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PHOTOGRAPHY THAT IS CRITICAL, CON-
STRUCTIVE AND CREATIVE SHOWN IN THE
WORK OF BARON DE MEYER
r is characteristic of our turbulent times to be ever
seeking new forms and modes of self-expression.    In
the art world as in the world of social affairs there is an
intellectual unrest, a deviation from and distrust of
the stereotyped methods of our elders. One might at
first fancy that photography reproducing as it does
             wit   scientmc accuracy the various aspects oi hie
and nature would leave no room for the artist's self-expression, regis-
tering mechanical facts alone. But here too we find an evolution
which in method and result is almost a revolution from the older way.
   The character of photography has changed in passing from the
hands of the scientific operator into the hands of the creative artist,
and through the mechanical medium Baron De Meyer has given
characteristic expression to his vision of "things as they are."
One
is impressed by the quality of "style" that pervades all his work.
His portraits have that family resemblance which characterizes the
works of a good painter, and shown in each is the stamp of one man's
work.
   Few amateurs realize the difficulties to be overcome in seeking to
express through this purely mechanical agency the qualities required
of the painter, but Baron De Meyer has given in his portraits a per-
sonal and artistic utterance.
   To express beautifully an emotion or sensation is the chief object
and fundamental aim of any art, and the latest development of what
was once mere photography opens up a new field of experience requir-
ing a mastery of many technical difficulties. One sees in Baron De
Meyer's portraits how real an analogy is to be drawn between pho-
tography and the other forms of "black and white" work which art
lovers have ever held in high estimation, and it is again proven that
the artist is as independent and as unhampered by his rigid medium
as if he wielded the more supple pen and pencil. One feels in Baron
De Meyer's work great ability, keen observation of life, enhanced by
a charming sense of humor, and the true artistical sense of just and
vital values.
   The draughtsman has indeed fewer difficulties; his is the power to
suppress or eliminate details in his pictures that detract or are non-
essential, details which interfere with the harmonious whole. The
photographer, because of his medium, has not the power to retouch
or correct his picture. His choice from the first must be sure and
unerring, and yet one's first impression from these photographs is
that they might be reproductions of a master's painting, or of the
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