OW.]

The "young men," so-called, though some of them are now on toward
middle life, are perhaps more facile in brush-work and better trained
draughtsmen than those we have just mentioned. They have cultivated
vivacity of style and cleverness in statement, frequently at the
expense of the larger qualities of art. Sargent (1856-) is, perhaps,
the most considerable portrait-painter now living, a man of unbounded
resources technically and fine natural abilities. He is draughtsman,
colorist, brushman--in fact, almost everything in art that can be
cultivated. His taste is not yet mature, and he is just now given to
dashing effects that are more clever than permanent; but that he is a
master in portraiture has already been abundantly demonstrated. Chase
(1849-) is also an exceptionally good portrait painter, and he handles
the _genre_ subject with brilliant color and a swift, sure brush. In
brush-work he is exceedingly clever, and is an excellent technician
in almost every respect. Not always profound in matter he generally
manages to be entertaining in method. Blum (1857-) is well known to
magazine readers through many black-and-white illustrations. He is
also a painter of _genre_ subjects taken from many lands, and handles
his brush with brilliancy and force. Dewing (1851-) is a painter with
a refined sense not only in form but in color. His pictures are
usually small, but exquisite in delicacy and decorative charm. Thayer
(1849-) is fond of large canvases, a man of earnestness, sincerity,
and imagination, but not a good draughtsman, not a good colorist, and
a rather clumsy brushman. He has, however, something to say, and in a
large sense is an artist of uncommon ability. Kenyon Cox (1856-) is a
draughtsman, with a strong command of line and taste in its
arrangement. He is not a strong colorist, though in recent work he has
shown a new departure in this feature that promises well. He renders
the nude with power, and is fond of the allegorical subject.

The number of good portrait-painters at present working in America is
quite large, and mention can be made of but a few in addition to those
already spoken of--Lockwood, McLure Hamilton, Tarbell, Beckwith,
Benson, Vinton. In figure and _genre_-painting the list of really good
painters could be drawn out indefinitely, and again mention must be
confined to a few only, like Simmons, Shirlaw, Smedley, Brush, Millet,
Hassam, Reid, Wiles, Mowbray, Reinhart, Blashfield, Metcalf, Lo