Evening star., 1915-05-29
Premiums for Meritorious
Work Bestowed by Corcoran
School of Art.
ADDRESS BY PRINCIPAL.
: FOLLOWED BY RECEPTION
Exercises Held at Corcoran Gallery.
Announcement of Winners
Made by Gen. Wilson.

The Corcoran Gallery of Art was
throneed last evening upon the occasion
Of the opening of the annual exhibition
Of the work of students of the Corcorar
School and the presentation Of the gold
medal and other awards of merit
A.9 9o'clock all were called to the Grant
stairway by the sounding of buglc
Here on the platform, half way between
the upper and lower floors. had assembled
Gen Wilson and Mr.. Parsons. represent
ing the board of trustees of the Corcoran
Gallery, and the faculty of the school.
and from here the announcement of
awards was made. each winner coming
forward. amid a storm of applause, to
receive the honor.
Winners of Honors.
Gen. Wilson made the announcements
as follows:
In the life and antique class-Gold
medal to James B. Richardson. bronze
medal to Abraham Rather and honorable
mention to Genichiro Nishio.
Portrait class-Silver medal to Miss
FeIicie Waldo Howell. honorable mention
to Miss Edith Maude Harris and hon.
orable mention to Miss Constance Weaver.
Draped life class-Silver medal to Miss
Sara Levitan and honorable mention to
Miss Florence Bryant.
Still life c,ass-Silver medal to Miss
Edna De Neale and honorable mention to
Miss Corinne Cunningham
Composition class-Silver medal to
Miss Corinne Cunningham and honorable
mention to Abraham Rather.
Water-color class-Silver medal to
Miss Inez Demonet and honorable mention
TO Mrs. Myron D. Cole.
The members Of the jury of awards
are c. Y. Turner. chairman, S. Edwin
Address by E. c. Messer.
Preceding the presentation of awards
an address was made by E. c. Messer.
principal Of the Corcoran School, as
follows:
IF we look back upon the most not
able historic evolutions of art. the evo-
lutions Of great art periods. we shall
ind the ultimate outcome in each case
the logical result Of we'll defined and
traceable impulses.
AS in the development of a plant.
its seed foretells its bloom-there
would be certain diverse influences
that would flow into and move with
definitely defined currents. There was
a clear highway from Cimabue to
Raprael and Michelangelo. In Greece
the little fgurines and the primitive tenn
pies pointed the way to the three fates of
Pheidiad and the Parthenon. A modern
may well envy the placid sureness Of
men who strove toward a common goal.
Great art periods are commonly limited
periods Of time. and one mans life could
almost span the working periods of the
prtmitives. the masters and the deca-
dents of an art epoch.
There has been abundant time for
such an epoch between the landing of
the Mayfower and now. The conditions
during this period have not. it is true.
been especially provocative of art i'm
pulses. We have had all along the way
sporadic cases of art effort. We find
now, in looking back. that Stuart,
Washingtons cotemporary. was paint
can evolution of art. and since then a
school of painters has sprung up and
passed away. Now a multitude of
painters are maintaining a high stand
ard of technical accomplishment
Cites Notable Successes.
Mural painting is scoring notable
successes. and the sculptors are put
ting on permanent record their we'll
developed art We turn back a little
TO md the names of painters who seem
to US to be the most eligible for the
halle of fame. In the confused condi-
tions of our immediate time we cannot
with any confidence estimate the i'm
portance of individual painters. Pos
sibly we are building better than We
know.
The masters may be of our own
generation. We can point confidently
to a great mass of painters who, tech
ntcally speaking, may be said to have
mastered their profession. but IL seems
TO some Of US that there Is an over
valuation of an abstract mastery Of
msthods-that too much Importance is
placed ON the one fact OF technical ac-
complt shment. We may toss words
into sentences with magical adroit-
ness and not be poets. We may manip-
ulate pigments with equal skill and
not be masters. 1t is the man behind
the gun, it Is said. that wins out IN
war. 1t 10 the man behind the brush.
the palette. that wins out in art.
And yet we must believe that train
1ng counts in the long run: that tech
nical skill In art is of quite vital i'm
portance. The mastery of words. the
mastery of pigments. is the stock in
trade Of the poet and painter. There
Is. we are sure. work for the schools
10 do. II we should doubt that, let US
ask ourselves why the painters of this
generation paint so much more intel
ligently and effectively than those of
the generations that proceeded II.
IT is school training that esta blishes
the supremacy of the work In the cur
rent exhibitions.
Pyrotechnics Fail to Satisfy.
but We arrive now at a somewhat
critical period in our art experiences.
j. IL beginning to be recognized that
the pyrotechnics of technique fail to
satisfy the man who thinks, who as
p;res There is an unrest evident that
cannot be ignored. Matter has had its
day. pigment has scored its triumphs.
Now mind asserts It's claims 1t is to
be expected In any revolution OF
thought. in any demands for greater
yango or freedom OF thought. tina. H.
logical, erratic and unstable IDEAS will
surge to the front. The anarchist would
60 an ultimate recreation. The fore
runners of new ideas are apt to be re-
cruited from the ranks of the intel
aectually unemployed.
Trained minds have been WORKING
IN school grooves. They are not easily
naturally happen that new ideas may
be banded about by minds that are err
Patio, Unbalanced and lawless. This
II seems to me. 10 what has happened
Of late In the art world.
Il do not mean to say that all these
inno~ators are of the class here indi
Gated but II IL certainly apparent tha,
q great mass of the work that 10 mean,
70 embody ultra-modern ideas, is ir
more or less incompetent hands. There
are individuals who are perfectly sane
and logical in their work. That which
they essay 70 do is done ably and In
lslligently. In some cases these limo
carried to It's extreme limit-to the Dor
ders Of incoherency.