The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-11-19
PICTURES REFLECT
 SPIRIT OF FIERY
 FURNACES MOODS
Birmingham Art Lovers Have Opportunity to Gee PasteIs
 by Mckenzie

J. ". Donnelly is president, is pre- senting probably the finest exhibit of pictures which has ever been shown in the south, and of their kind the greatest collection that has ever been shown in the world.
 Birmingham steel has made name throughout the civilized globe. The pictures which are now on exhibit at the Little Gallery annex, 2010 Thlrd avenue. north, will make an equally great name for the artist and for the town where the pictures were made.
 Twenty-Five years of preparation and two years of hard work have gone into their making.
 Eight years ago Rodertck D. Nc Kenzie had just finished series of pictures for the Indian government, after having spent 15 years on the work in India. Much of this work was exhibited in the salon in Paris and in London. Hundreds of small prints from these pictures were sold by the engravers, Raphael Tuck x Sons, throughout England. Two of these, the Afghans and The BaluchiS, are especially we'll known.
 Rosa Bonheur's Horse Fair" is one of the worlds most famous pictures made so by the life and action de- picted on the canvas. The above men toned pictures of Mir. Mckenzie will no doubt some day be equally famous for the same reason, because of his intimate knowledge of animal move ments, and his consummate skill in transferring into pigments and can vas his impressions of these native riders in India.
 In the pictures which are being shown until the first of December by the Art league, Mir. Mckenzie has used this same knowledge of move ment-and has caught what is even more subtle than animal action, that of fire and heat.
 Riotous color, hot living flames, vibrant parching atmosphere. these combined to show the beauty in strength, the majesty of work, the wonderful in daily tasks. and the plc- turesque in gigantic masses of struc- tural substances in the process of being made useful for man-these are his pictures.
 Words are inadequate to express the impressions of this work of one of the worffi's greatest artists. Colors which occur in flashes. capriciously, Mir. Mckenzie had put down in beau tifu1 permanent form, that others may study and enjoy these sights which many have never seen in real ity.
 Strong and Vigorous Life
 Pastels. for the first time in the history of art, have come into their own. Heretofore they have been looked on as something light and dainty-fit to depict woman's charms, or the beauty of flowers. Now they have been handled by master, who las given them strong vigorous life.
 The etchings of Frank Brangwyn, and the Autographs of Joseph Pen nell of industrial subjects. are noted internationally for their excellence. These two men are the acknowl- edged masters in these two mediums.
 Mir Mckenzie has all their power, all their force of representation, all the skill acquired by years of study and experiment, and In addition had what he had to work out for himself, color, hot glowing color. vibrant reds. mysterious blues and purples. gassy greens and yellows, beautiful colors made by him to match the real color of the flames and metals as they flare and glow and die away during the operations of the steel pro- cesses.
 Merely pretty pictures of the ap- erations could be made easily by some artists who would look at the gcene-and then go to studio and paint what they remembered of it.
 MT. Mckenzie takes his art more seriously than that. He has worked night after night. waiting patiently and working swiftly, to catch things just Ion the break" knowing that [ only in this way could his pictures he true. How true they are can be Jeff to the men. the chemists and the superintendents of the steel plant. They can tell you. from the colors, inst what chemical action is taking place-and how long each process shown has been going on, just from his colors.
 Never Done Before
 Nothing in all the world before has shown the dynamic action expressed in these pastels. No one in all the world before has labored as Mir, Me- Kenzie has labored, hour after hour. all through the night, to have things right. No one in the world will ever do such a series of pictures again. II is too big an undertaking. The one man in the world who was capa- hle of doing it has done it. He has done it here in Birmingham. He has lived here. Some of us have been his friends. This exhibit will be the only chance Birmingham will have to see these pictures. Other cities in the state want them-and then they go to New York-for the Steel institute. Some of the steel men are going to he big enough to see the value of the group as a whole. and all indications seem to point to the fact that 1T they ever leave Birmingham they will never return, which is pity.
 If Birmingham had an art gallery suitable, and public spirited citizens interested. this series of pictures could form the nusleus Of a wonder- full collection which would make DIT s.,gham known as an art as well as an industrial center
 The exhibit is open from 1;oo 10 gao until December 1st at 2ooS Third avenue, north.