Evening Star Newspaper, May 29, 1937, Page 13

“The Art Buyer,” one of a collection of 48 etchings by John Sloan now being Corcoran Gallery of Art. By Leila Mechlin. WO special exhibitions of prints were opened in the Corcoran Gallery of Art this week—one a general exhibition assembled and presented by the American Art- ists’ Congress, the other etchings by 8 single distinguished etcher, John | Sloan. | The former, to which the gallery of #pecial exhibitions has been assigned, is entitled “America Today,” com- prises 100 prints in different media and is said to be Nation-wide in rep- resentation. Collectively it sets forth & horrifying picture of contemporary life, and if this is America, one may well flee our shores. According to the announcement in the catalogue issued by the American Artists' Congress, this exhibition, | which is one of 30 such shows shown in cities throughout the countr nay as a whole be characterized as ‘so- clally conscious.” “It reflects,” we are told, “a deep- going change that has been taking place among artists for the last few years, a change which has taken many of them not only to their studio win- dows, but right through their doors into the street, into the coal mines, | steel mills, factories. More and more,” according to this statement, “the ar- tists are finding the world outside their | studios increasingly interesting and | exciting and filling their pictures with their reactions to humanity about | them rather than apples or flowers.” | ‘That the artists represented in this | exhibition are in the sternest sense realists, and have unflinchingly set forth what they saw, is impressively | evident—but how awful the sights and | with what possible pleasure can they have made their transcriptions? Ex- citing and interesting, it is said, but what type of mind can crime and degradation so affect? F THE 100 prints in this collection now on view, there are only 3, or B at most, that have in them the slightest element of beauty, or makei the least pretension of interprenngg that which is fair to see—lovely. To the contrary, what these artists have | chosen to set forth as seen “from their studio window or door” (we hope not) are such subjects as “Lynching,” the head of a man with a rope around his neck, choked or choking; a group of “Gangsters and Detectives,” indis- | guishable one from the other; a crazed | fool, “Insane Asylum, No. 1"; a mob, “In Times of Peace”; drunken sailors, “Shore Leave"”; human wrecks, “Dere- licts”; an old hag with onions in her 1ap, “Spring”; a bestial white-collar employer at his desk, “Dictation,” and so on ad infinitum. Almost with- out exception, it is the ugly, the vul- | gar, the degenerate as well as the tragic which is depicted—and not of necessity, but by deliberate choice, as | typical of America today. And it is not done, it would seem, with sorrow, pity, tenderness, fellow feeling or even momentary horror, | but as a spectacle—exciting, interest- ing—for which some one else is re- sponsible. Occasionally, but very sel- dom, a note of humor creeps in or a bit of satire becomes discernible, but for the most part, if these printmakers have experienced any personal reac- tions, they have not found expression in their works. Sad, ugly, dreadful, disgusting—even perhaps true—these prints do not seem purposeful or meant to mend conditions. They are not the work of reformers, but of irre- sponsible bystanders who have found in them grist for their mills—good grist, because shocking and unusual. But is it good grist? Let us for a moment consider the economic side. ‘To quote again the statement in the catalogue, which is for our informa- tion: “This revolutionary change | (from apples and flowers to lynchings and h'.nan derelicts) occurring among | the a‘tists is finding its complement in a changing attitude on the part of the growing public toward the print. Many people are now learning to re- gard the print not only as a wall deco- ration, but also as & form of contem- porary expression (was it ever any- thing else?) on the wall or in the port- folio.” Very true, but expression is, after 8ll, only a means to an end—not an end in itself—and the public much more than the artists is interested in the thing expressed. Why, therefore, the ugly print? For such there is Just one excuse, which is that it is 80 well done that the subject becomes of no consequence. “owever, in the last two or three hundred years less than a score of artists have attained to such heights—therefore for the artist of today it is a dangerous experiment. And, what is more, people do not buy that which makes no ap- peal. Taste varies, and is by no means impeccable, but the majority crave beauty and do their best to ac- quire it. To gloat over the ugly is in itself a sign of depravity. ANY of the works shown in this exhibition are competently done, well drawn, and clearly expressed, but this is mere technical achiever.ent. ‘The work which is touched with genius even faintly is a very different mat- ter. One work in this exhibition is so touched, and perhaps two