Evening star., 1919-03-16
Notes of Art and Artists.

| The Lincoln Memorial in Potomac
Park is nearing completion. The
building, of which Henry Bacon Is
the architect. is practically done; the
mural paintings by Jules Guerin are
finished and have just been put in
! place: the great seated statue or Lin
! coin by Daniel c. French is being cut
in marble by experts; before long the
trees which are to give the splendlo
memorial appropriate setting Will De
| planted The dedication doubtless
could take place this spring. but the
| time set for it Is next October.
! The mural paintings that MIR. Guerin
has Just completed are enormous can
| vases IL feet high by 60 feet long,
| without seam. and go at the top OIL
the side walls beneath the cor
nice and above the inscriptions
| Che Gettysburg address and the sec
| ond inauguraD the lettering OF when
/ is to cut in the stone panels of the
walls. They are both figure compost
| tions, alIegorical themes, yet OF our
own day and time. The one mas a 9.
central group symbolizing Freedom,
with side groups typifying "1mmor-
| tality' and Justice; the other has
as its central group figures symbolic,
! ing Unity" with traternlty ana
Charity as the subjects typineo oy
! the subsidiary groups to right and
/ left.
! The figures are all heroic. averag-
! ing feet inches in height, and they
| do not follow either classical or re-
| naissance models. The types chosen
are racial rather than individual. The
black man is not merely the Amer
| lean negro, but the black man of the
world Each figure is almost equally
important in the composition; they
are all very nearly in the same plane,
ma agnificently drawn. boldly inter
preted with both simplicity and Wig
or: thew are essentially human, and
yet absolutely detached from life;
architectural, sculpturesque and yet
sincerely decorative.
| The color used is peculiarly attrac-
tive-dull blue. red. green and brown; !;
positive but tempered; rich, but not
| insistent; unusual-as unusual as the
| colors employed by Baskt or his Rus
sian colleague, Annisfeld. for scenic
purposes, but much less sensuous and
| far more pleasing
| Mr.. Guerin's technique is likewise
unlike others. He uses heavy out
lines. his color Is held in large masses
and applied in what in an easel pic
| ture would be described as short,
| separate stroke. as employed by the
French impressionist Monet and his
| y.
pressionistic about Mr.. Guernin's wall
! paintings; to the contrary, they are
| extremely frank and direct. but the
! method he has used gives them an in
| tereSting texture and one which pecu-
| liarly agrees with that of the lime
| stone walls with which they are
| brought in contrast.
| Mr.. Guerin has executed these paint
ings in high atelier constructed spe-
cially for the purpose on the roof of
one of the great business buildings in
| the busiest part of New York. He
has, as far as possible. painted them
with about the same amount of light,
| and light of nearly the same quality
as that within the memorial building.
! He has carefully considered the place
they occupy on the walls, the observ
ers' viewpoint. the tone of the ada
cent walls, and he has brought his
| compositions in accord herewith
These paintings have occupied Mr.
Guerin for three years and he exc
cuted them without aid of assistants.
In order that they may Withstand
| the elements, extreme heat and cold.
| he has used tempera rather than the
usual pigments, mixing his colors
with wax rather than oil. This. too,
gives a pleasanter surface finish, one
without shine and more atmospheric
in effect.
Mr. Guerin is well known for his
illustrative drawings in color of
architectural themes, reproduced in
leading periodicals and as litho-
graphic prints; also as the author of
the charming color scheme of the
not .onN shows his extraordinary
figures nor as mural painter, and
in these two capacities with the COM
pletion of these great -canvases he
suddenly steps not only into reeog-
milton but prominence for in the ex-
arfv
not only. shows his extraordinary
ability as an artist and craftsman,
but literally sets new standard IN
this particular art Of mural decora-
ton Though no work Of this kind
can be adequately judged until seen
mems scaffolds, it would seem that
none other has struck so original
note in mural painting in modern
times save Puvis de Chavannes. In
deed. it is the conviction of not
few that these paintings will prove
epoch marking, and for these reasons
that they are architectural, are
mural. a part of the building, a piece
of the walI-they decorate both by
their color and conpbsition; they
please the eye while at the same time
appealing to the imagination and the
intellect.
A collection of etchings by Kaths-
rine Cameron of Edinburgh. Scotland,
is now on exhibition in the Dayton
gallery, on Connecticut avenue.
Miss Cameron is sister of D. Y.
Cameron one of the most distinguish
ed Of modern etchers. She was edu--
Gated at the Glasgow School of Art
and in Paris, and has exhibited at the
, Royal Academy, London; Royal Scot
tish Academy. Edinburgh; Royal Glas-
Cow Institute, Venice, Turin and in
other great international exhibitions.
The Library of Congress has recently
acquired a collection Of thirty or
more of her etchings.
Miss Cameron etches both land
scapes and flowers, but her treatment
of the latter is the more individual.
Indeed. few have rendered flower sub
jects with as great subtlety and
charm as she. Among the prints now
on view are two of Scotch thistles,
one showing bumblebee in close
proximity, the other butterflies. Daint-
| lily indicated in the second of these
| prints, in the guise of the butterfly,