Evening star., 1935-01-20
COMMENT ON CURRENT EXHIBITIONS.
THE meeting in this city yester-
/ day Of the National Alumnae
l Association of Smith College


Carnegie Corp. of New York
Of voluminous report on Research
IN Fine Arts in Colleges and Uni
versities Of the United States" call
to mind at this time the interesting
developments in this field in recent
years and the prominent place Smith
College has taken in this connection.
In 1874 Charles Eliot Norton. at the
request Of his cousin, President Eliot
of Harvard, consented to take class
in the history of the ARTS of Con-
struction and Design and Their Re-
lations to Literature"-thef first of its
kind introduced into an American
College. Smith College was founded
the following year and by 1877 we
find J. Wells Champney. painter and
illustrator, engaged to lecture therein
on painting and sculpture. From 1880
to 1902 Smith College had an art
school, but the latter year the new
academic art department took its
place. Courses in both the theory and
history of art steadily increased in
number and popularity - graduate
courses were added. Dwight Tryon.
VIC PdAAlCAs wiz, py lIlC way ID OklC
of the few American artists repre-
sented here in the Freer Gallery, was
director of the art school and then,
until 1928, head of the art depart
ment.
To the college this distinguished
artist and his wife gave a charming
little art gallery. for the maintenance
OF which the bulk of their estate was
later bequeathed. But before this
in fact, almost as soon as the college
was established "a Northampton
merchant, Winthrop Hillyer, offered
to give 5000 for the erection Of an
art building as memorial to
member Of his family. The offer was
accepted and the Hillyer Art Gallery
opened in 1882. Mr.. Hillyer added
s50,O00 as an endowment fund and
when Mrs. Hillyer died she left S400,-
900 to establish a purchase fund.
Architectural taste has improved in
the last so years and in 1888 the
Hillyer Memorial Art Gallery was re-
modelled within and made completely
up-to-date and adaptable as q fine
arts laboratory, with class rooms and
studios as well as exhibition galleries.
A recent addition to the Tryon Art
Gallery has given needed space for
transient exhibitions and the display
of permanent possessions.
The Smith College Art Department
has for some years been regarded as
essentially progreSSive-hospitable to
new movements and innovations. Its
collections were built up with the idea
OF concentration-two schools are
represented nineteenth century
American and nineteenth and twen-
tieth century French. The latter in
cludes, with only few gaps, the lead
ing painters from Delacroix to Picasso
one of whose enigmatical abstrac-
tionS was purchased within the past
couple of years.
This year one Of the most notable
exhibitions held in America was the
Corot exhibition held at Smith Col
lege, comprising most valuable loans
from public and private collections
Following this exhibition the college
announced the purchase of a figure
painting by Corot, La Blonde Gas
come" an acquisition which any
museum would covet. Indeed so not
able has become the Smith College
collection that it is frequently called
upon for loans. For example, to the
Century of Progress exhibition In Chi
cago it lent four paintings. Further
more, throughout the scholastic year
transient exhibitions Of varied and
fine character are held, admirably
supplementing the permanent collec-
tion. In thus early recognizing the
place of art in a we'll rounded educa-
tion and courageously pioneering in
this held, toward a great goal, Smith
College has not only set example, but
exerted influential leadership.
IN THE National Museum, Tenth
street and Constitution avenue,
under the auspices of the National
Gallery of Art, two special exhibitions
are on view. One consists of oil paint
ings by Emil Jacques, the other Of
water colors by Alexandria B. Trow-
bridge. Both are in the large gallery
on the first floor between the Tenth
street entrance and the auditorium,
the former occupying alcoves to the
left. the latter to the right.
Mr.. Jacques is head of the Art De-
partment of the University of Notre
Dame, in Indiana. Mr.. Trowbridge
was at one time director and dean Of
the College of Architecture at Cornell.
MIR. Jacques was born not far from the
city Of Ypres, in Belgium. He was at
one time professor at the Royal Acad-
emy of Fine Arts in Maline and in
spector of the Belgian art schools.
About 20 years ago he executed
group Of murals for the Belgian gov
ernment. The city of Antwerp pos
sesses also a series of his paintings rep
resenting native industries. Upon COM
ing to this country, Mr.. Jacques went
first to the Pacific Coast and, al