Evening star., 1918-06-01

The closing exercises Of the Corcoran
School Of Art for the current year were
held in the Corcoran Gallery of Art
last evening. C. Powell Minnegerode,
the director of the gallery. presided.
The program was arranged as tribute
to Edmund Clarence Messer. who. after
sixteen consecutive years Of service as
the head Of the school, has resigned and
will very shortly give up permanently
his home in Washington.
Mr.. Minnegerode. at the opening Of tn
exercises. paid high tribute to Mr..
Messer, both as instructor and associ-
ate. telling Of the high esteem in which
he was held by all who knew him and
speaking Of the invaluable service he
had rendered as teacher and friend.
The presentation. of the various medals
and awards was made by the retiring
principal from. the main platform OF
the grand stairway. where the faculty
Of the school were assembled.
List Of the Awards.
They were as follows:
Life and antique classes-Go1d
medal to Genichiro Nishio. bronze
medal to Claude Alton Spiggle, hon.
OrdOl6 mention 10 ITS Beatty anu
Mrs. c. B. Kirkham.
Portrait class-Silver medal to Mrs
NJ. S. Rathven: honorable mention to
Dorothy NJ. Davidson and Mary E.
Masten.
Draped life class-Siiver medal to
Dolores Waldorf. honorable mention
to Dorothy NJ. Davidson and Mrs. L.
M. Abbott.
Still life class-Silver medal to
Clinton o. Ward, honorable mention
to Marie L. Thater.
Composition class-Silver medal to
Iris Beatty. honorable mention to Mrs.
Rathven and Marie L. Thater.
Water color class Silver medal to
Mrs NJ. H. Coombs, honorable men
tion to Rosalie Taylor and Louise
Heron.
The jury Of awards was composed of
professional artists invited by the
Corcoran Gallery of Art to determine
these awards and was composed Of
II. K. Bush-Brown. sculptor: William
Warner. painter.
Address by Mr.. Messer.
The formal address Of the evening
was by Mr.. Messer. and took the form
Of valedictory. in which he said:
In severing my connection with
the Corcoran School at this time am
closing my career as an active in
structor of academic classes. This
work covers a period of about thirty
five years. For twenty-five years Of
this time 1 have been in charge of
schools of this characteristic years
as the head of the Art School of the
Washington Art Club, from 1879 to
1855: sixteen years as the principal
of this school. and most of the inter-
ventng years as an instructor of
classes in the Art Students League
Of this city. I feel. then, that have
earned the right to retire from school
work-not that I intend. by any
means. to retire from active art work.
MY color box and my brushes. and.
dream OF the picture yet to be paint
ed. go with me into the western home
we go into region that is inti-
mately associated with our early lives
My wife's family and my own were
Minnesota pioneers in the early fif-
tics, and. Just beyond the state line.
In the sister state of Wisconsin, we
camp down again. almost within the
sound of the waters Of ST. Anthony
Falls and the mill whistles of the
twin cities.
"Of my experience as the head Of the
Corcoran school for the past sixteen
years may say that It has been the
most interesting and. I trust, profit.
able period of my professional career.
Whatever I may have done for the
many students who have been en-
rolled in its classes. feel assured
that 1t has done much for me- Ny re-
lations with the student body, with
the corps of instructors and other
members Of the faculty, with the Of
ncials OF the gallery. who have done