Evening star., 1925-03-15

recent miniature portraits by
Il Allyn Williams, president. of
the Royal Miniature Society
of London, and portrait buSts in
bronze and plaster, relief portraits,
medallions and carving in precious
and semi-precious stones by Cecil
Thomas, a member of this same So
ciety is of exceptional interest, not
only representing the works of two
distin guished British artists but dem
onstrating the artistic potentialities
of both painting and sculpture IN
little" The tendency today, particu-
larly in this country, is so strongly In
favor of bigness-often mere big
ness-that it is well to have re-
minder such as this that size is
negligible in the field of art. Here
are found what might be termed big
works on a very small scale.
Mr.. Williams is well known in
Washington, having maintained a
studio here during the Winter months
for a number of seasons, and having
exhibited during that period from
time to time in the Corcoran Gallery
Of Art and elsewhere. His work fol-
lows British traditions. His minia-
lures on ivory are painted in trans
parent wash, as has been the custom
of the greatest miniature painters of
all time. Marion H Spielmann,
we'll known art critic, writing on
Miniature Painting in The Graphic,
said that Mr.. Williams had perhaps
more true artistry in his work than
any of the other miniature painters
of Great Britain today, declaring that
there was nothing of the smooth,
SNUG Photographic quality in his
work which delights the ignorant and
prevents the rise of the art to its
normal level"
When preparing an article on Min
iature Painting" for the Encyclopedia
Britannica, DR.. George c. Williamson,
leading authority on miniatures, Sc
lected Mr.. Williams as the representa-
tive man in British miniature paints
ing, and it was at DIR. Williams re
quest that Queen Alexandra sat for
him for her portrait to be reproduced
as a frontispieCe to his monumental
History of Portrait Miniatures" a
replica of this miniature is included
IN the present exhibition. The oriGl-
nal is in the possession of the queen.
The present collection also includes
n miniature of President Coolidge,
which he himself autographed in Feb
ruary, 1925, and one of Mrs. Warren
G. Harding, autographed in 1922.
Among the other notables represented
is the charming little Princess Marie
Jose of Belgium, whose minia ture is
a replica of one painted in 1915 and
now in the possession of the Queen
of Belgium.
In new style is a miniature in
this collection of Miss Helen Cassin
Carusi of this city, which shows the
sitter's face in profile against a rich
sapphire blue background en- a cir
cular piece of ivory, having a decora-
tive border showing in ornamental
lettering the name of the sitter, the
date, etc. There is a second minia-
ture portrait of Miss Carusi, larger
size, done on vellum in unique man
ner, resembling not a little the tech
nique of pastel Mr.. Williams resorts
quite frequently to the use of vellum
for these large size miniatures, and
shows in this exhibition quite A lovely
portrait of this type of his wife, who,
1t will be remembered, was Anna YER
non Dorsey of this city He also
shows two very charming little por-
traits, tinted pencil drawings-one of
Mrs. Richard p Hammond, lent by
Miss Elizabeth Hammond: the other
of Mrs. Richard Brooke Dorsey, lent
by Mr.. Vernon NJ. Dorsey, and a most
excellent water color drawing on pa
per of DR.. Tom Williams, lent by Mrs.
Tom Williams. Thus the artist mani
tests both his own versatility and the
potentialities of the miniature por-
trait.
But, after all. Interesting as are
these several adventures into what
may be called new fields, nothing
could be more satisfactory or emf
nently successful than his little oval
miniatures in the traditional manner,
such a s those of Mrs. Christine Blair
Graham and Mrs. Appline Agatha
Alexander, both lent by Mrs. Breck-
ridge Long; Mrs. Edward Habbard
7 ~ GzII ~ ~ l.. L,
field, lent by Miss Litchfield, and Mrs.
Katherine c. Dorsey, owned and lent
by Mrs. Allyn Williams. In these the
painter attains, it would seem, artis-
tically his greatest height.
Mr.. Williams admits a liking for
painting elderly ladies, and certainly
none better than himself knows how
to interpret age in all it's refinement
of beauty. At the same time, how
ever. he is eminently successful in
setting forth attra ctively youth, al
lowing it all its inherent loveliness
and suggesting at the same time po-
tential character, as. for example, the
portrait miniature in this collection
of Miss Natalie Hammond.
K x
CECIL THOMAS is primarily a min
~ iaturist in sculpture. He is one
of the few accomplished gem carvers
of the present day. For the King of
Siam he carved a figure in rock crys-
tai for the temple of the royal palace
in Bangkok, for which work-the
largest crystal carving that has been
done In England-the King conferred
on him the Siamese Order of Merit.
Four groups in sculptured gems are
included in his present exhibition.
They are in opal, lapis lazuli, onyx,
moonstone crystal and quartz, and
are so finely wrought that they com
pare most favorably when examined
under a magnifying glass with the
great gem carvings of ancient times.
Only second in interest to these
works, which are portraits, figures
and imaginative subjects. are the
models for medals and great seals
which he has executed. Among the