The San Francisco call., 1910-04-10
Displays Paintings
OF fSOuthCrnDCSGrfS
McComas' Oils and Watercolors. Depicting
New MeXico's Arid Spots, Are on View
By MARGARET MARSHALL DOYLE

TAe desert in sunshine and shadow,
warm with the wonderful tints of mid
day, or softened and blurred with the
deeper blues and puppies of oncoming
night, is depicted by the brush of the
true artist in 80 pictures by Francis
McComas, on view for fortnight at
the Vickery, Atkins & Torrey galleries
in Sutter street
Twenty of these are watercolor
studies made in Mexico, where Ne
Comas has been spending the last eight
or nine months. In striking contrast
to the richness of the desert color, and
none the less beautiful, are two scenes
from nearer home, showing the typical
Monterey setting. The best of these
perhaps is The Road" a sunny stretch
thrown into deep shade. wshere the live
| oaks meet above ii, painted with the
sureness and holiness of touch that
characterizes all of McCOmas' work.
But it is the desert that appeals in
viewing this exhibition. All the won
derful lights of the southern atmos-
phere, the clearness of the air and the
marvellous play of color that give to
the land its charm the artist has woven
into his paintings with a clever trans
parency of effect.
Perhaps. the most striking of these is
The Zuni Pass" a large painting of
the New Mexican desert toward the
softened tone and the land darker
hue-deep blue on the low rolling
swells of land.
The Wide Open" is an ethereal scene
in pale tints, painted with power that
brings into greater play its jelicacy,
while Mariana" shows a setting rich
with the settling blackness of night.
Sun Shrine" in tones of yellow
brown, shows a valley set in among
the rocks, with a wealth of golden sun
light imprisoned, warming and flooding
the whole scene with a glow that is it's
chief beauty.
In The Mesas of New Mexico" Nc
Comas has brought into play again the
whole gamut of color, deepening from
the pale cream of the sky into the
wonderful red of the rolling landscape,
and fading again to a somberer shade
in the nearer foreground.
"A Navajo Village" on the side of a
brown, red hill, beneath a sky OF pale
yellow, shows three of the huts or no.
gans of the Indians. two of them with
the doors thrown open to the daylight,
and the third closed giving an air of
mystery to the entire scene, with its
two or three native figures, that is half
of the strong effect. Boldly, in this,
are the shadows of the houses and trees
thrown against the ground, with a dash
OF color that is startling and strong.
To many this Will appeal the most.
although The Bridge of Karytaina," a
Grecian scene, is characteristic Nc
Comas canvas, painted with his strange,
intangible individuality, which, while it
makes itself known, never obtrudes.
A number of charcoal studies,
sketches for many of his paintings, are
also shown, one of which. the pano-
rama of the bay of San Francisco, is
particularly fine.
The annual spring exhibition of the
San Francisco Institute of Art opened
Thursday night with large reception
to members of the association and con-
tributing artists
Friday it was thrown open to the
public and will be open daily from 8
until o'clock until May 4. The dis
play Of pictures is one of the strongest
held there in years. 13S, the work of
many prominent artists of both north
ern and southern California being
shown in oils, water colors, pastels,
crayons, charcoals and pen and ink.
while the field of sculpture is also rep
resented in strong pieces by Stackpole,
Elizabeth Ferrea, Marcel Chovin and
Bertha M. Boye.
From Pasadena have come paintings
by Elmer Wachtel and his equally tai
ented wife, Marion Kavanaugh Wach-
tel, Carl Oscar Borg. Hanson Puthoff
and Benjamin c. Brown.
The latter shows canvas called
'Windswept," which is handled in his
usual vigorous style, while Wachtel is
represented by two striking desert
scenes, one or two powerful landscapes,
boldly executed. and one or two Indian
settings, the most attractive of which
is The Citadel of the Hopis" in tones
of gray and blue, painted in the high
est key of desert moonlight.
More delicate in color are the water
colors from the brush of Marion X
Wachtel. Eucalyptus at Sunset" sill
houetted darkly against glowing sun
set sky, and "A Hopi Pastoral" in pale
blue, pink, yellow and gray, showing a
flock of sheep being driven home for
the night. being the most striking
Carl Oscar Borg shows two of his
characteristic Central American can
vases, part of the exhibition he is to
shortly hold in this city. His style is