envolent nos songes, et que notre scepticisme situe dans le passé, laissant à l'avenir son décor de voiles impénétrables et son obscurité de consolant mystère. Et pourtant, les dieux et les muses n'ont pas à jamais pris leur fuite sous l'effroi de nos tumultes: ils ont, eux aussi, subi les lois de la Terre et de la Vie, et, victimes résignées de l'Evolution universelle, ils se sont fait modernes à leur tour, se modelant à notre image.
'Nous sommes tous aujourd hui, plus ou moins agités et inquiets; le règne de la démence s'annonce. Toute cette vie fébrile et bouillonnante, ces accidents plus ou moins morbides, notre art les reflète avec une surprenante intensité, aussi ses manifestations ont-elles revetu un caractère d'originalité et de personnalité absolument nouveau dans son histoire. L'individualisme passionné de notre siècle s'est attaché à la traduction des sentiments les plus complexes et des mouvements les plus intimes de l'esprit: notre inconvenante curiosité a déchiré bien des voiles.
'Aussi, l'Art a-t-il dû acquérir un nouveau langage, plus riche, mais plus touffu; ses modes d'expression se sont multiplies à l'infini sous l'attouchement fécondant des magiciens les plus experts. Parmi ceux-là, l'illustre Rodin ne fut pas un des moins puissants et les mots qu'il a créés sont déjà devenus les formules claires par lesquelles s'évoque notre temps.
'Des jeunes et audacieux artistes ont suivi la trace de ce séducteur, et, chosé curieuse, sous l'action de ses exorcismes, des talents féminins d'une qualité tout à fait rare se sont révélés. Le grand souffle haletant du siècle s'est incarné en de frêles natures, et des doigts légers ont pétri la terre pour dire nos souffrances, nos angoisses, et pour affirmer en de précieuses images le rythme de nos coeurs.
'Au nombre de ces nouveaux venus, Mlle Warrick qui vient d'abandonner les cités sonores du Nouveau Monde et s'est réfugiée parmi nous pour se donner tout entière à son Rêve et à l'Art, veut bien, aujourd'hui, nous prendre à témoin de ses premiers efforts. Sous ses mains souples et nerveuses, la glaise à pris forme, et une vie tumultueuse a circulé dans la froide matière.'
Je m'arrête, et cet extrait suffit. Je voulais simplement montrer avec quel souci de mettre complètement en valeur les jeunes talents, on organise maintenant les petites expositions, où nous sommes régulièrement conviés. Il faut féliciter M.E. Gérard de la chaleur et de la conviction de son appel.
Mais, je crains fort qu'au lieu de servir Mlle Meta Warrick, il ne la desserve... Je ne discuterai pas ici les idées de M. Gérard, je n'ai la place nécessaire; et, aussi bien en montrerai-je seulement le dangereux et la fausseté relative, alors qu'elles sont appliquées trop tôt, avant la culture nécessaire, indispensable, - en faisant le tour des très intéressants essai de Mlle Warrick.
Ah! les belle paroles de Rodin, que je rapportais, à cette place même il y a huit jours! comme il faut les pénétrer et les appliquier!..
Le morceau principal de la petite exposition de chez Bing, est assurément le Mauvais larron. Malgré l'effort très louable qu'il faut marquer, c'est médiocre; la figure est convinue, l'anatomie pas assez simple; le sculpteur a voulu trop montrer et faire le 'bon devoir'; puis, sur cette impossible croix, cette main restée clouée et ces deux pieds ne sont assez éloquents dans leur réalisme trop 'noyé'.
J'en dirais autant des Malheureux, un groupe ou diverses figures s'accotent, synthétisent la douleur et la désespérance humaines; la désolation effroyable qu'a voulue l'artiste, ne sort, impressionnante et définitive, ainsi qu'un grand cri, de ce groupe qui dénote pourtant des qualités de détail et d'observation très justes.
