Art-Lovers guide to the Exposition
By Shelden Cheney
It is a distinct and original evolution, recalling the great arts of Europe and yet eluding classification. The court shows that the designer was a master of the past styles but refused to be a slave to them; at the same time, he had an original conception but did not let it run into the blatant and bizarre. It is from such fusions of individual genius with past traditions that distinctive American architecture is most likely to flower.
The tower is a magnificent bit of architectural design. It is massive and yet delicate. It dominates the court, and yet it fits perfectly into the cloister. The rich sculpture is so much a part of the decorative scheme that there is no impression of the structure having been “ornamented.” One must search long in architectural history to find a more satisfying tower. The architect who designed the Court of Abundance is Louis Christian Mullgardt, one of the two most original geniuses among California’s architects.
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Shelden Cheney
Author, art historian, and theatre critic Sheldon Cheney was regarded as one of the most significant figures in the modernist movement in American drama in the 1920s and the 1930s.
Biography
Cheney’s writing on the history of theatre influenced personalities such as playwright Eugene O’Neill and set designer Robert Edmund Jones. Although Cheney was born in Berkeley, California, and died ninety-four years later, he lived most of his life on Mechanic Street in New Hope. In 1916, he founded Theatre Arts Magazine, which served as an essential voice of the theatre. His historical work, The Theatre: 3000 Years of Drama, Acting, and Stagecraft, was recognized as the first comprehensive history of theatre written in English.
Cheney wrote thirteen books on theatre, art history, sculpture, and architecture. He was a friend of dancer Isadora Duncan and assisted in her autobiography. As an art and drama critic for many magazines, his writing included contributions to Encyclopedia Britannica, the New Caravan, and Theatre Arts Magazine.
Shelden Cheney
