The Washington herald., 1910-12-13

ing al the private view of contemporary
American paintings in the Corcoran Gal-
lery of Art. Headed by President and
Mrs, Taft the invited guests included
practically all Of official and social cir
cles Of the Capital.
80 from until 10 oclock the trustees. as
sisted by some OF ths leading artists. held
a reception TO the distinguished company.
which. though smaller than those Of for
mer years, equaIed any in brillianee The
preseace Of President and Mrs. Taft who
are keen critics of art. added greatly to
the success of The exhibition.
President and Mrs. Taft were among
the early arrivals. The President, after
greeting the receiving party. held an i'm
promptu reception OF his own for several
minutes, after which he gave his atten-
tion TO the paintings He was escorted
by F. n Mcguire director OF the Gallery,
on his tour of inspection.
In the receiving line were c. c. Glover.
Hon. William A. Clarke. Gen. John NJ
Wilson. Bernard g. Green. Arthur J.
Parsons, Frederick NJ. Mcguire, V. G.
Fischer, and F. D. Millet
Many New Paintings.
All of the regularly exhibited pictures
Of the gallery had been removed. and in
their places hung 3s2 noted paintings,
including a large loan collection and
goodly array OF pictures entered in the
competition for the four prizes offered by
Hon W A Clarke The loan collection
is, Of course. noneompetitive. and con-
taiEs many interesting pictures, which
are thus seen in Washington for the
first time
Among these are some by John S. Sar-
gent, George De F. Brush. Cecilia Beaux,
John ". Alexander. Irving Wiles. ABB
hQtt II Thayer, j. j. shannon. and many
others. One Sargent ia particular at
traCted the interest OF the guests. and
that was the Garden OF Versailles"
painted in 1871 and which was consid-
cred at the time as the work of youth
ful prodigy.
The chief attraction of the evening
was, naturally. the prize-winning pfc
lures. Much had been written in advance
about these paintings, and the curiosity
Of every one was whetted There were
those who recalled the beauty of the
prize winners of previous exhibitions, and
wondered whether this years fortunate
ones would be as popular.
Tarbell Wins Prize.
The winner of the Clark prize of s2OOO
and the Corcoran gold medal was Ed
mund c. Tarben on his Interior" a
picture which strikes one at first glance
with its remarkable simplicity Of sub
jecL The principal object in the center
foreground is a large lamp. Behind are
three open windows through which the
Of
noon comes. Through the windows in the
distance is a line of blue water. and a
misty shore line, which looks like the
upper end of Manhattan Island from the
Jersey side Of the Hudson
Three persons are in the room, two
young girls and boy. The pose of each
Is so charmingly natural, so unstudied
and so simple as to transfix the spectator
who is drawn to it again and again
Technically the composition of the picture
would be termed conventional almost TO
the point of symmetry, but when there is
taken into consideration the poses and
the coloring, the true worth OF the pic
ture as a work OF art is apparent
Penelope" by Carl Melchers, has
been awarded the second w. A. Clark
prize OF Sl,5OO, and the Coreorau silver
jects OF the winners of first and second
prizes is astonishing, though. OF course
the treatments are as wide apart as the
pose. The Melchers picture is bolder, the
drawing has more depth, and the detail is
worked out with great fidelity.
The almost garish colOring is the first
impression given, and one wonders why
so unattractive an interior scene was
chosen for reproduction, As a master
piece OF perspective, Penelope is entitled
TO great praise The figures. too, are
well drawn. and show the same ease and
avoidance of studied pose as the Tar
bell.
Childe Hassam, who has three pictures
In the competitive exhibit, is the winner
Of the third prize of 81 900 and the Cor
coran bronze medal with his Spring
time" Hassams style which is entirely
his own, is difficult to impress upon the
average taste But the judges evidently
made no error in selecting this canvass
for an award, because the picture is
one that grows in beauty with continued
inspection In "Springtime" the effect or
sunlight and leaf-shadows upon the pave
ment is wonderful and his figures have
life and animation typical Of the season.
The fourth prize of $500 and the Cor
coran honorable mention certificate has
been awarded to Daniel CARRIER, who ex-
hibits April Landscape" a different
treatment of the subject of the Hassam,
which many thought even superior In
craftsmanship.
President Views winners.
Many expressions of approval Of the
exhibit as a whole were heard The
President. who was the center of attrac-
tion among the guests. seemed to have
no favorites among the pictures. and only
lngeAed before the prize winners, making |
but y brief survey of the others During |
his visit the crowd was at its height, and
it was almost impossible to get anything |
like the proper angle on any of the paint {
ings. Mr. Taft smiled and nodded in ap- |
proval of the pictures, and implied that /
the judges made no mistakes in their Sc
lections,
While the competitive exhibit was /
strictly speaking. the important object OF
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