Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-02-06
ny LEILA MECHLIN.

nt t<tSbhAfN uhAN
Tho Phillips Memorial Gallery has
been closed 20 The public for two
weeks in order that the. extremely
important and varied exhibition an
DoIneed some time ago for opening
early in February might be instaHeo
The first view of this exhibition was
given Yesterday afternoon. The gal
lery viii be open again this afternoon
and on successive Tuesdays, Satur'
DAYS and Sundays during February
and March.
This exhibition is in three sections
One is devoted to the works OF moo-
ern artists-those who are finding or
have found new and unusual forms OF
expression in painting; another com
prises, in striking contrast, inquire
paintings of portraits by cotempo-
rary artists or artists who have lived
within the last % years, and the
paintings are essentially according TO
tradition. The third section is made
up of works by the old masters.
Through all three Mr.. Phillips traces
the same golden thread which has
glorified from the beginning In all
lands and at all times the great tapes
try representing the history of art.
TO the moderns has been given the
main. upper gallery; to the paintings
by those of the older school, the
little gallery; and TO the great mas
tiers, the library on the first floor,
rarely open TO the public.
To an extent this unusual exhibition
finds focus in and does special honor
10 the remarkable head in stone of
an Egyptian. sculptured by the hand
of an unknown artist or about l3ou
Be, lately brought to this country
and acquired by Mr.. Phillips. This
head, marvelously realistic, vital,
full of personality, has been placed
at the end of the main gallery facing
the doorway, with Augustus Tack
superb decorative painting, the
Voice of Many Waters" back of IT..
To the left hangs a painting by
Twachtmann-gray sand dunes hold
ing blue water in their lap, rejecting
blue sky overhead; on the other side,
a colorful landscape by CeZanne,
Next to the Twachtmann is Maurice
Prendergast with its gay and varied
color. Next to the Cezanne are paint
ings by two Americans, one OF whom
is Marjorie Phillips. AS a color
scheme this wall is exquisite and one
can. find no end of esthetic enjoy
ment, not in definite study, but pas
aive visual feasting.
The right wall in this gallery is
given over entirely to series OF
water colors by John Marin, whose
works Mr.. Phillips, and good many
others. highly esteem and greatly en-
joy, but which to the general public
and to many art lovers mean little
or nothing. Mr.. Phillips himself
says that these paintings must be
profoundly studied to be understood,
that they are not intended as rep
resentative. that they are not in
tended to be naturalistic interpreta-
lions of things seen, but rather the
registration of things felt-sym-
phonies in color, the works of paint
err which parallel in music the works
of a great composer.
Among Mr.. Phillips estimates of
artists in his lately published "A Col
lection in the Making" he speaks of
Marin as follows: This Marin, who
speaks emotionally or not at all,
whose works are immediate realiza-
TONS is more than an improvising
wizard With his amazing intuition
he hints at strange truths freshly ap-
pretended. He puts down a world out
of focus as it, seems in suddenly
leveled glance into distance-the CEN
ter of vision alone clear-the rest,
blotches and indefinite masses of col
or. The world is there, as 1t is before
IQS reason steps III anu du9uStS IL
with old experience He gives us
moreover the quickened sense of our
intense modern life in the midst of
encircling and bewildering elements.
He is a modernist in his emotional
tempo even more truly than in his
technique which is akin to the con-
summate calligraphy of the greater
Chinese designers"
The greatest Chinese designers,
however, were essentially craftsmen;
line meant much to them, whereas
seemingly it means nothing to Mr..
Marin. They dealt not merely with
color, with emotion, but with facts.
1t seems to the writer that Mr.. Tack S
exquisitely colorful painting. ''The
Voice of Many Waters" more nearly
approaches the work of the Chinese
artists of the great period than do
Mr.. Marin's, but it must be admitted
that the writer is one of those who
find no pleasure whatsoever in Mr..
Marin's works.
Mr.. Phillips has frankly stated in
his recent valuable book that the pur.
pose of his gallery is in part to serve
as a testing ground and that he shows
these and other extremely modernistic
works in order that Westinghouse
may have the opportunity of seeing
and judging for themselves Of their
merit or their demerit. He admits
that present estimates may in time
prove incorrect, but he is giving the
younger men, who are sincere, oppor
tunity for fair showing.
There are certain principles tC
which, as fundamentals, all great art
up to the present time has conformed
These principles are not applicable, In
many instances to the works Of the
modernists, therefore the critic, even
The devout art lover, in the presence
of such, frequently finds him or her.
self wordless, unable to praise or tc
condemn, to comprehend, to explain.
The wall opposite that on which the
Marin water colors are shown exhibits
beautiful arrangement, color combina
tions of unusual effectiveness. The