Evening Star Newspaper, March 28, 1937, Page 5

PAINTINGS IN OIL SEENATCORGORAN Gallery Offers Month Review of Contemporary Amer- ican Works. BY LEILA MECHLIN. Much may be said in praise as well a8 disparagement of the Fifteenth Biennial Exhibition of Contemporary American Oil Paintings, which opened in the Corcoran Gallery of Art with a private view last evening. In praise, because of its comprehensive character and the many admirable works set forth; in disparagement, because, in @ laudable endeavor to be fair and lfberal, numerous works have been admitted which possess little merit save that of reflecting certain trends of the day. But to a remarkable degree this ex- hibition does manifest the state of art in America in this year of grace 1937. It tells us the best and the worst, and we must balance the one against the other. Furthermore, it makes us think. ‘We have long been told, and believed, that art reflects life, but we have been wont to suppose that this meant our life, the life of those who had the time and inclination to visit art galleries and exhibitions. To discover that this is only partially true is & shock and | disillusionment. To comprehend in even a small de- gree what is taking place in this fleld one must have some knowledge of world affairs and at least a bowing acquaintance with influences which in the last 20 years have turned the stream of art into entirely new chan- nels. Since the Great War there has been social unrest all over the world, old standards have been swept away, new idols set up. The measure of merit once universally accepted is as useless today as rubber overshoes in & desert. Naturally there is confusion and fear, the latter chiefly of mis- understanding. But, after all, timidity gets us nowhere and there are certain fundamental facts among the wide- spread wreckage to which one may safely cling—there is a great tradition to which the living art of many cen- turies has conformed and to which the best art of the day still conforms without hurt or hindrance. On Display for One Month. For confirmation of these convic- | tions let us turn to the exhibition in the Corcoran Gallery of Art which this afternoon and for a month thereafter will be open to the public. No better painting has been done in this country for the past quarter of a century than some that we find here. ample, as John C. Johansen's portrait of Dr. Joseph W Mauck, Frank W. Benson's “Still Life” and Aldro Hib- bard'’s Winter landscape, “Along the dif- In River"—to select three widely ferent works almost at random fact, if one will seek them out some | such works are to be found in every one of the 14 galleries which this great exhibition occupies. Let us pass from room to room According to the catalogue, the visi- tor should begin his survey in the series ot four galleries in the “new wing,” saparated from the main building by | the Clark collection. In the first and largest of these the eye is greeted by a profoundly impres- | sive religious painting, “The Disrobing of Christ,” by Joseph T. Pearson, jr., of Philadelphia, who is also repre- sented by a powerful “Pieta.”” Here, centering one long wall, is a large canvas by Gifford Beal of a group of people on the shore watching a “Yacht Race,” an attractive subject, in the handling of which one may trace the influence of Renoir exerted perhaps | through close acquaintance with the | ~Lunch of the Canoeists” in the Phil- lips collection—but not unpleasantly. On the opposite wall, also serving | as center, is Leon Kroll's “Road From the Cove,” which won first prize in the Carnegie Institute's 1936 Inter- national, a strange composition. but beautifully painted. To the right and | left of this hang as pendants “Frozen | River,” by Hobart Nichols, and “Along the River,” by Hibbard, while beyond | may be seen a fine portrai: by Marie | Danforth Page of her husband in his | 1aboratory, which she entitles “Microbe | Hunter,” and & charming landscape, | ~Autumn in Vermont,” by Marian P. Bloane, also of Boston. Portralt Studies Engaging. In Gallery B there are three widely different but very engaging portrait studies: “A Muse,” by Robert Brack- man, who is without doubt one of the | most gifted of the so-called new school, and whose paintings, while limited in color gamut, have great re- finement of feeling as well as painter | quality; “Lumber Jacket,” by Harold Weston, done with e certain modern bravado, yet evident sincerity and | truth, and “Tony