Evening star., 1935-01-20
Notes of Art and Artists
COMMENT CURRENT EXHIBITIONS BY MECHI
BY LEILA MECHLN

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Of his small landscape canvases even
now on view at the league, 1903
Twenty-first street. Mr.. Lawson did
not adopt the impressionists' way Of
using pure color in small dots or |
dashes In such wise that they re-
composed light, but he did develop q
way Of his own suggested thereby. As
q rule he has painted in q high key
with very subtlely related tone values.
To all appearance he uses short !
strokes, but If one will examine his
canvases closely, 1t will be seen that
these are laid one upon another un-
til an almost lacquerlike surface Is
built up. In the present showing at
the Art League are two or three can
vases in rich, dark tones in which |
strong color has been introduced most |
effectively. These have Q Monticello
quality-a jewel-like richness which
is quite irresistible The remarkable
thing about all these paintings Of Mr..
Iawson's is that without long gamut J
he SENS to perfectly indicate light |
and shadow, and to define lines and |
planes Technically he Is q magician |
-artiStically very sensitive observer |
THE Art Leagues current show of |
works by Washington artists Is |
rather melancholy Perhaps the sup |
ply of good things has been tempo
rarily exhausted. There have been |
no end Of exhibitions already this sea
son and the Society OF Washington |
Artists is, as all will remember, now |
in progress at the Corcoran Gallery of |
Art. Or perhaps the sales are so few |
that the potential exhibitors have not |
bothered to send their best. But what
ever the cause the effect is depressing |
Why should ugliness be the vogue
why should poor painting be at pre-
MUM? It Is dificult to understand |
THE exhibition Of paintings by Olin |
Dows and Robert Franklin Gates |
at Studio House has been attract |
ing much favorable attention-and |
with excellent reason. Mr.. Dow's |
landscapes, painted last Summer in !
Vermont, are excellent portraits of |
place and understandable. In them !
he has manifested, with much verac- +,
ity, the charm Of the New England !
hill country-the intriguing lay Of the |
land-and its gentle, lyrical color |
scheme. In such wise the Italian |
primitives filled in their backgrounds |
with views Of their own beloved land
Scapes, thereby establishing tradition, |
which We find hard to escape. Some |
what in like manner Edward Bruce |
has painted these same Italian land
scapes and more lately Vermont |
DIT -. Il. g. /
Mr.. Dows has not found a way of |
his own. His subjects have been |
well chosen and are very well rem /
dered. Especially well has he placed |
buildings singly and in groups In his |
landscapes, without interruption, ad- |
mirably retaining unity Of effect This |
is not easy. Some Of these paint |
| ings have been done In oils on wood |
because Of a desired texture, some |
have been done on canvas, and again |
some in water colors on paper. It |
is interesting to note this differentia- |
ton in media to meet the require |
| ments of the place and hour Two |
OF Mr.. Dows' screens are shown with !
these paintings The Monkey |!
Bridge" the other, LOS Remedies"
both reminiscent of Mexican influence,
but extraordinarily clever In treatment |
and most decorative.
| In his 10 paintings in the exhibit |
tion Mr.. Gates is seen to have gone
| further afield and allowed himself |
greater liberty in expression. Although |
! in some instances his pictures have !
place titles they might for the most |
| part have been painted anywhere.
Evidently 1t was not the subject mat |
ter that counted with him, but the |
opportunity afforded thereby for per-
sonal expression. This may be o little |
dangerous, but Mr.. Gates has made |
some high scores in thus adventuring. |
His color is very toneful, his paintings |
good in design, and they do without |
doubt adequately set forth not infre- |
quently the artists emotional reac- |
tions. Here and there one gets q |
CLINT Of that which is to be found in |
perfection In the paintings of the an
cient Chinese school. The test of
merit in such work is-will it wear?
To do so It must ring true and not
be superficial But why should not
one try ones wings?
THE posters for the Bal Boheme,
three prizes offered by the Arts Club, |
were exceedingly good and profess |
sional. Indeed an exceptionally high |
standard was maintained. The prizes
and mentions" were accorded for i'm
pressiveness, originality, suitability |
and technique. and at least a fourth |
Of the 200 sent in were up for honors,
had there been enough to go around
AS the majority of the contestants
were connected with local schools this
spoke well for these institutions. Also
1t evidenced an abundance of young
talent.
THREE exhibitions open simultane-
ously in the Arts Club today. ,,
They are oil paintings by William A.
Sherwood, shown in December In the
Baltimore Museum: japanese prints
by Hokusai, Hiroshige, Yeisen and
others from the Sho Nemoto collec-
ton, and Photographic portraits of
prominent Washington women by
Peggy Duffy. Mr.. Sherwood is q ma
tive Baltimorean, but he has lived for
80 years in Belgium. BY the late King
OF Belgium he was made "Chevalier
de + Orde de la Couronne," and some
Of his paintings have been acquired
for the Royal Museum in Brussels.
In this country Mr.. Sherwood is best
known by his etchings which are ex-
ceptionally fine quality. Miss Duffy
has studios both in New York and
Washington. She Is pupil of Rabin- |
ovitch. The Japanese prints, IS or [
80 in number. are shown through the |
courtesy Of the collectors widow and
are Of landscapes and figures. Some |
famous subjects are included.
4 X \
THE District of Columbia League |
- Of American Pen Women will
open this afternoon in their studio |
| in the Hotel Burlington, an exhibition
Of water colors by an honored mem
Der. Mrs. Florence G. Estabrook. De.
spite the fact that this painter is an |
octogenarian she retains her en-
fI,,,cfo 1nx,a onA Aauofinp fa~ 6or L