Evening star., 1930-12-05
.ARGENTIN|ANLAUDS
ART DISPLAY HERE
Or. del Campo Says Many
Paintings Are Worthy
of Any Gallery.

The advanced stage reached by
American painting" is exemplihed in
the Twelfth Biennial Exhibition of Con-
temporary American Oil Paintings at
the Corcoran Gallery of Art, and many
of the works there "are worthy of a
place Of honor in any gallery OF con-
temporaneouS art in the New or Old
World" in the opinion of Dr. Cupertino
del Campo, director OF the National
Museum of Fine Arts of Argentina.
DR.. del Campo expresses this convic-
ton in letter to G. Powell Minnigerode,
director of the Corcoran Gallery, who
recently escorted the Argentine art
authority through the rooms devoted to
the current display. A letter of similar
praise was received by Director Min
nigerode from Carl Melchers, noted
American artist.
The museum of which DR.. del Campo
Is director was founded in 1895 and Is
devoted exclusively to modern art. DR..
del Campo himself is a gifted artist.
He is a member of the Executive Com
mittee of the Argentine American Gull
tural Institute, an organization formed
by Argentine friends OF the United
States for the purpose of making North
American thought and culture better
understood in Argentina. In pursuance
of this objective DR.. del Campo visited
the United States in 1928 and on his
return to Argentina gave series Of in
terpretative lectures.
Visit Real Pleasure.
In his letter to Mr. Minnigerode DR..
del Campo said:
This visit was a very real pleasure
to me, for In addition to admiring the
work of masters whose names 1 have
long known and whom I have had
occasion to discuss in my own country
in articles and lectures, I noted with
great enjoyment and even with emo
ton many paintings of great interest
by other younger artists, which snow
that they have passed from mere prom
ise to the achievement of beauty.
81 observed that in this exhibition
two types of paintings, examples OF
which abound in European exhibits, are
happily absent: on one side, the coldly
academic, and on the other, those mis-
named modern and characterized by
distortion and poor taste. In my opin-
ion, these two classes, Notwithstanding
their diametrically opposite tendencies,
are effects of the same cause. that is,
lack of ability, for schools in them
selves have no significance, since when
an artist has true talent his work is
your exhibit. indubitably modern, and,
in some cases, advanced in tendency,
one finds vigor and harmony Of color,
a sense of balance and of composition,
and the ever-present feeling for beauty
which make 1t a pleasure to look at
the pictures. In this feeling for beauty,
this healthy artistic outlook and this
youthful vigor. find the finest traits
Of American art, worthy of special men
ton in this age when in many Eu-
ropean nations, once masters OF the
world, art is in a state of decadence,
or has been reduced to medium Tor
commercial speculation.
"This exhibition and others which
have had the privilege Of seeing during
this journey to the United States and
on my earlier trip in 1928 prove to me
ccnclusively the advanced stage reached
by American painting. am confident
that the special characteristics today
distinguishing it will become stronger
al time goes on, especially in view OF
the important work of artistic culture
which is being carried on IN this
country, and which includes the con-
slant erection of splendid new museums,
the amazing enrichment Of collections
and the excellent methods of instruc-
ton in American academies and art
schools.
Line and Mass Balance.
"As for instruction, I consider that
the leading place occupied by the study
OF design "a word that has no exact
equivalent in Spanish) and to that of
dynamic symmetry train the student
from the outset in an appreciation of
the balance of line and mass and in q
feeling for the harmony of color, and,
above all. stimulates personal creation.
This is the true basis of American art
and explains the outstanding qualities
of the paintings which have just
admired
81 believe that many of the works
appearing in this exhibition are worthy
of place of honor in any gallery of
contemporaneous art in the New or the
Old World.
''These are my impressions, Mr..
Director, which may perhaps be per-
mttted a traveller who has come twice
to this country for no other purpose
than TO visit museums and art schools
and become acquainted at first hand
with the work of American artists; a
traveller who. on more than one occa-
sion, has expressed his admiration for
the great efforts in this direction being
made in this country, a fact which Is
almost entirely unknown abroad"