Evening Star Newspaper, April 6, 1930, Page 109

o NE of the most notable events of the season will be the exhibition of work by Violet Oakley, N. A., which opens ‘his afternoon, without formality, in the Corcoran Gallery of Art. Miss Oakley is one of the outstanding woman artists of our generation. Her reputation is not merely national, but international. Among her numerous and renowned achievements are her decorations in the State Capitol at Harris- burg, early mural compositions from the life of William Penn. She has made careful re- search and given profound study to Penn's life, and has, as a result, brought forth & portfolio of text and illustrations entitled, “The Holy Experiment,” quoting from Penn's own phrase in the foundation of his State, which, as a con- tribution not merely to art but to stateship, government, is outstanding. Miss Oakley is a strong advocate of interna- tional peace and a great believer in the League of Nations. She has lately returned from a two- year sojourn abroad, during which time she traveled extensively, held, under distinguished patronage, exhibitions in Spain and in England, and spent a considerable time at Geneva, In a foreword to the catalogue of her ex- hibition, shown for the first time at the Art Allance, in Philadelphia, in January, Harrison 8. Morris of Philadelphia wrote as follows: “She brings to us a series of noble heads (portrait drawings), including almost the whole cluster of stars who form the League of Nations. With a fidelity to likeness, but no abatement of the standards of the highest art in this medium, Miss Oakley has produced the faces of those we all know in international fame, as well as many lesser figures in “The Parliament of Mankind,” which meets to redress the world’s grievances at Geneva., Here are Briand and Lord Cecil, Sir Austen Chamberlain and Pade- rewski, Masaryk and Stresemann, with a score more who are in the daily dispatches. But be- sides these of Geneva are many handsome women prefigured by the once Queen of Grace, and her majestic daughters, Princess Radziwill and Lady Drummond, and a head of Lady Astor done at her house, in England, which inter- prets all the power and beauty in that brilliant character. ‘These are a few typical works. It must be left to the catalogue to list the whole interesting group who are in the spotlight of international diplomacy. And if, with such & glowing list, Miss Oakley would give her inti- mate comments on the way in which some of them were caught, often like moving pictures through an opera glass at great dinners or from the high balcony of the League, it would make an illustrated history, anecdotic and pere sonal, of the momentous sessions set moving by President Wilson, himself not present, we all know why. “Those of us who have kept pace with Violet Oakley from the early times of the academy schools and of her first studio, on Chestnut street, through the years of the steady produc- uon of beautiful things, and of growth in the intellectual quality of her art, will feel a cor- dial satisfaction that this group of her latest, and, perhaps, her fullest, work has thus come home to us for our admiration and to give us the chance to express our personal congratula- tions.” Aiter this collection was shown in Philadel- phia it was exhibited at the Grand Central Art Galleries, in New York. It now comes, for= tunately, to our National Capital. Miss Oak- ley, herself, feels that the showing of this work here will constitute the most important exhibi- tion of it in America, She, herself, has per- sonally supervised the hanging, and will be present this afternoon at the opening. And some time during the period of the exhibition it is hoped that she will give an informal talk on “The Miracle of Geneva” in the galleries where the drawings are on view, as she did during the Philadelphia Art Alliance exhibition and at the Grand Central Galleries. A'I' the Arts Club, 2017 I street, collections of waters colors by Emma Mendenhall and Dixie Selden, both of Cincinnati, will be placed on view this afternoon. Miss Mendenhall is a member of the New York Water Color Club, the American Water Color Society, the Washington Water Color Club, the National Arts Club of New York and the National Association of Women Painters and Sculptors. She has traveled much, and her work shows not only command of medium, but keen artistic perception. She studied at the Cincinnati Art Academy under that great mase ter, Frank Duveneck; then at the Julian Acade= my, in Paris, and from time to time under Rhoda Holmes, Nichols, Woodbury and Snell, and has proved herself to be an apt pupil. Dixie Selden, her fellow townsman, likewise studied under Duveneck and Snell, but also under William M. Chase. She, too, is 8 mem- ber of the National Association of Women Painters and Sculptors, and other organizations. She has always been a strong painter and shown in her work marked individuality, but in recent years her work has gained refinement without loss of virility. She paints landscapes, boats and figures, apparently equally well. The water colors and oils by Miss Mendenhall and Miss Selden will be shown on the first floor at the Arts Club, whereas upstairs there will be exhibited studies and sketches by the late Charles Stewart Alden of Washington, made in Arizona, France and Switzerland. Mr. Alden was in the truest sense of the word an amateur—an art lover who felt the urge for personal expression and