Evening Star Newspaper, March 24, 1935, Page 51

Stage Music Part 4—10 Pages — Screen — Radio WASHINGTON, D. C, FEATURES he Sundwy Star SUNDAY MORN G, MARCH 24, 1935. Books—Art Children’s Notes Page ANDREW W. MELLON’S GREAT ART GIFT TO NATION Former Secretary of the Treasury Plans New Building for Masterpieces Included in Remarkable Collection Which W ill Come to Washington—Together With Gallery, the Gift Is Expected to Approximate $50,000,000 in V alue. The Star prints herewith the first authorized sum- mary of the present status of Mr. Mellon’s Gallery of Art plans, as well as the first comprehensive survey of the great masterpieces of painting which he intends to give to the Nation. By James Waldo Fawcett. NDREW W. MELLON has per- mitted an announcement of A the gift of his unparalleled collection of great paintings to the Nation, but it probably will be many months before he will be ready to reveal the full magnifi- cence of his philanthropy. Thus far only a small portion of the former Secretary of the Treas- ury’s plan has been disclosed. Adr. | Mellon himself has granted no inter- * views, authorized no detailed pub- licity. His attorney, Frank J. Hogan of Washington, has said that it was | his idea to maintain unbroken secrecy about his intentions until final organization of the endowment | had been completed and that it was with the most painful reluctance that he finally acquiesced in a partial statement of the bare outlines of the project. ‘There were many Teasons for Mr Mellon’s reticence. The exact form which his presentation to the peop'e should take was, and still is, one | aspect of the problem. Naturally | enough the donor desires to protect | his dream and to insure its prosperity | over a long period of years. At present the collection in large part is in the hands of the trustees of tne Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust Fund, organized in 1931, and | it is doubtful if any change in theze | arrangements will be initiated in the | near future. | | EANWHILE, Mr. Mellon is anx- fous to prevent confusion be-| tween the gallery which he means to build in Washington and the National “ Gallery of Art. The latter, as he | sees it, is a Government proposition, | pure and simple, and the building needed to accommodate it should be | constructed with funds provided by : Congress. His own purpose is to erect ! a separate edifice for the display of the truly notable paintings which | he already has gathered and canvases | of equal importance and value which | other citizens may wish to contribute. | The Mellon gailery. it is indicated, | will be similar in size to the Folger Library. But as yet Mr. Mellon has selected no site, appointed no archi- tect, drawn up no schedule of require- ments for the structure. The one | definite step he has taken, so far as | details are concerned, is that of ruling that the building is not to bear his | name. He is insistent that it be un- | derstood that he is not establishing a memorial to himself or his family. His children, however, are inter- ested in the undertaking and have | been keenly enthusiastic in their sup- port of his intgntion. Paul Mellon is | & trustee of the existing fund and has made generous contributions to its| initial work in behalf of science, art, music, charity and religion. Some confusion resulted from in- accurate reporting of Mr. Hogan's original statement in Pittsburgh, Feb- ruary 19, regarding the money value of his client’s gift. The first figures reported were $19,000,000, but that sum represents only a fraction of the total market worth of Mr. Mellon's pictures. Appraisers skilled in the “business” of art have estimated that his collection would bring from $25,- 000,000 to $40,000,000, if it were to be sold at auction. And, in addition to his paintings, Mr. Mellon is giving the gallery to shelter them, a fund to maintain and if necessary to enlarge the gallery and a fund to provide for the purchase of such further master- pieces as from time to time may be- come available. Actually, then, a sum approximating $50,000,000 is repre- sented in his contribution toward the elevation of the cultural status of the Capital. And Mr. Mellon hopes that other Americans will do as much or more for Washington. He has been loyal and generous to his native city, but