Evening Star Newspaper, October 4, 1931, Page 94

Calendar of Exhibitions CORCORAN GALLERY OF ART, Seven- teenth street and New York avenue. Permanent collection. / PHILLIPS MEMORIAL GALLERY, 1600 Twenty-first street, Permanent col- lection with recent acquisitions. NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART, Tenth and B (Constitution avcnue) streets northwest. Permancnt collection. é SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, Tenth and B streets southwest. Etchings by George T. Plowman, October 5 to No- vember 1. FREER GALLERY OF ART, Tweljth and B streeis soxthwest. Permanent collection. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, Print Divi- sion, First street between East Capitol and B streets southeast. Contemporary American Prints assembled by the American Fedcraiion cof Arts for ex- hibition in Italy. ARTS CLUB OF WASHINGTON, 2017 I street nmorthwest. Paintings by mem- bers of the Landscape Club, September 27 to October 11. TEXTILE MUSEUM, 2330 S street northwest. Rugs, tapestries and other textiles of the Near and Far East. Open Mondays, Wednesdays and Fri- days, 2 to 5 o'c’oc. Admission by card, obtainable at the ofiice of G. H. Myers, 1508 H street northwest. HOWARD UNIVERSITY ART GAL- LERY. Modern French Color Prints lent by College Art Association, Octo- der 1 to 15. PTER four months of comparative in- activity the art season in Washing- ton opens now with a good deal of zest, and there is every prospect of a lively and interesting Winter. The Phillips Memorial Gallery, which has been closed since June, reopens with "a delightful series of exhibitions, including not only paintings with which Washington art lov- ers are well acquainted—old and valued friends —but also a sprinkling of new works not here- tofore shown. Again the thoughtful and in- formed visitor cannot fail to be impressed by the fact that the majority of paintings in the Phillips eollection have distinction—it may be of brushwork or style or because of other un- named and sometimes unnamable qualities— but whether . according to one’s own fancy or not, none can deny that they have been wisely and skillfully chosen becaure of inherent artis- tic value. Mr. Phillips has assembled an unusual col- lection, and his plan for 8 museum is unique. Having, as he admits, no board of trustees, he is free “to do as he pleases,” but in most instances he undoubtedly does well. There is just as much skill required in assembling a gal- lery of paintings, bringing into congenial com- pany works of artists of varied viewpoints, as there is in painting a picture or modeling a piece of sculpture. It is a work of art, and the discerning cannot fail to observe in the Phillips Memorial Gallery that each room full of pictures is assembled with amazing skill and perception of those intimate qualities essential to sympathetic understanding. And how beau- tiful some of these paintings are. As one passes from room to room the richness of the collec- tion becomes more and more evident. The panels by Tack, purposed for permanent installation, have temporarily been removed grom the library. A few have been placed on the stairs, where they are very effective; one, #The Storm,” is in the dining room. The library gallery is practically given over now to paintings by great men of the past who were tremendously vital, but whose works are tonal. There is here a charming group of little Daumiers, with the “Three Lawyers” as center. Around the corner is Delacroix’s inim- jtable “Paganini,” and off to the right is a beautiful Monticelli, “Woodland Worship.” Five Ryders are grouped on the end wall, among them his exquisite “Moonlit Cove.” Here is Whistler's portrait of Miss Lillian Whoakes, and opposite it Thomas Eakins’ superb portrait of Miss Van Buren, soberly rendered. Fuller's “Ideal Head” balances Cezannec's self-portrait, each terminating the-long north wall, and as placed witness to a not dis-similar gift on the part of these two painters, presumably at opposite poles. : in the front galleries are works more extreme modernists— undoubtedly shock and mys- stay; what is merely experi- It was not so long ago that all marveling and blinking over the works of Monet, and now, as we come across for instance, one does here in the main elsewhere, they seem most gentle, and conventional. Why did they ever blink? The same may be true 10 from nogy of some of the works which present seem extraordinary. Time will tell t it is a great privilege and opportunity to be able to keep in touch with what is new, o form one’s own judgments and to live long enough to find them right or wrong. The Phillips Gallery cannot be comprehended in a single visit nor reviewed in half a eolumn, It