The New York herald., 1922-03-20
NUDES HAVE TO GO
OR ART show ENDS
Independents Receive an
Edict From Waldorf
Management.
CALLED TOO PRIMITIVE
Some Works in Roof Gallery
Looked Upon as Among
the Harmful Class. !
FIVE PICTURES REMOVED
One Artist Refuses to Take
young Negro From Walls
FIVE PICTURES REMOVED
One Artist Refuses to Take
young Negro From Walls
on Censor's Order.

The recent mystery of the spirit
picture at the Independent artists
show and how it got there was out
done yesterday when it was discovered
at the Waldorf Roof that five pictures,
including one of the largest. and GER
tainly the heaviest. in the show, had
disappeared from the gallery walls.
All the canvases removed were of
nudes.
Careful investigation revealed that
the censor had been active once more
After six long years OF untrammeled
showing of their worst and their best
the Society of Independent Artists lad
encountered censorship for the first
time. The greatest regret expressed
yesterday by such members of the
society and Of the board of directors
as could be seen was that no more
really worthy objects had attracted
the censor's wrath. In exhibitions
past they remembered canvases that
might without too great a stretch of
the imagination have seemed inn
proper, but the six nudes singled out
for condemnation Saturday were, 1t
was felt, for the most part particu-
larly harmless.
The censor, 1t appears, Is IN this case
no other than the manager o. the Wal
dorf. Augustus Nalli. The management
oe the Waldorf sent a written notice
on Saturday TO the Independents direc-
tors stating that unless certain pictures
were removed from the exhibition the
PREMISES would be closed at once. The
offending pictures were. as it developed.
six Just Joseph" by Charles Feldman;
Summer" by Emile Ganso; Reclining
Nude by Octavine Long "A Primitive
Woman" by Frances j.. Tompl<ins
Young Negro" by Jean Paul Slusser,
ard Drawings" by A. Walkowitz, one
OF the directors of the society.
A meeting of the board of directors,
consisting of John Sloan. president ;
Walter pach, Marguerite Zorach. a. ;.
Bayiinson. Reynolds Beal. George Bel
lows Homer Boss, Glen Coleman. Al
Jrueh. Bernard Gussow. Samuel Halpert,
Trygve Hammer. Robert Henri. Alfred
Maurer George OF. a. Walkowitz. Ger
frude ". Whitney and Alice Morgan
N1tEnt. WAS SunlInOUGu OH
morning to consider possible ways OF
meeting the situation.
1t was decided that the Independent
Society itself had no authority to act
in the matter OF removing the pictures
and that the question must be put up
to tho exhibitors themselves. The Of
Tending six were sent for by special mes
senger. and with one exception declared
themselves willing TO substitute other
rictures for the ones objected to. Jean
Paul Slusser declined to remove his pic
ture.
At a second meeting Of the board on
Saturday afternoon the question of the
whole attitude Of the Independent So
ciety toward the work sent in, its mem
bcrs and the censorship was discussed.
a communication will be sent to-day to
the management of the Waldorf stating
that five of the pictures objected to have
been taken down.
As TO the pictures themselves. for all
but one Of which other works have now
been substituted, scarcely any OF them
could have been expected to create so
great disturbance as that which ragged
all day Saturday.
"Just Joseph" by Charles Fedman,
seemed to have been well named. for
rhere was indeed absolutely nothing but
Jossrc tsere hr6 sG es-Fed out to he
a somewhat sheepsh looking youth.
primitive Woman" by Frances
Tompkins, might have figured as Jo-
eephW mother Primitive she may have
been, but to all appearances she was a
perfectly normal. healthy woman.
The "Reclining Nude Of Octavine
Long was not remarkable except for
the fact that she seemed not very conf
Portable and more cngrossed in an ex-
animation Of the distant landscape than
might have been expected.
Mr.. Slusser's Young Negro" was an
interesting problem IN color. which Is
probably why the artist painted IL, but
presented no other especially sensational
aspects.
In Emile Gansos Summer" II did
indeed seem TO be hot day. One could
tell that at a glance. The three ladies
had left all their clothes at home, but
even so seemed TO feel the heat unduly,
perhaps because they were all some
what given to embonpoint.
As for Mr.. Walxowitz's drawings"
the only sensational thing about them
was that they we're exceedingly sensi-
tive and genuinely good art, which was
in itself enough TO mark them apart
in this exhibition. The fact that the
men and women were untrammeled by
clothing would seem only incidental cx-
cept perhaps TO some one who himself
had something TO be ashamed Of