Betz,” by Alexander | James, extremely reticent in rendering, | but very subtle and fine. In this same gallery hang paintings by two well- known Washingtonians, ‘‘Mexican | Mother and Daughters,” by Catharine | ©. Critcher, and a portrait of “Mrs. Parsons,” by Eugen Weisz—both | strong workas. Gallery C provides diversion through | the extremely varied character of its exhibits. Here one notes a portrait study, “Anne in Costume,” by Marcia Silvette of Richmond, painted with the smooth precision of the old masters and suggesting inevitably, and perhaps $00 much, “Mona Lisa,” yet very skill- ful, and nearby a realistic still life— old flat irons and a dish cloth—by Pernadine Custer of New York, while @ little to the right are Minna Citron’s unpleasant, though perhaps .clever painting of the “Dress Circle, Carnegie Hall,” by no means calculated to in- erease love or respect of one's fellow man, and s very up-to-date but rather photographic painting by G. Grifin Driscoll of the “Ohio Flood.” Lighten- ing the sense of tragedy, however, are delighttul little canvases: “May Morn- ing,” by J. Eiiot Enneking; “Off the Asores” by Henry B. Snell, and *Winter at Snug Rocks” by Wells M. S8awyer. Works by two of the most widely publicized painters of the day, Thomas H. Benton and Grant Wood, hang tn Gallery D, the former contributing ® ocomie picture of three young boys playing on musics! instruments, “Mis- souri Musician and the latter an epic of the automobile, “Death on the Ridge Road,” neither of which ean be said to have artistic sig- nificance. Here, too, is & very large eanvas by Frank Mechau, jr, who eame to notice % couple of years ago through the medium of a Govern- ment competition for mural paintings and has steadily advanced in favor. Yt is of “The Last of the Wild Horses” and shows a corral filled with running horses and mounted horse- men against & background of moun- tain, deeply indented by natural forces and very white. The treatment of this complicated composition is Such, for ex- | | rendering, the color is pleasing, and | of work, and the other of the “Old “Portrait of Dr. Joseph W. Mauck,” by John C. Johansen. These three paintings are among the outstanding works in the fifteenth biennial exhi- bition of contemporary Amer- ican oil paintings at the Corcoran Gallery of Art. childish, rendition by Doris Lee of & | | “Landscape With Hunter”—a man on the bank of a woodland stream with & deer and a fox approaching simul- | taneously from different directions. | Paintings of an almost primitive naiveté are especially to the fore today. i Lahey Portrait Is Commanding. Passing through the galleries set | aside for the Clark collection by either of two routes, the visitor finds himself in the main building with nine more rooms and the atrium given | over to the continuation of the cur- rent exhibition. In the center of the | wall in Gallery I, of the east range, | where have successively hung some | of the greatest pictures shown in these biennials is now to be seen a full- | length, standing portrait by Richard H. Lahey of his wife. No greater | compliment could have been paid any | painter. Although Mr. Lahey is re- |garded as a progressive, this portrait | is essentially conservative in style and the subject's gentle personality per- vades the work. By no means a “tour de force” this painting wins regard through its exceptional sin- cerity. It is in this gallery that Johanson’s splendid portrait of Dr. Mauck hangs, and here, too, is to be seen a portrait by Edmund C. Tarbell of his wife painted in his convincing manner with full brush and assured knowledge. A strong portrait study of a Mexican, “Jose Lupez,” by Wayman Adams, dominates in this gallery on one end wall, as does a seated full-length, “Jean in Costume,” by Eugene Speicher, another. Of special interest will be found in this group arrangement of two! large paintings by John Steuart Curry, | member of the Jury of Award, artist- in-residence at the University of Wis- | consin, the third of the much-publi- | cized trio of which Benton and Wood | are the other members. One of these | is entitled “The Rainbow” an_ shows | a man driving a herd of cattle through | & very green, lush landscape over- topped by a rainbow of dazzling bril- | liancy; the other is called “Return of | Private Davis From the Argonne,” and | is a funeral scene painted with all the sarcasm and satire this peinter can sufmon. The former should be beau- tiful, but is not, because