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From the cariage-road, the lake, the ramble, and the belvedere,-a stone look-out tower, erected on the highest knoll in the park,-are the first objects of interest after leaving the Museum.
THE RECEIVING-RESERVOIR OF THE CRO- TON WATER WORKS next comes into view, at the right of the drive. This receptacle has a capacity of one hundred million gallons. The retaining-reservoir, a little further north, holds one billion and thirty million gallons. The water supply of the city is drawn from the Croton River, a stream in Westchester County, and from a number of lakes in the vicinity of its sources.
THE EQUESTRIAN STATUE £ OF GENERAL SIMON BOLIVAR, on an elevation at the left,
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was a gift from the government and people of Venezuela. This work was executed by R. De la Cora.
THE DRIVE now leads through the wild beauty of woody hills and rocky slopes at the north of the park, until the second station is reached,-formerly known as Mount St. Vin- cent, but now called McGowan's Pass Tavern. From the porch of this attractive restaurant the eye rests, in the summer season, on bril- liant flower-beds filled with the choicest plants. Far beyond are spread the waters of the East and Harlem Rivers, in which the islands, and the buildings on them, easily may be identified. A more charming spot hardly can be imagined for the nuns who, according to tradition, lived here previous to the Revolution.
CHAPTER X.
THE FIFTH AFTERNOON.
HISTORICAL SITES .- McGowan's Pass, for- merly a circuitous portion of the old Boston Road, and now a park-highway in front of the tavern, was the scene of an attack by the British, at the time of the retreat of Putnam's column to Harlem Heights. A successful resistance was made by Silliman, with the aid of Alexander Hamilton, who, with his cannon, had guarded the rear of the column during the whole of its dangerous march from Bleecker Street, the British extending their lines from this point to the Hudson and East Rivers just after the American army had passed. Remains of the extensive breastworks, subsequently erected by the British, are still visible near the elevation on which the tavern stands; and at the north, on a low bluff, once called Fort Fish, an old cannon, a mortar, and a shell, are still preserved as relics of this time.
THE BLOCK HOUSE .- This fortification, to which visitors must be directed by a park- policeman, was built by the Americans, but
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was afterward improved and occupied by the English during Revolutionary times. Another tradition clings to the flag-staff on the summit. It is popularly called "Old Hickory," because
THE OLD FORT FISH AT M'GOWAN'S PASS.
General Jackson, who bore that soubriquet, is said to have once been its owner.
The vista from this point is exceptionally fine. At the north and west the Palisades, the Bloomingdale Asylum, the private man- sions overlooking the Hudson, the lofty and winding elevated railroad, the ornamental stairways and battlements that constitute the first improvements of Morningside Park, Mount Morris Park, and further on Fort Wash- ington,-the strongest breastwork thrown up by the Americans during the Revolution,- are the various objects of interest presented.
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The site of the camp-fires of various regi- ments at different times in possession here, is a little to the left of this fort.
After leaving the tavern the phaeton passes over the east drive, which for some distance possesses no objects of special interest, except the entrance to the reservoir,-a sort of gate- house built of granite,-and
THE STATUE OF ALEXANDER HAMILTON .- This work by Charles Conradts, was presented to the city in 1880, by the son of the illustrious statesman. A monument to Hamilton once was erected in Weehawken, the place where he fought the duel with Burr; but the locality became the scene of such frequent duels, that the gentleman who raised the tribute caused it to be broken into fragments. Another fine statue of this celebrated individual was placed in the Stock Exchange in Wall Street, but the falling in of the roof, at the time of the great fire of 1835, crushed it to atoms.
THE OBELISK .- East of the drive and oppo- site the Metropolitan Museum of Art, stands a relic that antedates the birth of Christ by fif- teen centuries. This monolith, which was gazed upon by Moses, was one of two erected for the Temple of On by Thutmes the Third, of Egypt, as a thank-offering for his victories. The hieroglyphic inscriptions mostly are com-
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memorative of that great monarch, although the names and titles of Ramses the Second, and of Usorkon the First, also appear. The obelisk was presented to the city in 1877, by the late Khedive of Egypt, Ismail Pasha, the expense of its removal, one hundred thousand dollars, having been borne by William H. Vanderbilt. The site from which it eventu- ally was taken was near Alexandria, it having been placed there before the Cæsarium, in the time of Augustus Cæsar. Its companion now stands in London.
THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART .- In November 1869, at a public meeting held in the Academy of Music, a committee com- posed of fifty gentlemen, was formed to draft a plan of organization, for the purpose of found- ing an institute, the object of which should be the art culture of the people of New York City. In 1870 the Legislature granted this committee, which was then increased to over twice the original number, a charter "for the purpose of establishing a museum and library of art; of encouraging and developing the study of the fine arts; of the application of art to manufactures and to practical life; of ad- vancing the general knowledge of kindred subjects; and to that end, of furnishing popu- lar instruction and recreation." The Museum
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is controlled by a Board of Trustees, elected by the members of the corporation, who are such for life. The officers, elected annually by the corporation, are ex-officio members of the Board of Trustees, as are also the president of the Department of Public Parks, the comptrol- ler of the city of New York, and the president of the National Academy of Design.
The growth of this institution has no paral- lel, even in countries where such effort is entirely supported by government; and, as a natural consequence, the current expenses continually increase. The trustees have spared neither their personal means, nor their time, to meet the constantly increasing demand, but it has now become so heavy that they are asking the city to assume the entire financial respon- sibility of the annual outlay, while they in return will open the Museum to the public, free of charge at all times, and devote their means to the enlargement and perfection of the col- lection.
As at the present time the Park Department furnishes accommodations for the Museum, and contributes funds for its maintainment, the trustees admit the general public on Wednes- days, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, from IO A.M. until one half-hour before sunset; on Sundays, from I P.M. until the same hour, and
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on Tuesday and Saturday evenings, from 8 until 10 o'clock; besides this, art students and public school teachers and scholars are allowed special privileges. On the remaining days an admission fee of twenty-five cents is charged.
The technical art schools for designing, modelling, carving, free-hand and mechanical drawing, that are established in connection with the work of the Museum, add greatly to the earning capacity of this class of American laborers.
The Blodgett collection of pictures, the first acquisition of any importance, was exhibited in a rented house in Fifth Avenue, near 53d Street. After the presentation of an archæo- logical collection, consisting of over thirty thousand objects, gathered from the Island of Cyprus by General Di Cesnola, then United States Consul, the Museum was removed to a more extensive mansion in 14th Street. The present building has been occupied since 1880, at which time it was formally opened by the President of the United States. Like the Museum of Natural History, a series of build- ings is intended, two of which are completed, and a third is in process of construction. These now standing are of red brick with granite facings, but the architectural design is hard to classify, not being quite definitely the
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Gothic or Renaissance that they appear to illustrate.
ANCIENT SCULPTURE .- The entrance hall is filled with casts of the greatest art productions of Greece and Rome. Here also are fragments of the bronze crabs that supported the obelisk in Alexandria. They are dated the eighteenth year of Augustus Cæsar.
THE HALL OF GLASS, LACES, ANCIENT POTTERY, AND MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS .- The large apartment at the left contains a varied assortment of rare specimens, in which the history of glass is wonderfully illustrated. Exquisite laces are displayed in swinging standards, and curious musical instruments invite the attention of those who are interested in the mechanics of sound.
THE HALL OF MODERN SCULPTURE, which is beyond the one just mentioned, contains, in a not very large assortment, the following beautiful pieces of statuary. Near the door is a life-size bronze figure of Napoleon the First, idealized by Canova's graceful touch. The majestic forms of Cleopatra, Semiramis, and Medea, by W. W. Story, are placed in line at the right of the hall, and near them are; "Cal- ifornia" (represented as a woman of exquisite proportions), by Hiram Powers, and a beauti- ful group, "Latona and her Children, Apollo
II
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and Diana," by Reinhart. A cast of Antoine Louis Baryé's "Lion and Serpent," the original of which stands in the Garden of the Tuileries at Paris, is an acquisition which was presented to the United States by the French govern- ment in 1890. Thorwaldsen, Gibson, Lord Ronald Gower, and other equally noted artists, also are represented ; and vases, a great variety of busts, the Poe Memorial (presented by the artists of New York), reproductions, and plas- ter studies, add their attractions to this part of the establishment.
THE HALL OF ARCHITECTURAL CASTS, in the interior of the building, is filled with a remarkably valuable collection, including mod- els of ancient temples, modern cathedrals, for- eign'structures, and casts of every variety of detail work. A large painting by Hans Makart, called "Diana's Hunting Party," which hangs on the western wall, illustrates the high tones of the Dusseldorf School. On the eastern wall is a painting by Constant, a pupil of Cabanel's, representing " Justinian in Council."
THE OLD WESTERN GALLERIES, that are approached by a staircase leading from the Hall of Statuary, consist of two apartments in which the paintings of modern masters are dis- played. These are owned by the Museum, the most noticeable treasures among them being ;
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" WOODLAND AND CATTLE," by Auguste Bonheur, an exquisite picture portraying a quiet phase of animal life. The sunlit land- scape represents the woods of Fontainebleau.