Puis, ce sont des toutes petites statuettes en plâtre, sous les deux vitrines: l'Homme qui rit, Oedipe, les Lutteurs, Falstaff, l'Homme portant un mort, la Femme primitive, Danseuse, le Mort dans le Vent, etc. qui attirent toutes, décèlent beaucoup d'originalité certes, une recherche louable du mouvement rare, une préoccupation amusante de l'effet brutal, mais auxquelles il manque, sous les envols des draperies, dans la construction des corps cette vérité des structures, cette science dans laquelle on ne fait rien de durable...
Et, si je me permets cette remarque grave, c'est que je crois très sincerement Mlle Meta Warrick très douée, je lui crois beaucoup de belles et rares qualités, et qu'il est évident qu'on lui fait commencer par la fin, une initiation qui pourrait aboutir à des oeuvres.
Ce que j'ai trouvé de mieux, dans le petit ensemble qu'elle expose, c'est le buste de John et celui d'une jeune fille. Encore beaucoup d'études de la valeur de celles-là, d'autres encore, et que Mlle Warrick refasse alors Silènes et Satyres." Virgile Josz.
In English: At Bing, busts, a large figure, a small group, then, in two display cases, statuettes. First of all, I must quote a few lines from the preface to the catalogue. As well, something so symptomatic does not present itself, every day. The prefacer who introduces us to the works of Miss Warrick, after having affirmed 'that the reign of madness is coming' - this pleasant prediction was made to us a few springs ago, and we would find it in the good Cnoeus Noevius , as I think M. Anatole France says somewhere, - the preface begins like this:
"If no one disputes that the artists of the past have faithfully represented each period of history with the infinite variety of its characters, if they have left us the most indisputable testimonies of what have been felt, loved, lived , their contemporaries, if thanks to their exquisite sensitivity, to the refinement and acuity of their vision, they were able to subtly record all the thrills, all the passions of their time and their country, we must note that those of present time have not failed in this noble mission, and that they too are the pure mirror in which the modern soul is reflected in all its magic, and in its innumerable aspects.
"Serenity and peace have deserted our homelands. The era of great calm gestures, simple thoughts and naive hearts is no more than a vague Eden where our dreams fly away, and which our skepticism places in the past. , leaving in the future its decor of impenetrable veils and its obscurity of consoling mystery. the laws of the Earth and of Life, and, resigned victims of universal Evolution, they became modern in their turn, modeling themselves in our image.
We are all today, more or less agitated and worried; the reign of madness is announced. All this feverish and bubbling life, these more or less morbid accidents, our art reflects them with a surprising intensity, so its manifestations have taken on a character of originality and personality absolutely new in its history. The passionate individualism of our century has attached itself to the translation of the most complex feelings and the most intimate movements of the mind: our unseemly curiosity has torn many veils.
Also, Art had to acquire a new language, richer, but fuller; its modes of expression have multiplied to infinity under the fruitful touch of the most expert magicians. Among these, the illustrious Rodin was not one of the least powerful and the words he created have already become the clear formulas by which our time is evoked.
Young and daring artists have followed in the footsteps of this seducer, and, curiously enough, under the action of his exorcisms, feminine talents of a quite rare quality have been revealed. The great panting breath of the century was embodied in frail natures, and light fingers kneaded the earth to express our sufferings, our anxieties, and to affirm in precious images the rhythm of our hearts.
Among these newcomers, Miss Warrick who has just abandoned the sound cities of the New World and has taken refuge among us to give herself entirely to her Dream and to Art, is willing, today, to take us to witness his first efforts. Under his flexible and nervous hands, the clay took shape, and a tumultuous life circulated in the cold material."
I stop, and this extract is enough. I simply wanted to show with what concern to fully showcase young talent, we now organize small exhibitions, where we are regularly invited. M.E. Gérard is to be congratulated on the warmth and conviction of his call.
But, I'm very much afraid that instead of serving Miss Meta Warrick, he's not serving her... I won't discuss M. Gérard's ideas here, I don't have the necessary space; and, moreover, I will only show their relative danger and falsity, when they are applied too soon, before the necessary, indispensable culture, - by going around the very interesting essays of Miss Warrick.
Ah! the beautiful words of Rodin, which I brought back to this very place a week ago! how they must be penetrated and applied!
