American art flows not from tradition but, in a specially marked sense, from the individuality of the artist. The men who have played a constructive part in the building up of our school have in many cases received their training abroad, but have used it in a fresh, very personal manner. It is in appreciation of some of these men that the following pages have been composed; in some cases to recall figures not always remembered at the present day. My chapters have been written on various occasions. I hope, however, that they have the unity which should come from years of faithful study of American art and from Whole-hearted delight in the manifestations of its.