"THUSNELDA AT THE TRIUMPHAL ENTRY OF GERMANICUS INTO ROME," by Piloty .- Although this picture is defective in its schemes of color, it is a fine piece of stage- grouping, in which barbaric figures, strange animals, trophies, and Italians, make up the glories of a Roman holiday.
BARON ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT .- This interesting portrait of the great savant at the age of eighty-nine, was painted, according to his wish, with Chimborazo for the background, by Julius Schrader.
"FRIEDLAND, 1807," by Meissonier .- The sentiment expressed in this painting is partic- ularly fine. Napoleon at the height of his glory,-an inspiration to his soldiers, who are ready to lay down their lives at his feet,-was the intention of the artist. To quote from an eminent critic; " A painter has perhaps never represented a composition in which the leader reposes in the sympathy of his troops so like a soul in a body." The work is executed with that fidelity to detail which has seemed possible to Meissonier alone, and also with a devotion to the subject which has made
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of this picture the masterpiece of a great master.
"A SPANISH LADY," by Fortuny, is one of the most important specimens of the work of that artist.
"THE HORSE FAIR," by Rosa Bonheur .- This celebrated chef-d'œuvre of the distin- guished artist, which represents a group of foreign draught horses in precipitate action, was presented to the museum by Cornelius Vanderbilt. It is gratifying to know that this magnificent representation of animal life is permanently placed where it may be seen by multitudes of people. Mlle. Bonheur's latest painting, "The Last of the American Indians," will be of special interest to the American public.
"THE DEFENCE OF CHAMPIGNY," by Dé- taille, one of the finest works the gallery con- tains, depicts most graphically, the harrowing scenes incident to a siege. The officer in the centre of the picture is General Faron.
MEMORIALS OF WASHINGTON, LAFAYETTE, AND FRANKLIN .- This important collection is displayed in an apartment which is situated at the head of the middle stairway, beyond the galleries just described.
THE NEW WESTERN GALLERIES that open from the room devoted to memorials, contain
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the paintings bequeathed to the Museum by Catharine Lorillard Wolfe.
A PORTRAIT OF MISS WOLFE, by Cabanel, attracts immediate attention by the grace of posture and air of distinguished elegance that characterized this sensitive, high-bred lady. The subtle power of the artist especially be- trays itself in the modelling and posture of the hands, that express in their cultured gesture the extreme refinement manifested in our se- lect American types.
" REPOSE IN EGYPT," by Ludwig Knaus .- This painting represents the Holy Family, visited in the night-time by a gambolling bevy of cherubs (who resemble cupids more nearly). Although Joseph appears to be in a state of religious exaltation, nothing in the picture suggests the source of his inspiration. The Virgin is a simple rustic, and the angels all possess the faces belonging to the agreeable low life that the artist usually portrays. An- other specimen of Knaus in this collection is much more characteristic of that original artist.
" THE SHULAMITE WOMAN," by Cabanel, is enlivened with every device of pictorial fancy, and the theme is extremely attractive, but profound thought or spirited manipulation are wanting.
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" A RELIGIOUS PROCESSION IN BRITTANY," by Jules Breton, represents "The Grand Par- don," which is supposed by the simple-hearted Brittany peasants to occur once a year for their benefit. The composition is crowded, but the figures are skilfully generalized. " The Peas- ant Girl," a smaller example of Breton, is a single-figure study which is very successful.
"THE NIGHT PATROL AT SMYRNA," by Decamps, one of the best examples of that artist, is magnificent in its expression of light and heat, animal motion, and superb horse- manship.
" CRUSADERS BEFORE JERUSALEM," by Kaul- bach, a repetition of a fresco in the Museum at Berlin, is an allegorical pageant, painted with great power.
" THE MASSACRE OF THE MAMELUKES," by Bida, "The Storm," by Cot, and "The Last Token," by Max, are noticeable features of this broadly representative collection, which is fur- ther enriched with examples of Bonheur, Bouguereau, Gérôme, Meissonier, Diaz, Mun- kacsy, Schreyer, Troyon, Verboeckhoven, Vibert, and many other equally noted artists.
GALLERY Q, which is next to the Wolfe galleries, is filled with gems, objects wrought in gold and silver, (many of them being Egyp- tian, Babylonian, Assyrian, Greek or Roman),
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miniatures, fans of the most delicate manu- facture, and exceedingly fine tapestries.