between 1921 and 1933 he learned to share the vision of George Washing- ton and Thomas Jefferson for the seat of the Federal Government as the natural center of the educational life of the people. Now he looks forward to the day when the District of Co- Jumbia will be crowded with institu- tions of learning, serving the whole Nation to the end that genius may be democratized and existence thereby be rendered more abundantly happy and free. Every citizen, he believes, HIS special portion of the work he wants to see completed. of his birth, and he hopes soon to have leisure to devote to the perfect- ing of his plans. Until, then, however, he prefers not to discuss details. Mr. Mellon's knowledge of art, it should be mentioned, is deep and thorough. He is by no means a mere collector of paintings. Each irdivid- ual unit in his collection is an au- thentic gem. He owns no “second rate” pictures. Rather, he has bought wisely and with acute discrimination. The esthetic character of his gift, there- fore, is superlative. But as yet there is no catalogue available to public inspection, nor is there any likelihood of one being compiled soon. A handicap in the circumstances is the fact that the col- lection is scattered in three different cities—Washington, Pittsburgh and New York—and it is doubtful if it will be brought together until the anticipated gallery is completed. Even the exact number of pictures is a matter of debate. Some of Mr. Mellon’s friends have estimated the | towal to be about 40; others have de- clared that there are more than 100 | titles, altogether. And the latter | guess, it seems, is the nearer to the | truth. Works of at least twoscore of the most. eminent painters that ever have l’llsvl.m are known to be included in the In the classification of the several | Italian schools Mr. Mellon has out- standing compositions by seven of the very greatest masters. Giovanni Bel- lini of Padua and Venice (1430?-1516), | ranking among the creators of “the | finest of all known portraits” is represented by a noble study of a { man in a striking black and red cos- tume—the countenance is that of a | scholar and the subject has been sup- | posed to have been a practitioner at the bar. ‘NEXT in order are two character- | istic examples of the marvelous genius of Sandro Botticelli of Flor- ence (1444-1510), who reflected in his elegant, refined and dreamy lines the highest ideals of fifteenth century Italy and yet was considered to be ‘not only without a rival, but with- ut a follower.” The first of his pic- ‘turu is “The Adoration of the Magiy’ < | purchased by Mr. He is | Hermitage collection, Leningrad, for 'at, celebrating today the 80th anniversary | $838,350. It depicts the Holy Family | breathe, it is so perfect. The dress of | prayer Book.” signed in 1633, 8 gen- surrounded by more than 20 pilgrims | who have sought the Christ Child in | a ruined stable and are kneeling be- titudes of prayer. The artist's mighty | skill as a draftsman is manifested in the drawing of four horses in the background to the left and the right. And it likewise is demonstrated in his second picture—a portrait of an un- known youth, perhaps a scion of the Medici family, drawn with a pointed brush that is as sharp as a surgeon’s knife. A hint of African inheritance appears in the face, but does not spoil the indelible impression which it leaves upon the beholder, and the background biazes with the clear, limpid light that is one of Bottice! 1i’'s distinctive properties. Pietro Perugino, Vannucei, “most celebrated of all the Umbrian painters” (1447?-1523), fol- “Crucifixion,” which Mr. Mellon bought from the Soviet authorities for $201,250. The whole composition is filled with the dignity of the martyr- dom, the Savior is shown on the cross, | but at peace, and the four mourners— | presumably the Virgin, the Magdalen, St. Jerome and St. John—have love, but neither fear nor doubt in their eyes. Strangely, however, the scene is a valley and not the “green hill far | away” of Scriptural tradition. One picture by Bastiano Mainardi (died 1513) is ineluded. He is a “forgotten man” among even his con- temporaries, yet his frescoes still are admired by visitors to Florence, and the sample of his talent which is to hang in Washington will not be over- looked. It is a small