sought to make that expression as significant as possible, Before leaving for Europe he studied for a time, to perfect his technique, with Miss Critcher; while in Paris he attended the Julian Academy. His sudden death brought his work to an untimely end. It has been truly said by those who have been most concerned with the development of the arts that it is participation in art which creates the real art lover. To passively listen AD A\H THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, APRIL 6, 1930. [ NOES O AND Ak y LHLA MECHLIN Drawings by Violet Oakley, N. A., on View at Corcoran Gallery of Art—Other Exhi- bitions and Notes of Artists. Portrait of Senator Overman, by G. Arnold Slade. t0o music or to look at pictures is not enough; it is through making music and creating works of art that real understanding is engendered. Mr. Alden realized this fact better than the majority, and for this reason his work has a double significance. G ARNOLD SLADE of Truro, Mass., has lately * completed in this city a very distinguished portrait of Senator Lee S. Overman, the oldest member of the Senate. Mr. Slade represents the venerable Senator seated in an armchair, face and figure turned toward the observer— Portrait of Mrs. Patrick J. Hurley, by Frank Townsend Hutchens. an easy pose and an excellent iikeness; a straightforward piece of portraiture which possesses exceptional dignity. Mr. Slade studied under Dumond in Boston and Laurens in Paris. He paints not only portraits, but landscapes and genre. And he is one of the few cotemporary painters who has chosen to interpret in his paintings re- ligious themes. Some years ago he painted a whole series of pictures of “The Children of the Bible,” and on the order of John Wanamaker he did a large canvas illustrative of a well re- membered incident in the life of Christ. He is represented by three paintings in the Isabella Stewart Gardner collection, Fenway Court, Boston, and has works in numerous other public collections. Within the last two or three years he painted portrails of many distinguished persons, among them Charles G. Dawes, Ambassador to Great Britain; former Attorney General Sargent and Senator Borah. During his recent stay in Washington he painted not only Senator Over- man, but Senator Tydings, Senator Brookhart and Judge Abbott. It is certainly very gratify- ing to have those in high official positions painted by one of our leading American artists. THE Landscape Club of Washington opemed its Spring exhibition at the Mount Pleasant branch of the Public Library last Tuesday, to remain on view throughout the month. Forty- five works are included, in oils and water color, the majority being landscapes, marines and harbor subjects. There is one portrait, two large studies of still life, and a few bird and animal studies, lending interesting variety. Three of Benson B. Moore’s competent land- scapes manifest the uniformly high quality of his work and depict scenes of serene beauty, mostly in the vicinity of Washington. A. H. O.. Rolle also shows several paintings, the most attractive being a fairly large Autumn land- scape of russet trees against a warm blue sky. By Charles Hoover are three oil paintings of contrasted technique and obviously European subjects. The largest, which appears to be of the book stalls on the bank of the Seine "2 Paris, is simplified in design; with stark forms in the foreground. One of the smaller paintings which instantly recalls Rothenburg, Germany, with the “Weisser Turm” prominent (although it may be some other medieval town) is rendered with more attention to de- tail. Equally suggestive to the observer is a painting by Garnet Jex, apparently showing Harpers Ferry. Louis S. Dergans exhibits a show scene in which blue tones predominate. This, like all of the Landscape Club's exhibi- tions, comprises works produced with evident enthusiasm and consistent progress on the part of the painters. A’r the Yorke Gallery is now to be seen a ool- lection of water colors by Fred Pye, painted N in the Canadian Rockies, Southern Prance, Italy . and Corsica. Mr. Pye uses transparent color and white paper and thus obtains sparkling effect. He is one of those who follow to an extent tradi- tion, and realistically transcribes things seem, delighting in the beauty of nature and endeav- oring to make it manifest to all. Those who have traveled in the West or have spent vaca- tion days in Italy and the south of France will find these paintings by Mr. Pye charming souvenirs and of lasting interest. A UNIQUE exhibition is in progress st Gordon Dunthorne’s, consisting of a col- lection of pastels of flowers by Ernestine M, Burrage of Maine. The 27 works included ifi. the catalogue represent the achievement of a . season and the work of one who until last year had not attempted to paint. Mrs. Bur- rage is a lover of flowers, as any who visit this exhibition would quickly know, and it was a desire on her part to interpret the beauty of her garden favorites that led her to experiment with pastel. There is something lacey, exceedingly ree fined and elusive in these works—something far removed from purely academic achieve Continued on Twenty-first Page Livingstone Academy Commercial Art 1333 F St. Met. 2883 T s S R "THE ABBOTT SCHOOL OF FINE & COMMERCIAL ART Landscape Class under SUSAN B. CHASE 1624 H St. N.W. Nat. 8054 — Yorke Gallery 2000 S St. Exhibition of Water Colors by Fred Pye Merch 31st to April 12th \ bl 4 £