of forcing of effect and consciousness of medium, the latter makes of & solemn occasion a horrifying joke, which is a pity. This somewhat painful impression is pleasantly offset by & colorful and excellent painting of amaryllls by Henry Varnum Poor, whose wall paintings in the Justice Building have been by no means favorably received— and by two interiors by local artists, | one of the “Drawing Room at Arling- | ton,” broadly and very well painted by Charles Bittinger—a delightful piece Supreme Court Room” in the Capitol, also competently rendered by Clarke Daniel. Ending and dominating the long‘ vista of this range of galleries is an allegorical painting by R. H. Ives! Gammell of Providence, R. I, and| Boston. It is entitled “Testimonial,” and is purposed as & protest against war. A very elaborate composition with many figures, it has been handled with great cleverness, has strength and dignity, and, what is more, ex- plains itself. On either side of this hang two very charming little land- ! scapes by Daniel Garber,- who was| also, it will be remembered, s member of the jury for this Fifteenth Biennial. Outstanding among the landscapes semi-conventional but out of the ordinary, and, while engaging the in- terest, leaves the observer quite cold. In striking contrast is & naive, almost A b = D HE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, “Europa,” by Philip F. Bell. MARCH 28, included in this showing—and inel-| dentally there are many less lande scapes than formerly—are tv., by Edward W. Redfield, one “Valley Mill,” a Winter picture in his familiar style, and the other “Mountain Brook,” which is in a completely new but very pleasing manner. With ap- parently no intention of keeping step | with the time, but rather with a renewal of vision, Mr. Redfield has found something different which is worthy of perpetuation, and a new | way of suitable transcription. In this canvas and in one included in the National Academy’s current annual in | New York, “Maine Garden,” one feels | the spirit of youth animating mature conception, which, to say the least, is an unusual and stimulating experience. The president of the National Acad- emy of Design, Jonas Lie, has never done a better piece of painting than may be seen in his large canvas cen- tering the east wall in Gallery J, “The | Curtain Rises,” u picture of fog over the water as seen from Bar Harbor, Me.; little boats at anchor in the| foreground, tree-grown rocky islands | rearing their heads above the fog blanket in the distance, a most inter- esting effect splendidly interpreted—a handsome canvas. To the right of this | hangs Jean MacLane's official portrait | of Secretary Perkins, painted here in| the Corcoran Gallery’s studio set aside for the use of visiting artists, a strong characterization; while to the left is to be seen Ernest L. Major's colorful painting of ““A Daughter of the Flowery Kingdom” in native costume. There are in this gallery a charming and very | skillfully painted head of a little girl, | “Bessie,” by Ellen Day Hale; an ex-| ceedingly good three-quarter length | portrait of “Fraulein Winkler,” by | Gladys Nelson Smith, and a very handsome rendition of “Magnolias.” by | Mathilde Mueden Leisenring. Here, too, may, be seen Hopper's prize-win- ning landscape with houses, ““‘Cape Cod Afternoon,” which for rendition of the illusion of light is undoubtedly pre- eminent, and Frederick J. Waugh's “Rugged Coast,” a marine, painted with knowledge, love and power. Bell's “Europa” Imaginative. Philip F. Bell of this city scores suc- cess in a decorative, allegorical paint- ing, “Europs,” which is indicative both of imaginative invention and mastery of medium. Another local painter, Alexander Clayton, also makes excel- lent contribution by way of a still life and more notably a figure painting, “Tom in Maine,” a portrait painted in Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt was an interested visitor yesterday afternoon at the Biennial Ezhibition of Contemporary American Oil Paintings at the Corcoran Gallery o is shown after congratulating the prize-winning artists. Left to rig out-of-door light with directness and firm modeling. This last serves as a pendant for Henriette Wyeth's portrait of her painter husband, “Peter Hurd,” lately shown in the Pennsylvania Academy exhibition and a prize winner therein. Mrs. Hurd is the daughter of N. C. Wyeth, the well-known illustra- tor (pupil of Howard Pyle), who is represented in