This handbook is designed to furnish the information necessary for intelligent
appreciation of the purely artistic features of the Exposition. It is planned first to
explain the symbolism of the architecture, sculpture and painting; and second, to
point out the special qualities that give each artistic unit its individual appeal. It
is made for the intelligent observer who, having enjoyed the purely aesthetic
impression of the various works of art, feels a legitimate curiosity about their
meaning.
Everything possible has been done to make the volume a guide rather than
merely a general treatise. The chapter groupings are the most obviously
serviceable ones. Running heads will be found at the tops of the pages, and the
sub-headings and catch-titles in each chapter are designed to make reference. to
individual features as easy as possible. A complete index is added at the end.
Purely destructive criticism and ridicule have been carefully avoided. But if the
writer did not pretend to a power of artistic discrimination which is lacking in
the average layman who has not specialized in art and architecture, there would
be little excuse for preparing the guide. The praise and criticism alike are such, it
is hoped, as will aid the less practiced eye to see new beauties or to establish
sounder standards of judgment.
Acknowledgment is made to the official Exposition press bureau for courtesies
received, and to those artists who have supplied information about their own
work. For obvious reasons no material has been accepted direct from articles and
books already published. If certain explanations of the symbolism seem familiar,
it is only because all wordings of the ideas echo the artists’ interpretations as
given out by the press bureau.
Acknowledgment is due also to the Cardinell-Vincent Company, official
photographers, since most of the illustrations are from their prints.
Art-Lovers guide to the Exposition
Explanations of the Architecture, Sculpture and Mural Paintings, With a Guide for Study in the Art Gallery
by – Shelden Cheney