The Art of the Exposition | Page 2

Frank V. Du Mond, Painter The Pursuit of
Pleasure. Charles Holloway, Painter Primitive Fire. Frank Brangwyn,
Painter Night Effect - Colonnade of the Palace of Fine Arts. Bernard R.
Maybeck, Architect Official Poster. Perham W. Nahl Ground Plan of
the Exposition

The Art of the Exposition

The Architecture

It is generally conceded that the essential lesson of the Exposition is the
lesson of art. However strongly the industrial element may have
asserted itself in the many interesting exhibits, no matter how extensive
the appeal of the applied sciences may be, the final and lasting effect
will be found in the great and enduring lesson of beauty which the
Exposition so unforgetably teaches.
The visitor is at once stirred by the many manifestations of art,
presented so harmoniously by the architect, the sculptor, the landscape
architect, and the painter-decorator, and his attention is kept throughout
by artistic appeals at every turn. It must be said in the very start that
few will realize what is the simple truth - that artistically this is
probably the most successful exposition ever created. It may indeed
prove the last. Large international expositions are becoming a thing of
the past on account of the tremendous cost for relatively temporary
purposes.
There is still much of the popular conception abroad that the West has
only very recently emerged from a state of semi-civilization inimical to
the finer things of life, and to art in particular. But we may rest assured
that the fortunate outsider who allows himself the luxury of travel will
proclaim that the gospel of beauty has been preached most eloquently
through the Panama-Pacific International Exposition.

The critic who prefers to condemn things will find small opportunity
here, no matter how seriously he may take himself.
The first sight of that great mosaic, from the Fillmore-street hill, at
once creates a nerve-soothing impression most uncommon in
international expositions, and for that matter, in any architectural
aggregate. One is at once struck with the fitness of the location and of
the scheme of architecture. Personally, I am greatly impressed with the
architectural scheme and the consistency of its application to the whole.
I fear that the two men, Mr. Willis Polk and Mr. Edward Bennett, who
laid the foundation for the plan, will never receive as much credit as is
really due them. I hope this appreciation may serve that purpose in
some small way.
It was a typically big western idea, an idea that as a rule never gets any
farther than being thought of, or possibly seeing daylight as an
"esquisse" - but seldom any farther than that. The Burnham plan for
San Francisco was such an unrealized dream, but here the dream has
achieved concrete form. The buildings as a group have all the big
essential qualities that art possesses only in its noblest expression.
Symmetry, balance, and harmony work together for a wonderful
expression of unity, of oneness, that buildings devoted to profane
purposes seldom show.
I do not know how many people who visit the Exposition are so
constituted as to derive an aesthetic thrill from artistic balance, but I
imagine that any person, no matter how inexperienced in matters of art,
will rejoice at the fine feeling of orderly arrangement of major forms
which runs through the entire grouping. It is simplicity itself, and it
serves an excellent practical purpose, enabling one to visit the
Exposition without being left a nervous wreck at the end.
The main entrance leads one into the physical center of the Exposition.
From there, on the first visit, one realizes the existence of an equally
large area on either side, covered with objects of interest.
The main exposition, composed of a compactly arranged group of large
buildings of approximately equal size, is symmetrically placed on
either side of the main central court, the Court of the Universe. This
sends out its avenues into two equally proportioned side courts - the
Court of the Four Seasons on the west and the Court of Abundance on
the east. While the main court rests right in the center of the eight

buildings, the side courts fit snugly into the center of the four buildings
on either side. This arrangement of large masses, comprising the bulk
of the Exposition, creates a grateful feeling of repose and of order,
without being in the least uninteresting, for while there is perfect
symmetry, on the one hand, in the larger masses, there is plenty and
ever changing variety in the minor architectural forms and
embellishments. The same balance, the same interesting distribution of
architectural masses, continues on either side of the main building. In
Machinery Hall, on the one hand, and the Fine Arts Palace on the
western side, perfect balance is again maintained. That is, however, not
the end