T H E CORCORA N GALLER Y O F AR T 

This catalogue was published on the occasion of the exhibition The Forty-fifth Biennial: The Corcoran Collects, 

1907-1998, organized by the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. 

This exhibition was organized at the Corcoran Gallery of Art by Jack Cowart, Deputy Director 

and Chief Curator, Linda Simmons, Curator of American Art and Research, and Terrie Sultan, 

Curator of Contemporary Art. 

The Forty-fifth Biennial: The Corcoran Collects, 1907-1998 is underwritten by the Anna E. Clark Fund. 

The catalogue accompanying this exhibition is supported by the Corcorans Andrew W. Mellon Art Publications 

and Research Fund and the Kathrine Dulin Folger Fund. 

Introduction: David C. Levy 

Foreword: Jack Cowart 

Essayists: Linda Simmons, Terrie Sultan 

Project Manager: Paige Turner 

Editors: Nancy Eickel, Lee A. Vedder 

ISB N 088675-056- 3 

ISS N 8756-477 7 

© COPYRIGH T 199 8 B Y TH E CORCORA N GALLER Y O F AR T 

All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form 

(beyond copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the United States Copyright Law, and 

except by reviewers for the public press) without written permission from the Corcoran Gallery of Art. 

Published in 1998 by the Corcoran Gallery of Art, 500 Seventeenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20006 
H E FORTY-FIFT H BIENNIA L 

he Corcoran Collects, ipoy-ipp8 
ABL E O F CONTENT S 

NTRODUCTIO N 6 

avid C Levy, Director and President 

H E CORCORA N BIENNIA L DURIN G TH E TWENTIET H CENTURY : 9 

ETR O O R RADAR ? 

ck Cowart, Deputy Director and Chief Curator 

H E BIENNIA L EXHIBITIONS : 1 7 

H E FIRS T SIXT Y YEAR S FRO M 1 9 0 7 TO 196 7 

nda Crocker Simmons, Curator for American Art and Research 

APPIN G PAINTIN G IN AN EXPANDE D FIELD : 5 9 

H E CONTEMPORAR Y BIENNIALS , 1 9 6 9 - 1 99 5 

errie Sultan, Curator of Contemporary Art 

DDENDU M 9 3 

aige Turner, Assistant Curator of Exhibitions 

HECKLIS T 9 8 

Marisa Keller, Archivist 
INTRODUCTIO N 

David C. Levy, President and Director 

At the beginning of this century, biennial and other juried exhibitions in American 

museums were our version of the French and English academic salons. Absent today's 

 communications media, high-quality reproduction techniques, the art 

press, and the international art market that developed by mid-century, Biennials at this 

museum, the triennial Carnegie International in Pittsburgh or, later on, the Whitney 

Biennial in New York (to name a few) became principal forums in which the latest ideas 

in painting and sculpture could be presented, examined, and debated. 

Today, some 90 years after the Corcoran mounted its first Biennial, we have to 

ask whether the impact of such exhibitions has been so drastically altered by the 

changed environment in which they take place as to make them anachronistic. Posing 

this question by no means suggests that we have reached such a conclusion, but it is 

certainly reflective of the fact that the question has hung heavily over us as we have 

planned Biennials throughout the 1990s. Why and how, we wonder, does our Biennial 

(or any other for that matter) differ from the many shows in American museums selected by curators and/or juries who are interested in exploring the contemporary art scene? 

Clearly, one of the best ways to explore this question is to examine present 

practice in light of past experience. The 90-year succession of Corcoran Biennials, 

their impact on our museum and their effect on the art world as a whole, provides a 

significant body of data upon which we can begin to consider the changing nature and 

importance of this show. 

Certainly, the evidence demonstrates that the Corcoran's collection has consistently benefited from the acquisition of Biennial works. Perhaps more importantly, 

many of its key holdings in 20th-century American art would not have been acquired 

were it not for Biennial purchases. So it is probably fair to say that the Biennial has been 

and remains an important means through which this particular museum has renewed 

6 
itself. However the larger questions—of the importance of such exhibitions today or of 

their potential contributions to the cultural establishment in the coming century— 

remain complex and problematic. 

A good argument might be made that the work of contemporary artists, as well 

as critical scholarship in this field, are now so accessible as to make Grand Exhibitions 

with all the trappings of a biennial not only a thing of the past but an institutional conceit. Yet, experience suggests that despite an uneven and sometimes controversial history, 

such exhibits (particularly at this museum) have played a progressive and salutary role. 

As the century ends, we mount this "retrospective" Biennial exhibition to pose 

and to focus such questions for ourselves as well as for the museum world, the critical 

community, and the public. We hope the exercise will help us to gain new insight into 

our own history and will help all of us to understand the ways in which we can continue, in William Wilson Corcoran's words, to "encourage the American genius" as we enter 

the new millennium. 

We are deeply indebted to Deputy Director and Chief Curator, Jack Cowart, 

for his vision and leadership in the realization of this publication. We also thank the 

exhibitions curators, Linda Crocker Simmons and Terrie Sultan. Additional thanks go 

to Assistant Curators of Exhibitions

Paige Turner and Laura CoyleArchivist Marisa 

T H E CORCORA N BIENNIA L DURIN G TH E T W E N T I E T H CENTURY : RETR O O R RADAR ? 

Jack Cowart, Deputy Director and Chief Curator 

This 1998 Biennial intentionally differs from all other Corcoran Biennials. For this, the 

45th Biennial, we have decided to analyze the preceding forty-four Biennials of this century by displaying more than 130 of our acquisitions from these exhibitions. By looking 

back over this visual panorama, we may see where we have been, where we might have 

gone, and all that we have done. We may also find inspiration to apply towards our 

Biennials for the coming century and new millennium. 

It is endlessly fashionable and seductive to review past events and decisions, 

judging them with the false superiority gained from 20/20 hindsight. Patterns emerge, 

of course, but they are mostly visible at a distance that can both clarify and distort. To 

attempt to understand and learn from the past, we have developed that peculiar intellectual and analytical process called History. This liberal art comprises an ever-shifting, 

complex blend of elements that include the studies of social, political, religious, military, 

economic, environmental, and art histories. To make this analysis even more interesting, 

value systems change over time. Things deemed significant to one generation are perhaps not important to either preceding or subsequent generations. 

WILLIA M MERRIT T 

CHAS E ( 1 849- 1 9 1 6 ) 

William Andrews Clark, 

c. 1915

O i l on canvas 

Gift of W i l l i am Andrews 

Clark 

T H E 6T H BIENNIA L 

T H E CONTEX T 

The Corcoran Biennial and its relevance have been variously affected by all these histories during the last century. Our Biennial, founded in 1907, evolved as one of the earliest and most progressive of our nation's biennial exhibitions. In the first decade of the 

twentieth century, the American museum system was still in its relative youth. 

Frequently run by dedicated committees of civilian or artist volunteers, the nation's 

museums, galleries, and art associations were just beginning to become professional 

organizations. Contemporary artists and their art were slowly becoming publicly visible, 

as cultural mass communication was itself in its own infancy. 

9 
Over the last nine decades, the Corcoran Biennial has not been one unchanging, programmatic "thing." It always has had, however, a central ideal and a number of 

related intentions. Its ideal, like that of the Corcoran's institutional mission, has been to 

focus on creativity and to support and encourage American genius in the arts. The intention of the exhibitions founders was to promote public interest in the new facilities of 

the privately funded Corcoran Gallery and School of Art. The founders also aspired to 

benefit the participating painters. Further, the Biennial was designed to encourage artistic vitality as well as our national pride. Finally, by showing paintings not previously seen 

in Washington, the organizers hoped to instruct both art lovers and the general public. 

The independent Corcoran was the only logical place for such a Biennial, as it 

was the sole institution in Washington capable of presenting such a large and ambitious 

art project. The Phillips Memorial Gallery (known today as the Phillips Collection) 

opened in 1922 as a pioneering museum of modern art, but its residential architecture 

and personal stylistic setting restricted the museum's ability to present large exhibitions 

of contemporary work and especially temporary, open-juried shows with hundreds of 

diverse objects. No other major museum of fine arts existed in the nation's capital until 

the National Gallery of Art opened in 1941. Even then, that federal museum generally 

avoided collecting and displaying contemporary art until its East Building was dedicated in 1978.1

 The Smithsonian Institution did not house the National Collection of Fine 

Arts (now the National Museum of American Art) in its own building until 1968; the 

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden opened in 1974. 

This local proliferation of museums is a major development of just the last thirty years. Washington now boasts a staggering array of cultural facilities, collections, and 

programming. This city today bears absolutely no resemblance to Washington at the 

dawn of this century. At that time, and for at least the next sixty years, the Corcoran's 

Biennial provided the only substantial arena in Washington to experience American 

contemporary painting. 

At its inaugural exhibition in 1907, the Corcoran Biennial was visited by a 

remarkable two thousand people a day. The 1913 New York Armory Show created a 

heightened national awareness of progressive art in Europe and the United States. In its 

wake, press debates in Washington addressed the conservative and modernist forces 

shaping the Biennials. Public art sales of 297 paintings from the generally progressive 

11th Biennial of 1928 totaled a stunning $500,000. This would amount to almost 

$5,000,000 in 1998 dollars.2 Clearly, the public came to see the new art, the artists benefited from the Biennial, and acquisitions were made to private and public collections. 

From 1907 to 1940, when the Corcoran's grand spaces were entirely devoted to the 

Biennial, between three hundred and four hundred works were on view in these exhibitions. During the 1940s and 1950s, the Biennials ranged from two hundred to three 

hundred works. From the 1960s to 1995, one hundred or fewer paintings were shown 

each time. The evolution of professionalization, museum functions, and the roles of 

juries and curators that influenced the dynamics of these various Biennials are discussed 

elsewhere in this book. 

A general survey of the pre-1969 years of the Biennial suggests a fluidity of 

process which guided the exhibiting, collecting, trading, and marketing of art. Before the 

jury programs ended in 1969, numerous artists repeatedly entered, or were invited to 

1 o 
show, their latest works in Biennials. Participation became a badge of professional honor 

and an achievement that strengthened artists' bonds to the Corcoran. After 1969 this 

dynamic changed with the institution of curatorial selection. 

T H E COLLECTIO N 

Regardless of these shifts in exhibition size, procedures, and themes, one enduring purpose of the Biennial has been to build the Corcoran's own permanent collection of paintings. It has served as the primary systematic and most persuasive mechanism by which 

the Corcoran has purchased contemporary paintings. In all, more than one-fifth of the 

works in our paintings collection has been acquired through Biennials. This is not a 

unique situation, since related ambitions to bring art into a city once underserved by 

commercial galleries also fueled Pittsburgh's triennial Carnegie International, founded in 

1896. There, fully one-third of the Carnegie Museum of Art's collection of paintings 

and sculpture came from these juried exhibitions.3

 The Corcoran's Biennial encouraged 

the public to buy paintings as well, with the hope that these works might eventually be 

given back to the museum. Thus, the disciplined and consistent pattern of this museumcollecting process created a veritable time capsule of the artistic styles that have denned 

our common historical and cultural evolution in painting. 

A survey of the Corcoran's acquisitions to its permanent collection provides an 

intriguing insight into twentieth-century art. From 1907 to 1995, the Corcoran acquired 

223 works from various Biennials. The Gallery purchased at least one painting from 

every Biennial except four: those of 1979, 1983, 1985, and 1989. Directly or indirectly, 

the Corcoran acquired 177 of these works: 91 with moneys from the general Gallery 

Fund; 41 with museum endowment income from the William A. Clark Fund and 21 

from the Anna E. Clark Fund; 14 with funds donated by the Friends of the Corcoran; 

and 9 with funds contributed by the Women's Committee. Largely before World War 

I I , 20 works were subsequently exchanged with the original artists to upgrade their representation in the Corcoran's collection. Approximately two dozen other works were sold 

on the market, mostly in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, to generate funds for art acquisitions. An additional 44 paintings ultimately came to the museum as gifts from private 

collectors or foundations. Nine more works were presented by artists, and 3 paintings 

were given by artists' families or friends.4 

T H E REALITIE S 

Every exhibition series of contemporary art seems condemned to suffer from instant 

analysis, appraisal against the past, counter-appraisal, and second-guessing. Biennialtype exhibitions seem to invite an "open season" of criticism. Such series offer that ritualistic time when both the official and the unofficial art world focuses on a targeted, 

discrete presentation of paintings. Public visitors weigh in by taking sides, finding 

favorites, or venting their own hostility. It is also a significant time for institutional posturing and arguing. Curiously, it may very well be that the ultimate purpose of Biennials 

is to stimulate just such contradictory but valuable dialogue and dynamic. 

Biennials are obliged to operate without perspective. At best, they can be only 

an instant snapshot of curatorial or jury intuition, speculation, or taste. Only time will 

tell whether the brand-new art seen today will shape and push the history of art tomor1 1 
row. By that time, revision is impossible. It is far too late to patch the old wounds. If a 

goal of a Biennial is to establish some kind of order out of the relative chaos of new art, 

the exhibition is bound to leave some confusion, opinion, raw edges, and on occasion, 

professional discord. Such results are part of the evolving terrain of contemporary art. 

T H E FUTUR E 

From its founding in 1869 to the present, the Corcoran Gallery of Art has staged almost 

1,800 special exhibitions. The vast majority of these have featured works by contemporary artists from the Washington region, the United States, or from numerous other 

nations. The Corcoran Biennials of "Oil Paintings by Contemporary American Artists" 

have long been a distinctive, recurring contemporary art event on the cultural calendar 

of both the museum and the city of Washington. During their early years, the Biennials 

were also the only time when the museum was substantially taken over for a large 

exhibition of new art. Following the general explosion and institutionalization of the 

avant-garde and contemporary American arts in the 1950s, however, the Biennials 

became just one of many such shows, not only at the Corcoran but elsewhere as well. 

Today, fully eighty percent of the Corcoran's special exhibition schedule is dedicated to 

the interpretation and display of contemporary art. Washington, and indeed the world, 

is saturated with all sorts of museums, galleries, alternative spaces, and exhibition 

agencies that generate an endless wave of exhibitions, catalogues, films, videos, and 

merchandise featuring contemporary art. The question thus arises, and remains everunanswerable: What can the Corcoran and its Biennials do to help the creation and 

appreciation of contemporary art? 

In its earliest manifestations, the Corcoran Biennial was a fair reflection of the 

level, achievements, and interests of contemporary American painters. Yet we must concede that juried or institutionally curated exhibitions such as the Biennial are systemically unable to deal with the truly avant-garde. James Joyces praise of "silence, exile, and 

cunning" expresses the self-imposed code of many avant-garde artists.5 If we apply 

related words such as extremist, psychologically and socially militant, experimental, radical, bohemian, or independent, we further define the inherent problems. All extremist 

art is contemporary even if not all contemporary art is extremist. As these institutional 

exhibitions profess, Biennials and similar exhibitions are expected to present the "best" 

of new art (assuming that "best" can be identified). Some major works will nevertheless 

still fall outside immediate abilities to find them. We cannot assume that even the 

most brilliant generic exhibition can predictably find the cunning, silent, and exiled 

avant-garde painter, the best art, and potentially the most influential artists of the future. 

Despite the odds and handicaps, the forty-four Biennials have served the 

Corcoran and Washington with dedication and enthusiasm over the years. A clear institutional commitment has remained, even as Biennials absorbed precious resources. 

With a millennial crossroads approaching, Jules Antoine Castagnary's historic thesis 

of the mid-nineteenth century still holds: art "is not at all an abstract conception, 

elevated above history . . .; it is part of the social consciousness, a fragment of the 

mirror in which the generations each look at themselves in turn, and as such it must 

follow society step by step, in order to take note of its incessant transformations."6 It is 

essential that in the future, the new and increasingly flexible Corcoran Biennials be just 

1 2 
such a mirror reflecting our evolving and equally fragmented contemporary cultures, 

regardless of the risk, confusion, and fractional nature of the product.7 

ACKNOWLEDGMENT S 

Senator William A. Clark, his wife Anna E. Clark, and their descendants deserve the 

most profound credit for perpetuating the Corcoran Biennial and its acquisition program throughout most of this century. In more recent times, all constituent groups and 

administrations of the Corcoran Gallery of Art have enthusiastically supported the 

Biennial and its acquisition program. We deeply appreciate the thoughtful and challenging discussions led by Corcoran Director and President David C. Levy. Since his 

arrival here in 1991, he has consistently tested exhibition committees by engaging the 

staff and Board of Trustees in the serious, if elusive and frustrating, question of how to 

distinguish the Biennial from any other large exhibition of contemporary art. 

This current Biennial has benefited from the pioneering index work of curator 

Linda Crocker Simmons published in The Biennial Exhibition Record of the Corcoran 

Gallery of Art 1907-1967, which is unfortunately now out of print. Further, every office 

at the Corcoran has worked steadily over the last three years to shape and present this 

exhibition. While too numerous to list here, we acknowledge their essential support. 

Within the Museum Division, the exhibitions immediate curatorial team comprised 

Linda Crocker Simmons (Curator for American Art and Research), Terrie Sultan 

(Curator of Contemporary Art), and myself. We were assisted by, among others, Paige 

Turner and Laura Coyle (Assistant Curators of Exhibitions), Marisa Keller (Archivist), 

Lisa Ratkus (Design Director), Cristina Segovia (Rights and Reproductions 

Coordinator), Elizabeth Parr (Assistant to the Deputy Director and Chief Curator), 

Dare Harwell (Conservator), Susan Badder (Curator of Education), Cathy Crane 

Frankel (Exhibitions and Program Manager), Kirsten Verdi (Registrar), Victoria Fisher 

(Assistant Registrar), Clyde Paton (Senior Art Preparator), Greg Angelone (Assistant 

Preparator), and Ron Dees (docent volunteer). 

Funding for this exhibition was provided by the Anna E. Clark endowment. 

The Kathrine Dulin Folger Fund and the Andrew W. Mellon Art Publications and 

Research Fund of the Corcoran Gallery of Art provided funds for this catalogue. 

— j.c . 

1 3 
1

 See Philip Kopper, Americas National Gallery of Art: A Gift to the Nation (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 

1991), for much of the National Gallery's early history. Various exhibitions of works by wartime illustrators 

and painters were presented there in the 1940s, yet it was not until the 1963 bequest of the Chester Dale 

Collection that the National Gallery accommodated the permanent installation in its collections of works 

by living master artists (on the level of Picasso and Braque). Other artists were deferred until they had 

"passed the test of time." The need to commission living artists to decorate the new East Building in the 

mid-1970s definitively revised the National Gallery's program for both the acquisition and display of contemporary art. 

2

 Todd Wilson at the Consumer Price Index of the Bureau of Labor Statistics supplied the figure of 

$4,742,690 for equivalent buying power today. 

3

John R. Lane et al., Carnegie International (Pittsburgh: Museum of Art, Carnegie Institute, 1985), pp. 

10-15. 

4

 Even with this current interpretive catalogue, an essential reference remains The Biennial Exhibition Record 

of the Corcoran Gallery of Art 1907-1967, ed. Peter Hasting Falk (Madison, Connecticut: Sound View Press, 

1991). I thank and recognize Archivist Marisa Keller for her additional new research on the Corcoran's collection holdings acquired from all the Biennials from 1907 to 1995, which supports my analysis. 

5Renato Poggioli, The Theory of the Av ant-Garde (New York: Icon Editions, 1971), p. 3. See also James 

Joyce, A Portrait of The Artist as a Young Man, ed. Seamus Deane (London: Penguin Books, 1991), p. xxxiv. 

6

Jules Antoine Castagnary, "Salon de 1863," orginally published in LeNord (Brussels: 1863), then reprinted 

in Salons (1857-1870) (Paris: Bibliotheque-Charpentier, 1892), I , pp. 102-106, translated and cited in Linda 

Nochlin, Realism and Tradition in Art: 1848 (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1966), p. 64. 

7

 In 1907 the Corcoran had neither curatorial departments nor curators responsible for prints, drawings, 

photography, or electronic media arts. The art then found in museums was dominantly painting on canvas, 

since the classical hierarchies of Art respected Painting as its most significant medium of expression. In 

response, the Corcoran School of Art developed a renown in teaching the disciplines and judgments inherent to the art of painting. 

1 4 
1 5 

JOH N SINGE R SARGEN T 

( 1 856- 1 925 ) 

Mrs. Henry White, 1883 

O i l on canvas 

Gift of Mr. John 

Campbell Whit e 

T H E 6T H BIENNIA L 

T H E BIENNIA L EXHIBITIONS : TH E FIRS T SIXT Y YEAR S FRO M 1 9 0 7 T O 196 7 

Linda Crocker Simmons, Curator for American Art and Research 

On 1 January 1906, Frederick B. McGuire, the director of the Corcoran Gallery of Art, 

presented a proposal to the Gallery's Trustees for a competitive exhibition of contemporary American paintings.1

 The benefits he cited would be "three-fold: it would be of 

great advantage to the Gallery and a distinct factor in awakening public interest in it; it 

would prove highly beneficial to contributing artists; and at the same time, [it would] be 

instructive and interesting to art lovers, students, and the public at large."2 He asserted 

that the Corcoran building could well accommodate such an exhibition by using the 

Atrium and the galleries around the second floor. McGuire also mapped out a dual 

process that allowed for the selection of artworks both by jury and by invitation. This 

stratagem was intended to ensure that some of the works shown would be by recognized 

painters who were well established in their careers but who might not wish to face the 

possible humiliation of being rejected by a jury. McGuire proposed writing to the most 

prominent artists in the country to solicit their works for the invitational section. These 

paintings would not be eligible to receive any awards or medals, while the uninvited 

works would be reviewed by panels of jurors who would choose those to be shown and 

awarded prizes. The jurors would be of further service by superintending the hanging of 

the exhibition. On a frugal note, McGuire suggested, "These juries will be invited to 

serve without compensation except of course the reimbursement of actual expenses."3 

The Board of Trustees' acceptance of the proposed exhibition was a momentous 

one for the Corcoran. It was decided that the "First Exhibition of Contemporary 

American Paintings" would formally open with a "Private View and Reception" on the 

evening of 6 February 1907. The annual report gave a description of the evening: "The 

attendance included the President [Theodore] and Mrs. Roosevelt, members of the 

Cabinet, Senators and Representatives in Congress, Foreign Ambassadors, Ministers, 

WlNSLO W HOME R 

( 1 836- 1 9 1 O ) 

A Light on the Sea, 1897 

O il on canvas 

Museum Purchase, 

Gallery Fund 

T H E 1 S T BIENNIA L 

1 7 
RALP H ALBER T 

BLAKELOC K 

(1847-1919 ) 

Moonlight, c. 1890 

O il on canvas 

William A. Clark 

Collection 

Part of Senator William 

Clark Bequest to Corcoran 

Gallery of Art in 1925 

T H E 1 S T BIENNIA L 

many artists, art patrons, and connoisseurs, officers of the Army and Navy, and hundreds 

of others prominent in private and official life."4 The opening of a Biennial exhibition 

soon evolved into a major event celebrated by Washington socialites and the regional art 

world alike. 

The inaugural exhibition of 397 paintings attracted 62,697 persons over a period of 33 days. The exhibition filled all the galleries and the exterior space around the 

Atrium on the second floor of the building.5 Twenty-six paintings on view were sold for 

a total of $49,000.6 The thirteen paintings acquired for the Corcoran's permanent collection included examples of nineteenth-century academic traditions, such as James D. 

Smillie's The Cliffs of Normandy, and the heightened palette and broken brushstrokes 

associated with American impressionism, as seen in Childe Hassam's Northeast 

Headlands - New England Coast. Undoubtedly, the most significant purchase was 

Winslow Homer's magnificent A Light on the Sea which represents the artist's lifelong 

inquiry into the drama of man grappling with nature's power. His interpretation of this 

eternal conflict brought Homer to the attention of the next generation of American 

painters and laid a foundation for modernist movements. Such purchases underscored 

the Corcoran's commitment to the Biennial exhibitions, to its own American collection, 

and to contemporary American artists, a tradition that continues to this day. 

In 1907, four separate juries of four men each, working in Boston, New York, 

Philadelphia, and Washington, made the initial selection of submitted works. Next, 

these sixteen jurors were narrowed to five—Irving R. Wiles,7 Edmund C. Tarbell,8 Hugh 

H. Breckinridge,9 Frank Duveneck,10 and Richard Norris Brooke11—who made the final 

decisions on awards and the hanging of paintings at the Corcoran.12

1 8 
In the initial exhibition proposal, Director McGuire expressed a concern that 

the most important artists of the day might not submit their best works. It was not anticipated that many artists would actively oppose passing the scrutiny of a jury system, a 

procedure that was well established in museums, academies, and salons in this country 

and abroad. A concern did arise, however, that the Corcoran's exhibition would compete 

with other institutions for the best paintings. To counteract possible deficiencies, certain 

artists of recognized ability and reputation were invited to send recent work or requested paintings. 

The two sections that comprised the Biennials for the next sixty years were thus 

established: one section of paintings submitted for selection by a jury and another section of invited works. Paintings in the second section, on view by special invitation, were 

not eligible to receive the prizes and medals awarded by the jury.13 The first prize was to 

consist of $1,000 and a gold medal, the second prize of $500 and a silver medal, and the 

third prize of $250 and a bronze medal. Only oil paintings not previously exhibited in 

Washington were eligible for awards. 

The multi-city system soon proved too cumbersome and was modified at the 

time of the 3rd Biennial (1910-11) in favor of a single jury. The invited section was 

retained, however, because it was considered an assurance of quality. It also provided a 

modest form of control through which the Corcoran could influence the content of the 

Biennials. 

The first jurors and their successors were themselves practicing artists. Not 

until the 20th Biennial in 1947 did the director of the Corcoran (in this case Hermann 

Warner Williams) become a member of the jury.14 Following this change the jury quickCHILD E HASSA M 

(1859-1935 ) 

Northeast Headlands -

New England Coast, 1901 

O il on canvas 

Museum Purchase, 

Gallery Fund 

T H E 1 S T BIENNIA L 

1 9 

ly evolved into a group composed of Corcoran staff members—a curator, the director, 

and/or the principal of the School15—who were joined by museum professionals and art 

historians such as Lloyd Goodrich in 1949, Leslie Cheek in 1953, Theodore Rousseau, 

Jr. in 1957, and Charles E. Buckley in 1959. The makeup of these juries from 1907 until 

1969 was almost exclusively white and male. The first and only woman to be included 

was Lillian Westcott Hale, who served in 1923 for the 9th Biennial. 

The juries that selected paintings for the earliest Biennials left virtually no 

record of their decision-making processes. No comments by the jury were printed in the 

Biennial catalogues until 1949. Subsequent statements indicate that jurors felt their contemporaries were not submitting their best work. Director Williams noted that as an 

experiment, the 24th Biennial was open to all competitors. Of the 2,101 entries submitted, only 64 paintings were selected by the jury. Williams observed that "the staggeringly low percentage of successful entries suggests the unrewarding task that faced the jury." 

The jurors themselves expressed their concern. They were "troubled and perplexed that 

more painters of stature have not committed entries" and felt that the exhibition "could 

not be considered a balanced representation of American painting today."16 Trends within the art world were leading away from the jury system and the awarding of prizes. 

These difficulties that faced Biennial juries from 1947 to 1967 led them to hedge their 

bets by offering honorable mention awards in addition to the three established Clark 

prizes. 