others. This is a lithograph by Rockwell Kent of & mgn and a woman on a height above the world, looking into space and ask. ing the question, “And now where a work adhering to the universal; and its companions in merit are a little wood engraving by J. J. Lankes of a commonplace country scene beauti- fully interpreted, “‘Spring Twilight,” and an etching of “Subway Excava- N\ THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C., exhi; They are designed to show us how “the other half” live. & o = = tions,” downtown New York, by Abbo Ostrowsky, not perhaps beautiful in itself, but by inference—a big job well done—so big and so well done that it stirs the imagination and arouses ad- miration—and again, beautifully ren- dered with sensitive touch and feel- ing. A part of the program of the Amer- ican Artist Congress is the encour- agement of multiple production and the reduction of cost in the fleld of graphic art—that means publishing prints in very large editions and sell- ing at next to nothing—the price of a popular novel. But prints have never been published at prohibitive prices (they have almost always cost less on publication than automobile tires) and to increase in volume a commodity for which the demang is small would simply serve to decrease to a further extent its value. So much for the print market at | its best. At its worst, what possible | | profit can be anticipated by issuing | prints which repulse the potential buyer, as do these which set forth and exploit humanity on the lower | strata, vulgar and depraved, or scenes | ‘nnnece\um-lly ugly and offensive. For | the possession of such surely no nor- mal person could crave. What is it all about and why? If the printed statement of the Ameri- can Artists Congress, the exhibiting body, is to be believed, this and similar exhibitions will, it is thought, engender a great national movement | through which the great traditions of the past will be re-established. But | how vain a hope, measured by what | we see before us—what violent con- tradiction! Is this work indeed the product of those “socially minded" or is it evidence of deep-seated so- | cial decay? But whatever it may be, the majority will agree that it is | not representative of America today. A part of America, perhaps and alas, but only a small part and that grow- ing smaller. Let these artists open their eyes and look farther—their vision is too restricted. Bulletin of Exhibitions CORCORAN GALLERY OF ART—Permanent collections— American paintings, Clark col- lection, Barye bronzes. Spe- cial exhibition of prints “America Today,” presented by the American Artists’ Congress and etchings by John Sloan. Color prints by Elizabeth Keith NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART, United States National Mu- seum—Permanent collections— Evans, Gellatly, Ralph Cross, Johnson, Harriet Lane Johnson and Herbert Ward African sculptures. Stained glass win- dows by John La Farge and William Willet, paintings and etchings by Thomas Moran. Annual exhibition Association of Federal Architects, foyer ot National Museum. SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, DIVISION OF GRAPHIC ARTS—Exhibition of etchings by various well-known Ameri- can etchers. NATIONAL MUSEUM, ARTS AND INDUSTRIES BUILD- ING—Exhibition of pictorial photographs by members of the Washington Photographic So- ciety. FREER GALLERY OF ART— Permanent collection, paint- ings, drawings and etchings by Whistler. The peacock room, Oriental paintings, bronzes, pot- tery, miniatures, etc. PHILLIPS MEMORIAL GAL- LERY — Permanent ¢ollection, paintings by old and modern masters; also works in sculp- ture. Special exhibition water color, pen and pencil studies for paintings by Robert Franklin Gates. STUDIO HOUSE—Exhibition of work by students of Studio House during current year. TEXTILE MUSEUM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA— Will be closed to the public during the Summer months from May 29 to September 1. ARTS CLUB OF WASHINGTON —Members’ Summer exhibition. Paintings, prints and sculpture. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, DIVISION OF FINE ARTS— Exhibition of etchings and other prints by contemporary printmakers; Pennell litho- graphs; drawings by American illustrators. Special exhibition of illustrations by Frederic Dorr Steele. PUBLIC LIBRARY, MAIN BUILDING—Exhibition of works by pupils of Eugen Weisz, WOMEN'S CITY CLUB—Exhibi- tion by group of Washington artists. DUMBARTON HOUSE—Histori- cal art exhibit, furniture, arti- cles of utility and pictures. INTIMATE BOOKSHOP, LIT- TLE GALLERY — Sculpture, paintings, drawings, water col- ors by a group of eight Wash- ington artists. GALLERY OF MODERN MAS- TERS, 1367 Connecticut ave- nue—Water colors of New Eng- land and the West by Howard Giles. HOWARD UNIVERSITY GAL- LERY OF ART—Exhibition of, children's work of New York and Washington P. W. A,, and facsimile reproductions of an- tique frescoes. | humanity and at the same time our | and a living model serving as illus- | tration, | John Sloan Shows America | With a Difference. T