Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-10-11
A RI N O TES.

During the week many thousands of the
vast number of strangers in the city avaied
themselves of the opportunity thus afforded
to visit the Corcoran Gallery and enjoy its
many and varied attractions Never in one
week were there many visitors, and the
attendance on Thursday was the largest
for single day in the history of the insti
tuition. Between the hours of 10 am. and
pm. that day the number present was r.
1876. This beats all previous records; and,
in addition to this great crowd. 1920 ladies
attended the reception given by Mrs. Roose
welt, between 4 and o'clock, making a
grand total for the day of 13,176 A few
very few of this great throng
seemed to- be intelligently interested in
the pictures themselves, but the main
stream of humanity, which poured for
hours through the galleries, met with
little hindrance in the way of loiter-
indeed, to be surging through the gallery
largely because it was one of the cataiogued
sights. To most of them name and style
were of no significance. and subject alone
attracted. COrOts Wood Gathe-ers" ard
Wyant's splendid landscape were passed by
with scarcely a glance, and even Brush's
applefaced baby was too commonplace in
its amazing realism TO command more than
the briefest attention. whereas. Fun and
Fright The Lost Dogs and THE For
ester at Home" were understood and ap-
preciated. Had prize been given by vote
to the most popular picture, it would.
however, undoubtedly have gone to THE
Helping Hand before this canvas an
admiring crowd was al all times to be
found. That this popularity was in
measure due to the wide circulation of
cheap reproductions of the painting was at
tested by the fact that a large percentage
of those who paused before it greeted it as
an old friend, exclaiming, with delight, that
they or some one they knew had photo of
n N &c oil
value of such reproductions from an edu-
cational standpoint. This legion of sight
Seers were. in fact, thoroughly repres ma
tive of our general public; they We're Ameri-
can-born, sturdy citizens and their attitude
toward art should furnish food fer thought
for both the present-day artists and edu-
Gators.
Since the autumnal reopening of the CAL
lery an exceedingly interesting addition has
been made to its permanent collection in
painting entitled "A Taper to ST. Gene
v1eve,' by the Marquse Cecile de Went
worth. 1t was the gift of the artist and
mas been hung in the southwest gallery to
the right of the staircase. An altar ablaze
with candles, In dim corner of an old
cathedral Is the most prominent feature
IN the compositions; the dazzling light Of it's
many tapers attracting immediate attention
BEFORE this stands young mother holding
a sick child in her arms, and near her on
the altar steps, is a little girl of ten or
twelve, reaching up to the limit of her
height in her effort to light 1.-The taper to
ST. Geneveve." In the foreground, to the
left, a crippled lad is watching her with
rapt attention, and behind the duplicating
mother two black-robed nuns are standing.
Narrow stained glass windows. high up in
the walls let in enough cold light to show
the gothic carving of the massive arches
but II is the pickering glow of the sacred
candles which makes the forms and features
of the figures distinguishable. The manage
ment of these two lights Is admirable and
the color scheme is exceed ngly pleasing and
harmonious. The brush work has been done
in smoother, more finished. careful man.
ner than is popular today, but, technically
1t leaves little to be desired. From the pic
ture standpoint the composition Is attractive
and appealing. and though all may not
agree that 1t is a great painting it is doubt
less acquisition of which the gallery can
always be proud
In the loan galleries a few new canyases
are to be noted. A wood interior painted
by Arthur Parton when the autumn tints
were brightest, has been placed on exhibit
ton In the lower room, and upstairs on the
same wall on which the Chartran portraits
or Mrs. and Miss Roosevelt are hung the
portrait Of Katherine Douglas by Raeburn
which was loaned by Mr.: H. P Chiffon of
New York and has been for several months
in the board room, has now been placed on
view.
Miss Bertha E. Perrie has brought back
with her from Ipswich collection Of water
colors which gives abundant proof Of
WeH-spent and thoroughly delightful sum-
mer. number Of these sketches were
| made at Wainscott. Long Island where the
first six weeks of her vacation were spent,
but the majority were done in the neigh
borhood OF Ipswich, whose picturesque sur
roundings have made 1t popular sketching
ground for our landscape painters. It is
there that Arthur Dow has his summer
school of applied and Industrial art, and
Gloucester which has been of late years
metamorphosed from fishing village to
an art colony. Is. one might almost say, one
of its suburbs. There are inland views
| quiet country lanes. orchards and meadows
| salt marshes. boat houses and wharves, and
| perhaps best of zaN. the low monotonous
sand-dunes. ALI of these may be found pic
| tured among Miss Ferries sketches, each
| interpreted with that honesty and truth
which characterizes her work and carries
| with It unquestioning conviction. But in
some instances Miss Perrie has this sum-