Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-03-26

H1 HE exhibition of paintings by Ed
ward w. Redf1eld in the Corcoran
Gallery of Art continues to at
tract much attention. Several of the
pictures have been sold and will find
permanent place in Washington homes.
They are of kind which arrests in
terest and holds attention. They are
| vigorous and vital. sincere and true,
and the American people like this in
art a in other things.
Furthermore Edward Redfeld's pic
lures are readily understood: they
present actually. Speaking here ten
days ago on the subject of American
illustration. Thornton Oakley called at
tention to the fact that nine-tenths of
the paintings shown in current exhibit
lions did not sell and did not interest
the public The reason for this, he
claimed, was that they had no real
meaning or significance-they were not
vital Mr.. Redfeld in transcribing ma
| ture does not concern himself with
moods, but deals with facts-realities-
those things which the majority under
stand He is, moreover. a good colorist
and an excellent painter.
| Edward w Redfield is not one of
/ those who suddenly awoke to fame.
/ His distinction has been won as the
| reward for long and persistent effort.
When he was a lad at the Pennsylvania
Academy of the Fine Arts his fathers
| business failed, and it was only by
selling flowers, which his father then
| started to raise, that he was able to
make enough money to continue his
/ studies These" one of his bioeraph-
ers declares, were frugal. busy years
| for the young painter, whose bright
| boyish manner is still rem embered by
| many as he came into town laden with
| flowers which he delivered to an ever
| widening circle OF customers. Ger
| tainly the business prospered, for
| very short time passed before he was
| away to France. determined to WIN and
\ earning as he went. 1t is rather nice,
| too to know that when this painter
| came back to America it was not the
| great city which allured him, but the
country in which he had. grown up, and
that settling out of town he made his
way independently and unaided
| There are probably few who have
! earned so many awards as has Edward
W Redfield in SO few years. The list
| is exceedingly lengthy, and few worth
| winning seem now to remain. In al
most every instance. moreover. these
awards have been made by juries of
his confreres.
| Perhaps however. the most tangible
\
nent rewards are the inclusion OF his
paintings in the permanent collections
OF almost all the leading American art
museums.
| Redheld is a prolific and indefatiga-
| BILE painter. There is roomful of
! his pictures out at San Francisco now.
There is another roomful here, yet no
one of these-or not more than one
has been borrowed for the occasion,
and but few have been shown in the
| 6.
fortunately, vigorous health and
boundless energy. He paints "a pidly;
he is never at loss for subject matter.
and he often completes a picture in a
single sitting. Obviously, this means
a pretty large output in year.
AN interesting feature of the Red
~ field exhibition is portrait bust
Grady. the well known sculptor of
Philadelphia. II was modelled about
ten years ago, when Mr.. Redfeld was
a little less heavy than he is now, but
1t is still an excellent likeness.
Charles Crafty has an extraordinary
gift for portraiture. The people he
models seem actually to live. He gives
them vision. He does more than this
he gives them subtle but definite per
sonality. which is than mere
form. Some have even said that he
suggested even color in his gentle gra-
dations of shadow. 1t is a wonderful
gift and an amazing skill of touch
which he possesses and manifests.
Mr.. Crafty, Furthermore, has a way
of his own of finishing off his portraits.
They are almost never severed in con-
ventional fashion from the body, but
are decoratively concluded as by di-
rect intention and with real finality.
Trivial as this may seem, it is worth
mentioning.
During the past few years Mr. Crafty
has modelled quite a series of portraits
OF fellow artists, not the least notable
, of which is this of Mr.. Redfield.
TrHE war i'll Europe has brought
u great distress to the artists. In
! all of the countries at war many OF
, the artists have left their studios and
} taken up arms. some have laid down
their lives not few have left fam
lilies not merely bereft. but penniless
for artists are as rule not thrifty
J people and rarely lay aside for the
proverbial "ratny day"
The conditions have probably no,
been very different in France. Eng
land and Germany, but we have come
. a little closer in touch with the situa
ton in France through long associa
tion than with that in the other coun-
tries. France, for the past fifty years
has generously given asylum to oul
American art students. according then
many coveted privileges. With thu
French students they have worked
= shoulder to shoulder In close and happy