WAS a most fortunate coinci- | dence which brought to the Cor- icomn Gallery of Art the collection ‘uf etchings by John Sloan for ex- hibition at the same time that the | collection of prints presented by the | American Artists Congress is on view. The similarity and contrast are both very striking. Similarity in theme, because Sloan has pictured in many | instances people of the slums and vulgarians of the upper social circles; cantrast because of his manner of transcription. These etchings by John Sloan, 48 in number, show us for the | most part how “the other half” lives, and they do not spare our feelings— | but not in a single instance do they leave us in doubt as to the etcher’s | (own point of view; they are sympa- }lhetlc‘ understanding—the laugh is not unkindly; he neither sneers nor Scoffs. And first and foremost he is invariably the artist; his slightest | touch betrays it, and as acquaintance | grows the quality of his work gives reassurance. What is this thing we call art? Not merely drawing and pa‘nting and modeling, but, if you will, a sixth | sense, a gift of the gods, which en- ables one to use these media sig- nificantly. Obviously the artist, en- dowed, concerns himself not merely with expression, but with that which provided opportunity for free play of his art. He sees, not alone, the sur- face, but beneath, and he makes us see what would otherwise remain un- seen. There is something very in- tangible about art, but back of the nstinctive and inexplicable, is thought and feeling. John Sloan is essentially “socially | minded.” He evidently delights in | drawing and painting and etching | people, sometimes, undoubtedly, just because they are people, humanly in- | teresting, and not very dissimilar, | Wherever they may be found. Some- | times he uses them as subjects be- cause they are part or parts of 8 composition, but even then he gives them life, individuality. Occaslonally there is the touch of | satire, as in “Picture Buyer,” or of { humor, as in “Show Case.” Now and | then he pictures the life of New York, “Buses in the Square,” “Roofs, Sum- mer Night,” “Subway Stairs,” in such wise that we recognize its teeming common kinship with all mankind. There are in this collection five portraits very skillfully etched, two of which are of Robert Henri, the | painter, whose influence on contem- poramy painting in this country was strong and vital. Another plate shows the painter, Anschutz, giving a lesson in anatomy before a class, a skeleton while in such plates as| “Memory” one undoubtedly catches a glimpse of the artist's own friendly circle. “McSorley’s Back Room” is an exceedingly clever rendition, both figures therein most poignantly por- trayed; in “Girls Running” there is | a delightful impression of swift mo- - REALISM IN PRINTS Beauty Lacking in Some Exhibits Made for Collection Shown at Corcoran Gallery. National Contrast. o— “Portrait of Robert Henri,” an etching by John Sloan, on erhibition at the Corcoran Gallery of Art. tion, and, finally, in “Treasure Trove,” a great height is reached, a height such as only the greatest have at- tained—this is, indeed, a little mas- terpiece. Writing on “John Sloan in the Print Room,” some years ago in the Ameri- can Magazine of Art, Frank Weiten- kampf, curator of prints, the New York Public Library, said: *President of the Society of Independents, John Sloan is a progressive in art, and yet not a revolutionary, in the sense of one with the ever-ready super- extravagant pose of discordant shriek to stagger the bourgeoisie. exponent of the virtue of tradition in its best sense. Eminently modern and in tune with his time, he has vet built firmly and sanely on the foundation of the best of the past.” After referring to Sloan’s trenchant use of the needle “in telling what has happened at & given time, with inference as to conditions, but with- out bitterness, or the overzealousness | the propagandist or reformer,” | of Mr. Weitenkampf recalls a statement made by W. B. McCormick effect that “Sloan moves neither in in the sky nor in the gutter.” John Sloan was born in Lock Haven, Pa, August 2, 1871, and studied under Thomas P. Anshutz in | the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, then under Henri in New York. as an fllustrator, working for Har- per’s, Scribner’s, Collier’s and other periodicals, after which came a pe- riod of poster making. As a painter, etcher, lithographer and teacher, he has attained exceptional distinction. “Whatever influences he has under- gone,” to again quote Weitenkampf, “have been merged into his own per- sonality. Whatever basis of tradition he has built on implies simply the natural outgrowth from the past. In his expression he is absolutely of his time. His is the contemporary flowering of art deep rooted and sound.” A Notable Copley Portrait Given to the Corcoran Gallery of Art. VALUABLE addition to the Corcoran Gallery of Art's per- manent collection has been an- nounced this week by the director, Mr. C. Powell Minnigerode. It is a three-quarter length portrait of Jacob Fowle