provides material for many pleasurable visits and for repeated reviews. HE Corcoran Gallery of Art does not close its doors Winter or Summer, and it has, et THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C., OCTOBER 4, 1931. A AK AD N\ ANL y LEILA MECHLIN Promise of an Interesting Season for Art and Artists—The Permanent Exhibitions., A New Gallery and Club Activities. A recently completed painting of the State, War and Navy Building by W ells M. Sawyer. The picture now hangs in the State Department. during September a series of attractive water colors by Wells M. Sawyer, a former Washing- tonian, a member of the Society of Washington Artists and the Washington Water Color Club. These water colors were made in the Mediter- ranean islands and countries apd here and there in the United States. Some of the most charming were made in Taormina, Sicily, re- calling its novelty and charm. Those in this country were chiefly scenes on Cape Cod and in or around Charleston, S. C. With his son- in-law and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Farns- worth, Mr. Sawyer spent some weeks in the latter city last Winter. HILE Mr. Sawyer was in Washington last Spring he painted in oils an extremely interesting and accurate picture of the State, War and Navy Building, Seventeenth street and Pennsylvania avenue, which is soon to put oa new dress and pass from the era of mansard to the familiar and governmentally approved classic. It was because of th® anticipated change that Mr. Sawyer painted this picture, and it is now hanging in the State Department. Eventually it may be regarded as an historical document. The view which he chose was from the west side of Seventeenth street and Penn- sylvania 8venue, looking toward the main facade, and admirably has he depicted the great mansard roof and the long orderly rows of windows, while beyond, through the trees, one catches a glimpse of the White House, above which, marking the passage of time and the changes in life, is an aeroplane. For many years this great building, occupied 80 long by the State, War and Navy Depart- ments, has been held.up to derision, but, after all, it is not a bad example of the architecture of the time in which it was erected, nor ill- adapted for the purposes to which it was dedi- cated; and fitness and use eventually create a sober kind of beauty. Perhaps the generations <0 come, viewing this picture, will wonder why it was thought necessary at this time to give this great monumental building & new and classical frock, HE Corcoran Gallery of Art holds its great exhibitions of American paintings bien- nially, and this is the “off” year, but that does not mean that there will not be events of in- terest beneath its roof during the coming season. Quite to the contrary, several notable one-man exhibitions have already been planned, the first of which will consist of paintings by W. Elmer Schofield, one of our most distinguished paint- ers of landscape, Winter pictures and the sea. Also of immediate interest is the St. Memin collection of little portraits, heretofore kept in an album and now placed in cases so that the visitors can see the entire number without turning s page and with the utmost con- venience. NEW art gallery is to be added to Wash- ington this season, or at least an old gal- lery redecorated and under new auspices. This is the gallery at 1106 Connecticut avenue, once known as the Art Center, which has been taken over and refitted by the home construction di- vision of Sears, Roebuck & Co. Theo J. Morgan, the well known local painter who has made an enviable reputation for him- self throughout the country by his paintings, has been made director, and is planning to hold in this gallery during the coming season a series of notable and unusual exhibitions of widely varied character. Mr. and Mrs. Albert Herter will be among the early exhibitors, Mr. Heter showing portraits and other paintings, and also a very beautiful series of textiles which he has designed. Later in the season will come an exhibition of paintings by W. Les- ter Stevens of Princeton University and Rock- port, Mass. Charles C. Curran, secretary of the National Academy of Design, will be one of the exhibitors in December, and Jerry Farns- worth will show a group of his portraits therein in February, his wife exhibiting a group of her still-life paintings at the same time. There will be bronzes by well known sculptors, illus- trations in pen and ink by Thornfon Oakley, prints by Andre Smith, Thomas Handforth and others equally well known. In connection with the exhibition of etchings by Andre Smith, Mrs. Charles Whitmore of the Print Corner, Hingham Center, Mass., will give a talk on “Etchings