Evening star., 1924-10-12


uuired by the late Ralph Cross john
son with that discrimination of taste
which placed him in the foremost
ranks of collectors. These pictures
MIR. Holmes, the director OF the Ma
ttonaI Gallery of Art, has arranged on
the walls of the central corridor ga
lery where they may be seen to excel
lent advantage, despite the limited
space available for display.
Among the works which Mrs. John-
son has loaned are four Reynolds,
two of which-a portrait OF Rlcharu
BrinSley Sheridan. and portrait OF
Mrs. Lloyd-together with portrait
by a cotemporary British artist oi
Mr. Johnson have been placed sepa-
rately in the room devoted eNclu-
sively to the Ralph Cross Johnson
gift collection. The Richard Brinsley
Sheridan portrait is apparently
rapid sketch, unfinished
There are three Richard wilson's IN
the loan. all excellent and Interesting
examples, and one-an Italian lanu-
scape-peculiarly charming. Ihere Is
IL portrait of RubeUs' wife by Jor-
daens. and self-portrait by Sir
Thomas Lawrence.
But most impressive or All per
hans, is "A portrait by &. Ianssens van
Ceulen of one of the English princes
of the seventeenth century, man
with long. narrow. pale race. hlsh
forehead, and a profuSion OF Solt
brown hair. which he wore long ana
flowing: dressed in a dark velvet coat.
with a red sash and an exquisite ana
voluminous lace collar OF point dc
Nenise This portrait compares IN m
tcrest with the great portraits in the
Ralph Cross johnson National Cal
Irrv collection, those masterpieces by
Raeburn Macs. Hogarth. Lawrence
and Titan, which, through the mu-
pificence of MIR. johnson, have be
come the property of the Nation. THIS
portrait, pposedly of one-tlme
Prince of Wales. is consummate
work Of art-subtle. sensitive, full of
spiritual quality. all that portrait
should he; an Interpretation of liN-
ing personality. beautiful in color
and in tone finely rendered. \ skill
ful lace maker today could exactly
reproduce the collar which this royal
parsonage is seen to be wearing, but
so clevcrly has the painter rendered
his subject that this magnificent
piece OF craftsmanship never iutrudes
upon the observers attention. From
the picture the dark eyes look out
knowingly: the ljps, firmly set. seem
to speak: the man lives through the
artists power % Interpretation; he
Is immortaIized by the painter. And
how little the painter has intruded
his own personality: how carefully
he has avoided the arrogance of skill.
the bravado of the technioian, Here
is an example of portraiture At its
best.
Other Interesting and valuable
works in this collection are a care
fully painted "Interior Of New col
lege. Oxford" by David Roberts, who
lived between 1876 and 1864, and
charming picture Of st. Fauls Ca
:hedral. London. seen through a mist.
with Black Friars Bridge in the
foreground. painted by CailCott in
the early part Of the nineteenth cen
tury.
II is said that the British are not
painting landscaues today. hut it
should not he forgotten that ono OF
the greatest masters of landscape
painting. John Constable. was an
EnGliShman. Two interesting exam
nIes of ConstabIe'S works-"Dedhan II
Vale" and a small landscape with
heavy clouds in the sky-are included
among the pictures temporarily loaned
by Mrs. Johnson.
Eleven of the thirty loans are
the property of Mrs Marshall Lang
horne. These include landscapes by
Wilson. Constable and Gainsborough;
portraits BY Hoppner. knelier. Lelv
= ?
tnresting works: a typical Qua -di.
Scene in Nenioe": a Jan Steen, The
Doctors Visit" dating back to the
middle of the seventeenth century,
and a portrait of Judith van Nolber-
gen, by T. Moreelse. a century earlier.
These are works of a type which
are growing scarcer each year, the
supply of which in time will be
completely not exhausted. but alb
u, la Of 10
world. 1t is a great privilege, there
fore. to he able to see them and to
have them publicly exhibited for such
a length of time that they may be-
come thoroughly familiar. thus the
property of all.
4 = x
nN Wednesday of the past week
~ Underwood & Underwood opened
in their galleries on Connecticut ave-
nue. comprehensive exhibition of the
output of their studios
For some years now photogra ply
has been recognized as an art and
given a place in the art museums of
this country. At first it was the anna
teur photographers who Stormed the
fortress AID secured admission, and
for considerable time only those
who followed photography as hobby
or pastime were admitted to the in
ntT CIR III olHtF "OTuS, II was re-
ouired that the work shown be "un-
commercial The inconsistency of
such a standard. however will be
recognized if one hut pauses to think.
for what can be better for art than
to have high achievement in the com
mercial ranks? And this is what has
come to pass in the matter of pho
Biography. Commercial standards have
been gradually upraised until today.
ha iph frr IN
derwood e Underwood puts out is
comparable to the best that is pro-
duced by the so-called pictorial pho
tographers. Obviously these pho
tographerS do not stand alone in this
achievement, but the current exhibi
tion witnessed to the contribution
which they have made and are max
ing to this end.
Among the photographs displayed
certain ones stand out as possessing
uncommon artistic beauty, evidencing
more than skill on the part of who
ever may have made them. This
meant posing, lighting, developing
and printing, with a distinction Of
style and a refinement of taste. The
effect was undoubtedly enhanced by
attractive use of tint employed as
border, after the practice of some of
our best book printers presenting
half-tone reproductions, such, for ex-
ample, as are to be found in the series
of travel books recently issued by the
Medici Society of London, which as
print publishers are second to none in
the world. To some extent the charm
of the finished product resulted from
the use of the latest device in the
matter of technique-a device which,
while avoiding sharpness of contrast,
does not resort to the vagueness of
outline which unhappily has been as
eociofad in minds nf MANY tho