Description
In the 1920s, Pavlosky’s painting The White Peacock was awarded second prize at an exhibition of the works of Boston artists at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston — the first prize was won by John Singer Sargent. Pavlosky received great publicity for this, including an article in a Boston periodical by M.J. Curl entitled “Boston Artists and Sculptors in Intimate Talks,” saved by Pavlosky with his personal papers. In the article, the author quotes Pavlosky’s personal philosophy of art: “An artist should be a good, honest man, true to his work, true to nature. Art is the expression of the soul; to paint well one must live well. The moment an artist begins to think whether his work will sell, he does less commendable work, he is less of an artist.”
In this article, Pavlosky was further quoted that a work should be beautiful but also express the artist to distinguish it from mere decoration:
“The artist should be the happiest man alive, because art and the love of the beautiful are the finest gifts God has made us. The joy of catching the living world with a few strokes of the brush and a few colors is unending. All good painting should express the beauty of nature. The subject should be interesting — not like the hideous ones that some modern artists choose — and the scene should have atmosphere and the colors be charming. We do not hang a picture on the wall just to have a piece of color in the room — that is the province of draperies. We want more than that, something to admire. Pictures should be like music — when we hear beautiful music that touches the soul, we forget our troubles. It is not how the artist bangs his hand on the keyboard, but how the note sounds that he produces. So with painting, not the technique of the brush alone, and not powerful color, will make it fine — there must be something more.”