painted by John Singleton Copley and was given by Miss Mary He is an | to the | He began his artistic career | brother, Francis Lee Daingerfield, “a lover of art and his fellow man and all,” so the inscription runs, “that was beautiful in this world.” Copley was one of the ablest and most distinguished of our early Amer- ican portrait painters, and a good Copley such as this is a possession which any museum of art would coves. Born in Boston in 1737, Copley received his first instruction from h step-father, Peter Pelham, an ac- complished mezzotintist. In 1775, after having established a reputation as a portrait painter in Boston and producing some extremely fine can- vases, Copley went to London and never returned, maintaining a studio there until his death in 1817. Among his fnost famous works are “The Death of Lord Chatham” and “The Death of Major Pierson,” both in the National Gallery, London. He is well represented, however, in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and other | American museums, and last year a notable collection of his portraits was shown, as a special exhibition, in the Metropolitan Museum, New York. The portrait of Jacob Fowle, which has now found permanent placement in the Corcoran Gallery of Art, shows the subject in a suit of red, standing with his gun in his left hand and his | plumed hat on a stand back of him, It is a very handsome painting, vivi | 1y colorful, skilfully rendered, correct | and veracious, at the same time ! sophisticated and assured. As a loan, | this painting has nhung in the Corco. | | ran Gallery for some time, and a re- wroduction of it has appeared in these columns, Ezhibition of Keith Wood | Block Prints Extended. \BECAUSE of the interest shown in | the informal exhibition of color | wood block prints by Elizabeth Keith, | | Which opened in the Corcoran Gallery of Art early in May, the date of clos- ing was postponed until May 31, with ;thav. day inclusive. During the period |of this exhibition twenty or more iprmLs were sold, which for Washing- | ton and this time of year is a record which eloquently testities to their in- | herent charm. Eight of these were | | purchased by the Library of Congress | for the National Print Collection. Miss Keith has made two long so- | Journs in the Orient, from the latest of which, of fours years’ duration, she H. Daingerfield in memory of her| SATURDAY, MAY 29, 19317. “Chickens and Anchor,” a water color by Robert Franklin Gates, on echibition at the Phillips Memorial Gallery until June 15. has but just returned. She has worked in China, Japan, Korea and the Philip- pines, and though she follows Japan- style quite her own and one in no wise imitative. Her single figures of Noh ;lclors have attracted special attention ‘and she has been invited to show a | group of these in a great exhibition | dedicated to the art of the dance which Kmll be held in Buffalo, N. Y.; Mont- | clair, N. J., and other cities. The Phillips Memorial Gallery Shows Studies for Paintings | bv Robert Gates. N EXHIBITION of water color, pen and pencil studies for paint- ings by Robert Franklin Gates opened in the print rooms of the Phillips Memorial Gallery May 22, to continue through June 15. A collection such as | this of studies serves primarily to ini- | tiate the public into the artist’s way of working, and must be regarded from quite & different angle from finished work. It represents the discipline to | Which any artist, no matter how tal- ! ented, must submit himself, but it also | uncon- | | evidences, unavoidably and | sciously the reaction of the artist to such. Mr. Gates undoubtedly takes his discipline standing up; there is no lack of spirit and ardor in his studies. He is not inherently a draftsman, his | use of line is not sensitive and is at times almost clumsy, but it is not in- significant. The same, perhaps, is true | of his color—he uses it well and effec- tively, but it lacks quality in itself. Some of his studies are very engaging | —such for example as squirrels, cock, chickens, katydids, the last most closely studied, the first very expressive of action. Interesting, | studies of nudes, well constructed and | well seen. Lingering in the mind of | the visitor will, in all probability, be a drawing of a sloop under sail, and of two local scenes, Farragut Square and Thomas Circle. Referring again to the matter of discipline, it is, after all, evidence of such that Mr. Gates' work | lacks—inasmuch as it is spontaneous | rather than orderly, artless rather than artful. But again we must re- mind ourselves that the works now on | view are studies—means to an end— but a part of a much larger whole. Artists Form Union and Demand | Social Security. N ARTISTS' union has been formed in Washington and is now holding its initial exhibition in the gallery of the Inter-Professional Association at 808 Seventeenth street, in which building the local Art Stu- dents’ League once had quarters, and many distinguished artists have from time to time occupied studios. This union is affiliated with the Artists’ Union of