this exhibition, strangely | enough, by a rather dreary, large canvas in the modern spirit entitled “The Letter.” Of the Taos school the most dis- tinguished representative in this ex- hibition is Earnest L. Blumenschein, who contributes two notable canvases, “Desert Mining Town" and “Rio | Grand, No. 2,” both subjects found in the Southwest, somewhat convention- alized, but very rich in color, fine in delineation of form and beautifully rendered. Here one finds originality devoid of eccentricity—a painter with A message and capable of its delivery. Berninghouse, also of the Taos school, makes likewise unusual contribution in | his painting, “Apache Encampment— Stinking Lake,” painted in an {llustra- tive manner. There is quite a vogue today for what may be called the toy village type of painting which in this exhibition is perhaps best represented by a all canvas by Lauren Ford, entitled “First Communion—St. Pallais,” a tiny little work done with the simplicity of the primitive and the precision of the most expert miniaturist of old. Stephen Etnier's “Coast Guard” is somewhat in the same atyle, though not carried so far, as is also Henry H. Brooks’ *“Vil- lage of St. Fidele.” In this connection mention may well be made of an amazing little still life painting by Frederick G. Hall, a nude | statuette in glazed and colored pattery, set forth with perfection of technique and remarkable interpretation of tex- | ture. There are an unusual number of still-life paintings in this exhibition, and among them not a few of excep- tional note—such as, to mention the outstanding, a large canvas of “Ma- donna and Child,” by Watrous; “Alice Through the Black Bottle,” by Charles 8. Chapman; “Peonies and Gold Screen,” by Herman Dudley Murphy; “Still Life,” by Leslie Thompson; “Display,” by Elizabeth Paxton; “Fried Eggs.” by Albert Sterner, and “Con- tent,” by I. Pulis Lathrop. Among the impressive portraits not previously mentioned is one of & blind veteran of the World War by Margaret FitzHugh Browne, a portrait of Bishop Mrs. Roosevelt Visits Corcoran Art Show Fifteenth Art. She ht: C. Powell Minnigerode, director of the gallery, who introduced her to the artists; Francis Speight, winner of third prize; Guy Pene du Bois, second prlf“e winner, Mrs. Roosevelt, Bernard Keyes, nner. Edward Hopper, first ) 4 jourth prize winner, and Tourth B ar Biag Foto { J. Taylor Hamilton by Alice Kent berlin Porter by David Silvette. today as our leading American portrait painter, is represented in this exhibi- tion by s portrait of “Eddie Eagan.” Other sport subjects are provided by Mahonri Young, who shows a small, characteristic painting of “The Referee —Joe Rivers,” and Marjorie Phillips, who has sent a base ball picture in her individualistic and inimitable style entitled “Ready for the Pitch.” There are still many good works that have not been mentioned—such, for example, as a painting entitled | “New England,” by Theresa Bernstein, in a manner broad and individualistic, and a charming view of “North Haven,” very competently rendered by John Benson, brother of the accom- plished painter-etcher, Frank W. Ben- son. The prize-winning paintings have not been discussed, they fall into a separate category and, to an extent, speak for themselves. Neither have the works which are disappointing, because not up to their painters’ estab- lished standard or repulsive subjec- tively and technically. That there are such in this comprehensive exhibition cannot be denied—but, presumably, if contemporary trends were to be fully illustrated, their inclusion was perhaps inevitable. The picture is complete. It is for the visitor, representing the general public, to determine which kind of art shall survive. Corcoran (Continued From First Page.) medal; “Meditation,” a semi-nude figure study by Guy Pene du Bols, also of New York, who was awarded second Clark prize of $1,500 and the Corcoran silver medal: “Boxholder No. 27,” a landscape showing & woman getting mail from a rural mail box, with farm buildings in the background, by Francis Speight of New Hope, Pa., who took third Clark prize of $1,000 and the Corcoran bronze medal, and “Snakey,” & portrait of a bartender, by Bernard Keyes of Boston, Mass., who received fourth Clark prize of $500 and the Corcoran certificate of honorable mention. The prize pictures were chosen by s jury of which William J. Glackens :MOO“QCOQMOOOOOOOQOO N * Also eomplete line of stand ard _and all-American ~made watches. S| the friendly store— you're always greeied wita & mile—with no obligation tg y. 9000000000000 0000000000000 0000000000000 00000000000000 00000000000000000000006- Any one afflicted knows ARTHRITIS «« . rheumatism . . . neuritis should be arrested in their eariier stages «..avold a life of pain and heip- lessness. Learn how Mountain control and eliminate uric acid i sands of safferers have benefited Il <+« you have everything to gain. ||l Phome today or write Mountain I il MEt. 1008, for § Stoddard and one of Dr. Frank Cham- | Leopold Seyffert, who many regard | Valley Mineral Water from Hot|: Springs, Ark, can help you . . .