Evening star., 1919-01-19

The exhibition OF pictures pertain
fng to the war" by eminent British
Painters, which opened in the Cor
coran Gallery of Art on Tuesday aft
ernoon. has proved even more nota-
BILE than was anticipated. Not only
are these paintings by artists who
have won in the field of art great dis
tinction but they are works of art OF
q new order and peculiar sIgnincance
The first impression one receives
upon entering the galleries set aside
for this exhibition is that here are
pictures painted not to please either
painter or patron. but with the object
of showing the people something that
they ought TO see, something that,
once seen, viii be remembered. That
in making their records these artists
have called to their aid all the art at
their command goes to make them
impressive. vita! and of lasting mean
ing.
Almost all of the pictures have ap-
parentiy been painted rapidly ne
canvas in nlanS instances IS Scafcely
covered-in places II is bare-tne pig
mcnt is laid on IN broad washes. the
key is rather high. the effect some
what that of water COlorS on large
scale. vet there is no loss of strength n
nor sacrifice of effect one does NOT
feel that the works are unfinished,
merely that the artist has said his say
and knew when to stop. The fact
that all OF the pictures are uniformly
framed in white mofdIng is worth
nothing as another Innovation and d
good ore. carrying out the impression
given by the pictures themselves that
iS M ordinary l.tlDEtT'S pNnl-
bition and going far TO show that the
customary gold frame is after all not
an essential.
An English critic has said that the
war has taken away the curse from
British art-the curse of the obVi-
ously pictorial Doubtless this critic
had in mind the rows of pictures with
sentimental subjects rather weakly
rendered which year in and year out
have lined the walls of the Royal
Academy. The dominance of Such
themes was curse. but this present
exhibition goes to show that the fault
lay not in the fact that the pictures
had subjective interest. as not feW
have maintained, but that they had
not sufficient of this element.
No one will deny that the pictures
nov on view in the Corcoran Gallery
of Art have subjective interest. Their
subjective interest is intense, but they
also have great artistic interest Ihey
are well painted. they have the quail
ties OF great art-quaiitIes when an
great painting has the world over ana
in all times.
Orpen's portraits of the great mill
tary leaders of Great Britain have the
simplicity and dominant personant!
that one finds in Remurandts pof-
traits of the Dutch burgers; they are
living. breathing human beings, with
wills and souls. They are men VINO
could not have failed to be leaders.
men with dominant character, with
individuality and force. men who a
nation may proudly csaim-and he
has painted them magnifcentlE.
That it is not necessary for Orpen
always to portray strength Is SHOWN
by two pictures of an artists model
.'The Refugee a" and "B"-essentiai-
.ly feminine, delicate. superficial. pa
1hetic Perhaps, instead of the artists
model, this is the girl who 1t IS Whis-
pered met death in France as spy
Or a very different feminine type IN
his portrait of Mrs. Gwynne- Naushah,
painted in her uniform as chief con-
itroller of Queen Mary's Army Auxiliary
Corps overseas, popularly known as the
W. A. A. G.s, a portrait as write as any
shown.
Hut Orpen has not confined himself
20 portraiture alone and his subject
pictures are no less interesting. MOST
notable and most reminiscent OF tne
canvases which used to represent thls
versatile artist in current exhibitions
are two interiors one showing
group of members of the allied press
camp with their press officers, the
other picturing Capt r. Maude and
Col. du Tiel in their cellar in Amlens.
To say that these two pictures IN
quality and merit are reminiscent of
and comparable to the works by Ner-
meer and the Dutch painters of his
day is not an exaggeration. Homely
as the subjects are, devoid of the So
called elements of beauty, they have
become beautIIul through the artist $
transcription. The human interest is,
of course paramount. but the inter
est of color, of beautifully related
values of the rendering of light and
atmosphere. are very great
Orpen is one who has always had
keen sense of humor and a comic
note has crept into several of his war
pictures. For example, adam and
Eve at Peronne" THE Mascot of the
Coldstream Guards" little dog
outside an army tent, pitifully rag
ged, but evidently still full of spirits
is another notable canvas.
Those who wish to know what the
painter himself looks like will be
gratified by a self-portrait of Mr.. Or
pen in steel helmet and painting
clothes
There is no doubt that the Orpen
exhibit constitutes the major attrac-
tion in this show, but while in size
and number the contributions by the
other artists are dominated, if ex-
amined they will be found of very
genuine interest.
The exhibition will remain open
until the I'd of February. after which
II is to be shown in New York and
other cities.
Since the war ended and normal Iiy
ing has to an extent resumed there
has been an evident turning of atten-
.4ion TO cultural things. Before the
war one heard comparatively little
comment upon the fact that we as a
nation have but a little beginning OF
a National Gallery of Art; the ques.
1ion of the propriety and need of q
ministry of the fine arts was seldom
mentioned. and the value of art as AT
asset to the nation was a subject ex-
ceedingly rarely discussed. All o1
these subjects are. ii would seem. at.
1ractins considerable attention anc
provoking no little thought today.
When, last week. the Clarke coliec.
Sion of early American portrait paint.
3ngs was sold at auction in New York
Thomas K. Kirby, the auctioneer
prefaced the sale by the statemen
that 1t was pity that the entire col
lection could not be purchased by
some public-spirited individual or b!
syndicate as the nucleus of :
great national portrait gallery sucf
as Great Britain possesses.
ODDLY enough, a foreigner Chris
toner Hannevig by name. a Scandina.
wan by birth, is reported at this same
time to have donated 100000 to be
spent for twenty-five portraits of dis
~ yfIt tC hn Arr,n nT-I,