Talk:White Mountain art

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Peer review White Mountain art has had a peer review by Wikipedia editors which is now archived. It may contain ideas you can use to improve this article.
Good article White Mountain art has been listed as one of the Arts good articles under the good article criteria. If you can improve it further, please do. If it no longer meets these criteria, you can delist it, or ask for a reassessment.

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[edit] Recent Edits

I'd like to discuss your edits concerning the Willey tradgedy. I'm new to wikipedia, so please bear with me.

Is there a standard format for dates? I find 28 August 1826 unusual. I see that it allows for two links, but are they necessary? I don't like abbreviations, since I don't feed they're necessary. How about "the notch between Mounts Willey and Webster?" Your edits do not make it clear that the Willey family had both parents and five children at the home at the time of the mudslide. Did you leave out the Bible because it can't be verified? Did you leave out the "buried under ..." because it's too graphic? I also suggest using an 'mdash' in the sentence containing "... allure — tradegy and nature — was ..."

JJ 14:44, 11 December 2005 (UTC)

  • Hi! Thanks for checking back in. :-) Your original draft struck me as feeling just a little bit sensationalist, if you will permit me to say. I mainly wanted to make the language a little less informal and more neutral. Please feel free to edit the details back in if you feel that they're strongly relevant. As for your style questions:
    • The preferred format for dates is described in Wikipedia:Manual of Style (dates and numbers). The format in which the date is rendered is actually defined by the reader's preferences; check out Special:Preferences to change to a different format for viewing.
    • Your point about the abbreviations is well taken -- I personally would find "Mount Willey and Mount Webster" easier to read, but don't care about "Mt." vs. "Mount". :-)
    • I agree with the mdash too, good on you for spotting that.
    • Please feel free to re-edit something if you feel strongly about it, and post a note in the article's "Talk" page if you seem to have a strong difference of opinion with another editor. Be bold in updating!
    • And hey! Thanks for contributing to Wikipedia! :-) Tim Pierce 17:55, 11 December 2005 (UTC)

Added more details about the Willey tradegy. Made the changes I first suggested.

 JJ 19:52, 11 December 2005 (UTC)

I failed to sign in, so the edit of 69.161.63.23 are me, JJ 02:22, 12 December 2005 (UTC). So, if you have talk, please address to me.

JJ 02:22, 12 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Higher resolution pics

Can we get larger pictures. I click on them hoping to see big landscapes and they are just thumbnail sized. Broken S 02:49, 12 December 2005 (UTC)

The only images that do not have a link to a higher resolution image are the Thomas Hill of Crawford Notch and the Champney at 17. Is there a way to link the small images to larger ones on wikipedia? JJ 03:28, 12 December 2005 (UTC)

the "thumb" command automaticaly resizes large images into smaller thumbs (so a small resized version of the pic will appear and link to the full size). If you can find larger versions you can upload them right on top of the current pictures and you won't have to change anything. And I'm going to sleep. Broken S 03:44, 12 December 2005 (UTC)
I have uploaded larger images as you suggested. Please check them out. Again, any further suggestions are gladly welcome. JJ 14:06, 12 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Feedback

Outstanding article. I love reading about this kind of stuff--nearly everyone has heard of the Hudson River School artists, but you've done some great research into this important and lesser-known early center of artistic activity.

Your images are terrific--great examples. I also like that you don't "over-link" the article: for example, another writer might have linked the word "artists" in your first sentence to the Wikipedia article "artist". This is a pet-peeve of mine; I think links should only be inserted to clarify something not commonly known.

If I were to make one suggestion it would be about the introduction. As someone unfamiliar with the historical details of White Mountain art, I was reading the first paragraph and came upon the "1826 tragedy of the Willey family." My immediate reaction was, "What 1826 tragedy of the Willey family?" Even though you answer that question in detail later on, I would avoid introducing a new term or unexplained reference right off the bat. I would have three suggestions:

  • add an explanatory phrase like "...1826 tragedy of the Willey family, in which nine people lost their lives in an avalanche."
  • link this text so that it drops the reader directly to the Willey paragraph (I have to admit I don't know how to do that; also, it aborts the introduction)
  • better yet, I would find a way to condense the introduction. Only the absolute essentials--the detail comes later. (Cutting is hard...adding is easy :)

Above all though, do what you (and not necessarily what I) think is right. It's a work in progress. Great job! --Worldofdew 01:41, 14 December 2005 (UTC)

as a reference you can link directly to a section by writing [[#section title goes here]]. As in #Recent Edits. Broken S 03:00, 14 December 2005 (UTC)
Thanks! --Worldofdew 00:27, 15 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Art Colony?

I'm adding this as a new section just for clarity. To what extent could North Conway in the 1850s be thought of as an "art colony"? I notice you don't use that term (and I'm not suggesting you should--I'm asking simply to learn your knowledgeable opinion). Most art colonies seem to be associated with impressionism, and while that's not the case here, there's nothing in the definition of "art colony" that restricts it to a certain artistic style. If it can be thought of as an art colony, does North Conway then lay claim to being America's first art colony? --Worldofdew 01:41, 14 December 2005 (UTC)

I have added a sentence under "North Conway" to indicated that, indeed, North Conway had become the first "artist colony" in the US.JJ 01:58, 18 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] George Shavey Noyes

I deleted the addition of George Shavey Noyes. The artist is unknown to me, and, therefore, I have no knowledge that he painted in the White Mountains. JJ 12:31, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Notable White Mountain artists

I suggest that we use these Notable people guidelines before adding artists to this list. Please discuss additions on my Talk page.