Artist Edward Hopper stated in the jury's comment published in the catalogue 

for the 22nd Biennial in 1951: "As to the prize awards: The problems of prize awards is 

an old one, and most juries feel that the advancement of art is not furthered by the 

awarding of prizes. Even though one concedes there is a best picture or piece of sculpture in an exhibition, the fallibility of human judgment and the wide differences of opinion make the task of a just selection impossible, and the result must be unfair to many 

artists and misleading and confusing to the layman."17 

Although the rules established for the first Biennial in 1907 applied to the exhibitions until 1969, over the years the balance between the number of juried works and the 

invited paintings changed. By the mid-1950s the bulk of the exhibition consisted of 

works by invited artists. In 1967, for the last exhibition to include a juried section, 

Director Williams observed in his catalogue essay: 

The 30th Biennial, as presented, represents only one of many possible 

solutions to the problem raised by a contemporary exhibition which is 

national in scope. This presentation is not comprehensive as, indeed, no 

exhibition of this type can be. It does, however, through the process of 

careful selection, show some 100 paintings which are the products of 

our time. The purpose of the exhibition is to present a group of works 

of high quality which show evidence of the creative mind at work. 

There is no conscious attempt to impose a strong point of view as to 

trends or tendencies. If such a point of view exists, it arises from the 

works themselves, not from the process by which they were selected.18

WlLLAR D LERO Y 

METCAL F (1858-1925 ) 

May Night, 1906 

O il on canvas 

Museum Purchase, 

Gallery Fund 

First William A. Clark 

Prize and Corcoran 

Gold Medal 

T H E 1 S T BIENNIA L 

Beginning in 1969, the Biennial was transformed into an exhibition in which 

all works were submitted by invitation. The reasons for this change can be traced to 

2 1 
An installation view of 

the front galleries during 

the 11th Biennial 1928 

ARTHU R BOWE N DAVIE S 

( 1 862- 1 928 ) 

The Umbrian Mountains, 

1925 

O il on canvas 

Museum Purchase, 

William A. Clark Fund 

T H E 1 1 T H BIENNIA L 

2 2 
developments in the art and museum fields during the mid-1960s. Further, it was 

believed that a jury's selection was unlikely to represent the highest level of current artistic activity. Finally, the costs and physical logistics of a nationwide, juried exhibition 

became increasingly impossible for one institution to undertake. In the Biennials held 

since 1967, the exhibitions were selected by the director, a member of the curatorial staff, 

or a guest curator. A more "conscious attempt [was made] to impose a strong point of 

view as to the trends and tendencies" of the times through the works selected. These 

recent Biennials have each borne the stamp of its organizer. Hopefully, each in its own 

way gives an overview of the concerns of the time. Only by selecting artists whose works 

represent the best and most interesting aspects of their time can the Corcoran continue 

to pursue the goal of its founder, William Wilson Corcoran, when he gave this institution the charge of "encouraging American genius, in the production and preservation of 

works pertaining to the Fine Arts and kindred objects."19 

From the first Biennial exhibition to the 30th, the catalogues were modest in 

size and design.20Although the first catalogue was not illustrated, all successive ones contained a fair number of illustrations in black and white. Color was first featured in the 

catalogue of the 31st Biennial in 1969. Up until the early 1940s, the black-and-white 

illustrations in the catalogues were often grainy, fuzzy, and of generally poor quality. No 

surviving record indicates who was responsible for choosing the works to be illustrated. 

In the early catalogues, paintings that had been awarded prizes were so noted under the 

illustration. Beginning in 1919, with the catalogue of the 7th Biennial, prize winners 

were both illustrated and identified.21 That catalogue was designed to guide visitors 

through the exhibition. Entries for the paintings were listed according to the arrangement in which the jury had installed them in the galleries. Each volume until the 21st 

Biennial of 1949 included an index of participating artists as well as a plan of the galleries. To help further educate gallery visitors, the Public Library of the District of 

Columbia published a pamphlet containing references to "Literature in Books and 

Periodicals on the Exhibitors" to accompany the Biennial exhibition.22 

Individual labels with text identifying the artist and the painting's title were not 

used in the installations until sometime in the 1940s. Until that time the works had been 

identified by a number attached to the wall below the painting's frame. Visitors could 

purchase a copy of the catalogue to serve as a guide, or they could consult a catalogue 

hanging from a cord in the doorway of each room. The Corcoran had utilized this 

method since the late nineteenth century in an attempt to encourage catalogue sales. 

Only a few photographs survive to show how the earliest Biennials were 

installed.23 Available photographs indicate that the paintings were hung close together, 

with the bottom edges aligned at the same horizontal level. Garlands, apparently of cut 

greens, were draped above the paintings in continuous swags across the walls. Paintings 

appear to have been hung close to eye level for viewers of medium height. Very few 

works were double-hung in the salon style of the nineteenth century. Members of the 

jury, who supervised the installations, routinely determined positions of prominence 

along sight lines of the building, and articles in the press often noted the placement of 

favorite paintings. 

Biennials from the 1940s through the 1960s were more innovative in their 

installations. Individual labels were placed beside each work, and paintings were more 

2 3 
ERNES T LAWSO N 

( 1 873- 1 939 ) 

Boathouse, Winter, 

Harlem River, 1916 

O il on canvas 

Museum Purchase, 

Gallery Fund 

Second William A. Clark 

Prize and Corcoran 

Silver Medal 

T H E 6T H BIENNIA L 

2 4 

ELME R SCHOFIEL D 

(1867-1944 ) 

Cliff Shadows, 1921 

O il on canvas 

Museum Purchase, 

Gallery Fund 

T H E 8T H BIENNIA L 
widely spaced. Lowered track lighting was installed in most of the gallery spaces, and 

painted white walls replaced the dark fabrics that had been used earlier. In 1969, the 

spaces of the building itself played an important part in the success of the 31st Biennial. 

Director James Harithas was complimented for the strong interrelationship of architecture and large paintings throughout the second floor. Critics commented repeatedly on 

the light, color, and scale. "[Harithas] has offered the viewer not a lecture or a thesis, but 

an extraordinary visual voyage, an organized Odyssey whose separate adventure, merging in the memory, map the farthest reaches of non-representational painting of our 

day."24 It was also for this Biennial that James Van Dijk painted a site-specific work on 

the walls of the Rotunda.25

In his initial proposal for the Biennial exhibition series, Director McGuire suggested that "prominent citizens" be asked to furnish funds for the three prizes that were 

to be offered. Accordingly, at the initial exhibition the funds for the first prize came from 

Senator William A. Clark,26 the second prize from Charles C. Glover,27 and the third 

prize from V. G. Fischer.28 Even before the exhibition ended, Senator Clark offered the 

total prize money for the next Biennial, a practice he continued for a number of years. 

He later provided an endowment of $100,000 to perpetuate the William A. Clark 

Awards, which, with the accompanying medals, were given out at every Biennial through 

1967. In 1927 Anna E. Clark, the senators widow, established a similar endowment of 

$100,000, with its income designated to meet the expenses of organizing the Biennial 

exhibitions. The surplus income from both funds has been used to purchase works by 

EDWAR D WILLI S 

REDFIEL D 

(1869-1965 ) 

The Mill in Winter, 1922 

O il on canvas 

Museum Purchase, 

Gallery Fund 

T H E 9T H BIENNIA L 

2 5 
2 6 

MAR Y STEVENSO N 

CASSAT T (1844-1926 ) 

Susan on a Balcony 

Holding a Dog, c. 1880 

O il on canvas 

Museum Purchase, 

Gallery Fund 

T H E 2N D BIENNIA L 
American artists for the Corcoran's permanent collection. 

One of the original goals of the Biennial was to better familiarize the public 

with American art and its current directions. To generate public interest and encourage 

a more careful look at the paintings, Corcoran director C. Powell Minnigerode established the Popular Prize during the 6th Biennial of 1916. As the name implies, this 

award of $200 went to the artist whose painting received the most votes cast by visitors 

attending the exhibition. The selection became a popular pastime for visitors and 

attracted considerable press comment regarding the recipient's merit, or apparent lack 

thereof. Interestingly, no Popular Prize ever went to any of the prize winners selected by 

the jury or to any work that could be remotely identified as modern. In the thirteen 

Biennials during which the Popular Prize was awarded—it ended with the start of 

World War II—three artists were frequent winners: William M . Paxton, Gari Melchers, 

and N. C. Wyeth. 

Collectors from the Washington region and beyond were encouraged to purchase paintings from the Biennials. From the time of the first Biennial in 1907, each catalogue indicated which works were for sale, and purchases were often brisk. Some of the 

paintings eventually came back to the Gallery—whether as a gift, exchange, or bequest. 

George M . Oyster, Jr., a wealthy Washington businessman, dairy owner, and philanthropist, acquired many paintings directly from Biennials. After his death in April 1921, 

the first codicil to his will gave the Corcoran its choice of the American paintings in his 

collection. From that selected group of six works, four had been in Biennials: 

Overlooking the Valley by Edward Redfield (8th Biennial of 1921), Josephine Knitting by 

Edmund C. Tarbell (6th Biennial of 1916), and Obeweebetuck by Julius Alden Weir and 

Old House at Easthampton by Childe Hassam (both in the 7th Biennial of 1919). 

Duncan Phillips, a noted Washington collector, (whose own museum, now called The 

Phillips Collection, opened in 1922) made a number of purchases from Biennials. He 

kept some works, but he presented two paintings to the Corcoran: The Smithy by Gari 

Melchers from the 3rd Biennial in 1910, and Fruit Bowl by Harold Weston from the 

19th Biennial in 1945 (both given in 1950). 

Corcoran trustees acquired paintings from the Biennials and also lent works to 

the exhibitions. James Parmelee, a Corcoran trustee from 1916 to 1931, bequeathed to 

the Gallery one such group of paintings by American artists. The bequest included 

Simplon Pass by John Singer Sargent, which Parmelee had lent to the 5th Biennial of 

1914-15, and The Picture from Thibet by Emil Carlsen which appeared in the 10th 

Biennial of 1926. 

On occasion, artists also made gifts of works shown in the Biennials. Louis 

Betts and George Biddle, for example, gave portraits. Betts presented Yvonne, a portrait 

of the daughter of fellow painter, Guy Pene du Bois, which had appeared in the 9th 

Biennial of 1923. Biddle gave a portrait of his wife Helene Sardeau, a noted sculptor, 

which had been shown in the 15th Biennial of 1937. 

From their beginning, the Biennial exhibitions were intended to present the 

myriad facets and finest examples of contemporary American painting. This challenge 

made the exhibitions and their catalogues a chronicle of the various developments of 

American art from 1907 to the present day. A survey of the exhibitions offers some 

insight into contemporary artistic taste. In examining an index of the artists who exhib2 7 
ited during this sixty-year period, it is surprising to note that many of the names are 

largely unfamiliar today. Some of these artists and their works will need the benefit of 

time before their talents are once again recognized. Apart from these unknowns, however, a considerable number of these painters are still highly regarded, and their presence in 

the Biennials is naturally expected. 

From an initial examination of the catalogues it appears that the Biennial juries 

selected works by some of the finest living artists of their day. The list of names reads like 

a section from Who Was Who in American Art Thomas Eakins, Albert Pinkham Ryder, 

Ralph Albert Blakelock, John Singer Sargent, Childe Hassam, George Bellows, George 

Luks, Edward Hopper, Edmund C. Tarbell, Raphael Soyer, Robert Henri, Maurice 

Prendergast, John Sloan, Marsden Hartley, John Marin, Yasou Kuniyoshi, and many others. With the distance of several decades, however, it is apparent that the Biennial choices were, for their time, often conservative and generally late to acknowledge the existence 

of certain contemporary art movements. Little awareness of European movements such 

as post-impressionism, cubism, and futurism was evident in the works displayed. The 

conservative nature of the selections is even more apparent in the treatment of such developments as American impressionism, the "Ash Can" school, regionalism or the American 

scene, abstract expressionism, pop and op art—even the Washington Color School— 

which often were recognized years after they first emerged. 

A preponderance of still life and landscape subjects was common from 1907 

through the 1930s. This well may have reflected a Washington preference and the collecting habits of William Wilson Corcoran as evident in his founding gift. 

The earliest Biennials were rich in landscapes. Notable purchases from them 

LEFT : 

WILLIA M PAXTO N 

( 1 869- 1 9 4 1 ) 

The House Maid, 1910 

O il on canvas 

Museum Purchase, 

Gallery Fund 

T H E 6T H BIENNIA L 

RIGHT : 

FRAN K WESTO N 

BENSO N (1862-1951 ) 

The Open Window, 1917 

O il on canvas 

Museum Purchase 

First William A. Clark 

Prize and Corcoran 

Gold Medal 

T H E 7T H BIENNIA L 

2 8 
LEFT : 

JOSEP H RODEFE R 

DECAM P (1858-1923 ) 

The Seamstress, 1916 

O il on canvas 

Museum Purchase, 

Gallery Fund 

T H E 6T H BIENNIA L 

included works by Daniel Garber, George Symons, Emil Carlsen, Ernest Lawson, and 

John Singer Sargent. 

From the very first Biennial the Corcoran either purchased or received as a gift 

or a bequest at least one work from every Biennial exhibition until the 36th Biennial in 

1979. Childe Hassam's Northeast Headlands - New England Coast of 1901 and Mary 

Cassatt s Susan on a Balcony with a Dog of circa 1880 were purchased from the first and 

second Biennials respectively. Both artists had integrated the broken brushstrokes and 

heightened palette of French impressionism into their work to produce a distinctive style. 

Of the two painters, Cassatt was truer to her French associates and their ideas. 

A friend of artist Edgar Degas, she exhibited her work with him and other impressionists throughout the late nineteenth century. Flashes of blues, pinks, and silvery purple 

combine with white in the glowing gown worn by the model, who holds a little griffin 

dog on her lap. Behind her, the rooftops of Paris blur atmospherically as touches of the 

same pigments combine with flashes of red and green. Cassatt s artistic abilities were 

equal if not superior, to most of the French impressionists with whom she exhibited. Her 

paintings appeared in Biennials until 1926, but she never received an award. 

Hassam employed fragmented strokes of paint like those he had observed during visits to studios and galleries in France during the 1880s and later. By the late nineteenth century, his style demonstrated a knowledge of the dappling light effects created 

by shortened brush strokes. This technique caused the rocky permanence of the headland 

almost to dissolve into shimmering colors. This work retains a sense of physical permanence, however, and throughout his career that aspect set him apart from his French 

inspiration. At heart, Hassam seems to have loved the solidity of his subjects, whether 

RIGHT : 

CHILD E HASSA M 

( 1 859- 1 935 ) 

The New York Window, 

1912 

O il on canvas 

Museum Purchase, 

Gallery Fund 

First William A. Clark 

Prize and Corcoran 

Gold Medal 

T H E 4T H BIENNIA L 

2 9 
they were coastal scenes or old New England houses, such as Old House at Easthampton, 

which was exhibited in the 7th Biennial in 1919 and acquired by the Corcoran through 

a bequest in 1924. Hassam continued to exhibit in the Biennials until his death in 

1935. In that time he received two awards: a third prize in the 3rd Biennial in 1910 and 

a first prize in the 4th Biennial of 1912 for The New York Window, which the Corcoran 

purchased. 

Daniel Garber's April Landscape, a lovely, atmospheric view of a Pennsylvania 

quarry near New Hope, was purchased from the 3rd Biennial of 1910, the second time 

the ever-popular artist participated in the Biennials. A total of thirty-eight of his paintings were shown in twenty exhibitions, during which time he received three prizes and 

accompanying medals. Garber also served as a juror three times. In 1921, eleven years 

later, the Corcoran purchased his South Room - Green Street from the 8th Biennial. Such 

lyrical interpretations of the landscape are intensified in Emil Carlsen's Moonlight on a 

Calm Sea, purchased from the 6th Biennial of 1916. The misty colors rising from a tranCHILD E HASSA M 

( 1 859- 1 935 ) 

Old House at 

Easthampton, 1916 

O il on canvas 

Bequest of George 

M . Oyster, Jr. 

T H E 7T H BIENNIA L 
quil sea reveal an exotic strain in Carlsen's style traced to his interest in Asian aesthetics 

and objects. Even the vertical format may have been selected in response to the hanging 

scrolls that are so prevalent in Japanese and Chinese painting. 

A very impressionist approach to landscape subjects, albeit a river scene, is seen 

in Ernest Lawson's Boathouse, Winter, Harlem River, which was shown in the 6th Biennial 

in 1916 and won the second prize and medal. The thick, active paint application so distinctive of Lawson's style creates the visual effect of crushed, glimmering jewels. 

Brilliance of light and clarity of color also distinguish the work of landscape 

painter George Gardner Symons, who exhibited thirteen paintings in various Biennials. 

The Corcoran purchased Where Long Shadows Lie from the 7th Biennial of 1919. Vibrant 

with glowing sunshine, the painting's colors capture the effect of reflected light and luminosity often seen on a clear day after a snowfall. This work stands out as one of the finest 

of the surprisingly high number of snow scenes acquired from the Biennials.29

Beyond a doubt, one of the most dynamic landscapes exhibited in the 5th 

DANIE L GARBE R 

( 1 880- 1 958 ) 

April Landscape, 

before 1910 

O il on canvas 

Museum Purchase, 

Gallery Fund 

Fourth William A. 

Clark Prize and Corcoran 

Honorable Mention 

Certificate 

T H E 3R D BIENNIA L 
CHARLE

S HAWTHORN E 

(1 872-1 930 ) 

The Fisherman's Daughter, c. 1912

O il on wood panel 

Museum Purchase, 

Gallery Fund 

T HE 9TH BIENNIA L 

EMIL CARLSE N 

(1 853-1 932 ) 

The Picture from Thibet, c. 1920

O il on canvas 

Bequest of James 

Parmelee 

T HE IOTH BIENNIA L 

F AR RIGHT : 

EMIL CARLSE N 

(1 853-1 932 ) 

Moonlight on a Calm Sea, 

1915-16 

O il on canvas 

Museum Purchase, 

Gallery Fund 

T HE 6TH BIENNIA L 

Biennial in 1914 was Simplon Pass by John 

Singer Sargent

. The artist employed vigor-

ous brushwork to capture this sun-drenched 

scene with water splashing over boulders. 

He preserved for all time a region of south-

ern Switzerland where he enjoyed vacation-

ing with family and friends. Sargent, then at 

the height of his mature creative powers, 

was repeatedly invited t

o submit such paint-

ings in order to maintain a high level of 

quality in the Biennials. 

American impressionists had strug-

gled for acceptance in the latter decades of 

the nineteenth century, yet Biennial juries 

only grudgingly granted approval to them in 

the early Biennials

. In the following decades, 

Childe Hassam, Willard Metcalf, and Julian 

Weir participated in all the Biennials, and 

they continued to receive Biennial prizes for 

as long as they painted. 

As the result of the Corcoran's 

Biennial purchases, American impressionists 

are wel

l represented in the collection. 

Frederick C. Frieseke, an expatriate Amer-

ican active in France for four decades, 

enjoyed a popular following in the Biennials, 

exhibiting thirty-one works in the 2nd 

through the 16th Biennial, including three 

prize-winning entries. Peace, purchased from 

the 8th Biennial in 1921, shows Sarah Ann, 

the artist's wife and frequent model, sewing 

in the corner of a room by a baby bassinet. 

Frieseke's delicate froth of pastels applied in 

semi-pointillist daubs of pigment combine 

with charming touches, such as the bouquet 

of flowers and the decoration on the 

bassinet, to create a tranquil environment of 

feminine intimacy—a stylistic hallmark. 

Maurice Prendergast exhibited 

eight paintings in as many Biennials, receiv-

ing the third prize and a medal for 

Landscape with Figures from the 9th 

Biennial of 1923. Prendergast painted this 

work in his intensely personal style, employ-

ing a mosaic of fragmented colors to form 

3 2 

WILLIA M GLACKEN S 

(1870-1938 ) 

Luxembourg Gardens, 

1906 

O il on canvas 

Museum Purchase, 

William A. Clark Fund 

T H E 15T H BIENNIA L 

3 4 

JOH N SLOA N 

(1871-1951 ) 

Yeats at Petitpas, 1910 

O il on canvas 

Museum Purchase, 

Gallery Fund 

T H E 13T H BIENNIA L 
bands of figures, trees, and water. On his first trip to Paris in 1891, he encountered the 

modernist currents of the post-impressionists, Nabis and Symbolists, and began to depict 

the human form as color shapes enlivening urban settings such as parks and boulevards 

or on holiday outings in the country. The distance and isolation of the featureless figures 

moves the work beyond nineteenth-century considerations of impressionism into modernist concerns with color patterns and abstract forms. 

Like Prendergast, Arthur Bowen Davies was well represented by seventeen 

paintings in eleven Biennials, including Umbrian Mountains and Stars and Dews and 

Dreams of Night, both of which were shown in the 11th Biennial of 1928. Typical of the 

subject matter that dominated the artists later years, these two works were created in the 

highly decorative style that Davies followed throughout much of his career, except for a 

brief deviation into cubism in the years following the 1913 International Exhibition of 

Modern Art, popularly known as the Armory Show. In his mature paintings dreamlike 

figures rendered in pearly flesh tones are arranged in a frieze of quietly dancing forms. In 

his late landscapes, such as Umbrian Mountains, thinly painted calligraphic brushstrokes 

define the geological features of the land. This is Davies at his finest. 

Portraiture was a perennial favorite of the juries and the public alike. John Singer 

Sargent, liked by the press and public, was invited to send paintings to many of the early 

Biennials. The 6th Biennial of 1916 included eighteen canvases by him, while the 7th 

Biennial of 1919 featured his portrait of John D. Rockefeller in a place of prominence. 

Sargent and Melchers were possibly the two most popular and critically acclaimed artists 

throughout the first decade of the Biennials. Other beloved painters included Daniel 

Garber, Ernest Lawson, and Childe Hassam, whose portraits and landscapes painted 

LEFT : 

GAR I MELCHER S 

( 1 860- 1 932 ) 

The Smithy, 1910 

O il on canvas 

Gift of Duncan 

Phillips 

T H E 3R D BIENNIA L 

RIGHT : 

ROBER T HENR I 

( 1 865- 1 929 ) 

Indian Girl in White 

Ceremonial Blanket, 

c. 1921

O il on canvas 

Museum Purchase, 

Gallery Fund 

T H E 9T H BIENNIA L 
B E N FOSTE R 

( 1 852- 1 926 ) 

Sunset in the Litchfield 

Hills, c. 1910 

Oil on canvas 

Museum Purchase, 

Gallery Fund 

T H E 3R D BIENNIA L 

enplein air regularly won prizes at various exhibitions held throughout the United States. 

Their subjects and styles of painting were recognizable, appealing, and attractive to collectors. Hassam alone is said to have won thirty-three medals and prizes in his lifetime, 

including the William A. Clark Prize and Gold Medal at the 4th Biennial for the painting The New York Window, which was purchased from that exhibition for the Corcorans 

permanent collection. 

Works by Sloan, Henri, Luks, and their associates of The Eight and the Ash Can 

school also began to be shown during the 1910s and were continually featured throughout their lives. In 1932, Luks, at the age of sixty-five years, was the only one of this group 

to receive the First Clark Prize and award for his Woman with Black Cat. 

Women were not well represented in the early Biennials, and only a few paintings by women were purchased during the first sixty years. Mary Cassatt was an obvious 

choice, as was Cecilia Beaux, who is considered one of America's finest women portraitists 

at the turn of the century. Isabel Bishop, active much later in the century, is a third. In 

Beaux's portrait Sita and Sarita, a replica of an earlier painting sold to the French 

Government in 1921, the sitters are Sarah A. Leavitt (Mrs. Walter Turle) and her pet cat. 

(It has never been entirely certain which one is nicknamed Sita and which one is Sarita.) 

Both sitters are delineated in Beaux's rich, fluid brushwork as seen in the shades of the 

white dress set off against a patterned fabric chair. In addition to being technically masterful in the use of paint, Beaux was a keen observer of character, both human and feline, 

giving each sitter her own personality. 

3 6 
Works included in the 6th Biennial, held on the eve of World War I , offered 

only the broadest hints of modernism to that time. Paintings by Max Weber, Arthur B. 

Carles, Arthur Bowen Davies, and Maurice Prendergast were progressive choices. 

Weber's Still Life, although not illustrated in the Biennial catalogue and unlocated today, 

is likely to have shown the influence of cubism, which had shaped his style in preceding 

years.30 Avant-garde artists who responded to European developments did not always 

fare well either. Arthur Dove, a radical painter, never exhibited a work in the Biennial. 

John Marin did not participate in a Biennial until 1949, twelve years after his 1937 

retrospective was held at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Other aesthetic 

biases on the part of jury members from the late 1920s through the 1930s can be 

deduced by the scarcity of works by artists such as Joseph Stella, Stanton McDonaldWright, and Georgia O'Keeffe.31

In their own organizations, Washington artists demonstrated a predilection for 

the same subject matter. The faculty of the Corcoran School of Art was often successful 

with their submissions to the Biennials. Works by Eugen Weisz, Richard Lahey, 

Catherine Critcher, Mitchell Jamieson, Edmund C. Tarbell, and Richard Meryman were 

frequently included. The first faculty member to win a Biennial prize and medal was 

Samuel Burtis Baker, for his painting Interior with Figure in the 8th Biennial of 1921. 

Baker is one of the few Corcoran faculty members from the early decades of the 

Biennials to have had a painting purchased by the Gallery. Interior with Figure was 

acquired in 1936, fifteen years after the work was shown in the 8th Biennial. Trained in 

GEORG E SYMON S 

( 1 863- 1 930 ) 

Where Long Shadows Lie 

(also Where Waters Flow 

and Long Shadows Lie), 

before 1919 

O il on canvas 

Museum Purchase, 

Gallery Fund 

T H E 7T H BIENNIA L 

3 7 
Boston, Baker had followed Tarbell to Washington to teach at the Corcoran School of 

Art. He continued to live in the area even after his Corcoran teaching career ended. 

Corcoran students were not selected as often, but among those whose paintings were accepted by the jury were: Olive Rush, Gladys Nelson Smith, Mae Jurow, and 

Eben Commins.32

 Artists of the Washington area fared a little better than Corcoran students. Noted among those who exhibited in various Biennials are Richard Norris 

Brooke, Edgar Nye, Sarah M . Baker, William H. Calfee, Charles Bittinger, Bjorn R 

Egeli, and Robert Franklin Gates. 

The 11th Biennial of 1928 and the 12th Biennial of 1930 saw modernism gain 

a slightly stronger hold. Barnard Karfiol's painting, Summer, received the First Prize in 

the 11th Biennial, while Maurice Sterne's painting, After Lunch, took the same prize in 

the 12th. Increasingly, paintings with modernist stylistic developments and interpretations of subjects were more likely to receive prizes. 

Political issues only occasionally affected the Biennials. In 1939, Stuart Davis, 

Rockwell Kent, Max Weber, and other artists were joined by a number of arts organizations in protesting the exclusion of an anti-Fascist painting by Peter Blume from the 

exhibition. Even though the painting—a caricature of Italian Fascist leader Benito 

Mussolini overlooking Rome—had been rejected by the Biennial jury in open competition, the Corcoran administration was accused of harboring Fascist sympathies. The 

Corcoran issued a statement that the jury had rejected the painting on its artistic merits 

alone. C. Powell Minnigerode, the Corcoran's director, had been worried about the possibility of the painting being accepted by the jury, and he had asked the State 

Department to issue a letter restricting its exhibition. Ultimately, the State Department, 

fearing criticism, refused to become involved. The work was not shown, but paintings by 

Blume were included in the 20th Biennial in 1947 and the 25th Biennial in 1957. 

Rockwell Kent's political views limited his opportunities to exhibit regularly 

after World War II . His membership in the Socialist party, as well as his outspoken 

opposition to modern art, led to his disfavor in art circles. Before 1939, however, he 

showed ten works in as many Biennials, and his painting Adirondacks, was purchased 

from the 13th Biennial of 1932. Kent was a popular illustrator and printmaker known 

for his stark images of Greenland, Newfoundland, and Tierra del Fuego. This scene in 

New York, not far from the artist's dairy farm in AuSable, captures many of the qualities he seemed to love in the open, windblown regions he often depicted. 