America, which has local chapters in several other cities | and is composed of independent art- ists and artists now employed on the Federal art projects. According to its published *‘manifesto,” the purpose of this organization is to unite all artists in their pursuit of economic security, and to encourage a wider distribution and understanding of art, together Artist Trio They Give Unscheduled Early-Morning Act on Carnival Lot. By Rowland Lyon. HE popular conception that an artist is just a gypsy at hea:t and a care-free Bohemian to boot may have something in it. Being an artist myself, as I like to remind all and sundry from time to time, I do know that a spreader of | paint has plenty of unemployed time to roam around. Pursuant to this latter statement, I wandered through the outskirts of the city a few days 2go and discovered & circus. Now if anything will bring out the latent gypsy in anybody even remotely a follower of the muse it is & circus. The gaudy colors, the posters adver- tising the freaks and monstrosities in the side shows and the trailer atmos- phere of impermanence all set the care-free heart to palpitating. Of course, having seen it, the next thing to do was to paint it and try to set down for posterity my reaction to the twentieth century edition of the medieval fairs. Now, being of a somewhat bashful disposition, I dislike braving the curlosity of the hol polloi by painting alone in public. An artist setting up an easel in an everyday world has the same effect on people as the sudden appearance of a dancing bear. They crowd around, chew gum in his ear while peering over his shoulder and roughly ask 600 questions. I, of course, did not know how circus roustabouts would react to a painter in their midst, but I feared the worst. With this in mind, the following morning I phonec Mary Margaret Hudgins, who likes to go sketching from time to time, and asked her to go along with me. She agreed, and on my way downtown to pick her up, as I was passing Philip Bell's studio, I thought that maybe he would like to .oin the party, the idea being that a group of even danc- ing bears would give onc another courage. He was still in bed when I called for him, but he sleepily agreed %o go if I would return for him after getting Mary Margaret. Finally the three of us, heavily loaded with paint boxes, water bottles, easels, tablets and brushes, started off, 4 Stages Performance for Circus Folk Bell still had had no breakfast, but hoped to get some on the way. The show, being an afternoon and evening affair, had that morning- after look. The different gadgets for swinging the patrons through the air, such as the ferris wheel, the airplane glide and the whip, were idle and the gambling wheels, with prizes of horrible plaster-of-paris dolls, were motionless. The actors, barkers and freaks were sleeping in their tents, but the laborers and roustabouts were beginning the day's work of getting ready for the evening crowd of those who like to be fooled. HAVING walked right in, we started looking about for subjects to paint. There is so much bright color in a circus that it presents an em- barrassment of riches. I picked out the fat ladies’ tent, the “penny pitch” and part of the merry-go-round. Mary Margaret and Bell chose other objects. 1 bad Do sponer started than & a alal ENTRANCE | —FAT & group of the hired hands, who had been idly sitting around talking about the wild time they had had in subur- ban night life, crowded up. “Watcha painting, mister?” and “what do you do wit’ tha pitcher when you get it drawed?” were the two most popular questions. A man in the white overalls of a house painter stepped up with an air- brush in his hand and said: “Gees! Can you tie that? I have to work like a dog all day painting and this guy does it for fun!” Several others offered to pose if I would “take their pictures.” Suddenly &n individual by the name of “Whitey” appeared and shouted: “Beat it, you muggs! Can’t Jou see the man's try- ing to paint?” A middle-aged man, well dressed, extended to me the hospitality of the place and told me to sketch whatever I liked. “That's the big boss,” said ‘Whitey in awed tones after he left. The fatb lady named “Flo* waddled A \ IRL THIN MAN RowbLAaND Lyon out of her tent to look at the painting. One of the crowd remarked: “He didn’t have a big emough canvas to put you on.” Whereupon much loud laughter from the assembled group. It happened that both Mary Mar- garet and Bell included the “penny pitch” in their work and, as I men- tioned above, it was also in my com- position. The operator of the pitch noticed this and remarked proudly to a friend: “My penny pitch sure is catching hell this morning!” As I had my Whitey as sponsor and protector, so Mary Margaret and Bell had one, “Shorty.” Having finished my sketch, I was offered a job as a scene painter in the show. But I resisted the lure. Mary Margaret and Bell were ready to go and the admiring crowd bade us fgrewell with the comment that a! though the paintings were *swell,” they would have been better if we had managed to