Evening star., 1925-10-18
OPENS
. EXHIBITION Of ART
First Night of Academy OF
Design Show Attracts
Distinguished Guests.

| The President of the United States
and Mrs. Coolidge headed the throng
Of distinguished guests specially in
I Eited 10 the opening view last night
OF the great retrospective exhibition
| gathered TO mark the occasion of The
hundredth anniversary of the National
! Academy of Design. oldest and best
! known OF American art orga nizatio
| and installed in thee Corcoran Gallery
| of Art. oldest and best known institu-
! ton of its kind in the National Capital.
| art center of America.
| The Chief Executive not only honored
the occasion with his presence, but
also. by releasing one end of barrier
of heavy laurel roping, formally
opened the comprehensive display of
/ The best in American art that the past
century has been able [ produce
/ Following this simple but Impressive
act. Charles {. Glover. president of
the board of trustees of the Corcoran
Gallery. and Edwin H. Blashfield
president of the National Academy of
Design, escorted the President up the
broad marble stairway and through
the second floor gallery and salons
given over TO the commemorative ex.
{
escorted by Harry w. Watrous. vice
president of the academy. and Henry
| White. vice president of the Corcoran
board.
Disting uished Guests Present.
There was no receiving line and the
several thousand representatives of
official. diplomatic and residential cir
cles of the Capital and of art circles
: h1I
at once at liberty To follow their in
cllnations in inspecting a display.
unique in character, which begins with
Gilbert Stuart S full-lenGth portrait of
George Washington. painted in 1896.
and ends with examples of the work
OF National Academicians who are to-
day in the very prime of their skill
The entire council, as the governing
BODY of the academy is called. and a
large contingent of its membership
came to Washington yesterday after
noon on special train for the occa-
sion, while officials of every art insti.
tuition of importance in the United
States were also specially invited TO
he present
A stringed orchestra playing through
out the evening and appropriate new
decorations of laurel. palms and ferns
| lent color to the occasion The in
stallation of the exhibit is said by en-
| perts TO be 100 per cent perfect due
to combination of the taste and
pains of the academy's hanging com
| mittee and of the physical assets of
the gallery chosen for the premiere
Shows National Progress.
Conversation overheard among spec
tators Indicated that this great coilec
tlon or o25 examples of the best work
of 436 artists. illustrators, sculptors
and architects possible to bring to.
Sether had come fully up to expecta-
| tions: that II was an art event of ma
tlonal importance, and that ii not only
formed remarkable display of itself
! but also, because of it's variety and
! the period covered, drove home 10
! professional and amateur alike the
deep conviction of distinct and steady
! national art progress
Persons familiar with the local gal.
lery, who included the vast ma iority
or those present. can realize what an
eHort 1t must have been to remove all
tnat portion OF its permanent collec-
ton which is usually above stairs. A
glance at the artists names in the
, handsome and profusely illustrated
catalogue prepared for the occasion in
! d1cates plainly the vast amount of
planning. patience, diplomacy and
hard work accomplished by National
Academy officials to- obtain these half
thousand works of art from the insti.
tutions, families and individuals scat
tered throughout this country and
| abroad who are the proud possessors
thereof
Great Task Of Moving.
Once assembled in New York. these
works, some of them monumental in
size and many of them valuable moi
only intrinSically, but by reason of
sentiment, had TO be transshipped
! here In special cars and unpacked and
arranged. This was 20 be but the first
step in long task. for, following its
public exhibition here for four full
| weeks beginning today. the collection
will be shown in the metropolis. and
later. in major part. throughout the
country.
The National Academy of Design.
whose first president was Samuel +.
Is. Morse. and which is the Oldest or.
g;nization in this country composed
exclusively of artists. occupies posi-
tion approximately similar to that of
the Royal Academy of Great Britain.
Continued on Page 8. Column 81