The Great Depression affected Philip Evergood profoundly. Through the guise 

of everyday scenes, he examined issues of race discrimination, political oppression, and a 

wide array of social ills that plagued Americans. His style varied, but it often retained an 

expressionistic use of black lines and brilliant hues. Sunny Side of the Street purchased 

from the 22nd Biennial in 1951, celebrates the great diversity of American society as 

encapsulated in a crowded street scene in Brooklyn, where the artist once lived. 

Wartime conditions in 1943 excluded the possibility of having more than two 

thousand paintings shipped to Washington for jury consideration. Instead, the final 

exhibition, which included 264 paintings (primarily of invited works) was brought to the 

Gallery by van. Artists within a twenty-mile radius of the Corcoran were permitted to 

submit works to the jury. Preoccupation with the war effort lessened press coverage of 

the show. The 19th Biennial in 1945 faced similar shipping difficulties and consisted 

JOH N SINGE R SARGEN T 

( 1 856- 1 925 ) 

Simp/on Pass, 1911 

O il on canvas 

Bequest of James Parmelee 

T H E 5T H BIENNIA L 

3 8 

FREDERIC K FRIESEK E 

( 1 874- 1 939 ) 

Peace, 1917 

O il on canvas 

Museum Purchase, 

Gallery Fund 

T H E 8T H BIENNIA L 

4 0 

MAURIC E 

PRENDERGAS T 

( 1 859- 1 924 ) 

Landscape with Figures, 

1921 

O il on canvas 

Museum Purchase, 

William A. Clark Fund 

Third William A. Clark 

Prize and Corcoran 

Bronze Medal 

T H E 9T H BIENNIA L 
4 1 

ARTHU R BOWE N DAVIE S 

( 1 862- 1 928 ) 

Stars and Dews and 

Dreams of Night, 1927 

O il on canvas 

Museum Purchase, 

William A. Clark Fund 

T H E 1 1 T H BIENNIA L 
4 2 

CECILI A BEAU X 

( 1 863- 1 942 ) 

Sita and Sarita, c. 1921 

O il on canvas 

Museum Purchase, 

William A. Clark Fund 

T H E 9T H BIENNIA L 
mostl

y of invited works. 

Biennials in the late 1940s saw the 

inclusion of paintings by many more artists 

working in abstract styles. Sigmund 

Menkes's Days End, shown i

n the 20th 

Biennial in 1947, was the first work in an 

abstract style to win first prize and a gold 

medal. In the 1950s, even more artists 

working in abstract styles, most notably 

abstract expressionism, were selected. A 

critic for the New York Times observed in 

1952 that the general fiel

d of straight real-

ism continued to dominate most of the 

Biennials "with occasional examples of 

expressionism or abstraction appearing a 

little lost in the general effect."

34 

By mid-century, some artists noted 

with regret and opposition the inroads 

being made by modernism to the exclusion 

of their own work from the Biennials. Press 

commentary further conceded that the lay-

man found the innovative stylistic concepts 

of certain artists too modern or confusing 

to appreciate or understand. It clearly had 

become difficul

t to satisfy all participants— 

jurors, artists, and viewers alike—as the 

Biennial approached its fiftieth year. 

In their statement for the 22nd 

Biennial in 1951, jurors Edward Hopper, 

John C. Johansen, and Eugen Weisz criti-

cized the practice of awarding prizes and 

suggested that a system of purchase awards 

would eliminate "the grading according to 

merit of the prize system and the implica-

tion of superiority." 

The catalogue preface for the 24th 

Biennial of 1955 described how the institu-

tion attempted to deal with continued neg-

ative comments about the two-part system. 

That Biennial "differed from the previous 

ones in that it was an open competition 

with no invited participants . . . [an action 

taken] in an effort to accede to the desire of 

a majority of artists who believe that an 

open competition gives a better chanc

e to 

SAMUEL BURTIS BAKE R 

(1 882-1 967 ) 

Interior with Figure, 1920 

O il on canvas 

Museum Purchase, 

William A. Clark Fund 

Second William A. Clark 

Prize and Corcoran 

Silver Medal 

T HE 8TH BIENNIA L 

EDMUND CHARLE S 

TARBELL (1862-1938 ) 

Josephine Knitting, 1916 

O il on canvas 

Bequest of George M . 

Oyster, Jr. 

T HE 6TH BIENNIA L 

4 3 
the younger and lesser-known among them."35

 The jury reviewed 2,101 paintings but 

accepted only 64. A breakdown of the geographical distribution of accepted entries 

revealed that the largest group came from metropolitan New York, followed by 

Washington, DC. The rest of the entries were sent from nearly every state. 

Unfortunately, regional diversity did not guarantee that the best-known artists entered 

or that the highest quality of paintings were submitted. The jurors observed: "[We] were 

troubled and perplexed that more painters of stature have not contributed entries. This 

leads us to question whether an open competition is the most satisfactory method of 

securing a nationally representative exhibition of the highest caliber. In effect we believe 

that the 24th Biennial is one of high quality, but that it cannot be considered a balanced 

representation of American painting today."36 Thus the first peals of a death knell sounded over the Biennial jury and prize systems. 

Despite these dire warnings, the names of artists included in the 24th Biennial 

offer an interesting perspective on contemporary art at mid-century. Many remain as 

unknown today as they were to the jurors more than forty years ago, yet adventuresome 

works such as Willem de Kooning's Woman VI, Franz Kline's Painting 1953, and 

Richard Diebenkorn's Berkeley-No. 6 were featured. The Corcoran purchased the third 

prize winner, Larry Rivers's Self-Figure (1955). This acquisition signaled the Gallery's 

intent to pursue the avant-garde. In Self-Figure, Rivers bridges the terrain between the 

painterly gestures of abstract expressionism and the straightforwardness of pop iconography. With its loosely rendered gestures and media-based approach to representation, 

MAURIC E STERN E 

( 1 878- 1 957 ) 

After Lunch, 1930 

O il on composition board 

Museum Purchase, 

William A. Clark Fund 

First William A. Clark 

Prize and Corcoran 

Gold Medal 

T H E 12T H BIENNIA L 

4 4 
4 5 

Self-Figure brought a thoroughly modern approach to figurative representation to the 

Gallery's collection. 

Composed of two distinct parts—a historical section and a contemporary section—the 25th Biennial of 1957 provided an opportunity to survey the impact and influence of the past Biennials. The historical section had two components: one made exclusively of the canvases that had received the first prize, and the other devoted to works that 

had been exhibited but not awarded prizes. In his essay "Fifty Years of Biennial 

Exhibitions," director Hermann Warner Williams observed that, "the Biennial series is no 

longer needed to demonstrate the validity of American painting, but it still can serve its 

original secondary function: to encourage its development."37 Williams also acknowledged 

that "the percentage of'successes' to 'failures' appears to be remarkably consistent throughout the early period of the series. It may be assumed that it persists to the present."38 

The contemporary section of 239 paintings included a number of works by 

artists associated with abstract expressionism, which was then being recognized as a 

major American style. Among the artists invited to participate were Ad Reinhardt, Josef 

Albers, William Baziotes, Richard Diebenkorn, Hans Hofmann, and Andrew Wyeth. 

From this varied group the Corcoran elected to buy two pieces, one of which was Josef 

Albers's Homage to the Square: "Yes" of 1956. Winner of the Third Clark Prize and 

Corcoran Bronze Medal, it is a prime example of Albers's late paintings, collectively 

entitled Homage to the Square. With this series, Albers embarked on an extended, highly refined exploration of color theory and abstract geometry for which he is well known. 

BERNAR D KARFIO L 

( 1 886- 1 952 ) 

Summer, 1927 

Oil on canvas 

Museum Purchase, 

William A. Clark Fund 

First William A. Clark 

Prize and Corcoran 

Gold Medal 

T H E 1 1 T H BIENNIA L 
LEFT : 

ROCKWEL L KEN T 

(1882-1971 ) 

Adirondacks, 1928-30 

Oil on canvas 

Museum Purchase, 

William A. Clark Fund 

T H E 1 3T H BIENNIA L 

RIGHT : 

EDWAR D HOPPE R 

( 1 882- 1 967 ) 

Ground Swell, 1939 

O il on canvas 

Museum Purchase, 

William A. Clark Fund 

T H E 18T H BIENNIA L 

The 26th Biennial in 1959 saw a return to the juried system and invited sections, with 134 paintings in the invited section and a smaller juried section of 53 works. 

Again, the complaint was made that poor quality works had been submitted but it was 

reiterated that "the Gallery has an obligation to continue having a juried section despite 

the small return, or the time, effort and expense entailed."39 

Joining the Gallery's growing collection of pure geometric abstraction was Will 

Barnet's Multiple Images I (1959), a jazzy, syncopated composition that explores abstract 

forms extrapolated from actual experience. Rooted in cubism and closely related to 

paintings by Stuart Davis, the figure/ground relationship between the images and the 

spatial environment is flattened and rational. Barnet's high-keyed color further enhances 

the form, creating a retinal interplay that is an integral part of the overall composition. 

Multiple Images I received the Third Clark Prize and Corcoran Bronze Medal in 1961. 

Lee Bontecou's Untitled (57) of 1961 challenges the accepted boundary between 

painting and sculpture. Constructed of welded metal and painted canvas, it breaks down 

the tradition of a flat, painted picture plane. Spatially complex and richly textured, this 

monochromatic work hovers between natural and mechanized environments. By establishing a circular void as the compositional focal point, Bontecou draws the viewer's eye 

into a complex interplay between foreground and background. A precursor to both 

Robert Mangold and Elizabeth Murray (who exhibited in the 40th Biennial), Bontecou 

was awarded second prize for Untitled (57), a validation of her innovative approach to 

painting. 

4 6 

4 8 

PHILI P EVERGOO D 

(1901-1973 ) 

Sunny Side of the Street, 

1950 

Egg-oil-varnish emulsion 

with marble dust and glass 

on canvas 

Museum Purchase, 

Anna E. Clark Fund 

Second William A. Clark 

Prize and Corcoran 

Silver Medal 

T H E 22N D BIENNIA L 
( B . 1923 ) 

Self-Figure, 1955 

O il on canvas 

Museum Purchase, 

William A. Clark Fund 

Third William A. Clark 

Prize and Corcoran 

Bronze Medal 

T H E 24T H BIENNIA L 

4 9 
5 0 

WIL L BARNE T 

( B . 1911 ) 

Multiple Images I, 1959 

O il on canvas 

Museum Purchase, 

Anna E. Clark Fund 

Third William A. Clark 

Prize and Corcoran 

Bronze Medal 

T H E 27T H BIENNIA L 
First Theme, a fine exampl

e of 

Burgoyne Diller's colorful, hard-edged 

abstraction, finds its roots in the late wor

k of 

Dutch artist Piet Mondrian. The purity of 

form and color—four unequal zones of red, 

blue, yellow, and white appear on a flat, 

black field—results in a dynamic composi-

tional exploration of balance. This early 

expression of a minimalist approach to 

painting dovetails well with Josef Albers s 

Homage to the Square: "Yes" acquired from 

the 25th Biennial. 

The first four Biennials of the 

1960s—the 27th in 1961, the 28th in 1963, 

the 29th in 1965, and the 30th in 1967— 

continued to struggle with issues that had 

plagued similar jurie

d exhibitions over the 

past decade. The unwillingness of some 

artists to participate in such exhibitions was 

noted. Director William

s explained the 

absence of painters Clyfford Still and Mark 

Rothko from the Biennials as being their 

choice not to participate in group exhibi-

tions.

40

 For the 27th Biennial, the Corcoran 

changed the initial selection process. Rising 

financial costs an

d the physical logistics of 

transporting thousands of entries were fast 

becoming limiting factors in continuing a 

national survey show. 

The solution—to accept the sub-

mission of slides for the initial jury selec-

tion—was met with widespread comment 

and opposition. From the thre

e thousand 

slides received, 125 paintings were brought 

to the Gallery for viewing by the jurors. 

Thirty-five paintings were chosen from this 

group. This selection method continued to 

be used throughout the 1960s. A number of 

changes in style were observed during this 

decade. Abstract Expressionism, which had 

achieved almost a national status, began to 

be less prominent except on the regional 

level. Pop and op art remained popular along 

with hard-edge abstraction. Local develop-

ments of the Washington Color School 

5 1 

BURGOYNE DlLLE R 

(1 906-1 965 ) 

First Theme, c. 1962 

O il on canvas 

Gift of the Ford 

Foundation 

T HE 28TH BIENNIA L 
JOSE F ALBER S 

(1888-1976 ) 

Homage to the Square: 

"Yes", 1956 

Casein on masonite 

Museum Purchase, 

William A. Clark Fund 

Third William A. Clark 

Prize and Corcoran 

Bronze Medal 

T H E 25T H BIENNIA L 

received modest attention. Morris Louis showed a painting only once, in the 29th 

Biennial of 1965, while Kenneth Noland fared better with works included in three 

Biennials. Gene Davis and Thomas Downing each participated twice. Lacking formal art 

training, Davis did not start painting until the 1950s after a career as a journalist. For 

much of the 1960s and the 1970s he produced signature paintings of hard-edge vertical 

stripes which were intended to allow the canvas to serve as a vehicle just for the appreciation of color. Although a fair number of the painters associated with the Washington 

Color School such as Gene Davis, Kenneth Noland, Thomas Downing, Morris Louis, 

and Paul Reed participated in the Biennials, very few of their works were purchased from 

the exhibitions. Instead, they were acquired for the collection later and in other ways. 

Following the 30th Biennial of 1967, some of the changes that had been foreshadowed in the previous two decades were finally permanently instituted. The jury system was abolished, and along with it, the practice of conferring prize awards and medals. 

Biennials of the next thirty years were governed by different principles and practices. 

Even so, the Biennials continued to grow and exert their critical importance in the art 

world. As Hermann Warner Williams, Jr. remarked in his essay for the 25th Biennial, the 

purpose of the exhibitions was to prove to the country "the just claim of American Art to 

rank with the best in the world . . . and to encourage its further development . . . ."41 

Critical comments from the press, museum professionals, and artists substantiated the 

success of the Biennial. The depth and magnitude of the Corcoran's collection of 

American paintings from the first half of the twentieth century further confirm the 

Biennial's importance and the achievement of its goals. 

The Biennials also benefited the institution in the growth and development of 

its permanent collection, which during the first half of the century was directly allied to 

these exhibitions. When conservative views reigned, similarly oriented works were 

acquired by the Corcoran. When dynamic changes occurred in the art world, they were 

reflected both in the exhibitions and in the art acquired. 

By the end of the 1960s, the Biennial had achieved many of its original goals. 

In supporting American painting, it reflected the logical developments and surprising 

vagaries of the contemporary art world. Despite many challenges, the Biennial responded to changes in the art world by adapting and reinventing itself as a vital part of the 

Corcoran's ongoing commitment to contemporary American painting. 

— L.c.s. 

5 2 

L E E BONTECO U 

( B . 1931 ) 

Untitled (57), 1961 

Welded metal and 

painted canvas 

Gift of the Ford 

Foundation 

Second William A. 

Clark Prize and the 

Corcoran Silver Medal 

T H E 28T H BIENNIA L 

1

This essay first appeared in The Biennial Exhibition Record of the Corcoran Gallery of Art 1907-1967, ed. 

Peter Hasting Falk (Madison, Connecticut: Sound View Press, 1991). It has been revised and is published 

here with the permission of Peter Hasting Falk of Sound View Press. Significant additions were written 

and researched by Marisa Keller, Corcoran Archivist. 

2

 Proposal presented by F. B. McGuire to the Board of Trustees, 1 January 1906, Corcoran Gallery of Art, 

Archives of the Corcoran Gallery and School of Art (hereafter CGSA Archives). 

3

 Ibid. 

4

Annual Report of the Director of the Corcoran Gallery of Art (Washington, DC: Corcoran Gallery of Art, 

1908), p. 14. 

5

 The present Corcoran building was designed by Ernest Flagg. The cornerstone was laid in 1893 and construction was completed in 1897. The Clark wing and the Gallery addition designed by Charles Piatt were 

begun in 1925 and completed in 1927. 

6

 "The Record of Pictures Sold" (manuscript ledger, CGSA Archives) begins with the first exhibition and 

continues through the 19th Biennial in 1945. The title, artist, entry number, purchaser, and price paid for 

each work are recorded. 

7

 Irving R. Wiles (1861-1948), son of landscape painter Lemuel Maynard Wiles, was an illustrator, portrait 

painter, and member of many artists' organizations. 

8

 A member of the artists' group known as "The Ten," Edmund C. Tarbell (1862-1938) had taught at the 

School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston since 1888. He served as principal of the Corcoran School of 

Art from 1918 until 1926. 

9

 Hugh H. Breckinridge (1870-1937) was an instructor at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts as well 

as a widely exhibited painter in oil and watercolor. 

1 0

 Frank Duveneck (1848-1919), a Cincinnati artist, was a widely exhibited painter, sculptor, and printmaker. 

5 4 
1 1 A painter and teacher, Richard Norris Brooke (1847-1920) was Vice Principal of the Corcoran School of 

Art (1902-18). He was closely identified with art interests and organizations in the nation's capital. 

1 2

 Many Biennial jurors, including these five for the first Biennial, are represented by works in the 

Corcoran's collection. They also participated as exhibitors in other Biennial presentations. 

1 3

 Works not eligible to receive awards were identified by a symbol in the catalogue. Exceptions to this twopart system were occasionally made; the 20th (1947) and 21st (1949) Biennials had no jury sections, only 

invited works. This temporary change was necessitated by restricted shipping conditions during World War 

I I . The 24th Biennial of 1955 was the only one before 1969 to include only a juried section. 

1 4

 The juries for the first five Biennials worked under the direction of a supervising committee made up of 

Corcoran staff and a trustee. Although the name of no Corcoran staff or trustee is listed in the catalogues 

after that date, it is clear from the records that C. Powell Minnigerode, director from 1916 to 1947, was 

actively involved in the selection process and exerted a strong influence. On occasion faculty from the 

School of Art took part in the process. 

1 5

 The title today is Dean. 

1 6

 "A Statement by the Jury," in the preface to The 24th Biennial Exhibition (Washington, DC: Corcoran 

Gallery of Art, 1955), unpaginated. Jurors for that Biennial were Hermann W. Williams, Jr., Philip R. 

Adams, James S. Plaut, and Andrew Carnduff Ritchie. 

1 7

 Edward Hopper had been, and would continue to be, a regular participant in the Biennial as well as a 

juror. 

18 The 30th Biennial Exhibition of Contemporary American Painting (Washington, DC: Corcoran Gallery of 

Art, 1967), p. 5. 

1 9

 Deed of Gift, May 10, 1869 CGSA Archives. 

2 0

 Various graphic designs for the catalogues were used from the 1st Biennial (1907) through the 5th 

Biennial (1914). The longest string of consistency in both size and graphic design is found in the catalogues from the 6th Biennial (1916-1917) to the 20th Biennial (1947). A slightly larger format and design 

S U E FULLE R (B . 1914 ) 

String Composition #144, 

1967 

Nylon threads under 

Plexiglass 

Gift of Mr. Emerson 

Crocker 

T H E 29T H BIENNIA L 

5 5 

were used in the catalogues from the 21st (1949) through the 28th Biennial (1963). All subsequent 

Biennial catalogues have varied in size and design. 

2 1

 The catalogue for the 20th Biennial (1947) was the first not to list all previous prize winners. Entries 

were listed in alphabetical order, and no index with addresses appeared at the back of this or any subsequent catalogue. 

2 2

 Copies of only a few pamphlets survive in the CGSA Archives. Dated issues suggest they were published 

for the 4th Biennial (1912-13) through the 13th Biennial (1932-33). 

2 3

 Files in the CGSA Archives do not include installation views before 1916. The most complete set of 

photographs for an early Biennial is from the 11th held in 1928. 

2 4

 Paul Richard, Washington Post, 2 February 1969. 

2 5

 The Rotunda is a round room designed by Charles Piatt at the head of the grand staircase from the 

Atrium. It is on an intermediate level between the first and second floors. The second Biennial work 

created for this space was painted by Gene Davis for the 34th Biennial (1975). 

2 6

 Senator from Montana, art collector and Trustee of the Corcoran Gallery of Art from 1914 to 1925. 

27Washington businessman and Trustee of the Corcoran Gallery of Art from 1887 to 1936. 

2 8

 Washington businessman and art dealer and Trustee of the Corcoran Gallery of Art from 1907 to 1911. 

2 9

 This work, like many others in the exhibition has been returned to its original freshness and sound condition following treatment by Corcoran Conservator, Dare Hartwell, and her associates. I also thank her for 

her observation about the frequency of snow scenes and her other insights into paintings from the 

Biennials. 

30Weber was not included again until the 12th Biennial of 1930-31. 

3 1

 Stella was in the 19th Biennial (1945), one year before his death. MacDonald-Wright was in the 22nd 

Biennial (1951). O'Keeffe was in the 26th Biennial (1959). 

3 2

 Press reaction to Rush's painting The Broken Pitcher in the 14th Biennial of 1935 indicates that the painting, probably an early attempt at abstraction, was not received well. It was described in the press as "fragments of a broken pitcher falling dizzingly down the entire length of the canvas assuming proportions that 

they would in the minds of those who might be unfortunate enough to break the picture." 

3 3

 The exhibition needs of Washington artists were addressed in 1946 with the institution of the exhibition 

series Work by Artists of Washington and Vicinity. Informally known as the "area show " this series of juried 

shows was held irregularly on alternate years with the Biennial until the last one devoted to video took 

place in 1982. 

34New York Times, 1 April 1952. 

3 5

 Hermann Warner Williams, Jr., "Preface," The 24th Biennial Exhibition (Washington, DC: Corcoran 

Gallery of Art, 1955), unpaginated. 

3 6

 Andrew Carnduff Ritchie, Philip R. Adams, and James S. Plaut, "A Statement by the Jury," The 24th 

Biennial Exhibition (Washington, DC: Corcoran Gallery of Art, 1955), unpaginated. 

3 7

 Hermann Warner Williams, Jr., "Fifty Years of Biennial Exhibitions," The 25th Biennial Exhibition 

(Washington, DC: Corcoran Gallery of Art, 1957), p. 5. 

3 8 Ibid., p. 7. 

3 9

 Foreword of The 26th Biennial Exhibition (Washington, DC: Corcoran Gallery of Art, 1959), unpaginated. 

4 0

 Ibid. 

GEN E DAVI S 

( 1 920- 1 985 ) 

Black Popcorn, 1965 

O il on canvas 

Museum Purchase and 

exchange 

T H E 30T H BIENNIA L 

4 1

 Hermann Warner Williams, Jr., "Fifty Years of Biennial Exhibitions," The 25th Biennial Exhibition 

(Washington, DC: Corcoran Gallery of Art, 1957), p. 5. 

5 7 

MAPPIN G PAINTIN G I N A N EXPANDE D FIELD : TH E CONTEMPORAR Y BIENNIALS , 1969-199 5 

Terrie Sultan, Curator of Contemporary Art 

TIM E HA S ALS O CHANGE D TH E ENTIR E CONCEP T O F TH E BIENNIAL . WHEREA S I N TH E 

EARL Y YEAR S O F TH E CENTUR Y A BROA D SURVEY , REASONABL Y COMPREHENSIV E AN D FAIR , 

O F TH E ARTISTI C PRODUCTIO N O F TH E ENTIR E COUNTR Y WA S POSSIBL E T O ASSEMBLE , 

BECAUS E T O AL L INTENT S AN D PURPOSE S AL L ARTIST S O F AN Y IMPORTANC E WER E LOCAT -

E D I N A NARRO W BAN D FRO M WASHINGTO N T O BOSTON , THI S N O LONGE R HOLD S TRUE . 

F O R MAN Y YEAR S NO W I T HA S BEE N ENTIREL Y BEYON D TH E CAPACIT Y O F AN Y INSTITUTIO N 

T O DEMONSTRAT E SUC H A CROSS-SECTIO N O N A NATIONA L SCALE , SINC E PAINTIN G O F 

IMPORTANC E I S BEIN G PRODUCE D I N AL L SECTION S O F TH E COUNTRY . 

— HERMAN N WARNE R WILLIAM S 1 

Biennials presented from 1969 to 1995 mirrored the fast-paced changes that were then 

affecting the contemporary art world. In retrospect, those Biennials also provide 

glimpses of the Corcoran's institutional challenge to come to terms with the emergence 

of new professional museum practices throughout the United States, as well as with 

increased institutional competition on the Washington museum scene.2 From 1907 to 

1968 just three directors had overseen the Corcoran. By contrast, ten changes in leadership occurred from 1969 to 1995; four of these took place from 1969 to 1975. The 

Biennial, perhaps the largest and most nationally visible of Corcoran curatorial projects, 

was seen by each new director as a highly desirable arena in which to introduce a personal aesthetic statement. 

The Biennials of this period also reflected changing attitudes in American 

museums about the character and value of survey shows, and the general usefulness of 

such enterprises. As well, they called into question the specific capacity of these exhibitions to present a meaningful and comprehensive overview of current aesthetic discourse, 

which by 1970 had become increasingly diverse, divergent, and fractured along ideological and philosophical lines. The single biggest change in the Corcorans attitude toward 

the Biennial was the assertion—repeated in every single catalogue foreword or essay 

published since 1969—that these exhibitions were no longer to be regarded as true surveys of American painting. The Biennials thus became curatorially driven exhibitions 

with a point of view, a singular aesthetic, or a unifying theme or idea, instead of being 

more objective overviews. Accompanying publications became more interpretive and 

educational, with the organizers using their essays as vehicles to develop ideas or to 

instruct the reading public. Quite unlike the pre-1969 projects that had presented the 

work of hundreds of artists, nine of the fourteen exhibitions held from 1969 to 1995 

offered in-depth views—almost mini-solo exhibitions—of each participating artist. As 

JESSIC A STOCKHOLDE R 

( B . 1959 ) 

1994, 199'4 

Plastic sink legs, clothing, 

trimming, string, yarn, 

wood, hardware, piece of 

furniture, papier mache, 

plaster, wallpaper paste, 

glue, and plastic fruit 

Gift of the Women's 

Committee of the 

Corcoran Gallery of Art 

T H E 44T H BIENNIA L 

5 9 
expenses incurred in organizing the modern Biennials increased, the Gallery sought to 

expand private, foundation, and corporate support. In. addition to the Anna E. Clark 

Fund, established in 1927 to support the Biennial, the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz 

Foundation contributed to four Biennials during this period. By 1975 the National 

Endowment for the Arts began to support the exhibition regularly, and it continued to 

provide substantial funding for most Biennials for the next sixteen years.3

The 31st Biennial, presented in 1969 by the Corcoran's newly appointed director James Harithas, broadly signaled the change in the tone, direction, and organizational process that would govern subsequent Biennials. Invitational sections, which had been 

an integral part of the exhibitions beginning in 1915, had expanded to the point where, 

by 1965, invited artists comprised the majority of the exhibition.4 Harithas formally 

declared the era of the juried Biennial over. Taking full responsibility for selecting all participants, he also reconfigured the selection format, effectively creating twenty-three 

separate solo exhibitions stationed throughout the museum. While different in process, 

this Biennial nevertheless continued to focus on and to reaffirm the hegemony of abstract 

color painting, which remained a strong regional force, even though the exhibition 

included no Washington artists. Harithas concentrated primarily on "younger artists 

living in New York who had not exhibited together, and had rarely been seen in a museum context, and artists who have made a significant contribution to American painting 

in the past and have received too little recognition." His primary intent was to present 

"various approaches to abstract paintings, each work representing a particular cosmological insight; also a transition from geometric abstraction to new expressionism."5 

Although many of the artworks were selected from the artists' studios, Angelo 

Savelli and James Van Dijk created sited work in the Corcoran's galleries. The exhibition 

also included some surprises, such as neon wall pieces by Bruce Nauman, dyed canvas 

hangings by Richard Tuttle, and Savelli's three-dimensional sculpture. Juxtaposed with 

more well-known abstract painters like Larry Poons and Dan Christensen, Nauman, 

(who would become one of America's most innovative and celebrated artists) is barely 

mentioned in any of the reviews, which favored the lyric abstractionists. Hilton Kramer's 

response in the New York Times is typical: "Perhaps the most startling thing about this 

exhibition is not what it contains but what is does not. With one exception, there is not 

a trace of Pop art nor of its allied manifestations. The emphasis here is all on pure 

abstraction, both in its geometrical and its lyric forms."6 

The Circumnavigation of the Sphering of the Poles (1964) by Irene Pereira was one 

of five works acquired from the exhibition. This painting, which shows Pereira at the 

peak of her creativity, is a classic mix of expressive brushstrokes and hard-edge geometry. She uses these two seemingly contradictory approaches to deftly allude to landscape 

through an interplay of geometric forms that seem to float away from an atmospheric 

field. This work dovetails in the Corcoran collection with earlier abstract paintings by 

Hans Hoffman, Josef Albers, and Mark Rothko, allowing the Gallery to present, indepth, one of the highly refined approaches to postwar abstract painting. Along with the 

Pereira, Dean Fleming's Atlantis, Richard Tuttle's Red Canvas, Michael Goldberg's 

Untitled, and Robert Swain's Untitled were also added to the collection. These works 

reflected the overall theme of the exhibition, and firmly declared abstraction as a major 

focus for the Corcoran's modern and contemporary holdings. 

