Evening star., 1928-05-06

III
unusually fun of interest to
local lovers Of art. Three ma
II tionai art aSSocistionS--the As
Sociation of Art Museum Direc-
tors. the American Association OF Mu-
SeunaS. and the American Federation OF
ArtS-wiii meet here in convention the
week cg May IL. That same week the
notable exhibition of contemporary
French prints, sent to this country by
the Association FrancaiS 6ExpanSion
ct G'EchangeS ArtiStiQueS and shown
here under the auspices of the Aineri-
can Federation of Arts and the patron
age Of the French Ambassador and a
distinguished honorary committee, will
open at the Library of Congress. On
or about the 18th Of the month
special exhibition of the work Of local
painters and Sculptors viii be placed
on view in the Corcoran Gallery Of
Art. to say nothing Of the current eX-
hihitions al the Arts Club. Dunthorne's
and the Yorke Gallery: and last, but
by no means least. the exhibition Of q
group Of notable water colors I'm the
Phillips Memorial Gallery.
s.
In the Corcorsn Gallery OF Art there
is now on view special exhibition
of silver point drawings by Ercole Car
toto. who has lately, ii will be recalled,
painted ir this city q portrait of Presi-
dent Coolidge for Amherst College. and
portraits OF Attorney General John s.
Sargent and Justice Harlan r. Stone
for the Department Of Justice.
Mr. Cartotto is one of the very few
artists who employ silver point as a
medium. and 70 the development of the
potentisiities OF the medium he has
given exhaustive but rewarding study.
This study has included experimental
ton with the materials used-the silver
point and the paper, and q most in
tenSive study of what belongs To the
past In order that he might "lay hold
Of the present" as he puts 1t. with
good understanding The result is
that his drawings, especially his most
recent ones, have become more sensi-
tive, more significant; each year for the
past decade has witnessed DEVELOPMENT
on the part of the artist in this his
chosen medium. and il is his expressed
hope that the present year may bring
forth the most beautiful paper ever
made for the purpose which. with in
crease IN skill. viii conduce to longed-
for results.
II would be hard To believe that bet
ter results could be obtained than
those which Mr.. Cartotto is seen 10
have achieved IN the drawings now on
exhintnon. Beautifully drawn. elusive
~ delicate, sensitive 10 the utmost de-
gree. they have strength and Character
Silver point does not admit deep shad-
owS, strong shade. It's t0nal gamut is
abort. very short. and yet when master
" employeo there is no weakness, no
sense Of lnfulfllment.
majority Of the works shown in
this exhibition are portraits of women.
and women. all portrait painters agree,
are dlf6cElf 70 portray. Silver point
may possible be regarded as a FEM
tnine medium. for certainly il presents
feminintty with extraordinary allure.
Curiolsly enough. the unexpected re-
sui OF the modeEnist movement seems
et fhe present moment 10 be q return
70 fine craftsmanship. despite the fact
mat the rodeEnists themselves at first
seemed 20 cast good drawing to the
winds Quite suddenly of late Interest
has reawakeued IN the drawings of the
Old masters. and q number OF our
American art museums have already
assembled notable collections In the
W. A. Clark collection, lately placed
permanently on view In the Corcoran
Gallery Of Art, . group Of such draw
tnTE Is Of extraordinary interest Mr..
Cartot1o Is an Italian by birth and ne
has inherently q love OF fine drawing
Back Of him Is the tradition OF the
great masters Of Italy In the present
exhibition q drawing of q claildis head
recalls the works Of the masters and
there is little doubt that in many OF
these silver point drawings the masters
~ the psawf zzessfA t,m@aa N.t.~@A .znx8~t.s
evidence Of kindred spirit.
Among the most pleasing OF the por-
traits shown are those Of Mrs George
d. Pratt and Mrs. George Pratt, ir.: a
Portrait Of Miss Wiihelmina Kirby of
New YORK and Of Mrs. Charles Ewing
of this city. Also included are DOR
traits Of Mrs Calvin Coolidge. Iady
Isabella Howard, Mrs. George Hewitt
Myers and Miss Mary Dewart, admir-
able. Characteristic. But in the ideal
studies, "A Madonna and Mothers
Arms" particularly. there is an sban-
con, @ charm which the necessity Of
registering likeness perhaps forbids 10
pCrtr2itare
Mr. cartotto was brought 10 this
country when a small boy and untiI
after he was 20 lived and worked in
worcester. Mas, worked not as a
painter but with his hands All the
time he wanted 70 be an artist. and
when opportunity offered, he vent TO
Boston and studied in the Museum
School under Benson. Paxton. TarbeIi
and Hsie. earning his way, winning
eventually an ingtructorship. In 1918
ne ~as awarded the Julius HaIlgarten
Prize % the National Academy Of De-
sign, His works have since been pur-
chased for the permanent collection Of
the Metropolitan Museum Of Art the
Cleveland Museum of Art. the San
Diego Museum Of Ar, and portrait
commissions hare come 70 MIN from
public institutions az sStute private
patrons. His success has been gon by
earnest, devoted effort hacked bY
Een1ilt, and II IL success vel deserved.
-
TEE trustees Of The Cogcoran Gallery
OF Art announce this week that the
eleventh biennial exhibition Of eotcni-
poFsry American oil paintings will be
A.A& fa.fN Il