Campbell has the most extensive "dictionary" of White Mountain artists. Inclusion in the list was based on our experience with the subject having seen the works of all the artists listed. In addition, using Campbell we selected those artists that had a significant body of work with White Mountain subjects. In truth, I feel the list is pretty complete. But, again, "talk" to me if you feel there is an artist missing. JJ (talk) 12:14, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] GA status reinstated

A GA review of this article has been completed, and an evaluation of the form and presentation of this article has been made in keeping with the WP criteria required for GA status. In short, the article has been found to be well written from a neutral point of view. The content is well researched, verifiable, and accompanied by numerous in-line citations, as required. The principal contributor to this article has assembled a wealth of published information on this subject and has made a major contribution to Wikipedia readers. Numerous illustrations have been added to accompany the text and all appear to have the necessary copyright clearance and documentation. Very few improvements can be recommended. These include the recommendation that more careful attention be given to Wikilinking notable artists' names and art terms that currently appear within the text, in particular those that already have WP articles that can be readily accessed. Examples include first references for Benjamin Champney, en plein air, Thomas Hill, and Edward Hill. In addition, it is recommended that more attention be given to improving the list of references by placing authors' names first and italicizing the titles of published works cited. These very minor corrections in no way detract from the major contribution made by this article and its principal contributor, both of whom deserve the gratitude of WP readers with an interest in this important area of American landscape art. Jack Bethune (talk) 20:47, 18 April 2008 (UTC)

Jack, I very much appreciate your review. I believe I have made all the changes you have suggested. Please take a quick look and let me know if I have missed anything.JJ (talk) 02:08, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] GA Review

Because this is such a long and complex review, with lots of comments, I have archived it to Talk:White Mountain art/GA1, to prevent it from getting lost in talk page archives. You can also access the review from {{ArticleHistory}} (top of page). Dr. Cash (talk) 15:49, 5 June 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Comments on sources

I was asked to come over and comment on the sources for this article. The works listed int he Bibliography appear quite fine, mostly scholarly or specialized presses. The older stuff, from before 1900, is it being used as major underpinings of the article or is it used as contemporary "color"?

It's mostly "color." There are, however, significant quotes from The Crayon. JJ (talk) 13:16, 19 May 2008 (UTC)

One thing, even things in the footnotes need to be sourced. So you need a source for the Champney birthdate that's given in a footnote.

Done with a quote from his autobiography. JJ (talk) 13:16, 19 May 2008 (UTC)

I wouldn't use http://whitemountainart.com/artist_bio_index.htm as a source for anything. As an external link, it's fine, but it wouldn't be considered a RS. It's a great external link though!

It's been used as a scholarly reference in print, so I'm still considering this suggestion. JJ (talk) 13:16, 19 May 2008 (UTC)

Really though, nothing wrong at all with the sources, they look excellent to me. Keep in mind I didn't read the article itself, just checked out the sources, and looked at how "reliable" they seemed to be. Ealdgyth - Talk 22:18, 16 May 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for your help. JJ (talk) 13:16, 19 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Unsigned edits

The edits by IP 72.224.186.142 we done by me. JJ (talk) 16:13, 19 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Reference formatting

User:JohnJHenderson asked me to take a look at the Notes and Bibliography formatting. In general it's pretty good, but I do have some suggestions:

  • I found the Bibliography confusing. It's counterintuitive (to me, at least) to have items alphabetized by author (books) interspersed with items alphabetized by article title (journals). I've taken a stab at splitting the journal articles from the books. If no one likes it and the decision is to revert, please don't 'lose' the ISBNs (and, in some cases, authors) that I added.
Well, I was OK with my original list, but let's go with your suggestion. I did change "Full of Facts and Sentiment" back to a journal, since Shapleigh was not the author but was the artist. JJ (talk) 21:50, 20 May 2008 (UTC)
  • I would make the Further reading section standalone rather than a subsection of References; these works were not used as references.
Done. JJ (talk) 21:50, 20 May 2008 (UTC)
  • The citations referring to The Crayon have page numbers, but need volume/issue information.
I will make a careful review and update the references. JJ (talk) 21:50, 20 May 2008 (UTC)
  • I added author information for a few books. Presuming I haven't made any errors, that would mean some of the citations need updating ("The Life and Works of Thomas Cole (1997) p. 66." should instead be "Noble (1997) p. 66." etc). I think the other affected books are Shapleigh and the 2nd (older) McGrath book. (As a side note - I found it rather dubious that Shapleigh himself is listed as author of a book published in 1982, but I found it consistently described as such on Amazon, WorldCat, etc.)
It is dubious. Shapliegh died in 1906! I have changed the bibliographic entry accordingly. JJ (talk) 21:50, 20 May 2008 (UTC)

Those were the main issues I saw. I have to mention that I haven't yet read the full article, but I'm looking forward to it - I spent a good bit of time in the mountains years ago - and I'd be happy to give it a full copyedit if it's headed to FAC soon. Let me know. Maralia (talk) 17:26, 20 May 2008 (UTC)

I would very much appreciate a full copyedit. Thanks. JJ (talk) 21:50, 20 May 2008 (UTC)