Evening star., 1934-01-28

sponsoring the collection, omcially
opened the exhibit, which is the rarest
treat art lovers and bihliophiles Of
Washington have had In some time.
And one of the most interesting things
about it is. that in making these WON
derful pictures the artist has been ac-
tuated by desire to create cenotaph
to the memory OF his comrades who
fell in the Great War.
The artist came from a Polish family
of textile manufacturers: the mechanical
side of the family industry, however,
did not interest him and he was looked
upon as a dreamer. because he was
seemingly absorbed only in the artistic,
SO it was not until he was Is years old
that he was allowed to go to Paris and
enroll in the Academic Julian, where
his teachers were Bachet and Rover.
Returning to Poland, Mr.. SZyk pursued
his art until he was cOnScripted into
the Russian Army and later, after the
Bolshevist revolution, he fought for two
years in the White cause. AS one who
witnessed the horrors of war and who
daily saw his wounded comrades falling
about him. the miniature faces in many
of his groupings depict intense agony
and suffering. A serious student of his
tory and a linguist familiar with the
literature of many countries. the artist
has pictured the Winter scene at Valley
Forge, Yorktown and the surrender of
Burgoyne with rare sympathy and real
ism.
In this collection is an arresting
series of 36 or 81 pictures entitled
washington asl and His Times" which
depict personalities and incidents Of
the American Revolutionary War.
Crossing the Delaware" and THE
Battle of Princeton" are notable Also
portraits of Gen. and Mrs. Washing
ton-the latter with small shield in
book form on which in illuminated.
tiny lettering is The first First Lady"
But the chef d'oeuvre of the entire
collection is the illuminated Covenant
the manuscript q the Statute of
Kalisz" The Jewish Magma
Charters reserved for the National
Library, Paris. Mr.. Szyks illustrations
for the Book of Esther" won him a
decoration from the French govern
ment.
The art of establishment of manu-
scripts in colors and gold is an ancient
one The earliest illuminations were
executed in red minimum and the later
in cinnabar Ornaments were gradu-
ally added until the term came to
include ornamented writing OF every
kind. Golden lettering upon purple or
roSe-colored vellum was practiced by
Greeks and Romans, and the Anglo
Saxon and Irish manuscripts of the
sixth and seventh centuries afford
beautiful examples of this art as prac-
ticed by the monks.
When the Walters Gallery. in Balti-
more. is opened this month as a
municipal institution hundreds OF peo-
pie will be able to see the rare collec-
ton of art which hitherto has been
accessible to comparatively limited
number owing to the hours and ad-
mission fee. The latter during the
Lenten season was always given to
some local charity in which Mr.. Henry
Walters was interested.
Mr.. Walters. well known as q dis
eliminating collector OF art and q bon
viveur, died without unpacking 243
boxes of many thousands of art items,
gathered by himself and agents in all
parts of the world. His father, the
lac William T. Walters, made for
tune as transportation magnate, and
as early as 1850 began the collection Of
niI "llI'li lIcS SIUNll W llS resent
mag a9nitude. 1t is doubtful if tn. beau
tiful Italian Renaissance structure now
housing this collection will be large
enough to hold additional objects.
There was a sentiment shared between
father and son in assembling their
works of art which was very interest
ing; such as watching the development
of canvas after commissioning some
famous contemporary to paint it. This
was the case with the beautiful
"Sappho," now hanging in the gallery.
to paint it and watched his brushes as
he executed the order.
Speaking of South America recalls
an exquisite example of the llumi-
nators art in the collection of Mr..
Arthur Szyk in the Library of Con-
eress-which was not mentioned. In
fact it is one of the gems of the COL
lection, portrait of the great liber-
ator, Simon Bolivar. for whom the
state of Bolivia was named This min
iature. in gorgeous coloring was evil
IDENTIFY made from the painting by Gil.
The intricacies of the gold embroidery
on the uniform, the chasing on the
sword and the medals all require a
magnifying glass to reveal their ex-
uSHN uCilSoey anu chQulSlC UChuIy.
This illumination Is from the study Of
the illustration made by Mr.. Szyk, for
the Life of Bolivar" which is in the
Bibliotheque Rationale at Paris.
1t was the most natural thing in the
world for a liberty-loving Pole to illus
trate the life of one OF the worlds
greatest heroes. as well as one of its
most romantic characters. And to
place this hero beside Kosciuszko and
Pulaski was to this Polish artist q
graceful compliment.
II will be remembered that the fam
lily of Gen. Washington sent by George
Washington Custis to Gen. Bolivar
gold medal that had once been pre-
sented to Washington by the United
States. Accompanying the gift was a
small gold locket that contained min
iature of President Washington and a
lock of his hair. On the locket was the
inscription in Latin: This portrait
of the liberator of North America is
presented by his adopted son, to him
who achieved a similar glory in South
America" To make the gift still more
valuable, it was presented by Cen
Lafayette.
Woman's Club to Enjoy
r. II n