A GALLERY OF DRAWING, in which an al- cove is devoted to water-color paintings, and another gallery which displays fac-similes of gold and silver plate, are at the left of Gallery Q, and lead directly to
THE NEW EASTERN GALLERY O .- This apartment contains the paintings by the old masters, that were presented to the Museum by Henry G. Marquand, the different schools being represented by the following artists ;
THE DUTCH SCHOOL .- Rembrandt, the un- rivalled master of chiaroscuro, whose vigor of style and truthful presentation render his works invaluable. The " Portrait of a Man with a Black Hat " is considered to be the most excel- lent of the four examples that the gallery con- tains of this artist. Teniers, the celebrated painter of interiors, Leyden, whose engravings on copper gave him rank with Dürer, and Marc Antonio, Jan Van Eyck, Franz Hals, Hoogstraaten, and Jensen, are among the other names that appear on the catalogue.
THE SPANISH SCHOOL .- Velazquez, the head of this school, of whom Ruskin has said; " Everything Velazquez does may be taken as absolutely right by the student." Among the specimens executed by this artist is one of the
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celebrated Don Baltasar portraits. Zurbaran, a court painter for Philip the Fourth, is the only compatriot of Velazquez here represented. Spanish art, which was an outgrowth of the Italian, achieved its greatest triumphs in the seventeenth century.
THE ITALIAN SCHOOL,-always dominantly ideal in method, and generally in subject .- Leonardo da Vinci, who in drawing from life gained a freedom unknown to other draughts- men, and who was the first painter to recog- nize light and shade as equally important with the elements of color and line, Masaccio, who rendered the Brancacci Chapel famous almost beyond rivalry, and Moroni, who was second only to Titian as a portrait painter.
THE FLEMISH SCHOOL .- Peter Paul Rubens, whose brush produced more paintings than any other artist, Antony Van Dyck, a pupil of Rubens, and afterward "Painter to his Maj- esty," Charles the First of England. The famous portrait of the Duke of Richmond and Lenox is in this collection.
THE FRENCH SCHOOL .- In this Prud'hon, who was instructor to Empress Marie Louise, only is represented.
THE ENGLISH SCHOOL .- Turner, whose "Saltash" is here exhibited, John Constable, whose works are landscapes chiefly, Sir Joshua
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Reynolds, the greatest portrait painter of Eng- land, Thomas Gainsborough, the competitor of Sir Joshua, William Hogarth, whose power to satirize found expression through grotesque forms and pictorially-displayed incidents, and Hans Holbein, the Austrian-English painter, who stands by the side of the greatest art masters of the world.
GALLERY P, which opens from the new eastern galleries, displays an assortment of American antiquities.
THE RUINS OF PAESTUM .- This remarkable mosaic, by Rinaldi, which faces the eastern middle stairway, is extremely beautiful, both in design and coloring.
"SAINT CHRISTOPHER AND THE INFANT CHRIST."-This painting faces the mosaic at a landing of the staircase. It is by Antonio Pollajuolo, and was cut from the walls of the Chapel of Michelozzi Villa in Florence.
THE OLD EASTERN GALLERIES contain pict- ures of the old masters, owned by the Museum, and examples of modern masters, some of which are loaned, while others are recent gifts.
"RETURN OF THE HOLY FAMILY FROM EGYPT."-This valuable picture was painted for the Church of the Jesuits at Antwerp, after the completion of the "Crucifixion," and
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before the "Descent from the Cross" had been executed. Grandeur of style, power of color- ing, and decision, are among the expressions of praise bestowed upon it by the catalogues.
PORTRAITS OF THE HONORABLE HENRY FANE AND HIS GUARDIANS, INIGO JONES AND CHARLES BLAIR, by Sir Joshua Reynolds .- This picture is one of the best examples of the famous painter, and one of the most valuable acquisitions to a collection which includes specimens from Correggio, the school of Fra Bartholommeo, Dürer, Del Sarto, Velazquez, Van Dyck, Teniers, Maas, Lely, Jordaens, Greuze, and many others.
"COLUMBUS BEFORE FERDINAND AND ISA- BELLA," by Brozick, "Reading Homer," by Alma Tadema,-that careful painter who has attained such perfection in the historical de- tails of dress and architecture,-" Wallen- stein's Lager," by Messerschmitt, which was awarded the highest prize at the Royal Acad- emy in Munich in 1887, "Joan of Arc," by Bastien LePage, a pupil of Cabanel's, por- traits of Washington and John Jay, by Stuart, Alexander Hamilton, by Trumbull, Bayard Taylor, by Eastman Johnson, and Walt Whit- man, by Alexander, constitute the most impor- tant paintings in the second department.