| « . . flush out the poisons. Thou- |: Valley Water Co., 1405 K St. N.W., | | ‘beokilet. 1937—PART ONE. “First Communion,, St. Pal- lais,” by Loren Ford. 2 f of New York was chairman, and which | included John Steuart Curry of Madie | son, Wis.; Daniel Garber of Lumber- ville, Pa.; Richard Lahey of this city |and William M. Paxton of Boston. | The jury passed on more than 2,000 entries before selecting those admitted to the exhibition, and superintended | hanging of the pictures. The cash prizes were provided from income derived from a trust fund established by the late Senator W. A. Clark of Montana and the expense of holding the show is being met from income of a trust fund set up by the Senator's widow. Excess income from both funds may be used for the purchase of works of art by American artists for the permanent | collection of the gallery. | The paintings on exhibition are by | 405 artists in 28 States, the District | of Columbia and the Virgin Islands. They take up more than one-third of a mile of wall space and comprise the largest and most representative show- | | ing of professional work by living | American artists to be found any- where in the United States Diplomats Are Guests. Among last night's spectators were many artists, critics, collectors and museum officials from other cities. | Other special guests included diplo- | | mats, members of Congress, Govern- | ment officials and representatives of Capital society. A review of the exhibition. by Miss Leila Mechlin, art editor of The Star, appears in another column. Most of the pictures on display are for sale, and proceeds from any sales will be turned over, without commis- sion charges, to the artists. ‘The exhibition will be open to the public tomorrow from 9 am. to 4:30 p.m., but on succeeding Mondays the hours will be from noon to 4:30 p.m. On all other week days the hours will be from 9 to 4:30 o'clock. Sunday | hours will be from 2 to 6 pm. An| admission charge of 25 cents will bel made on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, which are the regular “pay” | days at the gallery. | A special free period has been ar- | ranged for next Friday from 7:30 to 10 p.m. | U. S. Employes’ Forum March 31 The forum meeting of the District | Federation of Federal Employes’| Unions will be held at 8 p.m. Wed- | nesday at 710 Fourteenth street. Res- olutions to be taken up at the annual convention of the National Federation of Federal Employes, at Springfleld, 11, in September, will be discussed. Completely Installed in 6 Rooms as Low as 275 Price includes new Arco Ideal Botler, 6 Radiators and 300 ft. Radiation. Can be used with COLUMBIA ISLAND SPAN CHANGE IS APPROVED Bridge to Provide Connection ‘With Lee Boulevard to Be Constructed of Wood. Approval by BSecretary of War ‘Woodring of an application by the National Park Service for modification of plans for the Boundary Channel Bridge was announced yesterday by the War Department. The bridge is to be constructed | across the channel, from the north | end of Columbia Island to the Vir- ginia shore, to provide for & road connection to Lee boulevard. ‘““The plans as now submitted pro- A-S trestle, instead of a concrete arch bridge, as had been provided by the plans when first approved,” the War Department announced. The change to timber trestle, it is said, is a temporary expedient to allow for settling of the earth fill before the permanent bridge is built. RE-ROOF With BIRD ROOFING No Money Down, 3 Yrs. to Pay Home Improvement and Insulation Company 2108 Nichols Ave. 8.E. ATlantle 3153 vide for the construction of a timber THE PIANO There is no more fasci- nating study in all the world than the study of the piano, and none which so richly rewards the student. Learn to play the piano—learn to love your piano. 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