Evening star., 1934-12-23

hibit Is by little boy In HEBREW
orphanage in Brooklyn, a graphic
child portrait of three bearded men
possibly rabbis. The American In
dan children, in directness and sim
plicity, in powers to express motion,
in lack of self consciousness, far out
strip all others.
1t has been said that this exhibi-
ton shows marked sophistication,
and unquestionably this is true. But
how sad! Why should the children
of the world be sophisticated? What
has happened to them? That they
are untutored is obvious, and how,
then, have they become sophisticated?
1t is a well-known fact that children
up to the age of IL often produce
paintings and drawings which smack
of genius, and that after that age
when the child becomes self conscious
the ability is lost, often unrecoverably
The great problem of the educators
has been to prolong this period and
merge 1t into maturity without break
Tell a child to paint flower or a
sunset and, fearlessly unaware of
limitations. he dashes of his tran
scription with naive gusto and re-
markable effect. Only when fear
creeps in. and consciousness of diff
culties, does the hand hesitate to obey
the brain. This sincerity and SIM
plicity Of childhood is what painters
for years have been trying to re-
capture, and without success, because
we cannot shake of the ego-time
cannot be turned back. Therefore In
our art today we are suffering from
futile attempts on the part of the
misguided to be childlike. or even
primitive, when they are full grown
and mature, to the limit Of their
capacity. And nov. alas, we seem
to find the children of the world be-
coming sophisticated and apeing those
who have aped them. 1t is an alarm
ing condition.
This exhibition will be open daily
until January from 10 am. to {
pm. and on Monday, Wednesday and
Friday evenings from 8 to 10 o'clock
with an admission fee Of rs cents Il
60 toward establishing a children's
club in this city. the material and
spiritual corner stone" of which will
according to the prospectus) "be
provided by the creative work Of chill
dren from all parts of the world"
X y x
THE WASHING TON WATER
COLOR CLUB in its current an
nual exhibition in the Corcoran Gal
lery of Art sets forth q delightful
group Of etchings, drawings and other
prints. These. 64 in number, are
shown in cases in the upper atrium
and priced from 50 to $75, provide
the collector tempting items for gift
or acquisition. And, Interestingly
enough, good many of the exhibits
in this section are by artists just
winning recognition, but rapidly STEP
ping into prominence through the
merit Of their work. Now is the time
to buy.
A few years ago Charles NJ Capps
of Wichita, Kans., made his appear
ance in exhibitions with block prints
Of striking significance-one of a
wharf seen at low tide with the sun
making long shadows, included in an
international exhibition sent abroad
still fingers in the memory of the
writer. In this contemporary local
exhibition Mr.. Capps is represented
by three aquatints and q small
etching, all of which are extremely
individual and of exceptionally fine
character. The aquatint process is
very difficult and comparatively few
have employed it effectively. John
Taylor Arms did some charming
aquatints Of boats on Lake Como
at the beginning of his career as an
etcher; George Ebert Burr, In his
delightful transcriptions Of Arizona
landscape. frequently combines with
great skill and effectiveness aquatint
with etching and dry point. But
for the most part work in this medium
Is thin and slight. Not so Mr.. Capps'
His three nocturnes have the strength
and reserve Of engravings, but q
beauty Of texture all their own. Com
monplace subjects, they are so treated
that they exert a very real charm
Much also can be said in praise OF
his little etching, Winters Here,
admirably rendered and with great
directness. To come across work o1
this sort Is very stimulating as well
as reassuring. Charming and &C.
complished also are the etchings oi
long-leaf pines by Ruth Doris SWEET
whose present address is given as
Daytona Beach, but who has giver
much time to the study of pines anc
other tree forms in Southern Pines
N. c. Especially competent and sat.
isfactory is her study, Carolina Long.
leaf Pine" great tree tossing its
pompons high In air and silhouettet
against the sky. Excellent also, how.
ever, In treatment and composition
are her Country Road, Florida" and
Returning Home" Winfield Scot
Cline, formerly of this city, is best
known as a painter, but in this ex-
hibition he shows two very excellent
etchings, Building the Sponge Boat
and Evening on the Anclote." r
Stanley Brown of Washington is al
his best in Lace Work in Louviers,
which shows full command of medium
and an artistic viewpoint. Minnie
L. Briggs contributes works, both ir
color and in black and white, which
witness to sensitiveness of touch ano
perception, together with increasing
strength in rendering. Eva Springer
C. Allen Sherwin and Inez Demonet
make valuable contributions Of marked
individuality.
It should not be Thought that
leniency Is attained In judgment By
lack Of standard, for the works By
these artists are here brought intt
u