The Washington times., 1924-05-16
VENUS TOO FAT
FOR MODERN
ARTIST
.
General Tendency in Royal
Academy Of Art Exhibit Is
Toward SIimness
BY LUTHER A. HUSTON,
international News Service.

BY LUTHER A. HUSTON,
International News Service.
LONDON, May 1e.-Venus Is put
Of date.
The days when painters who felt
the urge to depict on canvas the
contours OF the undraped female
form selected q model with plenty
OF averdupois and the general APP
pearaEce Of having been carefully
handled from infancy seem to have
departed-perhaps forever. In order
to get job as an artists model
nowadays Venus would have to diet
carefully and do her daily dozen"
conscientiously. Otherwise the YER
dict Of the painters and Sculptors
would be "too fat"
1t is this general slimness Of
feminine construction that is one
Of the outstanding impressions to
be gained from the 156th exhibition
Of the Royal Academy of Arts,
which is the chief event Of the year
In British art circles. It Is Inn
POSSIBLE to escape the conclusion
that artists models of today are
thinner than they used to be.
lent theme Of the exhibitors at this
years Academy. Out of more than
1000 pictures hung not more than
fifty depict the female figure sans
clothing. But the subject Of beau.
tiful ladies disrobing for their bath,
Cavorting in carefree nakedness in
some sylvan retreat, or enjoying a
fomp, without garments, in the
vRvafNy - khafS ~;
to be attractive to numerous paint
ers Of the modern school.
Most Get By"
OF the pictures portray1ng femi.
nine nudity in thissyear's Academy
none is likely to arouse any great
controversy or cause shivers Of
horror to wrack the spines of puri-
tanical spectators. Most Of them
will get by without difficulty.
under the mandate Of artistic
license.
There is one picture, however, in
which semi-nude man and several
half-clothed women are depicted in
a scene Of rather barbartc voluptu.
BUSINESS. It Is entitled 1.-THE Lem
mans" and Is apparently intended
to portray some ancient legend Of
the Inhabitants Of the Isle Of Lem.
nos. The meaning of-*Ae picture Is
not clear to the uninitiated, but the
handling Of his subject by w. Rus.
sell Flint, the artist, IL sufficiently
daring to have made the picture the
center OF interest despite the fact
that, from purely artistic stand.
point, it has little merit.
Generally speaking, the exhibition
is singularly free from pictures
that make q Chelsea or q Green.
witch Village training necessary to
understand them. There Is a
noticeable absence Of freak stuff,
aud the cubists, futurists and
others Of the school are entirely un.
represented.
Kings Legs Thin.
Probably the most notable paint.
ing on exhibition IL the portrait
Of king George v, by Charles
Sims, r. A. It IL not exactly fiat
tering to the King, as It rather EN-.
phasizeS the deficiencies of his
calves and makes his beard seem
to have turned gray in spots only.
These defects. however, are soften
ed by the wonderful expression OF
benignity and kindness which the
artist has impaired to the mon.
arch'S face. The cOloring Of the
royal robes and the general setting
OF the picture IL 80 exquisitely
done as to make the whole work
one Of exceptionally high artistic
merit.
Aside from its merit a. a paint
ing, which II high. Sir John
Lavery's picture OF the Britbh
House Of Commons in 1924 IL likely
to become q work Of great historic
interest. It depicts q crowded
House Of Commons listening to an
address by Ramsay Macdonald. the
first Labor prime minister Of Eng.
land. Lloyd George, Asouith, Stan.
ley Baldwin, Austen Chamberlain
ana other notable figures of con.
temporary British politics ARE dis
tinguishable among the parliament
tarians grouped on the historic
benches,
In its attention to detail. such an
the paper-strewn floor, the lounR.
ing attitudes Of members, ETC., and
its faithfulness to natural colorinRs
the picture shows a touch Of Law
ery'g recognized genius.
AZ whole the exhibition this
year Is pleasing and worth while,
but Il would be inaccurate to say
that IL contains pictures that future
generations are likely to look linon