portrait of a young woman, a profile, somewhat stiff, yet none the less attractive for its color and the curious immortality which it bestows upon the subject. Fifth in the procession is the “magic name” of Raphael Sanzio (1483-1520), “the best-beloved of painters,” who “worked miracles of art” in the short 37 years of his life in Florence and Rome. Mr. Mellon has two of his unchall ‘masterpieces—the Alba Madonna and the Niccolini Madonna. THE former of these works was executed in Rome in 1510, and long bung: in -»- convens ingNaples, | Goddess of Love with two cupids, the from which it passed to a Spanish viceroy, the ducal house of Alba. a London banker and the Hermitage cellection, successively. Mr. Mellon paid $1,166.400 for it, and critics have said that it was a bargain, even at so high a price. The composition presents the Holy Mother, the Infant Christ and St. John in an open field. and there is & ceriain symbolism in the action depicted. The baby saint is offering the Sacred Child a toy cross. In the Niccolini conception a more human, less sorrowful version of the Madonna theme is offered. The Virgin is shown in a rose-red robe. blue mantle and yellow-green undersleeves with the signature of Raphael em- broidered on the hem of mantle, and the Infant is a playful “average” child. George Nassau, third Earl Cowper, purchased the painting in 1780. when he was British Ambassador at the Court of Tuscany, and Lady Des- borough of Panshanger, Hertfordshire, was its owner when Mr. Mellon offered $875,000 for it through Lord Duveen. Both pictures must be included in any list of the very greatest art treasures that have crossed the Atlantic. But Mr. Mellon also s giving his country two other Italian paintings of exceptional celebrity—one by Ti- ziano Vecellio, called Titian of Venice (14772-1576), and one by Bernardino Luini of Milan (1475?-1532?). The Titian canvas is the glorious “Toilet of Venus,” for which the Soviet authotities are reported to have asked $660,000, a rich example of the Vene- tian master’'s “secular” phase—the latter “holding up a mirror to nature.” But the Luini picture, it safely may be prophesied, will be the most ropu- lar painting in the Italian depart- ment of Mr. Mellon’s gallery. It is simply as a “Portrait of a but probably is the beautiful Laura, who Luini loved as Dante loved properly Pietro | lows with his quiet and reserved | | harp. Beatrice—in vain. The whole work. |1s is plain to see. has been an act Mellon from the | of self-sacrifice and devotion. Gazed the figure veritably seems to | the girl is grey over white, and the { head covering is peculiar—round and | fleecy. smile that is the secret of the picture’s fascination. Surely, it is one of the most memorable esthetic creations in the world. MR. MELLON, however, has equally notable pictures in the early | Flemish division of his collection. Representing Jan van Eyck of Bruges (1380-1441), credited by many with having been “the inventor of oil paint- ing,” he possesses a fine “Annuncia- tion,” acquired from the Hermitage at a price said to have been $517,500. Painted in 1434, it is a product of the matured talent of its author, and has the power to move the imagination, which is the final test of all great art. The spectator “feels” the drama of the occasion depicted—the moment | tragedy. Van Eyck's successor in the Flemish school was Roger van der Weyden of Tournay (1400?-1464), whose “Por- trait of a Lady” Mr. Mellon owns. ‘The subject “is not beautiful, but she has an air of great distinction,” dressed in “a dark robe with a turned- over collar, opening at the throat.” A close-fitting cap and a long thig mus- lin veil provide the ‘“highlights” of | the composition, and the whole work is organized in triangular form, while the magnificent modeling of the hands proves the theory that the painter originally was trained in sculpture. Of the production of Van der Weyden’s pupil, Hans Memling of Bruges (1430?