Two balconies that connect the eastern with
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the western galleries exhibit specimens of Ori- ental porcelain and Japanese art.
" LIONS CHASING DEER," by Rubens, " Alex- ander and Diogenes," by Gaspard de Crayer, " Returning from the Hunt," by Josef Hore- mans, are three of the paintings that occupy the hallway which leads from the old eastern galleries to the floor below.
The success of the Museum, and the superior quality of paintings which it exhibits, demon- strates the remarkable progress that our coun- try has made in its patronage and appreciation of art during the past quarter of a century. This institution, and the private galleries from which paintings constantly are being loaned by their generous owners, possess examples of the greatest artists of ancient and modern times, and these are, many of them, the very best examples. As the general public is per- mitted frequent access to these potent agents of civilization, the stimulus necessarily must permanently increase, and it is to be hoped that the day is not far distant when our im- portation of this class of foreign work may not be impeded by a tariff.
The corridors at the eastern side of the lower floor are filled with a great variety of relics from Assyria, Babylon, Egypt, and other foreign countries. Many of these are mortu-
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ary, and include mummies and mummy-cases, sarcophagi, etc. A part of the Cesnola collec- tion is placed with these curiosities, the remaining portion being divided and scattered about the building.
THE PHAETON TO FIFTH AVENUE EN- TRANCE .- The first object to attract atten- tion after leaving the Museum will be the new Jewish syngaogue in Fifth Avenue, at 76th Street. The beauty of this edifice, which is classical Renaissance in its design, is much impaired by the gilded frame and black panels of its dome.
" THE PILGRIM," by J. Q. A. Ward, is a bronze statue, well placed on a rise of ground at the left of the drive, but not seen to advan- tage, because the phaeton turns to the right just before it is reached. This attractive rep- resentation of our forefathers was a gift from the New England Society.
A STATUE OF S. B. MORSE, by Byron Picket, stands east of the 72d Street entrance. It was erected by telegraphers, in 1871.
The other statues in the park, not seen from the phaeton are; "Commerce" by Guion, Maz- zini, the Italian agitator, by Turini, and the Seventh Regiment Monument, by Ward. The latter is a bronze figure of a private soldier in the Seventh Regiment, erected in commemora-
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tion of the comrades who fell during the Civil War. A statue of Columbus, presented by Italian residents, is to be placed on the plaza, at Ioth Street and Fifth Avenue, and a statue of Thorwaldsen is another addition which is proposed as a present from Danish residents.
CHAPTER XI.
THE SIXTH MORNING .- THE ISLANDS.
LIBERTY, OR BEDLOE'S ISLAND, on which stands Bartholdi's great statue, "Liberty En- lightening the World," is situated in New York Bay, about two miles southwest of the Battery. From 8 A.M. until 4 P.M. boats leave hourly for this destination from the Barge Of- fice pier.
During the later days of the colonial epoch these thirteen acres of island property belonged to Captain Archibald Kennedy, then Collector of the Port, whose summer residence was sit- uated in this delightful spot; but after the Revolution a series of transformations took place, the State first utilizing it as a quaran- tine station, and Government afterward con- verting it into a military fortification, which in turn yielded its possession to the imperial goddess who keeps watch over our destinies at the present time. The star-shaped, granite walls of Fort Wood still remain, forming a rather ornamental inclosure for the pedestal. As a military post this island only has been
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put to practical service, when, during the Re- bellion, a number of buildings were erected and used as hospitals.
When, many years ago, Bartholdi, the
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THE BARTHOLDI STATUE OF LIBERTY.
French sculptor, entered the port of New York, he was so greatly impressed with the eagerness of the emigrants, who crowded on
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deck to obtain a first glimpse of the land of freedom and opportunity, that he conceived the idea of symbolizing by a statue of Liberty, the welcome that foreigners received.
It was not until after the close of the Civil War, at a social meeting of prominent Frenchmen in Paris,-on which occasion Bar- tholdi was present,-that the idea of pre- senting the statue to America was first advanced, and received with an amount of enthusiasm which insured the completion of the project. Subscriptions subsequently were received to the extent of over a million of francs, and the work was finished and con- veyed to our shores in the month of June, 1885. As the sympathy of France for this country demonstrated itself by the assistance of a valiant contingent, in our time of great struggle for independence, so that bond of interest again found expression by a gift com- memorative of our success, and suggestive of the possibilities of our future. Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars having been obtained for a pedestal (through the efforts of the New York World ) the statue was unveiled on the 28th of October 1886, in the presence of the President and many distinguished guests, with imposing ceremonies, elaborate decorations, and the booming of cannon.
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