Evening star., 1915-12-12

6NHE portrait exhibition which open
! ed with a private view and re-
| ception in the new gallery at the
| Corcoran Gallery of Art last Monday
evening has attracted much interest. 1t
I is a comprehensive assemblage of the
work of cotemporary portrait paint
ers, the list of contributors comprising
some very we'll known names. but on
reassuring show.
| The place of honor is given very
properly to a painting by the late John
w. Alexander. This is very dis
| tinguished painting and one which
would give distinction to any exhibi-
| ton wherein it might be shown, but
! it is not primarily 4 portrait, it is Il
| decoration The personality of the
sitter is by no means significant-who
she is or what she is, one does not
care; it is her gown, her hat. her pose,
the dog at her feet. tina: interest the
observer and it is the way the painter
has set forth these simple external
facts that engenders delight. The COM
position is piquant. it's treatment
enormously clever. but real portrait
such as many Mr.. Alexander painted,
for instance. the Walt Whitman, DIR.
McCosh, DR.. Van Dyke, to name only a
few, is much more than this.
Irving r. Wiles portrait of Mrs. Gill
bert seems to satisfy all the require
ments of a portrait of the best type.
1t is an Interpretation of personality,
vital and sincere; as likeness it car
ries conviction, and as a work of art
it takes high rank. Here we find to
an extent the elements which ara
found in the portraits painted by the
great masters of the past, but how
comparatively solitary it is in the
present exhibition. Some may object
that Mr.. Wiles found in Mrs. Gilbert
an inspiring subject. and no doubt
he did, but the individual. represent
ing life, character. individuality, per-
sonality. is always capable of inspir-
ing interest. and if the portrait does
not reveal this potentiality the fault
most often lies with the painter who
lacks either in technical skill or vision.
1t is these two shortcomings that inn
press the thoughtful visitor at this
exhibition. With but few exceptions
the people portrayed lack impressive
ness. They are painted people, not
real, vital, significant-their likenesses
have been transfxed, but they them
it was and is with the people Rem
brandt and Raeburn painted, and even
our own Gilbert Stuart. Rembrandt
and Raeburn's sitters are to US today
as familiar friends who would be rec
ogniZed if met. and are to be confused
with none other. This is high stand
ard to be sure, but the only way to
measure merit justly is by comparison
with the best. II we content ourselves
with that which is less good we shall
lose our standard and go back.
Oddly enough, this is what some seem
to want to do. The advanced mod
ernists' tell US that to regenerate our
art we must cast aside all tradition,
all knowledge. and return to the sim
plicity of expression of uncivilized
man. John Sloan is not reckoned among
the extreme modernists, by any means.
and yet his picture, entitled Doris and
Sally portrait of two little girls,
in this exhibition, shows the trend of
effort in this direction. Here is a per-
fectly simple treatment of common
place theme, for whether the children
were commonplace or not, they so ap-
pear There is no beauty discernible
in color. line, tone or theme. There is
no subtlety of treatment, no fine mod
cling. no skill of brushwork either OBJ
vious or obscured. The likeness may
be true-it is to a degree cleverly
caricatured. Some people it may