-1494), there is the cele- brated Angels,” bought by Mr. Mellon from the Duke of Anhalt’s gallery. Like the Van Eyck number, it is suffused with a Gothic atmosphere, but it also re- flects the painter’s experience in Italy. The Virgin appears seated in a throne with a brocade drapery behind her and an Eastern carpet under her feet. In her hands she holds a book which the Infant Christ also touches. To one side kneels an angel with a violin and an offering of an apple; to the other is an angel playing & narrow ‘The painting illustrates the dawn of a new era in the esthetic character of Northern Europe—the m-mmuuuntl'u | But it is the quiet, patient, | fore Him with their gifts or in at- | beautiful face with its Mona wvisa of the beginning of the sublime | “Madonna and Child With| began | “one of the very their march of conquest over e Middle Ages. A fourth great name included is that of Sir Anthony Van Dyck of Antwerp and England (1599-1641) “the last of the Flemish masters of the supreme rank.” His work generally is discussed in three periods, and of these Mr. Mellon has excellent examples of two—the first and the second. One picture is “St. Martin and the Beggar,” executed about 1619; the other is a portrait of the lovely “Marchesa Balbi," done about 1627. In the former. the good saint is shown in the act of sharing his cloak with a mendicant The latter presents “one of the fairest women" in Europe in a gown of green, black and gold—a symphony in shadows, in which only the face and the hands catch the hidden sun. THE former Secretary’s pictures by Rembrandt van Ryn, dean of the Dutch school (1606-1669), likewise are distinctive. He has the master’s “Death of Lucretia,” a composition described as being “painted in gold.” dealing in novel and romantic man- ner with the ancient theme of the suicide of Sextus Tarquin's victim The subject is depicted in a heavy gown of russet calor and wearing the precious jewelry of which Rembrandt was so fond and which played an un- happy part in the story of his career. Other Rembrandt canvases included in Mr. Mellon's gift are a fine “Self Portrait” dated 1659 and showing the artist when trouble had etched and | stained his countenance; a “Portrait of a Young Man," 1662, from the ‘Wachtmeister collection; and a “Por- trait of an Old Lady Seated in an Armchair.” 1643, from the Montsger- mont Gallery, Paris. The last of these isa splendidly harmonious work, generally judgrd to be symptomatic of the painter’s apex of genius. | From the brush of Frans Hals, Rem- brandt's most important rival (1580°- | 11666?), Mr. Mellon has numerous pic- ures, the best of which probably is a | | “Portrait of an Old Lady With a! th | tle and sympathetic treatment of ad- ' vanced but serene old age. Especially interesting is & slngle‘ canvas by Antonio Moro, otherwise known as Sir Anthony More of Utrecht and London (15122-1575). a| “Self Portrait” in black and gray, the artist choosing also to portray | his dog, & stalwart animal who looksj | out from the frame with a solemnity | | which matches his master’s. | | " In his Dutch division Mr Mellon’s | treasures embrace -three noteworthy | | compositions by Jan Vermeer o(} | Delft, “the painter's painter” (1622- | 1675). These are: “The Girl With the Red Feather,” “The Laughing | Girl” and “The Lace Maker.” All are | engaging studies of members of the painter’s own family and the happy | young daughter with eyes full of fun | in the second canvas is particularly | | charming. | Of Dutch interiors there are.two which are certain to attract atten- | tion, “A Gentleman Greeting a Lady,” by Gerard Terborch of Zwolle (1617- 1681), and “The Intruder,” by Gabriel Metsu (1630-1667). The latter is a | spirited domestic incident in which a gallant young man is prevented from disturbing a ladies’ tete-a-tete of the kind which is common in even “the best” families. Pieter de Hooch (1629-1683?) is | picture in his characteristic style of faithful tranquility. The Dutch department closes with | two_glorious landscapes by Meindert Hobbema (1638-1709)—"“La Ferme au Soleil” and “A View on a High Road.” Each of these works testifies to the | mastery of weather effects for which | the artist is celebrated. | Mr. Mellon’s gems from the German school include “A Portrait of a Young Man, 1507,” by Albert Durer of Nurem- berg (1471-1528), one of the most gen- erously gifted draftsmen the world ever has seen. The picture shows a youth with fair hair and blue eyes, resem- bling the subject of at least o1. other work executed by Durer during his visit to Venice. THER.E also are two magnificent portraits by Hans Holbein the Younger (1497-1554?)