Evening star., 1921-12-25

The Corcoran Gallery's eighth ex.
hibition of cotemporary ,Amerlcan
paintings, in spite of the many con-
f1icting interests of the week before
Christmas, has been attracting con-
siderable attention. BY the middle
of the week ten paintings had been
sold. aggregating in value $1s,700
Five of these were bought by the
trustees Of the Corcoran Gallery of
Art for their permanent collection
FIVE by individuals who CHANGED to
be among the visitors. Three of the
Ave paintings purchased for the Cor
coran Gallery were by painters al
ready represented. The Corcoran
Gallery has for some years owned a
.harming landscape by Daniel Gar
yer. a winter picture by w. Elmer
Schofield and a figure painting by
Frederick L. Frieseke.
AS the Corcoran Gallery's space is
comparatively limited, the trustees
determined when purchasing the
Schofield and the Frieseke to substi.
tute the new paintings for the Older
ones. and. as in both instances the
artists were willing. the substitution
be made.
UnQuestionably. Mr.. schofeld in his
Cliff Shadows" which the Corcorar
Gallery has acquired. attained ex.
traordinary success. There is in i,
a bigness. n solidity. an evident COM
nand both of subject and medium
which was not found in his earlier
works. lovely as they were in pat
tern and relation of values. "clin
same emotional reaction as nature
does. 1t is not a mere Photographic
reproduction. but an interpretation
full of beauty and significance-a
mastery work.
The Frieseke painting. which the
Corcoran Gallery now owns, is not
cnly technically clever. as was the
painting by this same artist pre-
viously purchased. but possesses a
CLINT Of sentiment which gives 1t
universal appeal. 1t Is by no means
a subject picture, the painters inter-
est undoubtedly lay in composition
color. effect of light and atmosphere,
ing something more. and when the
art Is fine. subjective appeal distinctly
adds to the value of painting.
X X \ X
In purchasing the picture entitled
Strange Things" by Walter Ufer,
the trustees of the Corcoran Gallery
paid tribute not merely to Mr.. Ufer.
but to the Taos School which he ably
represents. The men who have taken
up their residence at Taos, N. NJ.
and are giving their time to paint
ing typical Indian subjects have GER
tain attributes in common which are
exemplif1ed to almost an exagger-
ated degree in the work Of Mr.. Ufer.
They are frankly subjective, realis-
tic, direct and explicit and undoubt-
edly influenced both by environment
and climatic conditions. For the most
part. their paintings are produced in
a blazing light which causes sharp
dcmarcaHon of outline. and the ma
tive people present a remarkable
combination Of traditions derived
from an old civilization intermingled
with savagery.
Strange Things" represents. it may
be supposed. Mexican image vendor
displaying such images of almost
primitive workmanship as ara found
in some New Mexican churches. There
is in this picture little definition OF
light and shadow. little suggestion OF
the illusion Of atmosphere, almost no
tonal qualify or evident regard for
textures, yet the color is fine, the
drawing excellent and the whole was
ably executed with such sustained
directness and strength that it well
deserves the place it has won in an
important permanent collection.
Mr.. Ufer is represented by second
painting hung in Gallery r, of two
figures, man and a woman seated
beneath tree, doing, and dog
nearby. rather enigmatically entitled,
Autumn"
K x
There is a portrait Of Lincoln in this
pa ainted from a photograph. 1t is the
work of Douglas yolk of New York.
whose father was a close friend OF
Lincoln. Mr. Volk saw Lincoln many
times when he was a boy and he has
always held him in highest regard
embodied his ideal, and it is Lincoln
as he remembered him and expressing
this character that he has set forth.
In this light the paianting is as es-
sential1y an original, as though paint
ed from the man. Whether or not
the painter has succeeded. those who
see the picture must decide. That II
passed the jury and gained admission
to this exhibition, which is restricted
to cOtemporary works. sufficiently
testified to it's artistic merit.
+ X X \
Reviewing the exhibition at the
Corcoran Gallery of Art. Mr.. Cortissoz
art critic of the New York Tribune
ohC VI ShS Aoi al 9
in this country, made the following
comment on Richard Merymans por-
trait of Mr.. Noyes:
There is fine portrait of Theo-
dore Noyes The seated figure is ad-
mirably constructed. the head is
modelled in a clean. workmanlike
manner and, in addition, the quiet
tones are enlivened by judicious play
of light and with a discreet use OF
unobtrusive accessories, the artist has
produced a portrait that is a design
Mr. Cortissoz. it will be remem-
bered, in a recent lecture here on
the subject of Portrait Painting
laid special emphasis on the desira-
bility of introducing into cotempo.
rary portraits such accessories as
would recreate environment and lend
pictorial effect.
Referring to the exhibition as a
whole. Mr.. Cortissoz declares that il
again strikes "a healthy note" which
has it's origin in "a liberal yet exact
ing policy" and declares that kind
of moral influence flows from the at
titude taken by the Corcoran Gallery
conducive, on the part of the artists
of an earnest desire to do and show
their best. He also pays high tribute
to <he hanging committee, and calls
<tention to the fact that the pictures
are all shown on a line with ample
space. making in the aggregate "a
serene and dignified effect" greatly