6 0 
IREN E RIC E PEREIR A 

( 1 907- 1 9 7 1 ) 

The Circumnavigation of the 

Sphering of the Poles, 1964 

O i l on canvas 

Gift of the Associates of the 

Corcoran Gallery of A rt 

T H E 3 1 S T BIENNIA L 

6 1 
6 2 

RICHAR D TUTTL E 

(B.1941 ) 

Red Canvas, 1967 

Dyed canvas 

Gift of Mr. Eric Green 

T H E 31S T BIENNIA L 

Two years later Harithas had departed, and another young upstart director, 

Walter Hopps, had taken over. Hopps noted in the exhibition catalogue that "the 

Corcoran Biennial needs only to address itself to one task—that of furthering a living 

tradition of painting in this country."7 He too acknowledged that the former jury system 

was unworkable, but he continued to believe that artists should govern some decisions 

about how their work was presented in the museum context. Unwilling to assume the 

role of sole arbiter, he invited eleven artists, who were each in turn asked to invite one 

other artist. For his own selections, Hopps established four governing rules: to include a 

small number of artists whose careers had emerged in the past two decades; to feature 

artists whose work he had followed for at least three years; to focus on artists who have 

not had prominent representation in previous Biennials or other exhibitions in 

Washington; and, finally, to present only artists currently living outside Washington. 

Thus he was able, in his words, to "continue the valuable tradition of artist jurors from 

previous Biennials" while he ensured that "artists should have a stronger voice about 

what art is presented to the public."8 " I wanted to show three generations of artists. I had 

hoped that the artists I selected would ask younger people, and I wanted to see how each 

would reinforce the other," Hopps recalled. "It was very surprising what happened. For 

example, instead of a young, emerging artist, Frank Lobdell selected Clyfford Still. He 

said he couldn't think of any other artist better for the show."9 

Hopps presented a greater range of art than Harithas had, including figurative 

works. This selection largely countered the still dominant color-field painting that 
Harithas had reinforced in his exhibition. Like Harithas's project, however, the 32nd 

Biennial presented in 1971 consisted of a series of one-person shows within the context 

of an overall thematic exhibition. The press response to Hopps's endeavor was generally 

favorable. Washington Post critic Paul Richard proclaimed that Hopps "has revealed— 

with clarity—the vitality and chaos of contemporary painting."10 In Newsweek, Douglas 

Davis pointed out some of the controversy Hopps's methods provoked locally. "Privately 

Hopps's critics charge him with shirking his personal curatorial responsibility.'To which 

he replies with great heat, 'Nonsense! Half the artists in the show are close personal 

friends of mine. I'm admitting that. Most of what passes for expertise in the art world, 

anyway, is personal involvement.'"11 Considering that for decades Biennials were selected by a jury of working artists, criticism of Hopps's intentions to continue to engage the 

artists in the selection process seems a bit specious. Several women artists had another 

criticism worth noting: of the twenty-two artists presented, all were men. This occasioned Mary Beth Edelson, who was teaching at the Corcoran School of Art at the time, 

to organize a picket line during the opening. Hopps emphatically supports his contribution. " I think the Biennial was one of the half-dozen most interesting shows I organized 

for the Corcoran," he recently remarked.12 

Three paintings came into the collection from the 32nd Biennial: Teec (1970) 

by Edward Moses, Mandan, No. 19 (1970) by Franklin Owen, and Reclining Nude on 

Green Couch (1971) by Philip Pearlstein. Hopps had been forceful in the inclusion of rep

il k ihhibiid hiiif RliiNdiifil

ROBER T SWAI N 

( B . 1940 ) 

Untitled, No 7, 1968-69 

Installation view with 

the artist, 1969 

Acrylic on canvas 

Gift of Mary Howland 

Chase and the Friends 

o f the Corcoran Gallery 

of Art 

T H E 3 1 S T BIENNIA L 

6 3 
T O P LEFT : 

MICHAE L GOLDBER G 

( B . 1924 ) 

Untitled, 1968 

O i l and pastel 

Museum Purchase, 

Director's Discretionary 

Fund 

T H E 3 1 S T BIENNIA L 

T O P RIGHT : 

DEA N FLEMIN G 

( B . 1933 ) 

Atlantis, 1967 

Enamel on nine masonite 

panels 

Museum Purchase, 

M r. and Mrs. David 

Lloyd Kreeger Purchase 

Award 

T H E 31S T BIENNIA L 

evolved the Gallery's already strong holdings of historical and modern figurative painting. In Reclining Nude, Pearlstein extends the tradition of the painted figure by shifting 

the traditional frontal focus of an odalisque, creating a dynamic, aggressive composition 

wherein the body literally pushes at the edges of the picture plane. 

Gene Baro, the Corcoran's director from April to December 1972, was invited 

back in 1973 by acting director Roy Slade to express his opinion about American painting for the 33rd Biennial.13

 Reflecting his highly personal tastes, Baro returned to the 

theme of color abstraction and titled the exhibition The Way of Color. Seeking to establish a counter-reaction to the "happy accident" of the pour, stain, and geometry of colorfield paintings, Baro focused on artists who were "attached to the best art of the recent 

past, a broad spectrum of solutions for colorism." All, he wrote, were involved in a "purposeful, controlled treatment of the surface."14

 This focus on color was well received by 

critics such as Benjamin Forgey of the Washington Star, who noted that Baro avoided the 

big names of the day, focusing instead on the "strength of the tradition" of color abstraction.15

 The Gallery's complex and largely unresolved relationship with artists living and 

working in Washington (who were then the primary practitioners of color-field painting outside New York) was exacerbated by the fact that none of these painters was invited to participate in Baro's Biennial. Rather, works by artists such as Thomas Downing 

and Gene Davis were installed in a separate exhibition in the downstairs galleries, a 

move that admittedly provided an interesting compare-and-contrast opportunity but 

effectively ghettoized the efforts of local artists. Even this was seen to be positive. "The 

extra dividend to the show is the opportunity to compare these paintings with works by 

Washington painters whose principal concern is color," Forgey wrote. "That, after all, is 

the game that gave this city its art name, and it's still the most active game in town." 

Baro's show is a "forth-right, honest, intelligible statement, and it engages the mind and 

heart. One could hardly ask for more."16 However well regarded Baro's effort may have 

been locally, it was ignored by the national press. 

It was perhaps due to the Gallery's institutional upheavals that no painting from 

this exhibition was acquired for the collection until late 1974, when private collectors 

donated Morteza Sazegar's C5-72 #1 (1972).17

 Sazegar's optically active, painterly color6 4 
6 5 

PHILI P PEARLSTEI N 

( B . 1924 ) 

Reclining Nude on Green 

Couch, 1971 

O i l on canvas 

Gift of the Friends of the 

Corcoran Gallery of Art 

T H E 32N D BIENNIA L 
EDWAR D MOSE S 

( B . 1926 ) 

Teec, 1970 

Acrylic resin and powdered pigment on canvas 

Gift of the Women's 

Committee of the 

Corcoran Gallery of Art 

T H E 32N D BIENNIA L 

square combinations are inspired by colors in nature, and are indebted to Ellsworth 

Kelly's early pivotal abstraction, Spectrum Colors Arranged by Chance (1951-53). Darkly 

luminous, C5-72 #1 is a sophisticated study of the inherent subtleties of color and hue. 

Roy Slade solidified and asserted his transition from acting to full director and 

retained the good will that Gene Baro's previous Biennial had engendered by offering 

Baro the role of advisor for the 34th Biennial in 1975. Significantly, Slade departed from 

in-depth selections. He invited fifty artists, but he allowed them to show only one work 

apiece. Broader in scope and yet smaller in scale, the 34th Biennial presented breadth 

at the expense of depth. " I was very excited about this project," Slade related. "We 

were on the verge of the Bicentennial, and I wanted to create a celebration of painting. I 

was excited to mix up East- and West-Coast artists, emerging and mature artists, and 

I was especially thrilled to introduce so many artists from California to an East-Coast 

audience for the first time."18 Slade's catalogue essay was a rhapsodic ode to painting as 

represented in this diverse and purposefully unfocused exhibition, which featured repeat 

appearances from previous Biennials by half of the invited artists. This pause from the 

innovations introduced by Harithas and Hopps was both a crowd-pleaser and a critical 

success, with Paul Richard noting in the Washington Post, "It has been a while since the 

Corcoran offered an exhibition so ambitious and expensive."19In fact, Slades resources to 

stage this Biennial had grown substantially. The previous Biennial was presented with a 

modest budget of $16,000; this exhibition was amply supported by more than $80,000 

in grants. 

6 6 
6 7 

TOP : 

MORTEZ A SAZEGA R 

( B . 1933 ) 

C5-72 #1, 1972 

Acrylic on canvas 

Gift of M r. and Mrs. Gilbert 

H . Kinney 

T H E 33R D BIENNIA L 

BOTTOM : 

FRANKLI N OWE N 

( B . 1939 ) 

Mandan, No. 19, 1970 

Acrylic on canvas 

Gift of the Friends of the 

Corcoran Gallery of A rt 

T H E 32N D BIENNIA L 
RONAL D DAVI S 

( B . 1937 ) 

TBeam, 1974 

Acrylic and dry pigment 

on canvas 

Gift of the Friends of the 

Corcoran Gallery of Art 

T H E 34T H BIENNIA L 

Of the fifty paintings included in the exhibition, the Corcoran acquired two. 

T Beam (1974) by Ronald Davis and Creek Square (1974) by Joan Synder are excellent 

examples of the differences intrinsic to East-Coast and West-Coast abstract painting, 

and their acquisition underscored Slade's stated desire to trace this difference in the exhibition. Davis's T Beam blends high-key, lyric, color-field atmospherics with exacting 

geometry, creating a visually complex hybrid of retinal and illusionistic gestural painting, 

and hard-edge definition. Monumentally scaled, TBeam deftly demonstrates the preoccupation with scale and light that then dominated the lexicon of California-based 

painters. Snyder's Creek Square, on the other hand, is relatively small in scale, but offers 

a densely packed, highly expressive study in color and motion. Snyder's roots in the New 

York School of Abstract Expressionism can be seen in her gooey, paint-laden brushstrokes and solid blocks of color. Theatrically placed as gestures on the surface of the picture plane, they create a heightened sense of emotional power and physical immediacy. 

In 1977, Jane Livingston arrived as chief curator, a position she held for the next 

twelve years. The 35th Biennial, jointly organized by Livingston and Slade that year, 

again focused on abstract painting, but notably the curators looked beyond New York 

and selected from a much broader geographical base. Emphasizing yet again that the 

Biennial "does not attempt to survey or define the national scene, being instead the personal and considered choice of the Director and Chief Curator,"20

 the organizers sought 

to show that abstract painting in the 1970s remained deeply rooted in postwar Abstract 

Expressionism and represented what could be broadly defined as an American tradition. 

In pursuing this tradition, the curators consciously relegated realism and what they 

termed other "substyles" to the margins. "There were two main things Jane and I tried 

6 8 
to achieve in this Biennial," Slade recently explained. "One was to make sure that the 

Washington artists, people who had been previously shown only in the 'Washington 

room/ were mainstreamed. Secondly, after the criticism Hopps received, [we wanted] to 

make sure we included women."21

 Critical reception was mixed. Benjamin Forgey of the 

Washington Star acknowledged that the exhibition tried to make a point about significant art existing outside New York and other art centers, but he added, "Well, okay, but 

the show really tells us more about the Slade-Livingston taste than anything else So, 

we have a biennial that attempts no big statements, contains no striking new ideas, misses variety and lacks an aesthetic high point—an unmemorable, unassuming show. The 

virtue in this modesty .. . is that we are spared inflated notions about the state of the art 

and left peacefully alone to discover what we think of what Slade-Livingston uncovered 

for us."22

The broad national scope of this Biennial is reflected in the works that came 

into the collection from the exhibition. Washington artist Michael Clark had exhibited 

in many previous group shows at the Corcoran, and was the subject of a solo exhibition 

in 1971. His painting, San Francisco Chinatown Windows (1976), is an intimately scaled 

abstraction extrapolating geometry from daily life. In his investigation of spatial relationships, Clark uses observation as a pretext for abstraction, reducing the image of a 

window to a purely formal association of color and line. Frederick Hammersley, an 

established but underrecognized New Mexico-based artist, is largely known for his hardedged painting of the early 60s, and the minimal, boldly geometric Refer Two (1973) is 

an excellent example of his work. Sandi Slone, now residing in New York, was an emerging artist based in Boston at the time of the exhibition. Shivernly (1976) was just recentJOA N SNYDE R (B . 1 940 ) 

Creek Square, 1974 

Oil, acrylic, canvas, 

cheesecloth, papier mache 

on canvas 

Gift of Marvin and 

Florence Gerstin 

T H E 34T H BIENNIA L 

6 9 

ly added to the collection through a gift from a private collector. Unlike Clark and 

Hammersley, Slone's approach to abstraction is all gesture. Shivernlys muted tones of 

blended paint and broad brushstrokes are insistently its form and content. 

Livingston assumed sole responsibility for the next two Biennials in 1979 and 

1981, both of which focused narrowly on new work by five highly renowned painters. 

All male, all fifty years of age or older, the artists of the 36th Biennial, Jasper Johns, 

Willem de Kooning, Ellsworth Kelly, Robert Rauschenberg, and Roy Lichtenstein, had 

shown in previous ones and were selected, Livingston wrote in the catalogue, because 

they "are not only continuing to produce paintings in a spirit of refinement or elaboration of their own earlier achievements, but are making bodies of work which almost 

exceed in mastery, ambitiousness and sophistication much of their own earlier output."23 

She concluded her remarks by asserting that these artists were "making the best paintings of the time." The press mainly agreed, with Benjamin Forgey noting that 

"Livingston played it safe in this one, and came up a winner; and the least that can be 

said is that a winner is just what the Corcoran needs in its embattled competition with 

the awesome Mall museums."24 Perhaps Forgey s positive comparison with the productions of the "awesome Mall museums" had an effect, because the 37th Biennial continued the same theme. Livingston basically renounced the idea of a national exhibition, 

having already declared her preference for a tightly focused presentation of a selective 

vision. Significantly, the five artists presented in 1981 included two women: Agnes 

Martin and Joan Mitchell. "These two Biennials represented a superlative moment in 

SAND I SLON E (B . 1939 ) 

Shivernly, 1976 

Acrylic on canvas 

Gift of Bruce L. Ehrmann 

T H E 35T H BIENNIA L 

7 1 
JOA N MITCHEL L 

( 1 926- 1 992 ) 

Salut Tom, 1979 

O i l on canvas 

Museum Purchase with 

aid of funds from the 

Women's Committee of 

the Corcoran Gallery of 

American art, a moment that that might not ever be repeated," Livingston recently reminisced. "Everything is too pluralistic now. There was a clarity to those shows that 

Biennials don't usually have."25 

The Gallery's high regard for the ten artists featured in these two exhibitions is 

reflected by their strong presence in the permanent collection. Richard Diebenkorn, 

Frank Stella, and Ellsworth Kelly were already represented by significant paintings in the 

collection prior to 1979. Joan Mitchell's Salut Tom (1979) also entered the collection in 

1979, two years prior to the 37th Biennial (this painting was one of six major canvases 

representing Mitchell). A second-generation Abstract Expressionist, Mitchell relocated 

from New York to France in the 1950s. Her paintings, created with loose brushstrokes 

that, infused with the luminescent natural light of a bright white background, take on 

the quality of musical notation. Mitchell's aesthetic is more in tune with Monet's late 

grandly scaled Waterlilies than with her Abstract Expressionist predecessors, such as 

Jackson Pollock. Salut Tom, dedicated to American critic and curator Thomas Hess, is a 

signature work, a four-paneled panoramic composition that succinctly encapsulates the 

artist's personal, particularly lyrical perspective on the tradition of landscape-inspired 

abstraction. 

Another radical alteration of the Biennial tradition occurred in 1983, when the 

project acquired a regional focus largely due to financial need. The Gallery, looking for 

new ways to support the heavy expense of researching and mounting a major survey 

exhibition, sought operating partners to share the fiscal burden. A regional approach also 

suited both the tenor of the times and the needs of corporate funders. Joining forces with 

the Western States Arts Foundation, the Corcoran presented the 38th Biennial as an 

extension of the Western States Biennial, a project begun by the Foundation in 1979 

expressly to give Western artists national exposure. The following three Biennials 

addressed other regions of the United States: the Midwest in 1985; New York City in 

1987; and the Southeast in 1989. Along with extra funding, the regional focus allowed 

a broader audience to enjoy these presentations, because for the first time in Biennial history, the works traveled to other museums and art centers within the specific regions 

addressed by the exhibition. 

The 38th Corcoran Biennial/Second Western States Exhibition of 1983 was 

selected by a modified jury system, with the organizers soliciting nominations from 

artists and art experts from fourteen Western states. Slides of works by several hundred 

painters were reviewed by a curatorial committee comprised of Jane Livingston, Clair List, 

the Corcoran's associate curator of contemporary art, Linda Cathcart, curator of the 

Contemporary Art Museum in Houston, and George Neubert, curator of the San 

Francisco Museum of Modern Art. After the committee had reviewed slides and made 

preliminary selections, List visited studios to select specific works by each artist. In her 

essay, List noted that her selection "conveys the mystique of the Old West coupled with 

imagery from the New West; a sense of unashamed freedom to raid art history, folk art 

and both popular and frontier culture to fashion individualistic styles; a wry, satirical, even 

quirky storytelling; and throughout, the individual's response to the celebrated natural 

beauty of the West... ."26

 After an eight-year domination of purely abstract painting, this 

Biennial included a fair share of figuratively based, narrative work from diverse sources. 

The exhibition brought to the surface many opinions concerning the relevance of region7 4 
HARVE Y QUAYTMA N 

( B . 1937 ) 

Age of Iron, 1986 

Acrylic, rust, and collage 

on canvas 

Gift of the Friends of the 

Corcoran Gallery of Art 

T H E 40T H BIENNIA L 

7 5 

SEA N SCULL Y (B . 1945 ) 

Flyer, 1986 

O i l on canvas 

Gift of the Women's 

Committee of the Corcoran 

Gallery of A rt in memory 

of Jinx Cutts with aid of 

funds from the Firestone 

Foundation and the Jinx 

Cutts Memorial Fund 

T H E 40T H BIENNIA L 
ROBER T MANGOL D 

( B . 1937 ) 

Five Color Frame 

Painting, 1985 

Acrylic on canvas 

Gift of the Women's 

Committee of the 

Corcoran Gallery of Art 

T H E 40T H BIENNIA L 

7 6 
7 7 

alism in contemporary art. "It is clear that western-based artists create under influences 

more complex than the quality of light on the desert or the patterns of Indian designs," 

critic Lee Fleming wrote in ArtNews. "The Western States exhibitions were founded to 

make this point: the Corcoran catalogue almost defeats it in a muddled attempt to restore 

something just short of provincialism to the word western/This problem will only spread 

with future Corcoran Biennials if curators insist on tying regional art to geographic stereotypes."27

 The New York Times also weighed in with the assessment that "the notion of 

returning to the concept of regional' art seems disturbingly provincial."28 

This same regional theme, which was then dominating national discourse, was 

strongly represented in the 39th Biennial, selected this time by independent guest curator Lisa Lyons. She reinstituted the role of being sole proprietor of the selection process. 

Her exhibition, which focused on the Midwestern states, sought to reveal "a gratifying 

reality: good painting, fresh and accomplished and inventive work, flourishes in all parts 

of our country. The slow process of the decentralization of the culture which has been 

underway for the past few decades is reaching a demonstrable maturity."29 Lyons's 

approach to regionalism—that, in fact, regional distinctions no longer existed in the best 

contemporary art—occasioned a lengthy and impassioned refutation by Chicago critic 

Michael Bonesteel. Writing for Art in America, Bonesteel contended that "Lyons's 

assumption echoes what proponents of the bandwagon cosmopolitan view have been 

saying for years. . . . It is undeniable that regional distinctions are further diminishing 

with every generation. But to sound the death knell on Midwestern regionalism is at best 

MAR Y HEILMAN N 

( B . 1940 ) 

The Beach House, 1986 

O i l on canvas 

Gift of the Friends of the 

Corcoran Gallery of A rt 

T H E 40T H BIENNIA L 
premature. There's still some life—some independent life, that is—in the old provinces 

yet."30

 Unlike the East Coast critics who addressed the regionalism of the Western States 

Biennial as a negative move toward provincialism, Bonesteel reacted negatively toward 

what he saw as Lyons's attempt to differentiate between a geographic and a stylistic 

region on the basis of aesthetics. 

Ned Rifkin assumed the position of curator of contemporary art at the Corcoran 

in 1985. He joined the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in 1987, and the 40th 

Biennial presented that year was his last project at the Gallery. Rifkin chose New York 

City as his regional focus, returning to an all-abstract painting show that purposefully 

reemphasized New York's primacy by declaring it the nation's capital of visual art. When 

asked to select his geographic region, Rifkin responded that "the only American geographic area that I believed was still genuinely regional' in the sense that it generated its 

own aesthetic and looked emphatically to itself and its own traditions, was New York 

City."31 Rifkin, who had witnessed the strong emergence of neo-expressionist painting in 

the late 1980s, chose instead to focus on artists who he felt had "come through the crisis years' of painting" in the late 1960s and early 1970s, artists who he described as "midlife crisis artists." This approach was well received in Washington, with Paul Richard taking the lead in the Washington Post hy declaring, "[Rifkin] picked no sharp, chic kids (the 

youngest is 37), and no 'blue chip' biggies (the oldest is 51). His exhibition, though a New 

York show, is not what you'd expect. It doesn't scuttle after fashion.... He left out those 

punky neo-expressionists' whose gloopy and aggressive dogs once howled through the 

East Village. He excluded the appropriationists' whose diffident, little borrowings tend 

to leave the viewer with the feeling he's been gypped."32

 Presenting thirteen participants 

7 8 

L . C . ARMSTRON G 

( B . 1954 ) 

Re-Coil, 1990 

Enamel, fuse burn and 

resin on three steel panels 

Gift of the Women's 

Committee of the 

Corcoran Gallery of A rt 

T H E 42N D BIENNIA L 
(in the spirit of Harithas and Hopps) in a series of in-depth solo groupings, Rifkin 

attempted to "promote an experience of individual artists' work through minimal curatorial intervention." Terry Winters and Louise Fishman were singled out by critic Michael 

Brenson in the New York Times as examples of artists proudly carrying the banner for 

abstraction in the "cogent argument not only for abstract painting but also for the continuing vitality of a late modernist esthetic."33 

The final regional Biennial was presented in 1989. Organized by guest curator 

William Fagaly of the New Orleans Museum of Art, the 41st Biennial presented eighteen artists from the Southeast. Fagaly selected what he considered to be "talented 

painters who . . . have worked diligently and have not received the attention and recognition outside of the South they deserve,"34

 or emerging artists who also have not been 

recognized outside the South. He consciously avoided renowned artists such as Robert 

Rauschenberg and James Rosenquist, both of whom had already achieved international 

reputations. Two-thirds of the artists Fagaly selected worked in rural Southern communities and away from metropolitan centers; the rest lived in either Atlanta, Miami, or 

New Orleans. Almost all the works presented were image-based. The theme of narration generated some negative criticism, typified by Jane Addams Allen in the Washington 

Times. "Sadly, the overall look of the 41st Biennial suggests that the South is better 

adapted to literature than to art."35 Nevertheless, exhibition organizer William Fagaly 

continues to feel that the Southern regional focus had merit. " I tried to show an eclectic 

-there was no look' to the show—to demonstrate the variety of techniques and mixapproaches. . . . Mainly, I wanted to challenge the definition of painting by showing 

works as diverse as Dub Brocks paintings on bed sheets to Tyler Turkles poured paintWILL Y HEEK S (B . 1 95 1 ) 

Solace, 1990 

O i l and charcoal on canvas 

Gift of the Friends of the 

Corcoran Gallery of Art 

T H E 42N D BIENNIA L 

7 9 
ings." He added, " I think that the idea of a regional exhibition is still viable. These shows 

help introduce artists who have not had much exposure. They give the artists, the ones 

who don't have established reputations, a validation of their work. Artists need that to 

continue, and if they don't get it, it impairs their output."36 Jane Livingston agrees. " I 

think that the regional Biennials provided the artists with a real springboard from which 

to build careers. They were successful from the point of view of the artists, and that is 

really the only way to gauge success."37 

Ironically, although the Corcoran was actively drawn to the national dialogue 

concerning regionalism in terms of exhibitions, the Gallery did not acquire works from 

any of its own regional biennials, with the notable exception of the 40th (New York City) 

Biennial. In addition to Sean Scully's Flyer (1986), acquired the year before the exhibition, The Beach House (1986) by Mary Heilmann, Harvey Quaytman's Age of Iron (1986), 

and Five Color Frame Painting (1985) by Robert Mangold were purchased from this 

show. Heilmann's painting compresses two-dimensional spatial relationships with a 

remarkable delicacy. Compositionally, The Beach House is a square within a rectangle, and 

the artist's loosely expressed brushwork and refined color activates the fundamentally 

planar nature of her composition. The minimalist geometry of Mangold's Five Color 

Frame Painting, part of a series of frame paintings begun in 1984, shows this artist opening up his pictorial construction, focusing on a center void framed by rectangles of harmonious color. Quaytman's Age of Iron also has a central image—this time a tilted cruciform—at its core. Like Mangold, Quaytman juxtaposes negative and positive spaces, 

LYDI A DON A (B . 1955 ) 

Fear of Falling into 

the Lack, The Dream of 

Language, and The 

Ruptures of the Flood, 

1991 

Oil, acrylic and sign 

paint on canvas 

Gift of the Women's 

Committee of the 

Corcoran Gallery of A rt 

T H E 42N D BIENNIA L 

8 0 
imbuing a purely visual abstraction with ambiguous spiritual content. Sean Scully's Flyer 

presents a more expressionistic, painterly surface, yet his architectural approach, which 

expands the picture plane into shallow relief, is also based on geometry. Taken together, 

these four paintings provide a consistent overview of the rigorous, sturdy, and durable 

New York abstraction of the middle 1980s. 