The main piece of the small exhibition at Bing is undoubtedly the Bad Thief. Despite the very commendable effort that must be made, it is mediocre; the figure is certain, the anatomy not simple enough; the sculptor wanted to show too much and do the 'good duty'; then, on this impossible cross, this hand remained nailed and these two feet are not eloquent enough in their too 'drowned' realism.
I would say as much about the Wretched, a group where various figures lean together, synthesizing human pain and despair; the appalling desolation that the artist wanted emerges, impressive and definitive, like a loud cry, from this group which nevertheless denotes very accurate qualities of detail and observation.
Then there are very small plaster statuettes, under the two windows: the Laughing Man, Oedipus, the Wrestlers, Falstaff, the Man Carrying a Dead Man, the Primitive Woman, Dancer, the Dead in the Wind, etc. which all attract, certainly reveal a great deal of originality, a commendable search for rare movement, an amusing preoccupation with brutal effect, but which are lacking, under the flight of draperies, in the construction of bodies, this truth of structures, this science in which we do nothing lasting...
And, if I allow myself this serious remark, it is because I very sincerely believe Miss Meta Warrick to be very gifted, I believe she has many beautiful and rare qualities, and it is obvious that she is being made to start at the end, an initiation that could lead to works.
What I found best, in the small set that she exhibits, is the bust of John and that of a young girl. Many more studies of the value of these, more still, and may Miss Warrick redo Silenus and Satyrs then."
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Newspaper article, in French, in the Le Figaro published on Monday June 23, 1902 by Arsene Alexandre. Arsene puts Renoir and Meta in the same article, noting how both will benefit greatly from this 'season'. In French: "Expositions Renoir et miss Warrick "Profitons de cette mauvaise saison, qui n'a pas l'air de finir, pour nous donner l'illusion que nous sommes encore en mars et en avril, et pour aller, suivant l'usage, visiter des expositions.
Elles sont deux qui vont bénéficier de cette saison étonnante, et toutes deux non seulement valent un coup d'oeil, mais encore sont de celles qui auraient été le plus admirées à l'époque normale des "petits Salons."
L'une est celle de toiles recentes de Renoir. On n'a plus maintenant comme jadis à batailler pour ce beau maître. Il a désormais assez d'admirateurs pour faire vigoureuse résistance à ceux qui le discutent encore, et qui ne sont pas encore ouverts à ses exceptionnelles qualités de fraîcheur et de grâce.
De ce Renoir, qui se rattache directement aux artistes les plus delicieux du dix-huitième siècle, on verra à la galerie Durand-Ruel des tableaux très importants, dont deux de nu grandeur nature, qui, par leur beauté de couleur, leur noblesse de style, sont parmi les choses capitales de toute sa carrière. Puis des paysages, et des intérieurs, et de ces têtes féminines si vivantes et d'une animation si originale...
L'autre exposition a lieu à la galerie Bing. Une jeune artiste américaine, miss Meta Warrick, expose des sculptures d'un caractère dramatique saisissant, presque visionnaire, en même temps que d'une très puissante et très savante exécution.
Ou nous nous trompons fort, ou il y a là la revelation d'une grande, d'une très grande artiste. Miss Meta Warrick avait déjà montré quelques-uns de ces petits groupes si extraordinaires au Salon des Femmes peintres, mais ils étaient mal exposés. Ici, ils sont dans la lumiere et le cadre qui conviennent. Il y a des figures, telle petite danseuse ou tel 'homme se rongeant le coeur'; des groupes, par exemple les 'femmes dans les flammes,' enfin une grande statue, le Mauvais Larron, qui sont vraiment de premier ordre.