put their portraits in the immediate foreground of each sketch. a ese methods and tradition, she has a | too, are his | with increased educational nclivitips.! The way the first purpose is to be | accomplished is by forcing support | from the Federal Government. Rec- | ognizing that “private patronage does | not provide economic security for the artists,” this union, to further quote the manifesto, demands that the Gov- ernment fulfill its responsibility to- | ward all unemployed artists as to all unemployed workers; that it maintain and further the cultural standard of | the country by proper use of the art- ist’s talent, giving employment in their | own craft; and that it set up and‘ maintain the necessary machinery for | the widest possible distribution of art to the public. As yet, this union lays no restric- tions on its members as to employ- ment, wage or hours of labor, neither does it demand group action, but it will, it announces, co-operate with manual workers in their effort tc ob- tain economic security. | The Artists’ Union and the Amer- fcan Artists’ Congress are closely al- | lied, the one being outgrowth of the | other. The Artists’ Congress came into existence for the purpose of opposing war and Fascism, both of which are considered detrimental to the development of art. Graduall® other objectives have been added. The union, on the other hand, favors Gov- ernment control of art, but under regulation by the artists. It, too, has an educational and economic program The local group so organized is of the conviction that the District of Columbia Federal Art Project has not been fully effective and the current exhibition is planned to mitigate this | shortcoming. It is a small showing and not very | impressive. Better, it is said, will fol- low. There are three good works in sculpture and a few good drawings. Some of the canvases have been pre- viously shown in local exhibitions un- der the auspices of the Government Art Projects or local organizations, but they do not gain measurably by | being shown again and in the present company. There are a couple of ab- stract designs cleverly executed and no less intelligible than such by the best of this persuasion. But the col- lection as a whole is far from reassur- ing, judged by the standards com- monly applied. With the problem of | economic security in the bac.l:ground’ this little exhibition, despite its appar- ent gayety and assurance, takes on a | solemn aspect. And vet, at the opening on Tues- | day afternoon, Mr. John Cunningham | of the Artists’ Congress, a producing | artist now employed in the section of | exhibitions of the Resettlement Ad- ministration, the guest speaker, said that in his opinoin this exhibition (presumably because of its underly- ing significance) was the most ime portant art event of the year, per= haps many years, in Washington. It is all very confusing, but of this we and these artists seeking social, eco= nomic security may be sure, and that is that when an art is produced which has something to give, it will be | wanted and it will be bought—here is the key to the solution, but the artists themselves must find the lock and open it. Local Art Student Wins Two Notable Awards. AFTER the announcement of the Prix de Rome winners was made in these columns last week, word was | received here that an honorable mene tion in painting had been given to Oke G. Nordgren of the Corcoran School of Art, which, because of the high standing and qualifications of the contestants, is a great honor. Nordgren has also lately won by competition a scholarship which proe vides a Summer course of study in residence at the Tiffany Foundation at Oyster Bay, Long Island. This zeal and successful young artist acts as a guard in the Corcoran Gale lery during the day and studies at night in the school. He has, howe ever, not only industry, but real promise, Summer Class in Outdoor Painting to Be Conducted By Weisz. {UGEN WEISZ, vice principal of the Corcoran School of Art, ane | nounces, for a second season, a Sume mer class of outdoor painting, to begin early in June and continue for several weeks continuously. Various localities will be chosen as meeting places in accordance with paintabils ity. Special arrangements will be made for busy people who wish to work in the late afternoon. This is a private venture, but further particu- lars may be had by applying to the secretary of the Corcoran School. New Group Erhibition Opens in The Women's City Club. NEW and varied exhibition of paintings by a group of local artists has opened in the Women's City Club to continue to the middle of June. Among those represented are Lucia B. Hollerith, Clara R. Saun= ders, Dorothy Barnes, Mrs. Leisen= ring, Blanche Stanley and John Bute ler. OUTDOORS BECKON (Continued From Page B-l) | visitors, for Washington's park system | is one of the biggest attractions af- forded the tourist. The National Cap- ital parks, in fact, provide the setting for most of the public buildings in Washington and are essentially orna- mental to the city. Maj. Pierre L’Enfant, in 