and Etchers,” and when Thornton The Saner Soul. “I haven't tackled contract yet; I reckon, as a whole, The game would be too hard to get” - Bemoaned the Timid Soul. “Some one is only spoofing you, ° You'd learn it if you tried, You'd find it isn’t hard to do,” ‘The Bolder Soul replied. Just then the Saner Soul cut in: “When all is said and done, Although you might not always win, You’re bound to have more fun.” Such folks might quote the country boy— Perhaps he really said it: “I'm going to town to taste its joy, But golly, how I dread it!” Oakley’s illustrations are on view, later in the month, he will give a talk on “Illustrations.” Such a series of exhibitions, so well planned and conducted, should prove a very genuine asset to art interest in Washington. ) Art Committee of the Arts Club of Washe ington is headed this season by A. H. O, Rolle, with Eleanor P. Curtis as vice chairman and a formidable group of 20 local artists as coadjutors. The opening exhibition of the sea- son was provided by the Landscape Club of Washington, of which Mr. Rolle is president. This exhibition opened September 27 with & tea, at which the Art Committee were hosts, The next annouunced event on the program is an exhibition of oils and water colors by 8. Peter Wagner of this city, which will open October 11, continuing to October 25, when an exhibition of water colors by Mrs. Fred Kep- linger will be placed on view. UEL P. TOLMAN, assistant curator of the division of graphic arts of the National Museum, announces the usual series of exhibi- tions to be held at the Smithsonian Institution during the season of 1931-32—October to May. The opening exhibition of the series will com= prise etchings by George T. Plowman of Came bridge, Mass., with the dates October 5 to No- vember 1. Woodblock prints by C. A. Seward of Wichita, Kans., secretary and treasurer of the Prairie Print Makers’ Society, will follow in November; blotk prints by Ernest W. Watson of Brooklyn in December, etchings by Ben- jamin 8. Levy of Chicago in January, etchings by J. C. Claghorn of Washington in February, etchings by Luthman of Japan and Germany in March, etchings by Eugene Higgins of New York City in April, etchings by Elizabeth E. Keefer of Alpine, Tex., concluding the series, in May. These exhibits, Mr. Tolman himself has very truly said, will demonstrate nearly all the methods used in the making of prints, as well a8 & great variety of results and subjects. T the Library of Congress there is now om view a very excellent exhibition of 250 prints—etchings, lithographs and woodblocks, assembled by the American Federation of Arts to be shown under official auspices during the coming Winter in Rome, Florence and Milan, opening of the art season is, as always, marked by the reopening of the art schools —the achool of the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the Abbott, Critcher, Hill and others. The Abe bott School opened this year two weeks earlier than usual and with a much larger enrollment than ever before. Washington has also three flourishing schools of commercial ari—the Na~ tional School of Fine and Applied Art, directed by Pelix Mahone¥; Will Chandlee’s School and and Livingstone Academy. George Washington University is strength- ening its art department, supplementing its professional courses by a course in apprecia- tion, to be given this Winter by Miss Bray. The Catholic University has an exceptionally strong and successful school of architecture. N connection with the Bicentennial Celebra- tion, extensive exhibitions are planned, one by the National Committee, of which Hon. Sol, Bloom is chairman, the other by a local com- mittee, headed by Charles Moore. Both of these exhibitions are to be set forth in the Na- tional Museum, the latter in the galleries set aside for the National Gallery of Art. ITH the utmost regret, announcement of the death of Robert Coleman Child, which occurred in Brookline, Mass., September 15, was received here. Mr. Child was a practicing law=- yer, but he and his wife were long and very happily associated with local art activities. Mr. Child was an excellent painter as well as s successful lawyer, and both he and his wife, Jane Bridgham Child, while 1esiding here, made frequent and valuable contributions to local exhibits. From 1896 to 1912 Mr. Child was an examiner in the Patent Office. It was during that period that he was most closely associ- ated with the, local art societies.. His wife and & son survive him. N the art gallery af Howard University am lent by the College Association, October 1 to continue to October 15. New Device Aids Coal Tests Now, however, the work has been facilitated through the development of a special testing