Evening star., 1928-10-14

Church which is now meeting in
Washington the Joint Commits
sion on Joint Architecture and the
Allied Gifts has set forth an exhibition
In the Ohio room OF Memorial Cortl-
mental Hall This consists Of photographs
Of churches and church decorations by
some of the leading architects and
craftsmen of the country. 1t is an in
teresting and impressive showing, espe-
ciallv when one considers how dreary
and inartistic was our ecclesiastical art
of so wears ago In fact. though great
Improvement has been made in this
field in the last double decade there
2re stTl comparatively few churches in
the United States which vie with those
in the smallest towns OF England,
France, Spain and Italy
To a great extent, those who nave
designed churches in this country in
these later days have followed the style
of the Gothic, partly because that style
was employed during the great era OF
cathedral building, so that it is firmly
SsSncisted in our minds with religious
revival and hence has taken on special
spiritual significance. In many in
stances We have borrowed quite laviShly
from the builders of old, but in some
instances we have made their language
our own and have adapted it most sue
Cessfully to present-day purposes.
The firm OF Cram. Goodhue d Fer
E,ison of Boston was undoubtedly largely
responsible for the adaptation of the
Gothic to modern church building in
America. and the works of this firm are
among our finest ecclesiastical monu-
1nents TODAY. AS is we'll known. this
firm after a number Of years separated,
Ralph Adams Cram and the late Ber-
tram Goodnue working independently.
end thus covering perhaps a wider area
of endesvor.
In the exhibition arranged by the
1oint Commission on Church Arehitec-
Snre and the Allied Arts, both Mr.. Cram
and Mr.. Goodhue are well represented.
Most notable and engaging, perhaps.
among the photographs of works by
ere former are those Of little All Saints
Church. Peterborough. n. H.; of the
chapel for the Choate School at Wall
9@gford, Conn, and the chapel for
Msrcersburg Academy at Mercersburg,
"a The Peterborough church and the
hercersburg chapel are pure Gothic; the
chapel for the Choate School by Mr..
Cram is Georgian. pure Colonial. as
chastA and simple and charming as
anything that the great Wren produced
an evidence of an amazing versatility
on the part of the designer.
Among the examples to The credit Of
Nertram Goo0hue is ST. Stephen s
church, CohaSset, built. like the house
Oi the wise man in the parable. on the
rocks. and it is seemingly a part of its
magnificent foundation. OF notable in
Serest in the same group is photo
graph of a. church doorway with vesti-
hule. finely designed and beautifully
produced in stone-a magnificent piece
Of masonry.
Hxxn, ~ nfuir
Borie g. Medary has To its credit in this
exhibition numerous photographs of the
Memorial Chapel at Valley Forge, Of
which the firm members were the de-
gigners chapel simple in design but
rich in ornament-ornament essentially
suitable for the purpose.
Thomas, Martin & Kirkpatrick make
miite q showing with a variety of
churches not only for Protestant Epis-
copal congregations. but likewise for
Lutherans, Presbyterians, ETC., all in the
Gothic style
Frol1man. Robb & Little of Boston,
present architects of our Washington
Cathedral in process of erection on
Mount st. Alban,' show not only per-
spective renderings of the exterior and
interior of this magnificent English
Gothic structure, originally designed by
Vaughan. but also photographs of a
church group including parish building
and cloisters in the Spanish mission
style designed by them and erected in
San Juan. Porto Rico
Emphasis in this exhibition quite nat
lrally is placed on architectural design,
but II the visitor looks sharply he will
discover evidence Of development in the
allied arts which with architecture have
gone hand in hand. For example. there
Is q photograph of a magnificent door
gsy built apparently Of solid wood with
Beautifully designed and wrought iron
hinges. II is impossible TO believe that
these are not the work of our foremost
worker in wrought iron, Samuel Yellin
of Philadelphia, whose work compares
with the finest produced in the Gothic
age or in the later Renaissance There
are also examples of beautiful wood
carving such as that which comes from
the hand of John Kirchmayer of Bos-
ton, one time an Oberammergau player
always an artist. There are few pho
tographic examples of fine hand
wrought silver-chalices, patens-such
rs might well have been produced by
Arthur J. Stone Of Boston. who in skill
both Of design and workmanship equals
that earliest of our craftsmen in silver
Paul Revere. And there are one or two
examples shown Of extraordinarily fine
ecclesiastical decorative painting. no.
tably panels for a reredos in a chapel
10 New York by Tabor Sears.
There are also photographs Of stained
glass windows. and in one or two in
stances these have been colored to better
signify effect. For the most part the
exhibits in this section have been con-
trtbuted by Clement Heaton. the de-
signeT Of the Sterrett Memorial window
an All Souls Church dedicated last
Spring. Mr.. Heston is one OF a number
Of American stained-glsss workers who
after intensive study abroad of the
great glass of the early centuries. have
adapted Gothic practice to modern uses
with skill and sincerity unexcelled
A. a result the painted pictorial win.