The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1934-04-28
IN
New York
BY PAUL HARRISON

!. New York.-When artists studios
receive their spring cleanings,
thousands of paintings are dragged
from behind the models stands and
under the couches, and are sent
off hopefully to the exhibitions.
Every year the shows are larger,
the treatments a little more cock
eyed, and the nudes more nu-
merous.
Over at Rockefeller Center, for
instance, the organization called
the Salons of America is holding
1.-THE Worlds Largest Art Exhi-
bition 5000 Paintings, Prints
and Sculptures by $500 Living
Artists" SO If there is any beau
ty in numbers, this must be a very
fine show. Personally I am not
so sure, because I spent what
seemed like weekend looking at
some modernist whorls and daub-
ings, and at various bits Of SYM
bolism such as "Selfishness Down
the Ages" which showed a blue
face leering through a round hole
cut in the palm of a blue hand
One of the Choice mechan-
istic pieces showed what look
ed like cross section OF two
dOwn-draft carburetOrs dane
ing the can.can.
"Artophilately," a brand new
term, came in her attention too,
with painstakingly-painted sheet
OF. stamps pasted on the front page
of'a newspaper and ensconced in a
huge, hand-carved frame. There
were nudes in wood, plaster, pas
tel, charcoal, oil, bronze, chromi-
UNI and baling wire. There were
skinny nudes and bobby nudes
beautiful, vulgar and even funny
nudes. 1t must have been q ban.
ner year in the modelling business
One fellow depicted a Times
Square subway rush in which
everybody was nude.
Pictorial Propaganda
The only important art trend
however, seems to be in the expires.
sion of proletarian thought. Com.
munists and socialists by the hun.
dreds are painting propaganda pic.
lures in the manner of Diego Riv.
era. Routine preachments without
much attention to technique. "Wal
on War;" Depression, Trial Of
the Bread Thieves'-those are
sample titles and you can imagine
what they look like.
The Society of Independent Ar.
lists refused to hold its current
show in Rockefeller Center be.
cause 1t feared the sort Of censor.
ship Rivera received. Anybody i.
eligible for the society, and fol
the small fee can exhibit any pic.
ture he chooses condition
which is perfectly apparent to 6
visitor who strolls among the
nudes and stillAifes at Grand Cen.
trail Palace. The New Deal re.
ceives almost universally favor.
able treatment at the hands Of am.
ateur and would-be artists. Dur.
ing H o ov RS administration
scores Of cruel caricatures and sa.
tirical sketches were shown. The
present exhibition, however, hal
no picture or bust of President
Roosevelt that is anything but
complimentary.
Society has been exclaimine
| over still another art show-the
baffling psychological portraits
by Kenneth Britton, who works II
feathers, flowers, beads, confetti
wax, old slippers, false teeth and
all such oddments -. For exam.
pie, his portrait of Katharine Hep.
burn is a mirrored stage with
green curtains, lady bug and 9
spider, all arranged under round
glass dome +. His representation
of Dorothy Parker is a hard-boil.
ed egg together with a wax mer
maid with blue hair -. DIR Alder
Einstein looks to the artist like &
string of beads, a red lobster ant
an ivory skull-all arranged on
shiny black base -.
Barbara Hutton Mdivani
and her Alexis are pictured as
| a couple of test tubes filed
with dice, c0rkS, q tape meas
ure and assorted other small
articles, probably from the
ten-cent store.
Art of Love
All of which reminds me of tn
story of the beautiful model who's
VERY wealthy fiance Of few year
ago insisted that she stop posinl
for painters.
She demurred; he was ada
mant. So she broke the engage
ment. went ahead with her model
ing, and finally married success
full artist. And the couple nov
live in an apartment house wher
the ex-fiance, who lost all hi
money, now is the janitor.
| --------
MAN BIT COW
L ~
West Tisbury, Mass, (UP)--l