Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-01-15
WAR VI||E:uS'E|x'A|B:'f|'|''
| RARE|RRAY 0EART
British. Govenment Co||ec-
/ ton of Paintings: Shown
at Corcoran Gallery.
MANY PHASES DEPICTED

| Displayed under ideal conditions. In
| the best rooms in the building and
placed to appear to the greatest pos
/ sible advantage, the British govern
! ment exhibit of war paintings was
| appropriately opened for the first
time in America here at the Capital
City of the United States in the Cor
! coran Gallery of Art yesterday after
| noon.
large attendance, embracing all
circles of life. both civil and military,
American and foreign, was called
forth by the opening. which was pre-
ceded by brief address by Sir Henry
Babington-Smith,w who was introduced
by William Corcoran Eustis. vice
| president of the institution. The pic
lures had been installed under the
personal supervision of c. Powell
Minnigerode, director of the Corcoran
Gallery.
Exhibit of Wide Scope.
| That this exhibit. which includes ex-
| amples of practically all media of ex-
preston, from finished oil paintings
| to sketches. is shown in this country
! is due to the efforts of the British
bureau of information, New York Its
| manager is Walter Monroe Grant, in
tcharge of the department of exhibit
| Tons of that bureau.
| 1t is not war exhibition in the
| ordinary sense of the term. 1t is
! more intended to emphasize the ideals
| ana principles of Angio-Saxon origin.
| me aim of the artists selected and
| commissioned to go to the front, and,
| with their brushes, depict the war,
l n
| guage the spirit of a nation in war
fare where defeat would have sig
| nihed determination. The academic
| panoramic views of great struggles
| are almost totally conspicuous by
| their absence The wielders of the
brush selected were by no means
! confined to the class. usually desig-
mated as leading bers
OF the Royal Academy, for instance
| but included cubists. vorticists, flu
| turfsts and irnpressionists
That the British government ap-
| preciated the Importance of the work
| is indicated by the fact that such
| men were chosen as Sir John Avery.
| Sir William Orpen, who has con-
F.! tributed more than a hundred can
! vases to the present display: Angus
| tus John, Muirhead Bone, G. Spenser
iPryse. George Clausen. James McBey.
| Paul Nash and c. r. w. Nevison.
| These men and their fellow-painters
1 have successfully demonstrated that
| art can be reconciled with war In
| fact, their commission, which CO.
I incided almost with the beginning Of
I the war, is said to have marked the
4 first wartime recognition of art by
| the usually conservative British gov
, eminent. -.
Many Phases of Great Struggle.
Almost every phase of the great
struggle, especially those connected
! with Britain.S glorious role, is among
1.-THE themes treated. There are repre-
| sensations in oil. water color. india
/ ink and charcoal, and of all sizes. of
| trench and open action scenes of va
| rious sorts, and, in addition, views in
munitions. factories, of woman farm
workers backing up the army. at
/ home, of camouflaged transports,
}scenes in laboratories. in hospitals
and hospital trains and of aircraft,
both on the ground and aIoft. The
Gallipoli and Mesof )tamian fronts
fhave furnished material for several of
! the most striking and yartistic pro-
1 auctions. Some of the scenes are as
CHASTITY as others are inspiring. One
in particular. by Paul Nash, that was
much commented upon. depicts sim
ply a series of almost overlapping
shell holes stretching away into the
distance, each hole filled to the brim
with icy-looking water, and with
| nothing else Whatever IN the picture.
Nothing more illustrative of,the DESC
olation of modern war could be i'm
agined. - -s
The portraits, largely in color. are
an outstanding feature of the exhibit.
A favorite is a splendid one of Field
| Marshal Sir Douglas Haig. by. Sir
! William, Orpen- Another pair, life
sized and favorably noted. show the
two extremes of the British fighting
man. One is a private in the Grena.
tdter Guards. the old-fashioned mature
foot soldier who has upheld the ban
ner of England for centuries, the
good stout fellow who will not
bulge" his trench helmet giving him
fsomeWhat Of a CromwelIian aspect;
the other is the airman. slender, keen,
artistic and although the performer
tof miracles in the fighting lfte. scarce
a man in years. Some Of the paint
ings are symbolic and allegorical.
Catalogue Of Handsome Form.