In 1988, I joined the Gallery staff as curator of contemporary art. To counter 

eight years of regional programming, I proposed that the 42nd Biennial return to a 

national forum. Having had the luxury of time to research the overall trends in American 

painting for three years prior to the presentation of this Biennial in 1991,1 proposed a 

series of exhibitions, each thematically focused on a single, important trend. In this 

scheme, the 42nd Biennial again returned to abstraction, while the 43rd featured figuration and the 44th Biennial presented works by artists who were exploring the boundaries 

of painting. Perhaps my biggest change was in redesigning the exhibition catalogues. In 

contrast to past efforts that generally included a single interpretive essay by the organizing curator, I invited outside critics and curators to contribute substantial catalogue 

entries on each artist. 

In the wake of the Robert Mapplethorpe cancellation controversy of 1989, the 

42nd Biennial was an opportunity for the Corcoran to project a national influence. 

Following the model of the 40th Biennial, this exhibition presented a series of thirteen 

small solo shows, with each artist assigned a gallery in which to present a relatively large 

number of works. Several of the artists planned their own installations specifically for the 

THOMA S ERI C STANTO N 

( B . 1947 ) 

Tree of Life (Hannibal), 1991 

Mixed media on canvas 

Museum Purchase, 

William A . Clark Fund 

T H E 42N D BIENNIA L 

8 1 
allotted space. The overarching theme was to present works that "endow the formal eloquence of gestural and minimal abstraction with intellectual or emotional vigor,"38

wherein a fusion of process, form, and content reinvigorates the painterly lexicon. The 

return to a national focus was well received, and the local critics' continuing dedication 

to abstract painting was evident. "The most urgent question facing painting at the 

moment—is it a viable artistic medium after more than a decade of mass-media derived 

art?—needs to be addressed in the broadest possible way," Eric Gibson wrote in the 

Washington Times.39 The Washington Post's Paul Richard concurred,"Viewers who've 

been told that abstract painting is finished—that modernism is done, that oil paint and 

brushes are hopelessly antique—ought to see the '42nd Biennial Exhibition of 

Contemporary American Painting.'. . ."40 

The paintings acquired from this exhibition offer prime examples of the two 

parallel concerns that informed abstraction in the 1990s: a cool, distanced style characterized by the use of industrial paints and materials that expands the minimalist tradition of painters such as Robert Mangold; and a naturally expressionistic, organic process 

that reconsiders Abstract Expressionism and the New York School. In Re-Coil (1990), 

L. C. Armstrong layers a highly fetishized, mirrored surface over a looped, expressionistic image (created by first arranging and then igniting dynamite fuse cord) that simulates the sensual gesture of a brushstroke. The result is a seductive dialogue between 

transparency and opacity, distance and emotion. Lydia Dona's Fear of Falling into the 

Lack, The Dream of Language, and The Ruptures of the Flood (1991), with its field of acid, 

LAR I PITTMA N 

( B . 1952 ) 

Reverential and Needy, 

1991 

Acrylic and enamel on 

mahogany panel 

Gift of the Friends of the 

Corcoran Gallery of Art 

T H E 42N D BIENNIA L 

8 2 
8 3 

K I M DINGL E (B . 1951 ) 

Black Girl Dragging 

White Girl, 1992 

O i l and charcoal on 

canvas 

Gift of the Women's 

Committee of the 

Corcoran Gallery of Art 

T H E 43R D BIENNIA L 
CHARLE S GARABEDIA N 

( B . 1923 ) 

Study for "The Iliad", 

1992 

Acrylic on paper 

Gift of the Friends of the 

Corcoran Gallery of Art 

T H E 43R D BIENNIA L 

industrial, or unnatural color in agitated, overlapping drips and mechanized diagrams, 

illustrates a decidedly post-modern take on the primacy of the abstract gesture. For all 

their differences, both Willy Heeks and Thomas Eric Stanton represent a more consistently organic mode of abstraction. Heeks's luminous, sensual color is related to nineteenth-century sublime landscapes, as well as to the drip aesthetic of Jackson Pollock, 

and in Solace (1990) he synthesizes richly allusive images rooted in natural systems and 

archetypal forms. Thomas Stantons Tree of Life (Hannibal) (1991) meshes multiple layers of thick paint to conceal personalized iconography based on natural models and personal memories. With his collection of quasi-representational images, numbering and 

patterning systems, and highly refined, hard-edged representation, Lari Pittman pushes image into abstraction. His Reverential and Needy (1991) envisions the dual impulses of nature and the manmade as a formal strategy to bridge the gap between abstraction and representation. 

By 1993, issues of the body—both social and psychological—had emerged as a 

central topic throughout contemporary artistic practice, and the serial progression I had 

proposed in 1989 took on added urgency. Several museums had already presented exhibitions exploring this topic, but primarily through the lens of sculpture, film, and hybrid 

media, such as installation. Using the format of the Biennial as a natural venue in which 

to explore this issue via painting, the 43rd Biennial viewed the body not in the tradition 

of a still-life studio prop, but as a form freighted with provocative personal and social 

8 4 
I D A APPLEBROO G 

( B . 1929 ) 

Mother mother I am ill, 

1993 

O i l on canvas 

Museum Purchase, 

the Jacob and Charlotte 

Lehrman Foundation 

Memorial Art Fund 

T H E 43R D BIENNIA L 

8 5 
and emerging artists. Representations by the first generation provided a fulcrum for 

meditations on a wide variety of social and political issues that had gained prominence 

in 1950s and 1960s, while the work of the second-generation artists who had achieved 

recognition in the 1970s and early 1980s, invoked both mythology and autobiography. 

Paintings by the younger, emerging artists demonstrated both influences, extending the 

boundaries of their medium while continuing to embrace the painted figure as the ultimate metaphor for the human condition. Focusing on the figure not only meant that the 

content of the works was equally important to the formal aspects that were precedent in 

abstract painting, but it also served as a significant departure from Biennial tradition. 

"Like many another exhibition in the 1990s," John Russell wrote in the New York Times, 

"this one touches on the prejudice, fear and racial hatred that beset millions of people 

all over the world. But it does not address those problems in the boilerplated and robotic way that is virtually mandatory elsewhere. This years biennial is there to make us 

think them through afresh." He continued, "It is a brainy show, in which Homer, 

Flaubert and Freud can be alluded to without pretension. It has a breadth of reference, 

a gift for telling metaphor, a mischievous candor and a readiness to talk back to life."41 

Because the 43rd Biennial was figurative in its theme, the Gallery was presented with a natural opportunity to add works to the collection that would continue the 

dialogue with the human body that had been an established part of the Corcoran's mandate since its inception. These artists demonstrate highly personalized responses to the 

challenge of painterly representation toward the end of the twentieth century. What sets 

their work apart from their forebears is their willingness to actively investigate, either 

overtly or covertly, a wide variety of social and political issues. Kim Dingle has been 

called a feminist with a sense of humor, and it is true that she uses girls in party dresses to diffuse any overt recognition of the anger and violence that dominates her imagery. 

Dingle's double portrait, Black Girl Dragging White Girl (1992), is expressed with a 

refreshing stylistic forthrightness that enhances the ambiguous social interaction depicted. Full of historic allusions and ironic humor, Charles Garabedian's interpretation of 

Homer's epic themes becomes a meditation on the foibles of 20th-century cultural 

development and technological advancement. The figures in his Study for the Iliad 

(1992) are, unlike Dingle's characters, positioned in an atmospheric, flatly rendered 

landscape. Painted with a luminous glow, they radiate a sense of timelessness. Ida 

Applebroog's people also inhabit unusual, otherworldly landscapes that are equal parts 

fantasy and reality. In Mother mother I am ill (1993), the picture plane is crowded with 

image snippets that kaleidoscope into an overall narrative, wherein the seemingly innocent children's fable is undercut by suggestions of violence and danger. The surface of 

the painting glistens with a rich, buttery medium; like the other figurative artists discussed here, the formal beauty of Applebroog's process underscores the complexity of 

her content.42

The last Biennial in this series, presented in 1995, was entitled Painting Outside 

Painting. Reinforcing the Corcoran's recognition that the definition of painting had 

changed, the works in this exhibition were dedicated to "reconceptualizing and refiguring the structure of painting."43

 Many of the artists presented work that incorporated 

aspects of sculpture or installation, emphasizing shapes as a means of translating the 

idea of the referential brushstroke into a three-dimensional entity; others used nontra8 6 
8 7 

FABIA N MARCACCI O 

( B . 1963 ) 

Paint-Zone #12, 1994-95 

Collograph, oil on canvas 

Promised gift of Anthony 

T. Podesta 

T H E 44T H BIENNIA L 
ditional painterly materials, such as perfume, knitting yarn, poisonous chemicals, rubber, 

or plaster. Several artists—Polly Apfelbaum, Sam Gilliam, Lauren Szold, and James 

Hyde—selected places throughout the museum for which to create site-specific works. 

In echoing the innovations of Harithas's sited works of the 31st Biennial in 1969, this 

brought the tradition full circle. Alternatively hailed as the "freshest, most relaxed and 

approachable biennial in years"44 or an exhibition that reduces "the latest skirmishes at 

painting's borders to little more than stupid painting tricks,"45 the 44th Biennial served 

as the coda to the Corcoran's almost ninety-year commitment to American painting. 

Jessica Stockholder's 1994 is a prime example of a work of art that operates in 

the blurred boundary between painting and sculpture. 1994 is constructed like a threedimensional Abstract Expressionist painting, as if the color and composition of a Hans 

Hoffman canvas had been crushed, extruded outward, and somehow taken solid form in 

the gallery. Stockholder employs a profusion of found objects, fabric, yarn, and other 

flotsam and jetsam of everyday life to make shapes and lines in space, creating physically dynamic compositions that use the vocabulary of painting to explore the concerns of 

space, volume, weight, and mass that are traditionally associated with sculpture. In 

Paint-Zone #12, Fabian Marcaccio isolates essential painterly actions, such as brushstrokes and drips, and reproduces or recombines them to create a "painting" that presents 

a unique take on the value of the individual gesture to the act of painting. Stuart Arends 

O.S. 50 (1994) also investigates the relationship between color and form. This oil-on-steel 

painted cube, mounted flush to the wall, occupies a similarly blurred territory between 

painting and sculpture. These works offer a practical response to the theoretical deconstruction of traditional painting, and set the stage in the Gallery's collection for the next 

wave of painterly investigation. 

What is the future of the Biennial? The Corcoran postponed the 45th 

Biennial—originally scheduled for 1997—before deciding to dedicate this exhibition to 

the permanent collection. That motivated Jo Ann Lewis of the Washington Post to pose 

the question, "After nearly a century of tracking the cutting edge in American painting, 

has the Corcoran Biennial become obsolete?"46 The Gallery is currently reevaluating and 

reassessing the project. "We need to look at the point of biennials in the future," Deputy 

Director arid Chief Curator Jack Cowart told Lewis. "Are they doing what they were 

doing, now that we have rapid communications and countless galleries, art magazines 

and newspaper reviews to keep us constantly apprised of new developments?" He concluded, "We want to find a way to make the biennial meaningful."47 

The Biennials have not always been sites of innovation. Often they have served 

to confirm the prevailing tastes of the times or the specific preferences of the jurors or 

sole organizer. Certainly, many of our most renowned painters participated at one time 

or another, and scores of them are represented in the Corcoran's permanent collection. 

More than a few artists who are now highly regarded, however, did not participate in 

Biennials, including postwar Abstract Expressionists Barnett Newman, Mark Rothko, 

and Jackson Pollock. In more recent times, several artists now considered significant, 

such as Eric Fischl, Susan Rothenberg, David Salle, Julian Schnabel, and Donald Sultan, 

were not included. Based on my research and own personal experience, I would say that 

this disconnect between what is critically perceived as the established values of the 

moment and the exhibition curator's conceptual intention is deliberate. Such counter8 8 
programming is generally motivated by 

the curator's desire to develop and promote a specific idea or theme. 

My own opinion, seconded by 

several past Biennial organizers, is that 

this freedom to experiment and to take a 

risk in the service of an idea establishes 

and confirms the continued value of this 

kind of serial exhibition. My predecessors, however, offered a mixed response 

to the question of the enduring viability 

of the Biennial as it is currently structured. As early as 1969 James Harithas 

believed that the concept should be 

expanded to include diverse media and 

to reach beyond the United States. "My 

dream," he recounted, "was to include 

Canadian and South American artists, to make the Biennial really about the Americas. 

Now, you have to go international." Pointedly, he added, " I don't see how you can do a 

Biennial now without photography. Photographs are the way we reflect our universe."48 

By contrast, Roy Slade asserted, "The point is that painting has an extremely important 

place in our history. As a celebration of contemporary American painting, I think the 

Biennial has great validity and still fills a real need."49 Lisa Lyons concurred. " I tend to 

be a fan of highly focused exhibitions," she admitted, "and with painting, there is something important and real to focus on."50

 As usual, Walter Hopps was succinct. "I'll take 

Norman Mailer's stance: 'It absolutely depends on the talent in the room.' " 5 1 

— T. s. 

STUAR T AREND S 

( B . 1950 ) 

O.S. 50, 1994 

O i l on steel 

Gift of the Artist 

T H E 44T H BIENNIA L 

8 9 
1

 Hermann Warner Williams, director of the 

Corcoran (1947-68), quoted by James Harithas 

in the foreword to The 31st Biennial Exhibition 

of Contemporary American Painting (Washington, 

DC: Corcoran Gallery of Art, 1969), 

unpaginated. 2

 Two obvious sources of competition were the 

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, estab-

lished in 1974, and the East Wing of the National 

Gallery of Art, which opened in 1978. 

3

 The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation 

supported Biennials in 1971,1975, 1977, and 

1979. The National Endowment for the Arts is 

acknowledged as a supporte

r of the 34th through 

42nd Biennials (except the 38th Biennial). 

4

 The Thirtieth Biennial was comprised of a total 

of forty-five participants, thirty-five of whom were 

invited. 5

 James Harithas, in the foreword of The 31st 

Biennial Exhibition of Contemporary American 

Painting (Washington, DC: Corcoran Gallery of 

Art, 1969), unpaginated. 

6

 Hilton Kramer, "The Corcoran Biennial: 

Something Old, Something New," New York 

Times, 23 February 1969, D31. 

7

 Walter Hopps, in the introduction to The 32nd 

Biennial Exhibition of Contemporary American 

Painting (Washington, DC: Corcoran Gallery of 

Art, 1971), 8. 

8

 Ibid. 

9

 Walter Hopps, telephone interview with the 

author, 30 March 1998. 

10

 Paul Richard, "Corcoran's Suggestive Thought-

Fields," Washington Post, 27 February 1971, CI. 

11

 Douglas Davis, "Artists as Critics," Newsweek, 29 

March 1971, 65. 

12

 Walter Hopps, telephone interview with the 

author, 30 March 1998. 

13

 Gene Baro, director, and Vincent Melzac, chief 

executive officer, were both relieved of their posts 

following a fistfight during the opening of an exhi-

bition of paintings by Sam Francis on 2 November 

1972. The announcement of their departure was 

published in the Washington Post o

n 1 December 

1972. 

14

 Gene Baro, in the introduction of the exhibition 

catalogue The Way of Color: 33rd Biennial 

Exhibition of Contemporary American Painting 

(Washington, DC: Corcoran Gallery of Art, 

1973), unpaginated. 

15

 Benjamin Forgey, "The Biennial: Color as 

Poetry," Sunday Star and Daily News, 25 February 

1973, G l . 

16

 Ibid. 

17

 During the time the 33rd Biennial was on view, 

and for several months thereafter, the Corcoran 

underwent a number of significant institutional 

changes, including a restructuring of the Board of 

Trustees, a search for a new director, and the dis-

missal of the assistant curator of exhibitions. 

18

 Roy Slade, telephone interview with the author, 

9 April 1998. 

19

 Paul Richard, "A Flashy, Festive Biennial," 

Washington Post, 21 February 1976, B l . 

20

 Roy Slade, in the preface of The 35th Biennial 

Exhibition of Contemporary American Painting 

(Washington, DC: Corcoran Gallery o

f Art, 

1977), 5. 

21

 Roy Slade, telephone interview with the author, 

10 Apri

l 1998. 

22

 Benjamin Forgey, "Off-Center Paintings," 

Washington Star, 27 February 1977, H I . 

23

 Jane Livingston, The 36th Biennial Exhibition of 

Contemporary American Painting (Washington, 

DC: Corcoran Gallery of Art, 1979), 45. 

24

 Benjamin Forgey, "Stunning Art by New York's 

Finest," Washington Star, 25 February 1979, E l . 

25

 Jane Livingston, telephone interview with the 

author, 30 March 1998. 

26

 Clair List, in the introduction to The 38th 

Biennial Exhibition of Contemporary American 

Painting/Second Western States Exhibition 

(Washington, DC: Corcoran Gallery o

f Art, 

1983), 10. 

27

 Lee Fleming, "The Corcoran Biennial/Second 

Western States Exhibition," ArtNews (May 1983), 

127-29. 

28

 Grace Glueck, "Two Biennials: One Looking 

East and the Other West," New York Times, 27 

March 1983, H35. 

9 0 
2 9

 Jane Livingston, in the introduction to The 39th 

Biennial Exhibition of Contemporary American 

Tainting (Washington, DC: Corcoran Gallery of 

Art, 1985), 9. 

3 0

 Michael Bonesteel, "The 39th Corcoran 

Biennial: The Death Knell of Regionalism?" Art in 

America (October 1985), 31-37. 

3 1

 Ned Rifkin, in the introduction to The 40th 

Biennial Exhibition of Contemporary American 

Painting (Washington, DC: Corcoran Gallery of 

Art, 1987), 12. 

3 2

 Paul Richard, "Painting in Past Tints," 

Washington Post, 11 April 1987, C I. 

3 3

 Michael Brenson, "True Believers Who Keep 

the Flame of Painting," New York Times, 7 June 

1987. Brenson pointed out that Fishman and 

Winters were also included in the Whitney 

Biennial, which was running concurrently in New 

York City. 

3 4

 William Fagaley, The 41st Biennial Exhibition of 

Contemporary American Painting (Washington, 

DC: Corcoran Gallery of Art, 1989), 13. 

3 5

 Jane Addams Allen, "Biennial Focuses on 

Southern Gothic," Washington Times, 5 April 

1989, E l . 

3 6

 William Fagaly, telephone interview with the 

author, 30 March 1998. 

3 7

 Jane Livingston, telephone interview with the 

author, 30 March 1998. 

3 8

 Terrie Sultan, "The Realm of Forms as the 

Object of Knowledge," The 42nd Biennial 

Exhibition of Contemporary American Painting 

(Washington, DC: Corcoran Gallery of Art, 

1991), 15. 

3 9

 Eric Gibson, "Corcoran puts painting to test as 

viable form," Washington Times, 6 September 

1991. 

4 0

 Paul Richard, "Abstract and Personal," 

Washington Post, 6 September 1991, Fl . 

4 1

 John Russell, "The Corcoran Gives New 

Meaning to 'Biennial,'" New York Times, 21 

November 1993, 39. 

42 Mother mother I am ill was included in the 

43rd Biennial under the title Freida S. The 

painting was subsequently retitled, and included 

in Applebroog's major survey exhibition Ida 

Applebroog: Nothing Personal, Paintings, 

1987-1997, organized by the Corcoran and presented here March 14 through June 1, 1998. The 

painting was acquired by the Gallery in 1998. 

4 3

 Terrie Sultan, "Painting Outside Painting," The 

44th Biennial Exhibition of Contemporary American 

Painting (Washington, DC: Corcoran Gallery of 

Art, 1995), 17. 

4 4

 Jo Ann Lewis, "Painting Outside the Lines," 

Washington Post, 23 December 1995, B l . 

4 5

 Roberta Smith, "Testing Limits at the 

Corcoran," New York Times, 6 January 1996, B l l . 

4 6

 Jo Ann Lewis, "The Biennial, Exhibiting a Few 

Wrinkles," Washington Post, 10 July 1997, B l . 

4 7

 Ibid. 

4 8

 James Harithas, telephone interview with the 

author, 14 April 1998. 

4 9

 Roy Slade, telephone interview with the author, 

9 April 1998. 

5 0

 Lisa Lyons, telephone interview with the author, 

20 April 1998. 

5 1

 Walter Hopps, telephone interview with the 

author, 30 March 1998. 

9 1 

ADDENDU M 

Paige Turner, Assistant Curator of Exhibitions 

This addendum summarizes exhibition information for Biennials from 1969-1995, 

the period covered in the preceding essay by Terrie Sultan. 

3 1 ST EXHIBITIO N 

February 1-March 16, 1969 

Organized by 

fames Harithas, Director 

3 2 R D EXHIBITIO N 

February 28-April 4, 1971 

Organized by 

Walter Hopps, Director 

33R D EXHIBITIO N 

February 24-April8, 1973 

Organized by 

Gene Baro, Guest Curator 

34-page catalogue with introduction by James Harithas, 

biographies, checklist 

10 color, 25 b/w illustrations 

78 works (all abstract), 

22 artists (11 New York, 

4 California, 7 elsewhere) 

J o BAE R 

DARB Y BANNAR D 

80-page catalogue with introduction by Walter Hopps, 

biographies, checklist 

49 b/w illustrations 

64 works (styles range from 

geometric minimalism to figurative), 22 artists (10 New 

York, 9 California, 3 elsewhere) 

DIRECTO R SELECTIO N 

30-page catalogue with 

foreword by Roy Slade, 

Director, introduction by 

Baro, biographies, checklist 

12 color illustrations, 

12 b/w portraits of artists 

110 works (all abstract), 

12 artists (7 New York, 

3 California, 2 elsewhere) 

B E N BERN S RICHAR D ESTE S BILL Y A L BENGSTO N 

DAVI D BUD D S A M FRANCI S SUSA N CRIL E 

D A N CHRISTENSE N ROBER T IRWI N ANTHON Y DEBLAS I 

NASSO S DAPHNI S RICHAR D JACKSO N RICHAR D DIEBENKOR N 

R O N DAVI S R O Y LlCHTENSTEl N CRAI G KAUFFMA N 

DEA N FLEMIN G FRAN K LOBDEL L JAN E KAUFMA N 

MICHAE L GOLDBER G DAVI D NOVRO S DOU G OHLSO N 

T O M HOLLAN D PHILI P PEARLSTEI N MORTEZ A SAZEGA R 

L E E LOZAN O EDWAR D RUSCH A ALBER T STADLE R 

CLAR K MURRA Y PETE R SAU L PHILI P WOFFOR D 

BRUC E NAUMA N DAVI D STEPHEN S ROBER T ZAKANYC H 

IREN E RIC E PEREIR A K E S ZAPKU S 

WILLIA M PETTE T ARTIS T SELECTIO N 

LARR Y POON S PETE R DEA N 

ANGEL O SAVELL I ROBER T DURA N 

MYRO N STOU T J O E GOOD E 

ROBER T SWAI N ROBER T GORDO N 

RICHAR D TUTTL E ALE X KAT Z 

JAME S VA N DIJ K SIMMI E KNO X 

PETE R YOUN G EDWAR D MOSE S 

FRANKLI N OWE N 

CLYFFOR D STIL L 

WAYN E THIEBAU D 

JOSHU A YOUN G 

9 3 
34T H EXHIBITIO N LARR Y POON S 35T H EXHIBITIO N 36T H EXHIBITIO N 

February 22-April 6,1975 DOROTHE A ROCKBURN E February 26-April3, 1977 February 24-April 8, 1979 

Organized by LUDWI G SANDE R Organized by Organized by 

Roy S/ade, Director PAU L SARKISIA N Jane Livingston, Chief Jane Livingston, Chief 

120-page catalogue with 

introduction by Roy Slade, 

biographies, checklist 

11 color, 43 b/w illustrations 

50 works (abstract and representational styles), 50 artists 

(32 New York, 5 California, 

5 Washington, DC, 8 

elsewhere) 

ALA N SHIELD S 

JOA N SNYDE R 

STEVE N SORMA N 

ALBER T STADLE R 

FRAN K STELL A 

A N N TRUIT T 

JAC K TWORKO V 

JOH N WALKE R 

AND Y WARHO L 

T O M WESSELMAN N 

Curator, and Roy Slade, 

Director 

80-page catalogue with 

preface by Roy Slade, interpretive essay by Jane Livingston 

(first interpretive essay by 

curator), biographies, checklist 

15 color, 22 b/w illustrations 

75 works (largely abstract), 

Curator 

56-page catalogue with 

interpretive essay by Jane 

Livingston, essay by Linda 

Simmons, A Brief History 

of The Corcoran Biennial 

1907-1967, biographies, 

checklist 

30 color illustrations 

RICHAR D ANUSZKIEWIC Z 

JENNIFE R BARTLET T 

JAK E BERTHO T 

JAME S BROOK S 

WILLIA M T. WILE Y 24 artists (conscious effort to 30 works (all abstract), 

RICHAR D ANUSZKIEWIC Z 

JENNIFE R BARTLET T 

JAK E BERTHO T 

JAME S BROOK S 

PHILI P WOFFOR D diversify: 4 New York, 6 

California, 14 additional major 

art centers nationwide) 

5 artists (5 New York) 

WILLE M D E KOONIN G 

JASPE R JOHN S 

CHUC K CLOS E JOH N ALEXANDE R ELLSWORT H KELL Y 

WILLIA M CONLO N KAR L BENJAMI N R O Y LICHTENSTEI N 

ALA N COT E PAU L BROW N ROBER T RAUSCHENBER G 

GEN E DAVI S MICHAE L CLAR K 

RONAL D DAVI S M A X COL E 

WILLE M D E KOONIN G HERBER T CREEC Y 

RICHAR D DIEBENKOR N JEF F DAVI S 

WILLIA M DUTTERE R TON Y DELA P 

FRIEDE L DZUBA S PAU L DILLO N 

HELE N FRANKENTHALE R MICHAE L GOLDBER G 

S A M GILLIA M FREDERIC K HAMMERSLE Y 

GRAC E HARTIGA N DAVI D HEADLE Y 

MICHAE L HEIZE R R A Y HERDEGE N 

A L HEL D DARRY L HUGHT O 

T O M HOLLAN D O. W . "PAPPY " KITCHEN S 

GAR Y HUDSO N ROGE R KIZI K 

ROBER T HUDSO N MARTI N MYER S 

ROBER T INDIAN A LUCIND A PARKE R 

TERENC E L A NOU E BASILIO S POULO S 

MARILY N LENKOWSK Y GREG G RENFRO W 

S O L LEWIT T SAND I SLON E 

RICHAR D LINDNE R ALM A THOMA S 

ALVI N LOVIN G J I M WAI D 

JOA N MITCHEL L ROBER T YASUD A 

EDWAR D MOSE S 

ROBER T MOTHERWEL L 

LOWEL L NESBIT T 

KENNET H NOLAN D 

JULE S OLITSK I 

PHILI P PEARLSTEI N 
37T H EXHIBITIO N 

February 19-April 5, 1981 

Organized by 

Jane Livingston, Chief 

Curator 

52-page catalogue with 

interpretive essay by Jane 

Livingston, one-line biography 

for each artist, checklist 

25 color, 8 b/w illustrations 

28 works plus site-specific 

pieces by Richard Serra 

(all abstract), 5 artists (2 New 

York, 1 California, 1 New 

Mexico, 1 France) 

RICHAR D DIEBENKOR N 

AGNE S MARTI N 

JOA N MITCHEL L 

RICHAR D SERR A 

FRAN K STELL A 

38T H EXHIBITION : 