Encore une fois, miss Warrick nous parait une nouvelle venue qui ira loin. In English: "Renoir and Miss Warrick exhibitions Take advantage of this bad season, which does not seem to be over, to give us the illusion that we are incurring in March and April, and alternatively, according to custom, visit exhibitions. They are the two who will benefit from this astonishing season, and both are not only worth a look, but are also likely to have been most admired in the normal days of "small Salons". One is that of recent paintings by Renoir. We no longer have to fight for this handsome master as in the past. He now has enough admirers to make vigorous resistance to those who argue about him, and who are not open to his exceptional qualities of freshness and grace. Of this Renoir, who is directly linked to the most delicious artists of the eighteenth century, we will see at the Durand-Ruel gallery some very important paintings, including two in life-size nude, which, by their beauty of color, their nobility of style, are among the capital things of his entire career. Then landscapes, and interiors, and these feminine heads so alive and of such an original animation ... The other exhibition takes place at the Bing gallery. A young American artist, Miss Meta Warrick, exhibits sculptures of a striking dramatic character, almost visionary, at the same time of a very powerful and very skilful execution. Either we are greatly mistaken, or there is the revelation of a great, a very great artist. Miss Meta Warrick had already shown some of these extraordinary little groups at the Saion des Femmes Painters, but they were poorly exhibited. Here they are in the right light and frame. There are figures, such and such a little dancer or such a man gnawing at his heart; groups, for example the women in the flames, finally a large statue, the Bad Thief, which are really first order. Once again, Miss Warrick seems to us a newcomer who will go far."
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Article in French, cut out from a larger article. Beneath written in handwriting in ink "L'Ermitage" No-7-July 7 92 F-C-Guérin" "A la même galerie, une jeune artiste, Mlle Meta Warrick, nous invite à voir ses dernières scultpures. J'ai déjà vanté ici, à propos des Femmes-Peintres et Sculpteurs, les promesses et les qualités de son talent. Son nom est un nom à retenir. Allez voir tous ces petits groupes si remuants, ces equisses puissantes, nouvellement sorties de sa pensée à travers ses doigts de femme, regardez Mauvais Larron, dont le geste maudit le ciel et vous serez tout étonné quand vous saurez que leur auteur est une jeune créole de vingt ans."Francois-Charles. Le Gerant: L. Didier des Gachons 1MP. Humbert-Droz. - Etampes -80-" In English: "At the same gallery, a young artist, Miss Meta Warrick, invites us to see her latest sculptures. I have already praised here, about Women-Painters and Sculptors, the promises and qualities of her talent. Her name is a name to remember. Go see all these small groups so restless, these powerful sketches, newly emerging from her thought through her woman's fingers, look at her Bad Thief, whose gesture curses the sky and you will be astonished when you know that their author is a young twenty-year-old creole."
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Short article in French that mentioned a few artists. In French: "A la sculpture, de nombreuses oeuvres de Mme Malvina Branch, le buste d'enfant de Mme Girardet,"Mlle Warrick a une imagination très singulière, servie par un don d'expression qui fait songer à Daumier." Cut out just beneath this is "L'Action Francaise 15 mars 1902" In English: "In sculpture, of numerous works by Mme Malvina Branch, the bust of a child of Mme Girardet, Mlle Warrick has a very singular imagination, served by a gift of expression which makes one think of Daumier." and "L'Action Francaise March 15, 1902"
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Short article cut out from a pamphlet about Meta. Written in French. Includes a headshot of her with typed lettering underneath "Mlle Meta Warrick. (Cliche D'athos.). Above the article written in pencil is 'Femina'. Article is as follows, in French: "Mlle Meta Warrick est une artiste américaine dont les oeuvres de sculpture ont fété lort admirées lors de leur récente exposition. Par le mouvement un peu exagéré qu'elle cherche à donner à ses oeuvres, elle semble relever directement de Rodin; et la caractère violemment réaliste de sa sculpture ressortait de chacune des ouevres qu'il nous fut donné d'admirer. Le mauvais Larron, les Malheureux et de toutes petites stauettes en plâtre. l'Homme qui rit, Oedipe, les Lutteurs, Falstaff, l'Homme portant un mort, la Femme primitive, Danseuse, le Mort dans le Vent, etc., attirent toutes, décèlent beaucoup d'orginalité, une recherche louable du movement rare et une préoccupation amusante de l'effet brutal. Le plus brillant avenir semble assuré à cette artists douée de rares qualités."
