Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-04-07
By LEILA MECHLrN.

TIME little exhtDlUlon OF PERSIAN
printed cottons which the
Corcoran Gallery of Art is show
II ing at the present time Is dis
s~ tinctly out OF the ordinary and
of very genuine interest. Thirty-two or
80 pieces lent by F. st. @. Spendlove are
shown, of which the majority were
produced during the late eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries. OF the entire
group only three or four modern prints
are shown, and while these have decora-
tive quality and some Of the fine
characteristics OF the earlier produce
tions, they are not as well done and
) they do not attain as high standard
as works of art. Why? Partly be-
cause, in all probability, they were pro-
7duced with commercial intent, the
market In mind, and secondarily they
re-echo an art of the past, therefore
! lack individuality of expression. But
swith the old works hidden or unknown
these newer works would be regarded,
and rightly regarded, as estimable.
u 1t is difficult to realize that some
of, these beautiful fabrics printed in
such interesting and intricate designs
were woven and printed about the time
OF our Revolutionary War. and that
they have been in constant use ever
since, washed and re-washed, hung In
the sun. employed for all sorts Of pur-
poses, doubtless, not merely as hang
ings, as they are now seen. but as bed
covers, curtains, table covers and the
like. They were colored. however, with
vegetable dyes and have, therefore,
proved fadeless.
In pattern they follow to some ex-
tent the designs used In Persia for
rugs, for shawls, for wooden fabrics.
I In almost every instance each piece
1 has an up and down, and though the
I patterns are to an extent conventional
{ they make use of naturalistic motives.
: Oftentimes these motives are flowers,
! much conventionalized but still recog-
nizable. In some instances animals and
birds are used In almost every case
the lines are rhythmical, flow easily
Sand gracefully. The semi-natural is
fcharmingly associated with the purely
conventional, and certain motives, as
Gin q composition of music, run through
fan entire design, but take on numerous
sdiffering forms. Comparatively few
scolors are used-red, blue, green and
Thrown. The reds and the blues are
particularly handsome, rich, resonant,
fbut never too strong.
The printing, it should be remem-
shered was done by little blocks cut by
shand, but in the older designs it is
almost impossible to discover where
these blocks were joined, or the least
little variance when one was imposed
upon another, evidence of remarkably
.skillful craftsmanship. The countless
patience, the endless labor that must
have gone into the making of each one
of these pieces can hardly be reckoned,
and yet even now they are not costly
beyond reason.
The willingness to give so much time
and thought and labor to the produc-
tion Of something for use In order to
add to its beauty is an additional proof
of the craving Of mankind for this
element In life. Cotton dyed In a single
color would have been quite as useful
rs thus beautifully patterned, but the
craftsmen took delight in patterning,
delight not only in the result but in the
creative effort. 1t is this which makes
these common cottons works of art
worthy of display in an art museum.
They speak to us of the past; they
have q lesson for us in the present;
they are hntrinsically beautiful.
> T.
CELDOM does one see q more engag-
ing group of contemporary paint
eings than that by Cora Brooks Of
Philadelphia, now on view at the Arts
Club of Washington. These are works
in oil, fair-sized canvases, fresh, color
ful, skillfully painted, with modern
sdirectness but a traditional feeling for
form and composition. While they are
up to date, these paintings possess
beauty Of color and form which always
had and always will induce on the part
of the onlooker pleasurable reaction.
u ENlifA q y1f1V1aFnT Af ITHACA rNofV1ffrnC
are Of still life and flowers. One shows
p group Of pink darwin tulips in
turquoise blue vase with highly glazed
surface: another a pot Of Chinese pri-
anula; third is an elaborate compost
lion which has as central feature
huge bunch of purplish red Joe Pye
fweed In a decorated jar of italian
make. Over the mantel, most effectively
placed. is a large canvas entitled Twin
Vases" which sets forth for the most
part a beautiful arrangement Of fruits
green grapes and apples, manifesting
70 the INITIATED the pure beauty to be
found in color, in combinations of form.
sAnd after all, this Is the charm of all
still life painting that gets beyond the
student exercise and becomes a work
of art 1t is not the thing that is done
but the manner of its doing, the ar
srangement, the color scheme, the in
terpretation of light and shade, the
play of atmosphere.
4 The Newark Museum, which believes
in making its visitors think. has from
time to time set forth exhibitions con-
sisting of uncostly objects of real beauty
in order to open the eyes of all to
beauty In the commonplace, in order
that more beauty in life may be real
seed, that it may be regarded as q
'common heritage by all.
Miss Brooks, who was pupil OF
Henry B. Smell, shows with her impress
sive sim life paintings in this exhibit
zion number of interesting landscapes,
among them one Of the Alhambra seen
from distant and an unusual point Of
view, giving the buildings actual place
ment in the landscape. Another interest
ing canvas Is of the Albaicin, Granada,
and still a third is view of Cintra
seen in the clear morning light.
These paintings are hung in the
aower reception room and In the dining
room at the Arts Club, to which they
aend through their colorfulness and