Evening star., 1920-01-11
ART GALLERY'V0IE
. ON PAINTINGS WILL
BEGIN TOMORROW
Public Referendum to Last
Until Next Sunday Night
at CorcoFan Exhibit.

! at COrcOFan EXt1dNt.
! The pubic referendum as to the rela-
! tive merits OF the more than 300 oil
paintings by American artists which
! compose the seventh biennial exhibition
, gin tomorrow morning at 8 O'Clock
| when the gallery opens, and will last
F. up to and including Sunday night, or a
! total OF seven full days. This length
! of time will permit of careful study
! as to the relative merits of the vari-
! Gus entrants and an unhurried and judi
/, cial decision on the part of every WISH
! tor.
i A similar referendum was Il feature
| of the previous exhibit, held three years
| ago and adopted. to some extent be-
| cause of the public expression of quite
! divergent views; as to the merits of the
j pictures chosen to receive the four Will
| liam A Clarke prizes by the profess
sional jury of award So successful was
the voting contest, and SO great the in
terest aroused here among art lovers
! generally, that the management of the
gallery decided to repeat the innovation.
! Printed Ballots Provided.
! Every visitor to the gallery, whether
! on a free or on pay day. will. on
| entrance. be provided with a printed
! ballot on which he or she is invited
4 TO indicate his or her favorite picture
! I'M the display. Such visitors are
I urged to consider their choice with
! the greatest possi BILE care, in order
| that the result of the balloting may
be indicative of the best judgment of
the art-loving public, for whose bene-
fit these exhibitions are installed.
= The artist whose picture receives
the greatest number of votes will be
| awarded a prize of s2oa known as
the popular prize" and given by the
gallery. Every picture in the exhf-
bition is eligible for this award re-
| gardless of whether or not, as indi-
entries, these were Ineligible for the
Clarke prizes and the accompanying
Coreoran medals. as given by the
professional jury of award. Each
| painting bears number on it's frame,
and the number is what should be
placed on the ballot, which may be
deposited in ballot box at the head
of the main stairway or at the main
entrance.
When the voting contest of three
years ago was decided on, gallery Of
fieialS were dubious as to the extent
to which the visiting public would
| avail itself of the balloting privilege,
The consequence was that long before
the week was out the supply OF
printed ballots was exhausted and
| small slips of ordinary paper stamped
in ink with the words "Corcoran
emergency. c. Powell Minnigerode,
director, determined on ample pre-
paredness for the present week, has
! had 10000 ballots printed already,
and has made arrangements to aug
ment this number on short notice,
should the need arise.
Value Of Public Approval.
while professional painters are,
naturally. highly appreciative of the
esteem in which their works are held
by brother artists" Director Mimi
gerode says, mo group of men could,
at the same time. be more deeply con-
cerned as regards the recognition OF
excellence in their efforts by the pub
lie at large. agree with those
critics and experts who hold that a
truly great picture is always appre-
ciated by the general public. either
Immediately or eventually, and an In
dication Of. the opinion Of the kind OF
people who visit an art gallery is OF
the greatest possible interest,""
Immediately oniFtA4 conclusfon Of
will b4JtduhxsH 'ahd the result made
known as soon as possible. Gallery
officials will ask the four daily news
papers of Washington to cooperate
in the handling of the votes in order
that the transaction may be entirely
dissociated from the institution hold
ing the exhibit and Offering the $2e0
prize.
So great has been the interest
gallery officials have decided to open
the institution on two nights, Friday,
January 16, and again Friday, jan
uary %. from 8 until 10 O'Clock The
first date will come within the pop
uIar voting week. Many persons, the
vented by their hours Of occupation
| or domestic arrangements from view
ing the exhibit on week days and
even on Sunday. their one free day.
A request for this evening opening
was first. received from the confer
ence of FEDERAL Social Service work
ers. which has a large membership.
This request erystallfzed a previous
| idea that the general public was like
| ly to appreciate and utilize such an
open evening.
In addition to government employees
! in this organisation there are thou
sands Of others in federal employ and
in stores and Offices who must have
been prevented from attending In the
daytime, and Director. Mmniserode
saws he hopes to see as many as pos
sible Of them present on these two
Friday evenings
Make Bread Appeal.
Patrons and lovers Of art here are
especially interested In the popular
referendum this year owing to the
broad appeal offered by the four pic
lures already honored by the board
Jury of professional award. In the
contest of three years ago not one of
, the four winners Of the Clarke prizes
ran zone, two, three" when the popular
votes came to be counted. This year,
however, there might be a surprising
coincidence in the professional and
lay estimation as to the merits OF one
or more paintings
Prophecies as to the success Of the
present display, made at the time Of
the opening last month. have been we'll
! borne out. Visitors have been con-
sistently numerous and enthusiastic
ever since, and the exhibit has received
widespread and favorable notice in the
American press generally.
, ."It is not only the best and most
satisfactory showing Of American art
today" says the American Art News.
the only art newspaper published in
America, but is an inspiring and
hopeful display. At the risk Of over
eulogy it is also far and away the
best showing of modern American
other country. There is not really
poor canvas on the walls, and the
spacious and beautifully lit CALLER
les have permitted the hanging of the
316 oils all on the line. New York art
lovers who were fortunate enough to
attend the opening view one and all
deplored the lack in the metropolis
| of galleries of the kind. which lack
| should always be taken into consider
alton by those who adversely crtttcise
| the academy and other large routine
exhibitions in New York"
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