—"“Edward VI” as a child 2 years old, judged to be Ereatest pgrtraits ever represented in an unnamed courtyard i Six great portrait gems from t of the Treasury Andrew W. Mellol contribution to the elevation of W: of the United States Top, left to right: “Sir Bryan Tuke." “Portrait of a Lad: by Hans Holbein the Younger: he collection of former Secretary n, pledged to the Nation as his ashington as the cultural center " by Bernardino Luini: “An Old Lady Seated in an Armchair,” by Rembrandt van Rijn. and “The Hon. Mrs. Davenport,” by George Rom Young Man,” by Albert Durer, and Hoppner. painted by any hand.” and “Sir Bryan Tuke,” an officer of the court of Henry VIII, attired in gold chain-mail and a dark Tebe. From French studios Mr. Mellon has acquired a famous picture by Nicolas Lancret (1690-1743)—"La Carmargo,” a company of dancers in a woodland landscape. also two lively cupid sub- jects, “L’Amour” and “La Folie,” by Jean Honore Fragonard (1732-1806), and two poetical landscapes, “Le Lac de Garde” and “Une Idylle Ronde DEnfants,” by Jean Baptiste Camille Corot (1796-1875). ‘The Spanish school paintings which | Mr. Mellon owns are among the most interesting that ever have come to America. By Domenico Theotoco- poulos, called El Greco (15452-1614), he has “St. Martin and the Beggar” and “St. Ildefonso,” both priceless specimens of a unique and exuberant genius, and by Don Diego de Silva y Velasquez (1599-1660), court artist to King Philip IV, he has “A Woman Sewing,” described as “so natural it seems to speak” though the lady por- trayed appears too busy to consider conversation. Several studies of eminent persons | by Prancisco Jose de Goya y Lucientes | of Aragon (1746-1828) are included. There are among the number a large portrait of Senora Garcia and a still larget and exceedingly more com- pelling portrait of the Marchesa Pon- tejos—this last a star of supreme dis- tinction. | in the collection will b clear from a mere listing of the painters and titles: Sir Josuha Reynolds (1723-1792), “Lady Caroline Howard” and “Lady Elizabeth Compton”; Thomas Gains- borough (1727-1788), “Duchess of | Devonshire”; George Romney (1734- 1802), “The Honorable Mrs. Daven- port”; Sir Henry Raeburn (1756-1823), “Miss Eleanor Urquhart”; John Hop- lyn,” and Sir Thomas Lawrence (1769- 1830), “Lady Templeton and Son.” Critics praise especially the studies of the Duchess of Devonshire and Miss Urquhart, agreeing that each is an authentic masterpiece of ‘the highest order. Mr. Mellon’s American pictures in- clude a portrait of George Washing- ton, by Gilbert Stuart (1756-1828), and a portrait of Alexander Hamilton, by John Trumbull (1756-1843). But Mr. Mellon, it should be said in conclusion, is givijg himsell as well The strength of the British school | pner (1758?-1810), “The Misses Frank- | as his paintings. More than 30 years of study, care and love went into his plan before the public ever heard of its existence, and in that circum- stance, surely, there may be found | the major significance of his gift. 'HE growing importance of Wash- ington as a great art center is demonstrated by a brief review of the treasures already on public display in the several museums and galleries of | 4 the city. | | In the Corcoran Gallery. founded { by William Wilson Corcoran in 1869, | and generously endowed by Senator | and Mrs. William A. Clark in recent | years, may be seen paintings by Peru- | | gino, Titian, Rembrandt, Rubens,: Frans Hals, Hobbema, Van Dyck | Chardin, Reynolds, Raeburn, Gain: | borough, Hogarth, Millet, Rousseau, | | Corot, Stuart, Copley, Morse, Sully, | Inness, Winslow Homer, Wyatt, Alex- | ander, Sargent, Abbey, Boutet de Monvel, Degas, Turner, Duveneck, Chase, Melchers. Bellows, Davies, | etc.; drawings by Jacopo and Gentile Bellini, Correggio, Ghirlandaio, Gior- | gione, Raphael, Da Vinci, Rubens, Murillo and Velasquez; _sculptured works by Canova, Houdon, Barye, | Powers, Remington, Saint Gaudens, | | Bartlett, Borglum, etc.; laces, tap-| | estries, rugs, faience, antiquities, | stained glass, furniture and orna- ments. The Smithsonian Institution, estab- | lished by James Smithson, 1829, has | | in its care for the National Gallery | | of Art when it shall be built paintings | |by