Evening star., 1926-04-11

I ing of the canvases. a homely subjec
made charming through the artist
Interpretation, loveliness of color ant
| delicacy of touch.
Again and again Mrs. Phillips ha!
painted the rolling country, with its
| rhythmic upes OF hills, near Ebehs
burg. Pa, where the Phillipses have
their Summer home. Such are "F'ivt
Miles to Carrolltown." "Rich Earth
, and "Willebrandt Farm" all portrait:
of place, but Transcribed with delicacy
and decorative feeling.
Perhaps the most charming of all
the pictures and most indicative OF
the artists individuality and spirit is
one entitled "Children's Party''-the
same rolling country, the group of
happy children on the near hillside
This. indeed, bespeaks the spirit of
youth, the joyousness which the artist
finds in beauty.
Nothing could be more apt or accu-
rate than the two printed pages con-
cerning Mrs. Phillips and her art
which serve as the Introduction to the
catalogue. Though unsigned, this
tribute must have been written by one
who knows her not only well, but
best. Each word rings true, and is
found significant. Perfectly do they
express the present writer's own con-
viction. They are as follows: Mar
jorie Phillips has the unmistakable
touch, the instructive taste. the fresh,
clean color of the born painter. She
sings in her pictures about the joys
of her own life--and about the high
far-seeing places which have become
'pastorals' under her brush. Her
tones are as fresh and their modula-
tions as spontaneous as bird song.
One does not think of art and It's
controversies, but of life and its
enraptured moments. And yet there
is a reasoned and a mature style
at her command and a style that
is already her own. To have resisted
the fashionable formula of the hour
is evidence of her poise and presence
Of mind III defense of her own In
dividuality 1t Is even more remark
able that she keeps her art free from
all trace of imitation, in spite of the
fact that as an associate director OF
the Phillips Memorial Gallery she Is
wholeheartedly responding to many
delightful and, therefore, distracting
influences.
"As young girl she was much en-
thralled by wistful mood not unlike
Watteau's, and she pictured with
life. At the Art Students League,
under Kenneth Hayes Miller. she was
true to this spirit. She was content
to admire Renoir and Cezanne from a
distance and to remain-herself. She
visited many galleries with an inquir-
ing mind, and in Paris she sought out
Albert Andre for a little guidance be-
cause she admired his clean palette
and his sound methods. In time she
became aware of her desire to estab-
lish balance between nature and her
decorative vision, to combine waves
of light and films of shadow with in
teresting shapes Of earth, constructing
patterns Of color and contour. artfully
concealing the patterns under the
lyrical human appeal of her subjects.
1t is not often that a painter who
strives for solid form achieves also
such subtle and emotional effects Of
light.
Sometimes her color is blithe and
dewy for sylvan settings where her
little. children play in a big world of
sun and space. Again, her tones and
textures are as rich and firm as her
bold linear motifs. And yet again there
is a sparkle in her brush which Gre
ates passages of blond opalescence or
Of radiance caressing the earth for an
instant before it fades or changes into
light less rich and rare. Color is a
personal language for Majorie Phil
lips. as it was for Berthe Morisot-
and once more there is a woman
painter feminine and intimate with
out self-consciousneSs Whatever her
future development, her art will re-
tain its sensitive subtlety and its hint
of deep emotional reserve"
This exhibition will continue until
May and may be seen on Tuesday,
Saturday and Sunday afternoons from
2 to 6.
j: X X X
WASHINGTON has been privileged
\" to see this Spring the works Of
some of the leading water colorists-
those who have given new interest
and importance to the medium. A
special feature of the current exhibit
ton at the Corcoran Gallery of Art
is group of water colors by the late
John S. Sargent. At the Dunthorne
Gallery was lately set forth most
interesting group of water Colors by
Frank w. Benson. Now in these
same galleries are to be seen a group
of water colors by Joseph Pennell, the
we'll known etcher, and also very
small but notable group by Norman
Wilkinson of London. Each of these