Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-02-24

g.
the method, and did his own casting. That
his work Is crude and inartisuc is there
fore less remarkable than that 1t has any
merit at all. The bust of DR.. Samson, which
Ia now on view at the George Washington
University, ds far from bad. Lffeless, nara
and ill-drawn, as it may be, II stlll pre-,
serves certain dignity or expression, anu
Is strong and characteristic What mistakes
the sculptor made were not the tault Oh
weakness, but the result of poor equipment:
He did not lack courage or conVfctlon. put
the artists touch. Following the custom or
that period he portrayed DR.. Samson IN
classical guise-in O .toga rather than d
frock coat-but IN a bust this Is not serious
ly Objectionable. By those VINO remember
and revere Dr. Samson It Is declared an ex-
cel1ent likeness. and from even the art
standpoint it must be considered worthy
memorial.
y y
Three additional canvases have been
placed by Senator w. A. Clark in the col
lection which he has recently loaned 10 the
Corcoran Gallery. One Is portrait OF sir
Thomas Lawrence and the others are works
by Cain and Fantin-Latour. The Law
renee is a likeness of a little girl, not more
than eight or ten years of age, with plack'
curling hair and clear, bright complexion
She wears simple frock of white, ana -
wrapped about with q brown cloak trimmed
with fur Her neck and shoulders are bare,
her head. turned sharply to the left, is
slightly inclined; her expression is mari
merry and half serious. In color 1t IS
charming and so far as technique goes II
has been adroitly handled. Sir ThomaS
lawrence came after Reynolds, and Gains
borough, and Romney, and even later imam
Raeburn or Hoppner, but he carried on the
traditions which they had established he
lived between 1769 and 1880 and was very
popular in his day. With his brush he was
always facile, and In his characterlzatloliS
most happy. There is a certain brilliancy In
many OF his canvases which is notable, ana
which is well eXemplifed IN the present m
stance.
The Cain is a tiny landscape-broad
fields, clouded sky some grain TICKS ana
shapely tree-showIng simplicity Of nan
ding and weli-m oduIated tone. me antin-
Iatour, on the other hand, represents q
bunch Of carnations IN glass, and has been
rendered gravely and with no little realsln,
At Knoedler's. in New YORK nineteen ho"eI
pictures by Latour were exhibited last
month, and in Paris, this coming spring,
comprehensive collection of his work fs TO
be shown Born in 1895, he was friend or
Monet, of lola and Manet, but he was not
an adherent of the so-ealIed 'impressfonisttc
school" His flower paintings were, 1t mas
been truly said. never botanical, but were
rendered with both freedom and deilcacy OF
touch. They are, perhaps. trttie stereo-
typed, but they demonstrate the fact that
between the two extremes there Is an ae-
ceptable middle ground-that we can nave
at the same time both breadth and finish.
Plans for the projected exhibition of
American paintings to be held next winter
in the Corcoran Gallery of Art under the
direction of it's board OF trustees are ma
turing rapidly. A prospectus has been pre-
pared, and all save the date and minor de-
tails have been determined upon. Senator
w. A. Clark has graciously asked, and been
granted, the privilege of giving the first
grand prize of $1,000, which will accompany
the Corcoran gold medal, and Mr.. V. G.
Fischer has volunteered to be personally
responsible for the third award, which
amounts to $3.50 and carries with 1t a bronze
medal This is very encouraging, and the
more so because both offers came entirely
unsolicited 1t shows very substantial in
terest in the success of the exhibition and
keen appreciation of it's aims The second
prize of $500 Is still unprovded and while
the Corcoran gallery stands ready to make
this good, it seems probable that among
our many wealthy residents more than one
will be found glad to assume the response
bilty, which is in reality a privilege.
On Tuesday of next weei. an exhibition of
paintings by Mr.. Everett L. Warner of This
city will open in the Veerhoff galleries.
There will be both paintings in oils and
water colors; pictures painted abroad and
Washington boy and student of the local
Art League He has studied in New York
and more lately in Paris. but he has dis
played from the first very marked individ-
uality. In 1902 the first Corcoran prize was
awarded to his Broadway a Rainy
Evening" which was shown in the WASH
ington Water Color Clubs seventh annual
exhibition and later purchased by the Cor
coran gallery for its permanent collection.
His pictures found admission to the salon
and have for several years been welcomed
by the New York and Pennsylvania acad-
emies. They have, however, not been pre-
tentious works-never large or imposing
but instead modest, small. simple and sin
! cere. From his student days he has dis
played artistic feehng and evinced an APP
probation OF pictorial effect. He has known
how to please both artists and laymen by
painting well and choosing wisely his
themes. This will be the first time that a
comprehensive collection of his work has
been shown in Washington, and it should
prove an event of interest TO all
In the reception room of the Postmaster
General may now be seen portrait which
Mr. Harold Macdonald has recently paint
ed of the late Postmaster General Payne.
1t is a straightforward piece of work,
done with much skill and some force. Mr..
Payne is seen seated In a plain wooden
chair, looking directly toward the OBJ
server. There is no attempt at decora-
tIon and there are no pictorial accessories
The entire interest is conferred in the fig
ure all attention drawn to the expressive
face-and this is well. 1t is good in color
and firmly modelled and though 1t does
not come within the category of great
accomplishments. 1t is a sound work and
one which in future years neither the
painter nor the people need be ashamed Of
X
Mr.. Robert Hinckley has quite a num-
Der of portrait commissions on hand,
among which is a particularly interesting
ee-quarter-length of Chief Justice Mott,
who has recently retired from the bench OF
the Court of Claims. This Is being done
by order of the Bar Association, and is to
hang. when completed. In the court house.
/ 1t shows the justice wearing his legal
| gown. seated In an armchair which Is