Translated into English: "Miss Meta Warrick - Miss Meta Warrick is an American artist whose works of sculpture were greatly admired during their recent exhibition. By the somewhat exaggerated movement that she seeks to give to her works, she seems to fall directly under Rodin; and the violently realistic character of his sculpture stood out in each of the works that we were given to admire. The Bad Thief, the Wretched and all small plaster statuettes, the Laughing Man, Oedipus, the Wrestlers, Falstaff, the Man Carrying a Dead, the Primitive Woman, Dancer, the Death in the Wind, etc., all attract, reveal a lot of originality, a laudable search for rare movement and an amusing preoccupation with the brutal effect. The brightest future seems assured to this artist gifted with rare qualities."
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Long newspaper article in English sent via cable to both the Philadelphia and New York Times. Article is about Meta and her attention in Paris. The article is as follows: "Young American Sculptor/Creation of a Miss Warrick Attracts Much Attention in Paris/ Special cable to The Philadelphia Times - New York Times./ Paris, July 5 - In artistic circles much attention has been aroused by an exhibition of little plaster figures by a young American artist, Miss Warrick, at Bings Art Nouveau Galleries. Miss Warrick, who is a Creole and only just 20, is an impressionist, and has adopted the modeling methods of Rodin. Her very great talent, amounting to almost genious, is admired by the best circles here. Another of the cheif promoters of art nouveau, G. De Fenre, a naturalized Dutchman, who also exhibits at Bings, is leaving for New York very shortly, where he will exhibit his work, which covers the whole domain of applied art. - (The name of Miss Warrick is not known in America, and L'Art Nouveau has more enemies than friends over here. But there are practitioners of industrial art who find their time not misspend, seeing that buyers take their wares. The sculptor Rodin can scarecly be considered an authority on this new phase of decorative art, although the spirit of his sculpture has a certain resemblance to the groutesque figures the modelers of art nouveau bronzes and pottery sometimes produce. It is in architecture and furniture that L'Art Nouveau has made its greatest sensations and received its most violent attacks. Spreading quickly to Austria and Southern Germany, it has almost become a recognizable department in the arts. The Hollander who proposes to make an exhibition of work in this line in New York will likely to have a success so far as curiosity is concerned.)
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Small typed article on white paper, cut out and attached to another sheet of white paper. Around the article in handwritten cursive states "Nomaul_od 5-Agar St Stroud Londres)" above and "Compliments - de Madame de Montaigue" The article is as follows: "Even the coloured race are coming to the front, notably in the case of Miss Nina Warrick, of Philadelphia, who is studying sculpture under celebrated French masters. Miss Warrick is undoubtedly endowed with talent, and will make her mark in the world of art. She is a young woman of colour, with a good education, and is attractive in manner. She is making a life-size figure of "The Thief on the Cross" for the forthcoming Salon, which shows great originality of conception and a knowledge of anatomy."
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Letter on laid paper with typed lettering in a purple colored ink (or faded from a blue to purple). There is a hotel mark on the paper perpendicular to the writing, which states "Hotel de Paris et d'Osborne/ 4, Rue St-Roch, 4/ au Coin de la Rue de Rivoli/ Paris" (Hotel de Paris et d'Osborne / 4, Rue St-Roch, 4 / at the corner of Rue de Rivoli / Paris). Letter is in English and is as follows: "Miss Meta Warrick Dear Miss Warrick, Had the pleasure of meeting you during the Exposition and want to write something about you for an American paper. Kindly let me know when I can see you and your work. Yours truly, Countess de Montaigu.
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Long newspaper article in English and in two parts titled 'So-Called Americans'. Goes into detail about several women artists studying in Paris and works they are exhibiting. Meta is mentioned in the second section towards the bottom. Her sections is as follows: "There is a somewhat Rodin-esque sculpture by Miss Meta Beaux [sic] Warrick. There are no American characteristics in the exhibition."
