Artists of the Nineteenth Century. By Clara E. Clement and
L. Hutton. (Triihner.)—Here are notices of 2,050 artists of the present century. The claims of many of these picture-makers and statue. makers to be included in the company of true artists will not always stand examination. Biographies of whole families with artistic tastes are given in these two volumes. Americana, too, are over- poweringly numerous. And of course, when crowds of third-rate, and unclassified, and unclassifiable painters are introduced, many names really worthy of record are, of necessity, omitted. We have -vainly searched for the notices of scores of artists for whom place should have been made in these volumes. A good many of the sons, brothers, uncles, daughters, sisters, aunts, and cousins of painters, and a 'crowd of other obscurities, might have been passed over, and in lieu of them a few words might have been said about the careers and works of such artists as Edward Lear, Inchbold, Coleman. Angell, Mnnthe, Dalbono, Winmaier, and Chevilliard. But it would be unfair to deny all merit to this long series of brief biographies. The authors have been at considerable pains to collect, by circulars to artists and from catalogues of exhibitions and sales, a good deal of really interesting information. Then, too, the arrange- ment of the contents of their work, and the style in which it isbrought out, are distinctly commendable. We note particularly the repeti- tion in each volume of the "Names of Artists," "Authorities Con- sulted," "Introduction," "Index to Authorities Quoted," "Index of Places," and "General Index." One hundred and thirty pages are thus exactly reproduced or reprinted; but the reader's convenience in consulting the work is greatly aided by this repetition. The opinions and criticisms on the merits, performances, and characteris- tics of the artists noticed by the authors of the work before us are sometimes fair, sometimes exaggerated, sometimes colourless, and sometimes simply amusing. No wonder that they are of such un- equal quality and merit, when we find that they have frequently been contributed by the artists themselves, or have been gleaned, in a good many instances, from the sayings • of American art-critics, the columns of provincial newspapers, and similar dubious and varied fields.
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