Luini, Titian, Mainardi, Maes, | Guardi, Hogarth, Reynolds, Romney, | Gainsborough, Raeburn, Lawrence, Hoppner, Kneller, Stuart, West, Con- stable, Ribera, Hunt, Inness, Chase, Blakelock, La Farge, Melchers, Watts, Vedder, Delacroix, Hassam, Kendall, etc, and in the Freer Gallery, be- queathed by Charles L. Freer, 1919, a unique collection of paintings, en- gravings and drawings by James Ab- bot McNeill Whistler; pictures by | | Dewing, Homer, Melchers, Sargent, | Thayer, Tyron, Twachtman, etc., and | & notable collection of bronzes, ivories, | crystal, lacquer, ceramics and tex- | tiles from Babylonia, China, Egypt, | Greece, Corea and India. At the Folger Shakespeare Me- morial Library, given by Henry and | Emily Folger, 1930, are works by‘l Carnelius JansseogBeynolds, Koeller, rey. Below: *“A Portrait of a “The Misses Franklyn,” by John Lawrence, Romney. Turner, Maclise, Sully, West, Fuseli, Zucchero, Row- landson, Dicksee, Stothard, Cawse, Hamilton, Peters, Pine, Buchel, Por- ter, Cattermole, Westall, Wheatley, Blake, Wright, Angelica Kauffman, Opie, Zuccarelli, Rossetti, Cruikshank Smirke, Rackham, etc.; thousands of original drawings and water colors by different hands, and approxi- mately 100,000 prints of esthetic, lit- erary and historical importance. ON EXHIBITION at the Phillip Memorial Gallery of Modern Art organized 1919 by Duncan Phillip in memory of his father, Maj. Dun- can C. Phillips, are pictures by Ei Greco. Chardin, Constable, Courbet. Whistler, Manet, Renoir, Monet, Cezanne, Gauguin. Van Gogh, Ma- tisse, Picasso, Davies, Weir, Prender- gast, Henri, Bellows, Sloan, Homer Marin, Sterne, Speicher, Higgins, Kent and many other artists, as well as the most important collection of the works of Daumier extant. The Library of Congress possesses one of the most comprehensive col- lections of prints and photographs to be found anywhere in the world: murals by Pearce, Simmons, Dodge. ‘Walker, Thompson, McEwen, Gutherz. Alexander, Vedder, Maynard, Van Ingen, Shirlaw, Reid, Barse, Mackay, Benson, Kenyon Cox, Pratt, Garn- sey. Melchers, Van Ingen, Blash- field, etc.; statues by Niehaus, Donoghue, Potter, Bartlett, French, Pratt, Ward, Saint Gaudens, Baur, Boyle, MacMonnies, etc.: mosaics and bas-reliefs, and miscellaneous art- craft in marble, bronze, iron and glass In the Capitol are the famous friezc and frescoes designed by Constantinc Brumidi and executed in part by Filippo Costaggini: paintings by Stu- art, Peale, Trumbull, Vanderlyn, Geve- lot, Powell. Weir, Walker, etc.: sculp- tured works by d'Angers, Hubard. Stone, Borglum, Saint Gaudens, Rog- ers, Powers, Partridge, French, Adams. Simmons, etc., and in various Govern- ment department buildings literally thousands of paintings, statues. draw- ings and other works dating back to the founding of the Republic. Semi-public collections which also should be listed are those in the cus- tody of the several universities, Wash- ington Public Library, Washington Cathedral, the American Red Cross, the Daughters of the American Rev- olution and numerous schools, clubs. churches and other institutions. 300,000 Elms Destroyed. Nearly 300.000 elm trees, dead or ying. have been chopped down in the Government's campaign against the Dutch elm disease, one of the most dangerous plant pests to enter this country and one which threatens wholesale destruction of the elms un- less control measures are effective. Practically all of the cases so far disclosed have been within an area of 5,000 square miles, in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, although the first cases were found in Ohio near veneer factories. While the eradication crews are busy chopping down and burning marked trees, Mr. Strong said, scouts search out and tag for destruction many more that are a potential source of danger to all healthy elms. The presence of Dutch elm disease has not been confirmed in all these trees. Nevertheless, Mr. Strong ex- plains, their prompt removal is vital for the preservation of the American elm. Every unhealthy tree is a men- | ace on several counts. It may harbor, or provide a good breeding place for, the tiny insects—the elm bark beetles —that may carry infectious material. Guide for Readers PART 4. Page. John Clagett Proctor’s Article on old Wash- ington “Those Were the Happy Days,” by Dick Mans- el Gem Cutter’s Work .. Books and Art Musical Affairs Radio News and Programs, ;-Z