SECON D WESTER N STATE S 

February 3-April 3, 1983 

Organized by Clair List, 

Associate Curator of 

Contemporary Art 

93-page catalogue with preface 

by Cheryl Alters and Bill 

Jamison, Western States Arts 

Foundation, introduction 

by Jane Livingston, Chief 

Curator, interpretive essay 

by Clair List, biographies, 

checklist 

30 color illustrations, 106 

works (abstract and representational styles), 30 artists (9 

California, 21 other western 

States) 

TRAVELE D TO : Lakeview 

Museum of Arts and Sciences, 

Peoria, Illinois; Scottsdale 

Center for the Arts, 

Scottsdale, Arizona; 

Albuquerque Museum, 

Albuquerque, 

New Mexico; Long Beach 

Museum of Art, Long Beach, 

California; San Francisco 

Museum of Modern Art, 

San Francisco, California 

PETE R ALEXANDE R 

CHARLE S ARNOLD I 

J O E BAKE R 

WUL F BARSC H 

DAVI D BATE S 

E D BLACKBUR N 

JOA N BROW N 

JOH N E . BUC K 

ROBER T COLESCOT T 

JAME S G . DAVI S 

LADDI E JOH N DIL L 

CHUC K DUGA N 

JOH N FINCHE R 

VERNO N FISHE R 

JOH N R. FUDG E 

ALLA N GRAHA M 

GAYLE N HANSE N 

R O N HOOVE R 

JAME S HUETE R 

ALDE N MASO N 

MICHAE L C . MCMILLE N 

MARGARE T NIELSE N 

D A N RIZZI E 

MICHEL E Russ o 

RAYMON D SAUNDER S 

JAUN E QUICK-TO-SE E SMIT H 

MASAM I TERAOK A 

THEODOR E J . WADDEL L 

R. LE E WHIT E 

DANN Y WILLIAM S 

39T H EXHIBITIO N 

February 2-April 7, 1985 

Organized by 

Lisa Lyons, Guest Curator 

80-page catalogue with preface 

by Michael Botwinick, 

Director, introduction by 

Jane Livingston, Chief 

Curator, interpretive essay 

by Lisa Lyons, artists' statements, biographies, checklist 

80 works (abstract and representational styles), 17 artists (7 

midwestern states) 

TRAVELE D TO : Mary and 

Leigh Block Gallery, 

Northwestern University, 

Evanston, Illinois; Butler 

Institute of American Art, 

Youngstown, Ohio; 

Contemporary Art Center, 

Cincinnati, Ohio 

NICHOLA S AFRICAN O 

MACY N BOL T 

JOH N BROENE N 

ROGE R BROW N 

PETE R HUTTINGE R 

T O M KEESE E 

LANC E KILAN D 

ROBER T LOSTUTTE R 

J I M LUTE S 

K A Y MILLE R 

MICHAE L NAKONECZN Y 

DENNI S NECHVATA L 

K E N NEVADOM I 

J I M NUT T 

E D PASCHK E 

HOLLI S SlGLE R 

T. L . SOLIE N 
40T H EXHIBITIO N 4 1 S T EXHIBITIO N 

April 11-June 21, 1987 April 5-June 4, 1989 

Organized by Ned Rifkin, Organized by William 

Curator of Contemporary Art Fagaly, Guest Curator and 

78-page catalogue with preface 

Assistant Director of the New 

78-page catalogue with preface Orleans Museum 

by Jane Livingston, Chief 

Curator, introduction and 64-page catalogue with 

entries on each artist, by Ned introduction by Christina 

Rifkin, artists' statements, Orr-Cahall, Director, Corcoran 

biographies, checklist Gallery of Art, interpretive 

13 color illustrations 

essay by William Fagaly, 

biographies, checklist 

86 works (all abstract), 

biographies, checklist 

13 artists (13 New York) 18 color illustrations 

GREGOR Y AMENOF F 

82 works (mixture of abstract 

LOUIS E FISHMA N 

and representational), 18 artists 

MAR Y HEILMAN N 

(18 southeastern states) 

BIL L JENSE N TRAVELE D TO : Georgia 

JONATHA N LASKE R Museum of Art, Athens, 

ROBER T MANGOL D Georgia; New Orleans 

ELIZABET H MURRA Y Museum of Art, New Orleans, 

HARVE Y QUAYTMA N Louisiana; Norton Gallery and 

DAVI D REE D School of Art, West Palm 

SEA N SCULL Y Beach, Florida. 

JOA N SNYDE R 

CARLO S ALFONZ O 

ANDRE W SPENC E 

D U B BROC K 

TERR Y WINTER S WARRE N FAR R 

TIN A GIROUAR D 

CHERY L GOLDSLEGE R 

JAME S HERBER T 

MEDFOR D JOHNSTO N 

J . B. MURR Y 

MICHAE L NORTHUI S 

A R T ROSENBAU M 

MICHAE L SCOT T 

STEV E SWEE T 

ROBER T THIEL E 

TYLE R TURKL E 

Rus s WARRE N 

ROBER T WARREN S 

EDWAR D WHITEMA N 

DONAL D ROLLE R WILSO N 

42N D EXHIBITIO N 43R D EXHIBITIO N 

September 7— October 30, 1993-

November 10, 1991 January 2, 1994 

Organized by Terrie Sultan, Organized by Terrie Sultan, 

Curator of Contemporary Art Curator of Contemporary Art 

8 8-page catalogue with 112-page catalogue with 

foreword by David C. Levy, foreword by Jack Cowart, 

Director, interpretive essay by Deputy Director and Chief 

Terrie Sultan, individual artist Curator, interpretive essay by 

catalogue entries by Ken Terrie Sultan, individual artist 

Johnson, Elizabeth McBride, catalogue entries by Maia 

Terry Myers, David Pagel, Damianovic, Judith Russi 

Maria Porges, biographies, Kirshner, Klaus Ottmann, 

checklist David Pagel, Maria Porges, 

13 color and 26 b/w 

Maria Price, Gary Sangster, 

illustrations 

Lowery Stokes Sims, Alisa 

83 works (all abstract), 

Tager, biographies, checklist 

13 artists (7 New York, 

25 color, 24 b/w illustrations 

4 California, 1 Washington, 91 works (all representational), 

DC, 1 elsewhere) 25 artists (9 New York, 

L . C . ARMSTRON G 

8 California, 8 elsewhere) 

NANC Y CHUN N I D A APPLEBROO G 

LYDI A DON A K E N APTEKA R 

WILL Y HEEK S DOTT Y ATTI E 

TISHA N Hs u LUI S CRU Z AZACET A 

JUD Y MANNARIN O DONAL D BAECHLE R 

MICHAE L MILLE R DRE W BEATTI E 

SABIN A OT T PHYLLI S BRAMSO N 

IREN E PIJOA N MICHAE L BYRO N 

LAR I PITTMA N CAROL E CAROOMPA S 

ELDRIDG E RAWL S ROBER T COLESCOT T 

THOMA S ERI C STANTO N DANIE L DAVIDSO N 

ANDRE A WA Y K I M DINGL E 

ING A FRIC K 

CHARLE S GARABEDIA N 

LEO N GOLU B 

CATHERIN E HOW E 

DAVI D HUMPHRE Y 

HUN G LI U 

J I M LUTE S 

KERR Y JAME S MARSHAL L 

MELISS A MILLE R 

MANUE L OCAMP O 

DEBORA H OROPALL O 

ELEN A SIST O 

NANC Y SPER O 
LAURE N SZOL D 

FRE D TOMASELL I 

JOH N TORREAN O 

TYLE R TURKL E 

MERRIL L WAGNE R 

LESLI E WAYN E 
CHECKLIS T of Biennial Exhibition Paintings acquired by the Corcoran Gallery ofArt 

9 8 

Measurements are in 

inches, height precedes 

width 

WORK S O N VIE W I N 

The Forty-fifth 

Biennial: The 

Corcoran Collects, 

1907-1998 

A R E INDICATE D I N 

COLO R 

FIRS T ANNUA L EXHIBITION : 

O I L PAINTING S B Y CONTEMPORAR Y 

AMERICA N ARTIST S 

February 7 - March 9, 1907 

EDWI N AUSTI N ABBE Y (1852-19 1 1 ) 

Sylvia, 1899-1900 

Oil on canvas 

48 Vs x 48 Vs 

William A. Clark Collection 26.1 

THOMA S ANSHUT Z (1851-1912 ) 

A Dutchman 

Oil on canvas 

80 Vi x 40 Vi 

Gift of Mrs. Louise Bennett 15.2 

Deaccessioned in 1957 

RALP H ALBER T BLAKELOC K (1847-1919 ) 

Moonlight, c. 1890 

Oil on canvas 

27 Vi6x37 Vi6 

William A. Clark Collection 26.8 

Part of Senator William Clark Bequest 

to Corcoran Gallery of Art in 1925 

GEORG E BOGER T (1864-1944 ) 

Sunset 

Oil on canvas 

27 Vi x 36 

Gift of George A. Hearn 

Deaccessioned in 1962 

MAR Y STEVENSO N CASSAT T (1844-1926 ) 

Woman and Child 

Oil on canvas 

27 x 22 Vi 

Museum Purchase 07.25 

Returned to artist's dealer in 1909 as partial 

payment for Susan on a Balcony Holding a Dog 

(2nd Exhibition) 

PAU L DOUGHERT Y (1877-1947 ) 

The Land and the Sea, 1906 

Oil on canvas 

36 Vs x 48 Vi6 

Museum purchase, Gallery Fund 07.5 

ALBER T LORE Y GROL L (1866-1952 ) 

The Land of the Hopi Indian 

Oil on canvas 

50 Vi x 39 Vi 

Museum Purchase 07.26 

Returned to artist in 1911 in partial payment for 

No-Mans Land, Arizona (3rd Exhibition) 

CHILD E HASSA M (1859-1935 ) 

Northeast Headlands — New England Coast, 1901 

Oil on canvas 

25x3 0 

Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund 07.8 

WINSLO W HOME R (1836-1910 ) 

A Light on the Sea, 1897 

Oil on canvas 

28 VA x 48 Vi6 

Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund 07.3 
ALBER T LORE Y GROL L 

No-Mans Land, Arizona, before 1910 

GAR I MELCHER S 

Edward C. Walker, c. 1906 

WILTO N LOCKWOO D (1861-1914 ) 

Peonies 

Oil on canvas 

29 Vi x 29 Vi 

Museum Purchase 07.6 

Deaccessioned in 1957 

GAR I MELCHER S (1860-1932 ) 

Edward C. Walker, c. 1906 

Oil on canvas 

54 y8 x 40 % 

Bequest of Edward C. and Mary Walker 37.34 

WlLLAR D LERO Y METCAL F (1858-1925 ) 

May Night, 1906 

Oil on canvas 

39 VA X 36 3 / i 6 

Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund 07.7 

First William A. Clark Prize and 

Corcoran Gold Medal 

EDWAR D WILLI S REDFIEL D (1869-1965 ) 

The Delaware River 

Oil on canvas 

31 VA x 40 

Museum Purchase 07.24 

Returned to artist in 1924 as partial payment 

for The Mill in Winter (9th Exhibition). 

JAME S JEBUS A SHANNO N (1862-1923 ) 

Girl in Brown, 1907 

Oil on canvas 

43 Vs x 33 Vs 

Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund 07.1 

ROSWEL L SHURTLEF F (1835-1915 ) 

The First Snow 

O il on canvas 

30 x 40 Vs 

Museum Purchase 07.2 

Deaccessioned in 1948 

JAME S DAVI D SMILLI E ( 1 833- 1 909 ) 

The Cliffs of Normandy, 1885 

O il on canvas 

41 Vi x 66 Vi 

Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund 07.10 

WILLIA M THORN E (1864-1956 ) 

The Terrace 

Oil on canvas 

41 VA x 27 VA 

Museum Purchase 07.9 

Deaccessioned in 1960 

HORATI O WALKE R (1858-1938 ) 

Ave Maria 

O il on canvas 

46 VA x 34 VA 

Museum Purchase 07.4 

Deaccessioned in 1955 

9 9 
SECON D EXHIBITION : OI L PAINTING S 

B Y CONTEMPORAR Y AMERICA N ARTIST S 

December 8, 1908 - January 17, 1909 

MAR Y STEVENSO N CASSAT T (1844-1926 ) 

Susan on a Balcony Holding a Dog, c. 1880 

O il on canvas 

39 Vi x 25 Vi 

Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund 09.8 

WILLIA M KENDAL L (1869-1938 ) 

Narcissa 

O il on canvas 

51x3 0 

Museum Purchase 09.4 

Deaccessioned in 1948 

ROBER T LE E MACCAMERO N (1866-1912 ) 

Groupe dAmis, 1907 

O il on canvas 

51 Vs x 65 

Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund 09.9 

WALTE R MACEWE N (1860-1943 ) 

An Ancestor 

O il on canvas 

74 x 33 Vi 

Museum Purchase 09.3 

Deaccessioned in 1951 

LEONAR D OCHTMA N (1854-1934 ) 

November Morning 

Oil on canvas 

30 Vs x 40 Vs 

Museum Purchase 09.7 

Deaccessioned in 1957 

CHARLE S PEARC E (1851-1914 ) 

Bergere 

O il on canvas 

29x2 4 

Gift of Mrs. Walter MacEwen 28.4 

Deaccessioned in 1962 

ROBER T REI D (1862-1929 ) 

The Open Fire, 1908 

Oil on canvas 

44 Vi x 42 VA 

Museum Purchase 09.5 

Third William A. Clark Prize and 

Corcoran Bronze Medal 

Deaccessioned in 1951 

ELME R SCHOFIEL D (1867-1944 ) 

Morning after Snow 

O il on canvas 

38x48 

Museum Purchase 09.6 

Returned to artist in 1922 as partial 

payment for Cliff Shadows (8th Exhibition) 

EDMUN D CHARLE S TARBEL L (1862-1938 ) 

Josephine and Mercie, 1908 

Oil on canvas 

28 Vs x 32 VA 

Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund 09.2 

THIR D EXHIBITION : OI L P A I N T I N G S B Y 

CONTEMPORAR Y AMERICA N ARTIST S 

December 10, 1910 -January 22, 1911 

B E N FOSTE R (1852-1926 ) 

Sunset in the Litchfield Hills, c. 1910 

O il on canvas 

30 VA x 36 Vs 

Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund 11.4 

DANIE L GARBE R (1880-1958 ) 

April Landscape, before 1910 

Oil on canvas 

42 Vi6x46 Vi6 

Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund 11.2 

Fourth William A. Clark Prize and 

Corcoran Honorable Mention Certificate 

ALBER T LORE Y GROL L (1866-1952 ) 

No-Mans Land, Arizona, before 1910 

O il on canvas 

40 VA x 51 Vs 

Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund 11.7 

GAR I MELCHER S (1860-1932 ) 

The Smithy, 1910 

O il on canvas 

57Vsx51 Vi 

Gift of Duncan Phillips 50.10 

GAR I MELCHER S (1860-1932 ) 

Penelope, 1910 

Oil on canvas 

54 Vi x 50

7

/s 

Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund 11.1 

Second William A. Clark Prize and 

Corcoran Silver Medal 

CHARLE S REIFFE L (1862-1942 ) 

Railway Yards-Winter Evening, c. 1910 

O il on canvas 

18 Vs x 24 Vi6 

Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund 11.6 

GEORG E SYMON S (1863-1930 ) 

Snow Clouds 

O il on canvas 

56x63 

Museum Purchase 11.5 

Returned to artist in 1929 as partial payment for 

Where Long Shadows Lie (7th Exhibition) 

IRVIN G RAMSA Y WILE S (1861-1948 ) 

The Student, 1910 

Oil on canvas 

30 Vs x 25 

Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund 11.3 

i o o 
IRVIN G RAMSA Y WILE S 

The Student, 1910 

FRAN K WESTO N BENSO N 

My Daughter, 1912 

FOURT H EXHIBITION : OI L PAINTING S 

B Y CONTEMPORAR Y AMERICA N ARTIST S 

December 17, 1912 - January 26, 1913 

FRAN K WESTO N BENSO N (1862-1951 ) 

My Daughter, 1912 

Oil on canvas 

30 VA x 25 VA 

Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund 12.8 

RICHAR D NORRI S BROOK E ( 1 847- 1 920 ) 

Incoming Tide, 1912 

Oil on canvas 

25x38 

Museum Purchase 12.7 

Deaccessioned in 1942 

JOH N FABIA N CARLSO N (1875-1945 ) 

Woods in Winter, before 1912 

Oil on canvas 

46 Vi x 56 Vs 

Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund 12.5 

B E N FOSTE R (1852-1926 ) 

Late Autumn Moonrise, before 1912 

Oil on canvas 

42x48 

Museum Purchase 12.6 

Deaccessioned in 1951 

CHILD E HASSA M (1859-1935 ) 

The New York Window, 1912 

Oil on canvas 

45 % x 35 

Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund 12.10 

First William A. Clark Prize and Corcoran 

Gold Medal 

CHAUNCE Y FOSTE R RYDE R (1868-1949 ) 

Cape Porpoise, before 1912 

Oil on canvas 

32x40 

Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund 12.9 

JULIA N ALDE N WEI R (1852-1919 ) 

Autumn, 1906 

Oil on canvas 

36 x 28 % 

Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund 12.4 

FIFT H EXHIBITION : OI L P A I N T I N G S B Y 

CONTEMPORAR Y AMERICA N ARTIST S 

December 15, 1914 -January 24, 1915 

BRUC E CRAN E (1857-1937 ) 

November Hillsides 

Oil on canvas 

32x40 

Museum Purchase 14.4 

Deaccessioned in 1959 

RICHAR D FARLEY(1875-1954 ) 

Fog, 1914 

Oil on canvas 

39 Vi x 57 Vi 

Museum Purchase 14.6 

Fourth William A. Clark Prize and Corcoran 

Honorable Mention Certificate 

Deaccessioned in 1959 

PHILI P HAL E (1865-1931 ) 

Portrait - Girl with Muff, before 1914 

Oil on canvas 

30

3

/s x 25 VA 

Museum Purchase 14.5 

i o i 
JOH N FABIA N CARLSO N 

Woods in Winter, before 1912 

JULIA N ALDE N WEI R 

Autumn, 1906 

BIRG E HARRISO N (1854-1929 ) 

Rose and Silver — Moonrise 

Pastel 

29 Vi x 39 Vi 

Museum purchase 14.10 

Deaccessioned in 1925 

GAR I MELCHER S (1860-1932 ) 

Maternity, c. 1913 

Oil on canvas 

63x43 

Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund 19.2 

J . CAMPBEL L PHILLIP S (1873-1949 ) 

The First Born 

O il on canvas 

36 VA x 30 

Museum Purchase 14.2 

Deaccessioned in 1957 

EDWAR D WILLI S REDFIEL D (1869-1965 ) 

Sleighing, 1914 

O il on canvas 

36x30 

Museum Purchase 14.11 

Returned to artist in 1924 as partial payment 

for The Mill in Winter (9th Exhibition) 

JOH N SINGE R SARGEN T (1856-1925 ) 

Simplon Pass, 1911 

Oil on canvas 

28 VA x 36 V2 

Bequest of James Parmelee 41.22 

HELE N TURNE R (1858-1958 ) 

Girl With a Lantern, 1914 

O il on canvas 

44x3 4 

Museum Purchase 14.3 

Deaccessioned in 1957 

JULIA N ALDE N WEI R (1852-1919 ) 

Portrait of Miss de L., 1914 

O il on canvas 

30 3/16 x 25 

Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund 14.7 

First William A. Clark Prize and 

Corcoran Gold Medal 

SIXT H EXHIBITION : OI L P A I N T I N G S B Y 

CONTEMPORAR Y AMERICA N ARTIST S 

December 17, 1916 - January 21, 1917 

DINE S CARLSE N (1901-1966 ) 

The Brass Kettle, 1916 

O il on canvas 

20 VA x 24 VA 

Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund 16.6 

EMI L CARLSE N (1853-1932 ) 

Moonlight on a Calm Sea, 1915-1916 

Oil on canvas 

58 VA x 47 VA 

Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund 16.7 

WILLIA M MERRIT T CHAS E (1849-1916 ) 

William Andrews Clark, c. 1915 

Oil on canvas 

501/i6x401/ 8 

Gift of William Andrews Clark 17.3 

1 0 2 
GAR I MELCHER S 

Maternity, c. 1913 

JOSEP H RODEFE R DECAM P (1858-1923 ) 

The Seamstress, 1916 

Oil on canvas 

36 VA x 28 VA 

Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund 16.4 

SIDNE Y DICKINSO N (1890-1978 ) 

Portrait of the Artist, 1915 

Oil on canvas 

34 VA x 24 VA 

Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund 16.5 

ERNES T LAWSO N (1873-1939 ) 

Boathouse, Winter, Harlem River, 1916 

Oil on canvas 

40 % x 50 

Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund 16.3 

Second William A. Clark Prize and 

Corcoran Silver Medal 

HAYLE Y LEVE R (1876-1958 ) 

Dawn, before 1916 

Oil on canvas 

50 VA x 60 VA 

Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund 16.8 

WILLIA M PAXTO N (1869-1941 ) 

The House Maid, 1910 

Oil on canvas 

30 VA x 25 Vs 

Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund 16.9 

ROBER T REI D (1862-1929 ) 

The Japanese Screen 

Oil on canvas 

37 VA x 30 

Museum Purchase 16.2 

Deaccessioned in 1957 

DINE S CARLSE N 

The Brass Kettle, 1916 

JOH N SINGE R SARGEN T (1856-1925 ) 

Mrs. Henry White, 1883 

Oil on canvas 

87x55 

Gift of Mr. John Campbell White 49.4 

EDMUN D CHARLE S TARBEL L (1862-1938 ) 

Josephine Knitting, 1916 

Oil on canvas 

26 Vs x 20 Vi6 

Bequest of George M . Oyster, Jr. 24.2 

CHARLE S YOUN G (1869-1964 ) 

The North Wind, 1915 

Oil on canvas 

30 Vs x 40 % 

Museum Purchase 17.1 

Deaccessioned 1962 

SEVENT H EXHIBITION : OI L PAINTING S 

B Y CONTEMPORAR Y AMERICA N ARTIST S 

December 21, 1919 - January 25, 1920 

FREDERI C BARTLET T (1873-1953 ) 

Canton Street, 1919 

Oil on canvas 

36 VA x 40 Vi 

Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund 19.28 

FRAN K WESTO N BENSO N (1862-1951 ) 

The Open Window, 1917 

Oil on canvas 

52 Vs x 42 Vs 

Museum Purchase 19.30 

First William A. Clark Prize and 

Corcoran Gold Medal 

1 0 3 
EDMUN D CHARLE S TARBEL L 

Josephine Knitting, 1916 

SIDNE Y DICKINSO N 

Portrait of the Artist, 1915 

FREDERIC K FRIESEK E (1874-1939 ) 

Lady in Pink, 1918 

Oil on canvas 

32x32 

Museum Purchase 19.35 

Returned to artist in 1921 as partial payment 

for Peace (8th Exhibition) 

CHILD E HASSA M (1859-1935 ) 

Old House at Easthampton, 1916 

Oil on canvas 

32 Vs x 39 % 

Bequest of George M . Oyster, Jr. 24.6 

ROBER T HENR I (1865-1929 ) 

Willie Gee 

Oil on canvas 

32x36 

Museum Purchase 19.35 

Returned to artist in 1924 as partial payment 

for Indian Girl in White Ceremonial Blanket 

(9th Exhibition) 

FELICI E HOWEL L (1897-1968 ) 

A New England Street, 1918 

Oil on canvas 

30x40 

Museum Purchase 19.33 

Deaccessioned in 1962 

JOH N MURPH Y (1853-1921 ) 

Landscape, 1898 

Oil on canvas 

24 Vs x 36 Vs 

William A. Clark Collection 26.147 

BERTH A PERRI E (1868-1921 ) 

In Gloucester Harbor, 1919 

Oil on canvas 

20x4 0 

Museum Purchase 19.32 

Deaccessioned in 1953 

CHARLE S PLAT T (1861-1933 ) 

Early Autumn 

Oil on canvas 

33x36 

Bequest of James Parmelee 41.55 

Deaccessioned in 1957 

EDWAR D ROO K (1870-1960 ) 

Peonies 

Oil on canvas 

30x36 

Museum Purchase 19.31 

Third William A. Clark Prize and Corcoran 

Bronze Medal 

Deaccessioned in 1957 

ROBER T SPENCE R (1879-1931 ) 

The Red Boat, before 1919 

Oil on canvas 

30 Vs x 36 VA 

Museum Purchase 19.29 

GEORG E SYMON S (l863-1930 ) 

Where Long Shadows Lie (also Where Waters Flow 

and Long Shadows Lie), before 1919 

Oil on canvas 

50 VA x 60 VA 

Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund 19.27 

1 0 4 
JULIA N ALDE N WEI R (1852-1919 ) 

Obweebetuck, c. 1908 

Oil on canvas 

24 Vs x 33 % 

Bequest of George M . Oyster, Jr. 24.3 

CHARLE S WOODBUR Y (1864-1940 ) 

Monadnock, 1912 

Oil on canvas 

36

3

/i6x 48 3 / i 6 

Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund 19.36 

EIGHT H EXHIBITION : OI L PAINTING S 

B Y CONTEMPORAR Y AMERICA N ARTIST S 

December 18, 1921 - January 22, 1922 

SAMUE L BURTI S BAKE R (1882-1967 ) 

Interior with Figure, 1920 

Oil on canvas 

50

1

/i6x401/ 2 

Museum Purchase, William A. Clark Fund 36.1 

Second William A. Clark Prize and Corcoran Silver Medal 

EMI L CARLSE N (1853-1932 ) 

The White Jug, c. 1919 

Oil on canvas 

25 VA x 30 

Gift of Mrs. Emil Carlsen and Dines Carlsen 35.12 

JOH N FOLINSBE E (1892-1972 ) 

Gray Thaw, c. 1920 

Oil on canvas 

32 VA x 40 Vi 

Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund 21.7 

FREDERIC K FRIESEK E (1874-1939 ) 

Peace, 1917 

Oil on canvas 

40 Vi x 60 Vs 

Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund 21.8 

DANIE L GARBE R (1880-1958 ) 

South Room — Green Street, 1921 

Oil on canvas 

50

9

/i6x42V4 

Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund 21.6 

First William A. Clark Prize and 

Corcoran Gold Medal 

EDWAR D WILLI S REDFIEL D (1869-1965 ) 

Overlooking the Valley, c. 1921 

Oil on canvas 

38 x 50 VA 

Bequest of George M . Oyster, Jr. 24.7 

ELME R SCHOFIEL D (1867-1944 ) 

Cliff Shadows, 1921 

Oil on canvas 

50 x 60 Vs 

Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund 21.9 

WALTE R UFE R (1876-1936 ) 

Strange Things 

Oil on canvas 

40x36 

Museum Purchase 21.42 

Returned to artist in 1924 as partial payment 

for Sleep (9th Exhibition) 

FREDERI C BARTLET T 

Canton Street, 1919 

1 0 5 

ROBER T SPENCE R 

The Red Boat, before 1919 
EMI L CARLSE N 

The White Jug, c. 1919 

T H E NINT H EXHIBITIO N O F 

CONTEMPORAR Y AMERICA N OI L 

PAINTING S 

December 16, 1923 - January 20, 1924 

CECILI A BEAU X (1863-1942 ) 

Sita and Sarita, c. 1921 

Oil on canvas 

36

7

/s x 25 Vs 

Museum Purchase, William A. Clark Fund 23.4 

LOUI S BETT S (1873-1961 ) 

