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40 THE ATHENAEUM Editorials THE VALUE OF ART TO THE PEOPLE There are points in history where imagination loves to rest— great battles that alter the face of the world, or turn forever the cur rent of mankind’s thinking—great discoveries like those of Colum bus and his temporaries which change every factor in human affairs by bringing in new^oiies of vaster scope—great men who sum up a nation’s life or the spint of a people, and by the forces of personality which they JiherateJgjvehumanity new outlook and new insight.. In the forerank among these restful historical grooves of beauty and action we find Art evaluated and sedately stationed, for everytime we rearrange forms found in nature into new preservations pleasing to ourselves we are genuine artists. All that humanity possesses becomes a burden when the days of usefulness h -ve expired.. Art museums contain the best examples of material which once was an inseparable part of past life; and there remains behind glass, enjoying honorable death, historical records of the greatness of our forefathers and patterns of elegance from which designers plagiarize almost every designed and manufactured article. We regret the absence of these great works in our present civilization for we would reweave them into the patterns of our lives.. Why do we so soon forget the value of the old and venerable modes of living? There are individuals who regret that walled towns are no longer bulit in favourable places and that there is no place for mysteries and legends of earlier days in the busy, practical irdnds of our modern millions. Nor is there hope in the far off places where the old ways of the fathers are followed and the song of the spinning wheel and the folk song mingled at twilight, for the new thought and new things come with the camels and canoes, demanding that in these dreaming places new competitive commercial standards shall be accepted.. It is truly a deplorable condition, that nowhere in our life is there a place for such hand arts and crafts, but still some think nothing to be so out of place as these old works and methods.. We are prone to believe that had our grandfathers been less suspicious of the god dess, Art. we now would be much more thoroughly friendly with her and laboring under far fewer inhibitions regarding her respectability and usefulness.. For. whether we are aware of tye fact or not, we cannot live without this presence heme a part of us any more than we can live without other accented functions. Every effort to present a harmonious as well as efficiently designed automobile or street lamn post is a sincere meo-* of >rt work. Every woman who selects the fittings of her house with real concern and who keeps the arrange ments in accordance with her personal standard is an Artist. These are possibly even more genuine artists than the well trained painter Suppose Nobody Cared! I Care! Do You!