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Long newspaper article in English about American women in Paris, focusing on Meta Fuller. No date or newspaper name give, though from language of article appears to be one written in Georgia. Article states there are 401 women in this school (unclear which one) with over half from foreign countries. States Meta lived with her mother Mrs. Emma Warrick on 1004 Atlantic Avenue in Georgia and where she spent her summers after moving to Philadelphia. Meta won the Crozier prize and entered the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art. She sailed for Paris on September 30th on the Belgenland via Liverpool, England, entirely on her own. With very few women artists focused on sculpture the author of this article states 'Added to the young artist's undoubted talent, she is possessed of wonderful pluck, energy and perserverance, and will undoubtedly win a high place in the Art World."
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Small newspaper, or possibly another kind of pamphlet clipping, in French. States "Galerie B. Weill, 25 rue Victor-Masse. - Bonne petite exposition: M. Maillol nous enchante avec ses dessins, ses paysages et ses tapisseries; M. Durio, avec ses bijoux et ses grès, d'un art si consciencieux et d'une invention si neuve; M. Launay, avec ses fleurs larges et belles, mais peut-être un peu trop facilement obtenues. Mademoiselle Warrick nous étonne par l'audace de ses petites compositions; elle se révèle comme un sculpteur savant et plein d'imagination,--qu'elle soit bien accueillie, car les bons sculpteurs ne sont pas légion." In English: "B. Weill Gallery, 25 rue Victor-Masse. - Good little exhibition: M. Maillol enchants us with his drawings, his landscapes and his tapestries; M. Durio, with his jewels and stoneware, of such conscientious art and of such novel invention; M. Launay, with its large and beautiful flowers, but perhaps a little too easily obtained. Mademoiselle Warrick amazes us by the audacity of her small compositions; she turns out to be a learned sculptor full of imagination, - may she be well received, because good sculptors are rare."
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Small newspaper clipping in a roughly circular cut out shape with an image of a male busts in plaster. Above this is printed ""John" Miss Meta Vaux Warrick".
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Small newspaper clipping with cursive writing around. Handwriting states "Sunday Press" above the clipping and "Jan 5 1902" below. The newspaper clipping reads as follows: "M. Gustave Coquiot says of Miss Meta W. Warrick's works exhibited last month at the 'Galerie B. Weill,' at a showing of the works of young students organized by P. Manach, 'You will be struck in this gallery with the attactive works of Mlle. Warrick, her grasp of groupings and her characteristic capacity for interpreting life."
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Small pamphlet with a yellowed-blue cover and red printed lettering, in French, stating: "Galerie B. Weill 25. Rue Victor-Masse/ Exposition organized par P. Manach. du 2 au 31 Decembre 1901/ Invitation" (Gallery B. Weill 25 Victor-Masse Street/ Exposition organized by P. March. From 2 to 31 December, 1901, Invitation) In light pencil to the top of the pamphlet is written, in cursive, "first exhibition". Printed text inside is in French and contains 4 double sided pages. Staring on page 3 "La premiere exposition que vient d'organizer M. Pedro Manach, dans la galerie Weill, rue Victor-Masse, et qui sera suivie de beaucoup d'autres, est, en ce sens et deja de ce point de vue, parfaite./ M. Manach eut pu reunir un plus grand nombre d'artistes; il a eu raison de s'en tenir a un choix judicieux et bref." (The first exhibition that Mr. Pedro Manach has just organized, in the Weill gallery, rue Victor-Masse, and which will be followed by many others, is, in this sense and already from this point of view, perfect/ M. Manach could have brought together a greater number of artists; he was right to stick to a judicious and brief choice.) On page 3/4" ...de jeunes et bons peintres qui composent une parfaite "attraction" avec Mlle Warrick, ...; comme vous admirerez les charmantes oeuvres de Mlle Warrick, son entente des groupements et sa force signuliere a exprimer la vie..." (young and good painters who make up a perfect "attraction" with Miss Warrick,...as you will admire the charming works of Miss Warrick, her understanding of groups and her significant force to express life." On page 7 is a list of works Meta had in the exposition: 17. - Les Malheurs (The Wretched) 18. - "John" 19. - La Lutte (The Struggle). 20. - Faunes (Fauns). 21. - Esquisses (Sketches).
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Newspaper article with a short article about the Jamestown Exhibition to be held next summer. Mentioned in the first paragraph Meta Warrick and her studio "over a brick stable in a narrow Philadelphia street."