Yvonne, c. 1922 

O il on canvas 

24 Vs x 18 Vs 

Gift of Louis Betts 39.6 

CATHARIN E CRITCHE R (1876-1968 ) 

Light Lightning, 1923 

O il on canvas 

30x25 

Museum Purchase, William A. Clark Fund 23.5 

Deaccessioned in 1960 

FREDERIC K FRIESEK E (1874-1939 ) 

Dressing Room, 1922 

O il on canvas 

25 Vi x 31

3

/ 4 

Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund 23.6 

LILLIA N WESTCOT T HAL E (1881-1963 ) 

Eleanor 

O il on canvas 

30 Vi x 22 Vi 

Museum Purchase 23.7 

Deaccessioned in 1977 

GEORG E HALLOWEL L (1871-1926 ) 

Wissataquoik River Drive, c. 1920 

Oil on canvas 

25 VA x 30 VA 

Museum Purchase, William A. Clark Fund 23.8 

CHARLE S HAWTHORN E (1872-1930 ) 

The Fisherman's Daughter, c. 1912 

O il on wood panel 

60x48 

Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund 23.16 

ROBER T HENR I (1865-1929 ) 

Indian Girl in White Ceremonial Blanket, c. 1921 

O il on canvas 

32x26 

Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund 23.15 

JOH N JOHANSE N (1876-1964 ) 

Portrait of the Artists Family, 1922 

O il on canvas 

30x40 

Museum Purchase 23.18 

Returned to artist in 1926 as partial payment for 

The Artist and His Family (10th Exhibition) 

MAURIC E PRENDERGAS T (1859-1924 ) 

Landscape with Figures, 1921 

O il on canvas 

32 % x 42 Vi 

Museum Purchase, William A. Clark Fund 23.17 

Third William A. Clark Prize and 

Corcoran Bronze Medal 

CHARLE S WOODBUR Y 

Monadnock, 1912 

1 0 6 
EDWAR D WILLI S REDFIEL D 

Overlooking the Valley, c. 1921 

FREDERIC K FRIESEK E 

Dressing Room, 1922 

EDWAR D WILLI S REDFIEL D (1869-1965 ) 

The Mill in Winter, 1922 

Oil on canvas 

50Vi6x 56 5 / i 6 

Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund 23.11 

LEOPOL D SEYFFER T (1887-1956 ) 

John C. Johnson, 1921 

Oil on canvas 

30 VA x 25 VA 

Museum Purchase, William A. Clark Fund 23.12 

HENR Y TYLE R (1855-1931 ) 

Late Afternoon 

Oil on canvas 

20 VA x 24 Vs 

Museum Purchase, William A. Clark Fund 23.13 

Deaccessioned in 1957 

WALTE R UFE R (1876-1936 ) 

Sleep 

Oil on canvas 

50x50 

Museum Purchase 23.14 

Deaccessioned in 1961 

T H E TENT H EXHIBITIO N O F 

CONTEMPORAR Y AMERICA N O I L 

PAINTING S 

April 4 - May 16,1926 

FRAN K WESTO N BENSO N (1862-1951 ) 

Still Life, 1925 

Oil on canvas 

32146x40 

Museum Purchase, William A. Clark Fund 26.802 

EMI L CARLSE N (1853-1932 ) 

The Picture from Thibet, c. 1920 

Oil on canvas 

38

3

/s x 27 VA 

Bequest of James Parmelee 41.3 

JOH N JOHANSE N (1876-1964 ) 

The Artist and His Family, 1925 

Oil on canvas 

30x40 

Museum Purchase, William A. Clark Fund 26.799 

LEOPOL D SEYFFER T (1887-1956 ) 

Myself, 1925 

Oil on composition board 

27x2 4 

Museum Purchase, William A. Clark Fund 26.801 

ROBER T VONNO H (1858-1933 ) 

Self Portrait, 1920 

Oil on canvas 

22 x 18 

Bequest of Bessie Potter Vonnoh Keyes 55.69 

T H E ELEVENT H EXHIBITIO N O F 

CONTEMPORAR Y AMEICA N O I L 

PAINTING S 

October 28 - December 9, 1928 

ARTHU R BOWE N DAVIE S (1862-1928 ) 

Stars and Dews and Dreams of Night, 1927 

Oil on canvas 

40x26 

Museum Purchase, William A. Clark Fund 28.7 

1 0 7 
JOH N JOHANSE N LEOPOL D SEYFFER T ROBER T VONNO H 

The Artist and His Family, 1925 Myself, 1925 Self Portrait, 1920 

ARTHU R BOWE N DAVIE S (1862-1928 ) 

The Umbrian Mountains, 1925 

O il on canvas 

25 % x 39 % 

Museum Purchase, William A. Clark Fund 28.8 

DANIE L GARBE R (1880-1958 ) 

The Sycamore 

O il on canvas 

[dimensions unknown] 

Bequest of James Parmelee 41.44 

Returned to artist in 1944 in exchange for 26 

works on paper 

BERNAR D KARFIO L (1886-1952 ) 

Summer, 1927 

Oil on canvas 

46

3

/s x 60

3

/s 

Museum Purchase, William A. Clark Fund 28.6 

First William A. Clark Prize and 

Corcoran Gold Medal 

JONA S LI E (1880-1940 ) 

The Storm, c. 1925 

Oil on canvas 

30 Vs x 45 

Museum Purchase, William A. Clark Fund 26.800 

HENR Y MCFE E (1886-1953 ) 

The Window 

O il on canvas 

24x2 0 

Museum Purchase 28.9 

Returned to artist in 1937 as partial payment 

for Corner of a Room (15th Exhibition) 

T H E TWELFT H EXHIBITIO N O F 

CONTEMPORAR Y AMERICA N OI L 

PAINTING S 

November 30, 1930 -January 11, 1931 

BRYSO N BURROUGH S (1869-1934 ) 

Demeter and Persephone, 1917 

Oil on canvas 

36 Vs x 24 Vi6 

Museum Purchase, William A. Clark Fund 30.7 

JOH N GRABAC H (1886-1981 ) 

River Barges 

O il on canvas 

36 x 42 Vi6 

Museum Purchase 30.6 

Returned to artist in 1941 in exchange for Waterfront 

JOH N NOBL E (1874-1934 ) 

Early Morning, before 1930 

Oil on composition board 

16 x 19 Vi 

Museum Purchase, William A. Clark Fund 30.8 

EUGEN E SPEICHE R (1883-1962 ) 

Sara Rivers, 1924 

O il on canvas 

45

3

/ 4 x 37 

Museum Purchase, William A. Clark Fund 30.9 

MAURIC E STERN E (1878-1957 ) 

After Lunch, 1930 

O il on composition board 

29x39 

Museum Purchase, William A. Clark Fund 30.5 

First William A. Clark Prize and Corcoran 

Gold Medal 

1 0 8 
BRYSO N BURROUGH S 

Demeter and Persephone, 1917 

T H E THIRTEENT H EXHIBITIO N O F 

CONTEMPORAR Y AMERICA N OI L 

PAINTING S 

December 4, 1932 - January 15, 1933 

ALEXANDE R BROO K (1898-1980 ) 

Peggy Bacon (formerly My Wife), 1932 

Oil on canvas 

34Vi6x26 

Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund 32.12 

ROCKWEL L KEN T (1882-1971 ) 

Adirondack, 1928-30 

Oil on canvas 

38 % x 54 % 

Museum Purchase, William A. Clark Fund 34.4 

GEORG E LUK S (1867-1933 ) 

Woman with Black Cat, 1932 

Oil on canvas 

30

3

/s x 25

3

/s 

Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund 32.13 

First William A. Clark Prize and 

Corcoran Gold Medal 

PEPPIN O MANGRAVIT E (1896-1978 ) 

Family Portrait, 1930 

Oil on canvas 

24 VA X 30 VA 

Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund 32.10 

JEROM E MYER S (1867-1940 ) 

Life on the East Side, 1931 

Oil on canvas 

30 Vs x 40 Vs 

Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund 32.11 

DAVI D SILVETT E (B . 1 909 ) 

Thornton Nye of Wytheville, 1931 

O il on canvas 

77x37 

Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund 32.8 

Third William A. Clark Prize and Corcoran 

Bronze Medal 

JOH N SLOA N (1871-1951 ) 

Yeats at Petitpas, 1910 

O il on canvas 

26x32 

Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund 32.9 

T H E FOURTEENT H BIENNIA L 

EXHIBITIO N O F CONTEMPORAR Y 

AMERICA N OI L PAINTING S 

March 24 - May 5, 1935 

JULIU S BLOC H (1888-1966 ) 

The Striker 

O il on canvas 

54 VA x 40 VA 

Museum Purchase, Anna E. Clark Fund 35.11 

Deaccessioned in 1962 

JOH N CONNE R (1869-1945 ) 

Saint Francis 

O il on canvas 

30 Vs x 25 VA 

Museum Purchase, Anna E. Clark Fund 35.5 

Deaccessioned in 1957 

1 0 9 
JOH N NOBL E 

Early Morning, before 1930 

EUGEN E SPEICHE R 

Sara Rivers, 1924 

RANDAL L DAVE Y (1887-1964 ) 

Paddock No. 1, c. 1931 

O il on canvas 

20 VA x 30 VA 

Museum Purchase, Anna E. Clark Fund 35.6 

LAURE N FOR D (1891-1981 ) 

Choir Practice, 1934 

O il on panel 

UVAXISVS 

Museum Purchase, Anna E. Clark Fund 35.7 

RICHAR D MILLE R (1875-1943 ) 

Torso 

O il on composition board 

36 VA x 39 % 

Museum Purchase 35.10 

Deaccessioned in 1957 

ROS S MOFFET T (1888-1971 ) 

Provincetown Wharf, c. 1935 

O il on canvas 

30 VA x 42 VA 

Museum Purchase, Anna E. Clark Fund 35.8 

JOH N THOMPSO N (1882-1945 ) 

Still Life - Rubber Plant, 1935 

O il on canvas 

30

3

/s x 36 Vi 

Museum Purchase, Anna E. Clark Fund 35.9 

Deaccessioned in 1951 

EUGE N WEIS Z (1890-1954 ) 

Self-Portrait, 1935 

O il on canvas 

21 Vkxl5 % 

Museum Purchase, Anna E. Clark Fund 43.14 

T H E FIFTEENT H BIENNIA L EXHIBITIO N 

O F CONTEMPORAR Y AMERICA N OI L 

PAINTING S 

March 28 - May 9,1937 

GEORG E BIDDL E (1885-1973 ) 

Helene Sardeau, 1931 

O il on canvas 

25 VA x 35 VA 

Gift of the Artist 68.33.5 

WILLIA M GLACKEN S (1870-1938 ) 

Luxembourg Gardens, 1906 

O il on canvas 

23 % x 32 

Museum Purchase, William A. Clark Fund 37.1 

HENR Y MCFE E (1886-1953 ) 

Corner of a Room, c. 1935 

O il on canvas 

40x3 0 

Museum Purchase, William A. Clark Fund 37.2 

WELL S SAWYE R (1863-1961 ) 

Winter at Snug Rock, before 1936 

O il on composition board 

16 VA x 20 VA 

Gift of the Friends of the Artist 40.20 

1 i o 
ALEXANDE R BROO K GEORG E LUK S 

Peggy Bacon (formerly My Wife), 1932 Woman with Black Cat, 1932 

T H E SIXTEENT H BIENNIA L EXHIBITIO N 

O F CONTEMPORAR Y AMERICA N OI L 

PAINTING S 

March 26 - May 7, 1939 

ROBER T PHILIP P (1895-1981 ) 

Nude, 1933 

Oil on canvas 

41 x 29 % 

Museum Purchase, William A. Clark Fund 39.4 

Second William A. Clark Prize and 

Corcoran Silver Medal 

ALBER T SERWAZ I (1905-1992 ) 

Model Resting, 1938-39 

Oil on canvas 

22 VA x 27 VA 

Fourth Honorable Mention 

Gift of the Artist 1974.79 

FRANKLI N CHENAUL T WATKIN S 

(1894-1972 ) 

Summer Fragrance, 1938 

Oil on canvas 

39 x 50 VA 

Museum Purchase, William A. Clark Fund 39.3 

First William A. Clark Prize and Corcoran 

Gold Medal 

ANDRE A D E ZEREG A (B . 1917 ) 

Life Class, Monday Morning, 1936-37 

Oil on canvas 

36 VA x 44 Vs 

Gift of the Artist 67.31 

T H E SEVENTEENT H BIENNIA L 

EXHIBITIO N O F CONTEMPORAR Y 

AMERICA N OI L PAINTING S 

March 23 - May 4, 1941 

JOH N HELIKE R (B.1909 ) 

Vermont Farm, 1940 

Oil on canvas 

16 x 20 Vs 

Museum Purchase, William A. Clark Fund 41.86 

First William A. Clark Prize and Corcoran 

Gold Medal 

T H E EIGHTEENT H BIENNIA L 

EXHIBITIO N O F CONTEMPORAR Y 

AMERICA N OI L PAINTING S 

March 21 - May 2, 1943 

AARO N BOHRO D (1907-1992 ) 

Wilmington Evening, 1942 

Oil on gesso panel 

24x3 2 

Museum Purchase, William A. Clark Fund 43.3 

Second William A. Clark Prize and Corcoran 

Silver Medal 

EDWAR D HOPPE R (1882-1967 ) 

Ground Swell, 1939 

Oil on canvas 

36 Vi x 50 3 / i 6 

Museum Purchase, William A. Clark Fund 43.6 

1 11 
PEPPIN O MANGRAVIT E 

Family Portrait, 1930 

JEROM E MYER S 

Life on the East Side, 1931 

RICHAR D LAHE Y (1893-1978 ) 

Carlotta, 1943 

Oil on canvas 

32

3

/s x 32 VA 

Museum Purchase, Anna E. Clark Fund 43.7 

HENR Y MATTSO N (1887-1971 ) 

Rocks, 1942 

Oil on canvas 

32 VA x 42 

Museum Purchase, William A. Clark Fund 43.2 

First William A. Clark Prize and Corcoran Gold Medal 

HOBAR T NICHOL S (1869-1962 ) 

Sub-Zero, before 1943 

Oil on canvas 

30 x 35

7

/s 

Gift of Archer M . Huntington 47.2 

GEORG E PICKE N (1898-1971 ) 

Convoy, 1942-43 

Oil on canvas 

15 % x 40 Vs 

Museum Purchase, William A. Clark Fund 43.5 

Fourth William A. Clark Prize and Corcoran Honorable Mention 

Certificate 

ABRA M POOL E (1882-1961 ) 

Kitty, c. 1939 

Oil on canvas 

40 % x 26 % 

Gift of Mrs. Paul B. Magnuson 62.19 

RAPHAE L SOYE R (1899-1988 ) 

Waiting Room, c. 1940 

Oil on canvas 

34x45 

Museum Purchase, William A. Clark Fund 43.4 

Third William A. Clark Prize and Corcoran Bronze Medal 

EUGE N WEIS Z (1890-1954 ) 

Still Life, 1943 

Oil on canvas 

20 Vi x 26 

Museum Purchase, Anna E. Clark Fund 43.8 

Returned to artist in 1943 as partial payment for Self Portrait 

(14th Exhibition) 

T H E NINETEENT H BIENNIA L EXHIBITIO N O F 

CONTEMPORAR Y AMERICA N OI L PAINTING S 

March 18 -April 29, 1945 

ISABE L BISHO P (1902-1988 ) 

Two Girls Outdoors, 1944 

Oil on composition board 

30 x 18 Vs 

Museum Purchase, Anna E. Clark Fund 45.6 

Third William A. Clark Prize and Corcoran Bronze Medal 

L E E JACKSO N (B . 1909 ) 

Fall Practice, 1943 

Oil on composition board 

15x22 

Museum Purchase, Anna E. Clark Fund 45.7 

Ros s MOFFET T 

Provincetown Wharf, c. 1935 
EUGE N WEIS Z 

Self-Portrait, 1935 

HENR Y MCFE E 

Corner of a Room, c. 1935 

ALBER T SERWAZ I 

Model Resting, 1938-39 

CHARLE S LOCK E (1899-1983 ) 

Third Avenue El, 1943 

011 on canvas board 

12 x 16 

Museum Purchase, Anna E. Clark Fund 45.8 

ALFRE D MCADAM S (B.1914 ) 

By the Window (Portrait of June), 1945 

Oil on masonite 

36x26 

Promised gift of the artist 

HAROL D WESTO N (1894-1972 ) 

Fruit Bowl, 1927-31 

Oil on canvas 

24 x 18 Vi 

Gift of Duncan Phillips 56.31 

ZSISSL Y (MALVI N MAR R ALBRIGHT ) 

(B. I 897 ) 

Deer Island, Maine, 1940 

Oil on canvas 

28 VA x 62 VA 

Second William A. Clark Prize and 

Corcoran Silver Medal 

Museum Purchase, Anna E. Clark Fund 45.5 

T H E TWENTIET H BIENNIA L EXHIBITIO N 

O F CONTEMPORAR Y AMERICA N OI L 

PAINTING S 

March 30 - May 11, 1947 

WALTE R STUEMPFI G (1914-1970 ) 

Two Houses, 1946 

Oil on canvas 

24

7A x 30 Vs 

Museum Purchase, William A. Clark Fund 47.11 

Second William A. Clark Prize and Corcoran 

Silver Medal 

T H E TWENTY-FIRS T BIENNIA L 

EXHIBITIO N O F CONTEMPORAR Y 

AMERICA N OI L PAINTING S 

March 27 - May 8, 1949 

NICOLA I ClKOVSK Y (1894-1984 ) 

Spring Melody, 1948 

Oil on canvas 

42x3 1 VA 

Museum Purchase, William A. Clark Fund 49.21 

Third Honorable Mention 

FRE D CONWA Y (B . 1 900 ) 

Witchery, 1948 

Encaustic on composition board 

37 VA x 32 VA 

Museum Purchase, William A. Clark Fund 49.19 

Second William A. Clark Prize and Corcoran 

Silver Medal 

ERI C ISENBURGE R (1902-1988 ) 

Romantic Figure, 1948 

O il on canvas 

50x40 

Museum Purchase, Anna E. Clark Fund 49.18 

First William A. Clark Prize and Corcoran Gold 

Medal 

MARTI N JACKSO N (B . 1919 ) 

Harbor in the Night, 1948 

O il on canvas 

24

7

k x 32 

Museum Purchase, Anna E. Clark Fund 49.22 

Fifth Honorable Mention 

1 1 3 
AARO N BOHRO D 

Wilmington Evening, 1942 

RAPHAE L SOYE R 

Waiting Room, c. 1940 

BRO R JULIU S NORDFELD T (1878-1955 ) 

Flood, 1948 

Oil on canvas 

40x52 

Museum Purchase, William A. Clark Fund 49.20 

Third William A. Clark Prize and Corcoran Bronze Medal 

HENR Y MATTSO N 

Rocks, 1942 

HOBAR T NICHOL S 

Sub-Zero, before 1943 

T H E TWENTY-SECON D BIENNIA L EXHIBITIO N 

O F CONTEMPORAR Y AMERICA N OI L PAINTING S 

April 1- May 13,1951 

SAMUE L BOOKAT Z (B.1910 ) 

Night Glow, 1951 

Oil on canvas 

59 % x 96 % 

Promised gift of the artist 

PHILI P EVERGOO D (1901-1973 ) 

Sunny Side of the Street, 1950 

Egg-oil-varnish emulsion with marble dust and glass on canvas 

50 x 36 Vs 

Museum Purchase, Anna E. Clark Fund 51.17 

Second William A. Clark Prize and Corcoran Silver Medal 

RICHAR D HAINE S (1906-1984 ) 

Prodigal Son, 1949 

Oil on canvas 

30x40 

Museum Purchase, Anna E. Clark Fund 51.18 

Third William A. Clark Prize and Corcoran Bronze Medal 

MARJORI E PHILLIP S (1894-1985 ) 

Counterpoint, 1950 

Oil on canvas 

25x3 4 

Gift of Marjorie Phillips with aid of funds from the Women's Committee 

of the Corcoran Gallery of Art 
ISABE L BISHO P 

Two Girls Outdoors, 1944 

RAPHAE L SOYE R (1899-1988 ) 

Waiting for the Audition, 1950 

Oil on canvas 

30 x 24 VA 

Museum Purchase, William A. Clark Fund 51.16 

First William A. Clark Prize and 

Corcoran Gold Medal 

T H E TWENTY-THIR D BIENNIA L 

EXHIBITIO N O F CONTEMPORAR Y 

AMERICA N OI L PAINTING S 

March 15 - May J , 1953 

HOBSO N PlTTMA N (1900-1972 ) 

Veiled Bouquet, 1950-51 

Oil on canvas 

29 Vi x 24 Vi 

Museum Purchase, Anna E. Clark Fund 53.3 

Second William A. Clark Prize and Corcoran 

Silver Medal 

NICHOLA S VASILIEF F ( 1 892- 1 970 ) 

Pink Table Cloth, c. 1950 

Oil on canvas 

28 Vi x 42 

Anonymous Gift 57.1 

T H E TWENTY-FOURT H BIENNIA L 

EXHIBITIO N O F CONTEMPORAR Y 

AMERICA N OI L PAINTING S 

March 13 -May 8, 1955 

JOH N HULTBER G (B . 1922 ) 

Yellow Sky, 1953 

Oil on canvas 

43 1 3 /i6 x 84 

Museum Purchase, William A. Clark Fund 55.17 

First William A. Clark Prize and Corcoran 

Gold Medal 

HENR Y NIES E (B . 1924 ) 

The Window, before 1955 

Oil on composition board 

36x28 

Museum Purchase 55.19 

Fourth William A. Clark Prize and 

Corcoran Copper Medal (replaces Corcoran 

Honorable Mention Certificate) 

LARR Y RIVER S (B . 1923 ) 

Self-Figure, 1955 

Oil on canvas 

93

3

/s x 65 VA 

Museum Purchase, William A. Clark Fund 55.18 

Third William A. Clark Prize and Corcoran 

Bronze Medal 

THEODORO S STAMO S (1922-1997 ) 

Heart of Norway Spruce, 1952 

Oil on canvas 

75 Vs x 12 1 3 / i 6 

Museum Purchase, Anna E. Clark Fund 

and gift of anonymous donor 55.1 

CHARLE S LOCK E 

Third Avenue EL \W 
HAROL D WESTO N 

Fruit Bowl, 1927-31 

NlCOLA I ClKOVSK Y 

Spring Melody, 1948 

ERI C ISENBURGE R 

Romantic Figure, 1948 

ALFRE D M C ADAM S 

By the Window (Portrait of June), 1944 

T H E TWENTY-FIFT H BIENNIA L 

EXHIBITIO N O F CONTEMPORAR Y 

AMERICA N OI L PAINTING S 

January 13 - March 10, 1957 

JOSE F ALBER S (1888-1976 ) 

Homage to the Square: "Yes", 1956 

Casein on masonite 

39 % x 39 % 

Museum Purchase, William A. Clark Fund 

57.8 

Third William A. Clark Prize and Corcoran 

Bronze Medal 

LORE N MACIVE R (B . 1 909 ) 

The Street, 1956 

O il on canvas 

24

3

4 x 81 

Museum Purchase, William A. Clark Fund 

57.7 

First William A. Clark Prize and Corcoran 

Gold Medal 

T H E TWENTY-SIXT H BIENNIA L 

EXHIBITIO N O F CONTEMPORAR Y 

AMERICA N PAINTIN G 

January 17- March 8, 1959 

LET A HES S (B . 1911 ) 

Still Life, c. 1958 

Oil on masonite 

48x48 

Museum Purchase, William A. Clark Fund 

58.36 

Fourth William A. Clark Prize and Corcoran 

Copper Medal 

M A X KAH N (B . 1 904 ) 

We Gather Together, c. 1958 

O il on canvas 

32x42 

Museum Purchase, William A. Clark Fund 

58.35 

Third William A. Clark Prize and Corcoran 

Bronze Medal 

YORA M KANIU K (B . 1929 ) 

Dancer, 1953-54 

O il on canvas 

50x4 0 

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Fred L. Palmer 58.25 

WALTE R PLAT E (1925-1972 ) 

Hot House, 1958 

O il on masonite 

72x96 

Museum Purchase, William A. Clark Fund 

58.34 

First William A. Clark Prize and Corcoran 

Gold Medal 

NICHOLA S VASILIEF F ( 1 892- 1 970 ) 

Portrait of Mrs V. (Woman in Red), 1956 

O il on canvas 

47 Vi x 36 

Gift of W. Montgomery Jackson 58.24 
WALTE R STUEMPFI G 

Two Houses, 1946 

BRO R JULIU S NORDFELD T 

Flood, 1948 

T H E TWENTY-SEVENT H BIENNIA L 

EXHIBITIO N O F CONTEMPORAR Y 

AMERICA N PAINTIN G 

January 14 - February 28, 1961 

WIL L BARNE T (B . 1911 ) 

Multiple Images I, 1959 

Oil on canvas 

62

3

/i6x48Vi 6 

Museum Purchase, Anna E. Clark Fund 60.39 

Third William A. Clark Prize and Corcoran 

Bronze Medal 

SIDNE Y GROS S (1921-1969 ) 

Untitled No. 6, 1960 

Oil on canvas 

66 VA x 84 Vs 

Gift of Mrs. Ruth M . Berstein 61.15 

CHARLE S SHA W (1892-1974 ) 

Night Attack, 1960 

Oil on canvas 

50 VA x 75 

Anonymous gift 61.23 

T H E TWENTY-EIGHT H BIENNIA L 

EXHIBITIO N O F CONTEMPORAR Y 

AMERICA N PAINTIN G 

January 18 - March 3, 1963 

L E E BONTECO U (B . 1931 ) 

Untitled (57), 1961 

Welded metal and painted canvas 

46x70 

Gift of the Ford Foundation 62.31 

Second William A. Clark Prize and the Corcoran 

Silver Medal 

MARJORE E DE O (B.1907 ) 

Foliage, 1962 

Oil on masonite 

48 x 40 Vs 

Museum Purchase 63.10 

BURGOYN E DILLE R (1906-1965 ) 

First Theme, c. 1962 

Oil on canvas 

95 VA X 38 

Gift of the Ford Foundation 62.32 

JIMM Y ERNS T (1920-1984 ) 

Icarus, 1962 

Oil on canvas 

55 VA x 76 Vs 

Gift of the Ford Foundation 62.33 

ROBER T GOODNOUG H (B . 1917 ) 

Figure Group: Abduction, 1960 

Oil on canvas 

58 x 68 VA 

Gift of the Ford Foundation 62.34 

ROBER T HARVE Y (B . 1924 ) 

Norah, 1962 

Oil on canvas 

47 % x 42 

Gift of the Ford Foundation 62.35 

Honorable Mention 

Ric o LEBRU N (1900-1964 ) 

Night Figures #2, 1961 

Oil on canvas 

78 VA x 108 Vs 

Gift of the Friends of the Corcoran Gallery of Art 

63.1 

1 1 7 
SAMUE L BOOKAT Z 

Night Glow, 1951 

HOBSO N PlTTMA N 

Veiled Bouquet, 1950-51 

TEIJ I TAKA I (B . 1911 ) 

Aka, 1962 

Oil on canvas 

82 Vi x 70 

Gift of Mrs. Leslie Randall 62.29 

T H E TWENTY-NINT H BIENNIA L 

EXHIBITIO N O F CONTEMPORAR Y 

AMERICA N PAINTIN G 

February 26 -April 18, 1965 

RICHAR D ANUSZKIEWIC Z (B . 1 930 ) 

Squaring the Circle, 1963 

Oil on canvas 

84x84 

Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Julius S. Piver in memory of Mr. 

and Mrs. Harry Piver through the Friends of the 

Corcoran 64.30 

GEN E DAVI S (1920-1985 ) 

