The Washington herald., 1922-11-26
as Artists Friend.

workers. peasantst and soldiers.
during. the Revolution. results
might have been less satisfactory.
The populace of workers, he
wrote. ''is now the absolute mas
ter Of the country. Beyond the
natural riches. It has inherited
enormous cultural riches: Edifices
Of great beauty. museums. libra
ries- All that is now the prop
erty Of the people
IAN that viii aid the poor and
their children to become new
men.
DAYS OF VIOLENT LUST.
1T 10 particularly terrible. in
these days Of violent lust, OF de-
structive war. to be commissaire
Of public instruction. Only the
hope Of the victory Of Socialism,
the source of a new superior cul-
ture, brings us any comfort
Upon me weighs the response
sibility Of the protection of the
artistic riches of the people.
II entreat you. comrades. give
me your support. help me. Pre-
serve for yourselves and your de-
scendants the beauty Of our land.
Very soon even the most igno-
rant. who have been kept 90
long in ignorance. will awaken
and win comprehend how much
art is a source Of joy. of strength
and of wisdom"
1t was an eloquent plea, and
II was needed. Comrade Luna
charsky is one of the people. so
simple in appearance, SO careless
in dress. that one might at first
think him - very ordinary per-
son. He was exiled under the old
regime, but now. called by the
Soviet government to his present
position Of power. he does not
lind it necessary to put on airs.
Instead of being diminished in
number. the museums are mutt
nlied in the Russia OF today.
Every city claims to have its own.
There were thirty-one under the
Did regime. Now there are more
Than a hundred. They have cen
tralized whatever contained any
thing of value in the bourgeois
homes. the palaces of the nobility
THE comrades are so afraid of
losing something" said Lunacna--
sky. that they preserve every
hing, without any criticism. Oh.
we shall have a pretty time OF it,"
At Moscow there is the Tretye-
kov gallery OF Nhe old collection
Of so-called modern" Russian
painting. With all its Verestcha-
guines, its Ryepins, and all the
historic academic works. Besides
the Morosoff Gallery at Moscow.
another new one is that of Shchu-
kin. who had accumulated a some
what similar collection. with very
beautiful portraits by Korovine
and Golovine. besides an array Of
the French contemporary school
that would surprise a Frenchman.
three thousand kilometres from
Paris. Nothing has been changed
in these galleries.
The churches of the Kremlin.
which they are at present restor-
ing, like those Of Yaroslav. possess
as in the past treasures of the
highest value to the enthusiast.
and these collections may be
viewed only when the visitor is &C.
companied. as in the case of so
many other similarly valuable dis
plays in Europe. The same In true
Of the exhibition OF thrones and
crowns of the Cars, where often
the visitor is admitted under the
conduct of a guard whose own
clothing is in sorry contrast to the
brilliant display of the glittering
diamonds representing the splendor
Of the old regime.
At Petrograd the Alexander III
Museum of Russian painting re-
mains in its former state. The
Hermitage has been fully reor-
ganized, following the return of
the art treasures. which were so
hastily transferred to Moscow
when Petrograd was threatened
with invasion. The Greco Roman
and Egyptian and other rooms
have been throughly restored. .
THE HERMITAGE GROWING.
The Hermitage 10 Increased In
proportion by q considerable ad.
dition from the Winter Palace.
and there 10 . new Museum of
the Revolution" The collections
have been increased by q guam.
tity Of objects found In various
residences and also others which
their former owners have voiun-
tariiy deposited here.
Comrads Trctsky himself has
evincsd . deep interest IN the
progress Of this work. at least It