1791, preparing plans for a Federal city, made ample reserva- tions. So ample, in fact, that today the| parks of the Capital embrace 676 res- ervations, totaling approximately 6.500 acres of land. The park system was established in 1790 and has been under continuous Federal control ever since, for a period of 150 years. For 18 years, from 1849 to 1867, the| parks of Washington were under su- pervision of the Secretary of the In- terior. Then for a period of 66 years they were administered by officers of the Corps of Engineers of the United States Army. But on August 10, 1933, care of the parks went back to the Interior Department, and they became permanent units of the national park system. The story of the acquisition of the| original park sites we now enjoy in ‘Washington is interesting. In addi- tion to street areas which George ‘Washington acquired and which were donated by the original owners, 17 | reservations were acquired by pur- chase. Among those purchased were the Mall, the Capitol grounds and the White House grounds, or Presi~ dent’s Park. Other parks were created from time to time, the chief ones be- ing Lafayette Park, part of West Poto- mac Park, the Monument grounds, Judiciary Park and QGarfleld Park. Because the original areas donated for streets were exceedingly wide, they permitted establishment of parks and circles and triangles at the intersec- tions, and if these provisions con- found the stranger in our midst who is driving a car, they contribute to the beauty of Washington in such a characteristic fashion that it would be difficult to visualize the National Cap- ital without the charm of their restful greenery and quiet, cool and secluded areas. Some of the more recent acquisi- tions of the park system were East and West Potomac Parks, Potomac Parkway, Theodore Roosevelt Island, Mount Vernon Memorial Highway and Anacostia Park. Under the Na- tional Park and Planning Commission, a comprehensive park system has been mapped out to meet the future growth | of the city and several areas, acquired in accordance with these plans, have not yet been developed. W!TH'IN the environs of the clty} itself, it is doubtful if any park is more popular during the hot Sum- mer months than the glorious 1,800 acres that comprise Rock Creek Park. Divided from the Distric line to the Potomac River by the rough and pic- turesque Rock Creek Valley, the | advantages. | cilities provided in the National Capie area’s forests and streams L pleasant relief from the heat of the city. Its natural elements serve as a cooling system that keeps the temper= ature of this region 15 to 20 degrees below that of the streets. Rock Creek can offer its measure of play facilities, with two nine-hole public golf courses, a group of 18 ten- nis courts, 19 picnic groves gnd more than 30 miles of bridle pati However, the Park Service hopes, with the opening of the Chopawamsic recreational area, to relieve somewhat the great Summer congestion of this favorite retreat. So, if you are seeking new scenes and inspiring, tall trees, running brooks and plenty of hillside shade this Summertime, and like the prospect of an hour's drive on the way, seek out some of these newly-opened recrea=- tional centers established by the Park Service for your health and happiness and traverse the countryside that is being prepared for you in nearby Maryland and Virginia. The National Capital is blessed in respect to such A list of recreational fae tal Parks alone, to say nothing of nearby national areas, would include such things as 52 miles of bridle paths, 32 bese ball diamonds, 89 tene nis courts, 26 picnic groves, 23 playe grounds, 2 polo fields, 18 foot ball flelds, as well as archery greens, athe letic flelds, bathing pools, sandboxes, boating, fishing, golf courses and many other facilities for amusement and health. Aside from this, the boys of the C. C. C. have been busy clearing the wayside for your pleasure. Dead trees have been removed along Mount Vere non highway; underbrush has been cleared and, in fact, the entire area for miles around has been beautified and tidied up to a very great extent., If you are a little late for the flower~ ing dogwoods that spray the roadsides this time of year with frothy white blossoms, you may always enjoy the centuries-old trees, the lush green of roadside foliage and the breath-take ing sweep of the Potomac. And this year you may pull in at Fort Hunt for luncheon, just a mile this side of Mount Vernon. Guam To Be Guarded. GUAM may not be so large, but it is to be one place which will be kept free from imported plant dise eases and pests, if the Agricultural Department and the Navy succeed in plans now in operation. The island is governed by the Navy Department. R. G. Oakley of the Bureau of En- tomology, who is stationed on the island, has perfected a set of quarane tine regulations which are to be rigs idly enforced. In addition to the plans to keep pests down, a species of toad which is & voracious feeder on insects is being introduced on the island to aid in the fight on plant pests. 1