Legato in Red 

Acrylic on unsized canvas 

124 x 224 

Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund 65.2 

Third William A. Clark Prize and 

Corcoran Bronze Medal 

Returned to artist in 1965 in exchange for Blueprint 

for Riveters, which was exchanged for Black Popcorn 

(30th exhibition) 

STANLE Y EDWARD S (B . 1941 ) 

Infant on Altar, 1964 

Oil on canvas 

72x84 

Gift of the Friends of Corcoran Gallery of Art 65.3 

S U E FULLE R (B . 1914 ) 

String Composition #144, 1967 

Nylon threads under Plexiglass 

32 Vi x 32 Vi 

Gift of Mr. Emerson Crocker 68.18 

STEPHE N GREEN E (B . 1918 ) 

The Watchers, 1962 

Oil on canvas 

50x68 

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. David Lloyd Kreeger 65.4 

Fourth William A. Clark Prize and Corcoran 

Copper Medal 

ALEXANDE R LIBERMA N (B . 1912 ) 

From Black to White, 1964 

Acrylic on canvas 

111 %x236 

Gift of the Artist 1969.10 

HENR Y PEARSO N (B . 1914 ) 

Number 27 -1963, 1963 

Oil on canvas 

52x7 1 

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. David Lloyd Kreeger 65.5 

RICHAR D POUSETTE-DAR T (1916-1992 ) 

Ramapo Sky, 1963 

Oil on canvas 

50 % x 75 Vi 

Gift of the Friends of the Corcoran Gallery of Art 

65.6 

Second William A. Clark Prize and Corcoran 

Silver Medal 

T H E THIRTIET H BIENNIA L 

EXHIBITIO N O F CONTEMPORAR Y 

AMERICA N PAINTIN G 

February 24 -April 19,1967 

GEN E DAVI S (1920-1985 ) 

Black Popcorn, 1965 

Oil on canvas 

114x114 

Museum Purchase and exchange 67.7 

1 1 8 
JOH N HULTBER G 

v / / ez. ioco NICHOLA S VASILIEF F 

Yellow bky, 1953 „ . T . /rr r . „ 

^ Portrait of Mrs V. (Woman in Red), 1956 

PETE R GOLFINOPOULO S (B . 1928 ) 

Homage to Joyce II, 1966 

Oil on canvas 

84 x 144 

Gift of Josephine Cockrell Thornton 1991.43 

PAU L JENKIN S (B . 1923 ) 

Phenomena, Chosen Cycle, 1965 

Acrylic on canvas 

94V2x5 1 

Gift of David Klugar 67.5 

PAU L JENKIN S (B . 1923 ) 

Day of Zagorsk, 1966 

Acrylic on canvas 

60x114 

Gift of the Artist 67.10 

JULE S OLITSK I (B . 1922 ) 

Pink Alert, 1966 

Acrylic on canvas 

113x80 

Gift of the Friends of the Corcoran Gallery 

of Art 67.12 

First William A. Clark Prize and 

Corcoran Gold Medal 

T H E THIRTY-FIRS T BIENNIA L 

EXHIBITIO N 

February 1 - March 16, 1969 

DEA N FLEMIN G (B . 1933 ) 

Atlantis, 1967 

Enamel on nine masonite panels 

108 x132 

Museum Purchase, Mr. and Mrs. David 

Lloyd Kreeger Purchase Award 1969.35 

MICHAE L GOLDBER G (B . 1924 ) 

Untitled, 1968 

Oil and pastel 

48x48 

Museum Purchase, Director's Discretionary 

Fund 1969.20 

IREN E RIC E PEREIR A (1907-1971 ) 

The Circumnavigation of the Sphering 

of the Poles, 1964 

Oil on canvas 

56x50 

Gift of the Associates of the Corcoran 

Gallery of Art 1969.24 

ROBER T SWAI N (B . 1 940 ) 

Untitled, No 7, 1968-69 

Acrylic on canvas 

153 x 306 

Gift of Mary Howland Chase and the 

Friends of the Corcoran Gallery of Art 

1969.13 

RICHAR D TUTTL E (B . 1941 ) 

Red Canvas, 1967 

Dyed canvas 

57x55 

Gift of Mr. Eric Green 1969.38 

LET A HES S 

Still Life, c. 1958 
RICHAR D ANUSZKIEWIC Z 

Squaring the Circle, 1963 

ROBER T GOODNOUG H 

Figure Group: Abduction, 1960 

T H E THIRTY-SECON D BIENNIA L 

EXHIBITIO N O F CONTEMPORAR Y 

AMERICA N PAINTIN G 

February 28 -April4, 1971 

EDWAR D MOSE S (B . 1926 ) 

Teec, 1970 

Acrylic resin and powdered pigment 

on canvas 

88 x 111 

Gift of the Women's Committee of the Corcoran 

Gallery of Art 1971.14 

FRANKLI N OWE N (B . 1939 ) 

Mandan, No. 19, 1970 

Acrylic on canvas 

78 x 124 

Gift of the Friends of the Corcoran Gallery of Art 

1971.7.1 

PHILI P PEARLSTEI N (B . 1924 ) 

Reclining Nude on Green Couch, 1971 

Oil on canvas 

60x48 

Gift of the Friends of the Corcoran Gallery of Art 

1971.7.2 

Courtesy of Robert Miller Gallery, New York 

T H E THIRTY-THIR D BIENNIA L 

EXHIBITIO N O F CONTEMPORAR Y 

AMERICA N PAINTING : 

T H E WA Y O F C O L O R 

February 24 -April 8,1973 

MORTEZ A SAZEGA R (B . 1933 ) 

C5-72#l, 1972 

Acrylic on canvas 

72x72 

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert H . Kinney 1974.69 

T H E THIRTY-FOURT H BIENNIA L 

EXHIBITIO N O F CONTEMPORAR Y 

AMERICA N PAINTIN G 

February 22 -April 6,1975 

RONAL D DAVI S (B . 1937 ) 

TBeam, 1974 

Acrylic and dry pigment on canvas 

1111/2x144 

Gift of the Friends of the Corcoran Gallery of Art 

1975.8 

JOA N SNYDE R (B . 1 940 ) 

Creek Square, 1974 

Oil, acrylic, canvas, cheesecloth, papier mache 

on canvas 

60 VA x 60 VA 

Gift of Marvin and Florence Gerstin 1985.14 

1 2 0 
Ric o LEBRU N 

Night Figures #2, 1961 

JIMM Y ERNS T 

Icarus, 1962 

RICHAR D POUSETTE-DAR T 

Ramapo Sky, 1963 

T H E THIRTY-FIFT H BIENNIA L 

EXHIBITIO N O F CONTEMPORAR Y 

AMERICA N PAINTIN G 

February 26 -April3, 1977 

MICHAE L CLAR K (B . 1946 ) 

San Francisco Chinatown Window, 1976 

Oil on linen 

30x36 

Gift of the Friends of the Corcoran Gallery of Art 

1977.11 

FREDERIC K HAMMERSLE Y (B . 1919 ) 

Refer Two, 1973-74 

Oil on linen 

42x4 2 

Museum Purchase, William A. Clark Fund 1977.5 

SAND I SLON E (B . 1939 ) 

Shivernly, 1976 

Acrylic on canvas 

81x69 

Gift of Bruce L. Ehrmann 1998.10 

T H E THIRTY-SIXT H BIENNIA L 

EXHIBITIO N O F CONTEMPORAR Y 

AMERICA N PAINTIN G 

February 24 -April 8,1979 

No Acquisitions 

T H E THIRTY-SEVENT H BIENNIA L 

EXHIBITIO N O F CONTEMPORAR Y 

AMERICA N PAINTIN G 

February 19 -April5, 1981 

JOA N MITCHEL L (1926-1992 ) 

Salut Tom, 1979 

Oil on canvas 

1107/i6x314y2 

Musuem Purchase with aid of funds from the 

Women's Committee of the Corcoran Gallery of Art 

and the National Endowment for the Arts, 1979.18 

T H E THIRTY-EIGHT H BIENNIA L 

EXHIBITIO N O F CONTEMPORAR Y 

AMERICA N PAINTING/SECON D 

WESTER N STATE S EXHIBITIO N 

February 3 - April 3, 1983 

No Acquisitions 

T H E THIRTY-NINT H BIENNIA L 

EXHIBITIO N O F CONTEMPORAR Y 

AMERICA N PAINTIN G 

February 2 -April 7, 1985 

No Acquisitions 

1 2 1 
PETE R GOLFINOPOULO S 

Homage to Joyce II, 1966 

T H E FORTIET H BIENNIA L 

EXHIBITIO N O F CONTEMPORAR Y 

AMERICA N PAINTIN G 

April 11 -June 21, 1987 

MAR Y HEILMAN N (B . 1 940 ) 

The Beach House, 1986 

Oil on canvas 

60x42 

Gift of the Friends of the Corcoran Gallery of Art 

1987.9.1 

ROBER T MANGOL D (B.1937 ) 

Five Color Frame Painting, 1985 

Acrylic on canvas 

94 % x 78 Vi 

Gift of the Women's Committee of the Corcoran 

Gallery of Art 1987.10 

HARVE Y QUAYTMA N (B . 1937 ) 

Age of Iron, 1986 

Acrylic, rust, and collage on canvas 

39 % x 39

7

/s 

Gift of the Friends of the Corcoran Gallery of Art 

1987.9.2 

SEA N SCULL Y (B . 1945 ) 

Flyer, 1986 

Oil on canvas 

102V4X11 9 

Gift of the Women's Committee of the Corcoran 

Gallery of Art in memory of Jinx Cutts with aid of 

funds from the Firestone Foundation and the Jinx 

Cutts Memorial Fund 1986.8 

T H E FORTY-FIRS T BIENNIA L 

EXHIBITIO N O F CONTEMPORAR Y 

AMERICA N PAINTIN G 

April 5-June 4, 1989 

No Acquisitions 

T H E FORTY-SECON D BIENNIA L 

EXHIBITIO N O F CONTEMPORAR Y 

AMERICA N PAINTIN G 

September 7 - November 10, 1991 

L . C . ARMSTRON G (B . 1954 ) 

Re-Coil, 1990 

Enamel, fuse burn and resin on three steel panels 

60 x 108 

Gift of the Women's Committee of the 

Corcoran Gallery of Art 1991.40.1 

LYDI A DON A (B . 1955 ) 

Fear of Falling into the Lack, The Dream of 

Language, and the Ruptures of the Flood, 1991 

Oil, acrylic and sign paint on canvas 

84 VA x 64 

Gift of the Women's Committee of the 

Corcoran Gallery of A rt 1991.40.2 

WILL Y HEEK S (B . 1951 ) 

Solace, 1990 

Oil and charcoal on canvas 

90 x 106 

Gift of the Friends of the Corcoran Gallery of Art 

1991.15.2 

1 2 2 
JULE S OLITSK I 

Pink Alert, 1966 

LAR I PITTMA N (B . 1952 ) 

Reverential and Needy, 1991 

Acrylic and enamel on mahogany panel 

65x82 

Gift of the Friends of the Corcoran Gallery of Art 

1992.1 

THOMA S ERI C STANTO N (B . 1947 ) 

Tree of Life (Hannibal), 1991 

Mixed media on canvas 

118x88 

Museum Purchase, William A. Clark Fund 1991.50 

T H E FORTY-THIR D BIENNIA L 

EXHIBITIO N O F CONTEMPORAR Y 

AMERICA N PAINTIN G 

October 30, 1993 - January 2, 1994 

I D A APPLEBROO G (B . 1929 ) 

Mother mother I am ill, 1993 

Oil on canvas 

110x72 

Museum Purchase, the Jacob and Charlotte Lehrman 

Foundation Memorial Art Fund 1998.19 

K I M DINGL E (B . 1951 ) 

Black Girl Dragging White Girl, 1992 

Oil and charcoal on canvas 

72x60 

Gift of the Women's Committee of the Corcoran 

Gallery of Art 1993.1.1 

CHARLE S GARABEDIA N (B . 1923 ) 

Study for "The Iliad", 1992 

Acrylic on paper 

43

3

/ 8 x 80 

Gift of the Friends of the Corcoran Gallery of Art 

1994.3.1 

T H E FORTY-FOURT H BIENNIA L 

EXHIBITIO N O F CONTEMPORAR Y 

AMERICA N PAINTING : PAINTIN G 

OUTSID E PAINTIN G 

December 16, 1995 - February 19, 1996 

STUAR T AREND S (B . 1 950 ) 

O.S. 50, 1994 

Oil on steel 

4 Vi x 3 % x 3 % 

Gift of the Artist 1996.7 

FABIA N MARCACCI O (B . 1963 ) 

Paint-Zone #12, 1994-5 

Collograph, oil on canvas 

66x60 

Promised gift of Anthony T. Podesta 

JESSIC A STOCKHOLDE R (B . 1959 ) 

1994, 1994 

Plastic sink legs, clothing, trimming, string, yarn, 

wood, hardware, piece of furniture, papier mache, 

plaster, wallpaper paste, glue, and plastic fruit 

93 x 50 x 82 

Gift of the Women's Committee of the Corcoran 

Gallery of Art 1996.2.1 

1 2 3 
INDE X T O TH E CHECKLIS T 

ABBEY , EDWI N AUSTI N (1852-19 1 1 ) 1st Biennial 

ALBERS , JOSE F (1888-1976 ) 25th Biennial 

ALBRIGHT , MALVI N MARR , SE E ZSISSL Y 

ANSHUTZ , THOMA S (1851-1912 ) 1st Biennial 

ANUSZKIEWICZ , RICHAR D (B . 1 930 ) 29th Biennial 

APPLEBROOG , ID A (B . 1929 ) 43rdBiennial 

ARENDS , STUAR T (B . 1 950 ) 44th Biennial 

ARMSTRONG , L . C . (B . 1954 ) 42ndBiennial 

BAKER , SAMUE L BURTI S (1882-1967 ) 8thBiennial 

BARNET , WIL L (B . 1911 ) 27th Biennial 

BARTLETT , FREDERI C (1873-1953 ) 7th Biennial 

BEAUX , CECILI A (1863-1942 ) 9th Biennial 

BENSON , FRAN K WESTO N (1862-1951 ) 4th,7th, 10th Biennials 

BETTS , LOUI S (1873-1961 ) 9th Biennial 

BIDDLE , GEORG E (1885-1973 ) 15th Biennial 

BISHOP , ISABE L (1902-1988 ) 19th Biennial 

BLAKELOCK , RALP H ALBER T (1847-1919 ) 1st Biennial 

BLOCH , JULIU S (1888-1966 ) 14th Biennial 

BOGERT , GEORG E (1864-1944 ) 1st Biennial 

B O H ROD , AARO N (1907-1922 ) 18th Biennial 

BONTECOU , LE E (B . 1931 ) 28th Biennial 

BOOKATZ , SAMUE L (B . 1910 ) 22ndBiennial 

BROOK , ALEXANDE R ( 1 898- 1 980 ) 13th Biennial 

BROOKE , RICHAR D NORRI S ( 1 847- 1 920 ) 4th Biennial 

BURROUGHS , BRYSO N (1869-1934 ) 12th Biennial 

CARLSEN , DINE S (1901-1966 ) 6th Biennial 

CARLSEN , EMI L (1853-1932 ) 6th, 8th, 10th Biennials 

CARLSON , JOH N FABIA N (1875-1945 ) 4th Biennial 

CASSATT , MAR Y STEVENSO N (1844-1926 ) 1st, 2nd Biennials 

CHASE , WILLIA M MERRIT T (1849-1916 ) 6thBiennial 

CIKOVSKY , NICOLA I (1894-1984 ) 21stBiennial 

CLARK , MICHAE L (B . 1946 ) 35th Biennial 

CONNER , JOH N (1869-1945 ) 14th Biennial 

CONWAY , FRE D (B . 1 900 ) 21stBiennial 

CRANE , BRUC E (1857-1937 ) 5th Biennial 

CRITCHER , CATHARIN E (1876-1968 ) 9th Biennial 

DAVEY , RANDAL L (1887-1964 ) 14th Biennial 

DAVIES , ARTHU R BOWE N (1862-1928 ) 11th Biennial 

DAVIS , GEN E ( 1 920- 1 985 ) 29th, 30th Biennials 

DAVIS , RONAL D (B . 1937 ) 34th Biennial 

DECAMP , JOSEP H RODEFE R (1858-1923 ) 6th Biennial 

DEO , MARJORE E (B.1907 ) 28th Biennial 

DICKINSON , SIDNE Y (1890-1978 ) 6th Biennial 

DILLER , BURGOYN E (1906-1965 ) 28th Biennial 

DINGLE , KI M (B . 1951 ) 43rdBiennial 

DONA , LYDI A (B . 1955 ) 42ndBiennial 

DOUGHERTY , PAU L (1877-1947 ) 1st Biennial 

EDWARDS , STANLE Y (B . 1 941 ) 29th Biennial 

ERNST , JIMM Y (1920-1984 ) 28th Biennial 

EVERGOOD , PHILI P (1901-1973 ) 22ndBiennial 

FARLEY , RICHAR D (1875-1954 ) 5th Biennial 

FLEMING , DEA N (B . 1933 ) 31stBiennial 

FOLINSBEE , JOH N (1892-1972 ) 8th Biennial 

FORD , LAURE N (1891-1981 ) 14th Biennial 

FOSTER , BE N (1852-1926 ) 3rd, 4th Biennials 

FRIESEKE , FREDERIC K (1874-1939 ) 7th, 8th, 9th Biennials 

FULLER , SU E (B . 1914 ) 29thBiennial 

GARABEDIAN , CHARLE S (B . 1923 ) 43rdBiennial 

GARBER , DANIE L (1880-1958 ) 3rd, 8th, 11th Biennials 

GLACKENS , WILLIA M (1870-1938 ) 15th Biennial 

GOLDBERG , MICHAE L (B . 1924 ) 31stBiennial 

GOLFINOPOULOS , PETE R (B . 1928 ) 30th Biennial 

GOODNOUGH , ROBER T (B . 1917 ) 28th Biennial 

GRABACH , JOH N (1886-1981 ) 12th Biennial 

GREENE , STEPHE N (B . 1918 ) 29th Biennial 

GROLL , ALBER T LORE Y (1866-1952 ) 1st, 3rd Biennials 
GROSS , SIDNE Y (1921-1969 ) 27th Biennial 

HAINES , RICHAR D (1906-1984 ) 22ndBiennial 

HALE , LILLIA N WESTCOT T (1881-1963 ) 9th Biennial 

HALE , PHILI P (1865-1931 ) 5thBiennial 

HALLOWELL , GEORG E (1871-1926 ) 9th Biennial 

HAMMERSLEY , FREDERIC K (B . 1919 ) 35th Biennial 

HARRISON , BIRG E (1854-1929 ) 5th Biennial 

HARVEY , ROBER T (B . 1924 ) 28th Biennial 

HASSAM , CHILD E (1859-1935 ) 1st, 4th, 7th Biennials 

HAWTHORNE , CHARLE S ( 1 872- 1 930 ) 9th Biennial 

HEEKS , WILL Y (B . 1951 ) 42ndBiennial 

HEILMANN , MAR Y (B . 1 940 ) 40th Biennial 

HELIKER , JOH N (B . 1909 ) 17thBiennial 

HENRI , ROBER T (1865-1929 ) 7th, 9th Biennials 

HESS , LET A (B . 1911 ) 26th Biennial 

HOMER , WI N SLO W (1836-1910 ) 1st Biennial 

HOPPER , EDWAR D (1882-1967 ) 18th Biennial 

HOWELL , FELICI E (1897-1968 ) 7th Biennial 

HULTBERG , JOH N (B . 1922 ) 24th Biennial 

ISENBURGER , ERI C (1902-1988 ) 21stBiennial 

JACKSON , LE E (B . 1909 ) 19th Biennial 

JACKSON , MARTI N (B . 1919 ) 21stBiennial 

JENKINS , PAU L (B . 1923 ) 30th Biennial 

JOHANSEN , JOH N (1876-1964 ) 9th, 10th Biennials 

KAHN , MA X (B . 1 904 ) 26th Biennial 

KANIUK , YORA M (B . 1929 ) 26th Biennial 

KARFIOL , BERNAR D (1886-1952 ) 11th Biennial 

KENDALL , WILLIA M (1869-1938 ) 2nd Biennial 

KENT , ROCKWEL L (1882-1971 ) 13th Biennial 

LAHEY , RICHAR D (1893-1978 ) 18th Biennial 

LAWSON , ERNES T (1873-1939 ) 6th Biennial 

LIBERMAN , ALEXANDE R (B . 1912 ) 29th Biennial 

LIE , JONA S (1880-1940 ) 11th Biennial 

LOCKE , CHARLE S (1899-1983 ) 19th Biennial 

LOCKWOOD , WILTO N (1861-1914 ) 1st Biennial 

LUKS , GEORG E (1867-1933 ) 13th Biennial 

MACCAMERON , ROBER T LE E (1866-1912 ) 2nd Biennial 

MACEWEN , WALTE R (1860-1943 ) 2nd Biennial 

MACIVER , LORE N (B . 1909 ) 25th Biennial 

MANGOLD , ROBER T (B . 1937 ) 40th Biennial 

MANGRAVITE , PEPPIN O (1896-1978 ) 13th Biennial 

MARCACCIO , FABIA N (B . 1963 ) 44th Biennial 

MATTSON , HENR Y (1887-1971 ) 18th Biennial 

MCADAMS , ALFRE D (B . 1914 ) 19th Biennial 

MCFEE , HENR Y (1886-1953 ) 11th, 15th Biennials 

MELCHERS , GAR I ( 1 860- 1 932 ) 1st, 3rd, 5th Biennials 

METCALF , WILLAR D LERO Y (1858-1925 ) 1st Biennial 

MILLER , RICHAR D (1875-1943 ) 14th Biennial 

MITCHELL , JOA N (1926-1992 ) 37th Biennial 

MOFFETT , ROS S (1888-1971 ) 14th Biennial 

MOSES , EDWAR D (B . 1926 ) 32ndBiennial 

MURPHY , JOH N (1853-1921 ) 7th Biennial 

MYERS , JEROM E ( 1 867- 1 940 ) 13thBiennial 

NICHOLS , HOBAR T (1869-1962 ) 18th Biennial 

NIESE , HENR Y (B . 1924 ) 24th Biennial 

NOBLE , JOH N (18747-1934 ) 12th Biennial 

NORDFELDT , BRO R JULIU S (1878-1955 ) 21stBiennial 

OCHTMAN , LEONAR D (1854-1934 ) 2nd Biennial 

OLITSKI , JULE S (B . 1922 ) 30th Biennial 

OWEN , FRANKLI N (B . 1939 ) 32ndBiennial 

PAXTON , WILLIA M (1869-19 4 1 ) 6th Biennial 

PEARCE , CHARLE S (1851-1914 ) 2nd Biennial 
PEREIRA , IREN E RIC E (1907-1971 ) 31stBiennial 

PERRIE , BERTH A (1868-1921 ) 7th Biennial 

PHILIPP , ROBER T (1895-1981 ) 16th Biennial 

PHILLIPS , J . CAMPBEL L (1873-1949 ) 5thBiennial 

PHILLIPS , MARJORI E (1894-1985 ) 22ndBiennial 

PICKEN , GEORG E (1898-1971 ) 18th Biennial 

PITTMAN , HOBSO N (1900-1972 ) 23rdBiennial 

PITTMAN , LAR I (B . 1952 ) 42ndBiennial 

PLATE , WALTE R (1925-1972 ) 26th Biennial 

PLATT , CHARLE S (1861-1933 ) 7th Biennial 

POOLE , ABRA M (1882-1961 ) 18th Biennial 

POUSETTE-DART , RICHAR D (1916-1992 ) 29th Biennial 

PRENDERGAST , MAURIC E (1859-1924 ) 9th Biennial 

QUAYTMAN , HARVE Y (B . 1937 ) 40th Biennial 

REDFIELD , EDWAR D (1869-1965 ) 1st, 5th, 8th, 9th Biennials 

REID , ROBER T (1862-1929 ) 2nd, 6th Biennials 

REIFFEL , CHARLE S (1862-1942 ) 3rd Biennial 

RIVERS , LARR Y (B . 1923 ) 24th Biennial 

ROOK , EDWAR D (1870-1960 ) 7th Biennial 

RYDER , CHAUNCE Y FOSTE R (1868-1949 ) 4th Biennial 

SARGENT , JOH N SINGE R (1856-1925 ) 5th, 6th Biennials 

SAWYER , WELL S ( 1 863- 1 961 ) 15th Biennial 

SAZEGAR , MORTEZ A (B . 1933 ) 33rdBiennial 

SCHOFIELD , ELME R (1867-1944 ) 2nd, 8th Biennials 

SCULLY , SEA N (B . 1945 ) 40th Biennial 

SERWAZI , ALBER T (1905-1992 ) 16th Biennial 

SEYFFERT , LEOPOL D (1887-1956 ) 9th, 10th Biennials 

SHANNON , JAME S JEBUS A (1862-1923 ) 1st Biennial 

SHAW , CHARLE S (1892-1974 ) 27th Biennial 

SHURTLEFF , ROSWEL L (1835-1915 ) 1st Biennial 

SILVETTE , DAVI D (B . 1 909 ) 13th Biennial 

SMILLIE , JAME S DAVI D ( 1 833- 1 909 ) 1st Biennial 

SNYDER , JOA N (B . 1 940 ) 34th Biennial 

SOYER , RAPHAE L (1899-1988 ) 18th, 22ndBiennials 

SPEICHER , EUGEN E (1883-1962 ) 12th Biennial 

SPENCER , ROBER T (1879-19 3 1 ) 7th Biennial 

STAMOS , THEODORO S (1922-1997 ) 24th Biennial 

STANTON , THOMA S ERI C (B . 1947 ) 42ndBiennial 

STERNE , MAURIC E (1878-1957 ) 12th Biennial 

STOCKHOLDER , JESSIC A (B . 1959 ) 44thBiennial 

STUEMPFIG , WALTE R (1914-1970 ) 20th Biennial 

SWAIN , ROBER T (B . 1 940 ) 31stBiennial 

SYMONS , GEORG E ( 1 863- 1 930 ) 3rd, 7th Biennial 

TAKAI , TEIJ I (B . 1911 ) 28th Biennial 

TARBELL , EDMUN D CHARLE S (1862-1938 ) 2nd, 6th Biennials 

THOMPSON , JOH N (1882-1945 ) 14th Biennial 

THORNE , WILLIA M (1864-1956 ) 1st Biennial 

TURNER , HELE N (1858-1958 ) 5thBiennial 

TUTTLE , RICHAR D (B . 1941 ) 31stBiennial 

TYLER , HENR Y (1855-1931 ) 9th Biennial 

UFER , WALTE R (1876-1936 ) 8th, 9th Biennials 

VASILIEFF , NICHOLA S ( 1 892- 1 970 ) 23rd, 26th Biennials 

VONNOH , ROBER T (1858-1933 ) 10th Biennial 

WALKER , HORATI O (1858-1938 ) 1st Biennial 

WATKINS , FRANKLI N CHENAUL T (1894-1972 ) 16th Biennial 

WEIR , JULIA N ALDE N (1852-1919 ) 4th, 5th, 7th Biennials 

WEISZ , EUGE N (1890-1954 ) 14th, 18th Biennials 

WESTON , HAROL D (1894-1972 ) 19th Biennial 

WILES , IRVIN G RAMSA Y (1861-1948 ) 3rd Biennial 

WOODBURY , CHARLE S ( 1 864- 1 940 ) 7th Biennial 

YOUNG , CHARLE S (1869-1964 ) 6th Biennial 

ZEREGA , ANDRE A D E (B . 1917 ) 16th Biennial 
1 2 7