Evening star., 1927-05-08
BY LEILA MECHLIN.
PORTRAIT Of the Secretary

II,
4 1 is now temporary on view IL in
the Corcoran Gallery of Art
This nortrait, which was painted III
Mr. MELONS home in this city, is just
tnished and is being shown publcly'
nv reouest. before being permanently
n1acpd i'm the Pittsburgh bank for
which it was painted.
II shows Mr.. Mellon seated. with
his left hand dropped easily IN the
,,ocllet of his coat and his right rest
inc in his lap. He is turned slightly
To the right, but is looking toward
the observer with a characteristic eA-
pression of thoughtful attention. Inc
hackground is a plain gray Wah OF
a hoardroom or office. The erect Is
atmospheric and the immediate mn
nrassion is Of a straightforward. frank
niece of painting, in which the per
sOnality of the sitter is dominant.
There is nothing more difficult than
+he painting of such portrait as
fhis-a portrait of man III the com
monplaCe clothes of today, without
relief of color or decoration. But
Mr.. Seyffert has demonstrated the
fact that the vital Interpretation OF
character can be made of such great
interest that it alone sufiiceS. WITH
enormous care, the artist has studied
his sisters pose and has indicated
beneath the dark coat and plain waist
coat the structural figure of the
nan-elert, yet slightly dropping,
strong but reticent. The Silhouette
Of the figure against the background
is significant. Mr.. Seyffert is not one
of those who disregard or underestl-
mate the value of line. He does uh-
derstand, however, as dld the great
Dutch portrait painters or Garner
centuries. that the real OBJECT OF
portraiture is the Interpretation Oh III
diyiduality. the rendition of that
which is beneath the surface. Those
whom Rembrandt and Van Dyck, ana
later still. Raeburn, painted are real
,,eople to us today, 1t is the skill
With which the artist has made them
live again. and live indefinitely that
delights the eye, stirS emotloh anu
fires the imagination. 1t is SOME
thing of this quality which one mas
i'm Mr.. Seyffert's portrait OF secretary
Mellon, and in other portraits Whlch
he has painted in recent years. These
attributes are the earmarks OF great
portraiture, of fine painting.
It should be remembered, however,
that each painter has way, a
method of his own, and that never
does one attain greatness through
mere following in the footsteps Oh
another The Metropolitan Museum
of Art in New York has lately puf-
chased two great examples or por-
+raiture. one by Titan of the Duke
of Ferrara, the other by Sargent. OF
three women in white, THE Three
Sisters The manner of presenta-
tion, in each instance. IS quite dl1-
ferent. but in both cases living per-
sonalities are set forth and in such
wise that they not only grip the at
tention, but make emotional appeal
Leopold Seyffert was born in Cali
fornia. Mo, in 1887. When but
wear old his parents removed to Colo
RADIO Springs, Colo, and there he grew
un in a log cabin, built by his father,
near the mouth of one Of the Chey-
enne Canyons. When he was 10
wears of age the family moved into
town and the first instruction ne mao
in art was in the public schools OF
Colorado Springs. The first coliec-
tion Of paintings that he saw was
that assembled for and set forth in
the ST. Louis Exposition in 1904. Later
he studied in Pittsburgh. Philadelphia
and New York, and later still under
Zuloaga in Spain. For some years he
has been chief instructor in painting
in the school Of the Art Institute OF
Chicago. He has painted, however,
in various cities of this country and
abroad and has had many distin-
guished sitters; and as his skill has
increased, his reputation grown, his
work gained in quality, he has re-
ceived many honors at the hands OF
his confreres. He is a member or the
National Academy Of Design. He has
nd
first Hallgarten prize at the n. A. D.,
the Temple gold medal at the Penn
sylvania Academy Of the Fine Arts,
the Logan gold medal and the Hearst
prize at the Art Institute Of Chicago,
TO mention only a few. A notable
exhibition of Mr.. Seyffert's recent por-
traits was held at the Macbeth Gal
leries, New York, last Autumn. at
tracing wide attention and favorable
notice.
Leopold G. Seyffert ranks today
among the leading portrait painters
of America, with, indeed. the foremost
of cotemporary times. He himself
feels that this portrait Of Secretary
Mellon, on view during the present
week in the Corcoran Gallery Of Art,
is one oe his most successful achieve
ments. and in this opinion. it is
thought, the ma iority will concur.
x X X
AT the Phillips Memorial Gallery
an exhibition of recent paintings
by Marjorie Phillips (Mrs. Duncan
Phillipsl is now on view, to remain
throughout the month. This exhibit
tion is set forth in the Little Gallery,
devoted chiefly to transient exhibits,
and comprises II works, Of which
are still-life paintings, the remainder
landscapes. One of the former is gof
a silver bowl containing fruit, the