Evening star., 1935-02-03

! ~ a medal "to all true fisher
men," A similar dedication
might well be made Of at least
the major portion of an exhibition
of prints by Ralph L. Boyer which
| opened in the Smithsonian Building the
| first of last week under the auspices
of the division of graphic arts. Mr..
Boyer is, himself, an inveterate fisher
man and has specialized in dry points
of game fish and of sportsmen. Many
of his prints depict trout, salmon and
bass in their native element-fight-
ing for life, rising to tempting bait,
leaping for sheer joy-and admirably
does the etcher indicate the grace of
movement and its impetous. His rem
dition of water, too, Is excellent. At
times he indicates its hmpid quality,
while again he shows it white, foam
ing, the splash of the fish, the swirl
of the rapid. Even more, however,
than the plates of fish, viii sports
men like those of fishermen. These,
too, are full of action, swiftly seen and
indicated, impressions derived through
momentary emotion, accurately, feel
ingly registered.
AS background for these sporting
prints are dry points of New England
marshland and countryside, very typi-
cal and sympsthetically rendered.
Getting the Hay" is a picturesque
| subject rendered with dramatic effect.
THE Last Load" also haying pic
ture, is no less pleasing and out Of
the ordinary. "Coleys Barn" is of the
same group, an interesting study in
light and shade. Mr.. Boyer has evi-
IDENTIFY keen perception of subtle val
ues and at times his touch is pecu-
liarly sensitive. In what seem to be
his least studied works, such as dry
point of the trunk of great sugar
maple and a print entitled First of
the Flood" these qualities are most
obvious.
| OF utterly different style, indicative
of versatility, are IL prints of the
Little Church Around the Corner"
New York; its interior, its exterior, its
environs, etched, no doubt, on ac-
count of architectural beauty and
| charm, but also because of aSSoci-
ationS with those who have worshiped
therein and looked to it as refuge and
for benediction. This has been for
many years known as the actors
| church. and for this reason is fitting
that with this group should be shown
not only dry point of the Rev. DR..
| Houghton, for many years rector, but
! also a portrait of George Arliss,
one of the greatest of our living actors.
Interesting as these are, they seem to
| the present writer to lack the au-
| thority and distinction of the outdoor,
sporting and country life prints
which, perhaps, the etcher himself
took less seriously.
Ralph L. Boyer was born in Cam
den, N. j., in 1879, and studied art
at the Pennsylvania Academy of the
Fine Arts in Philadelphia, under so
great a master as Thomas Anshutz.
While still student it was his habit
| to carry a sketch book wherever he
| went, and many of these he filled
with beautiful drawings of the coun-
try around Philadelphia" He became
an illustrator and painter of por-
traits. During the World War he
served as a camouf1euIr in the Navy
and for months worked at the Bal
timore station, turning American
ships into strengthening creatures
as far as possible invisible to the eye
Of the submarine destroyer. Since the
war Mr.. Boyer, with his wife and
daughter, have made their home In or
near Westport, Conn.,, in the vicinity
of which some of the dry points
in this exhibition were made. His
studio IS a red barn and, to him, one
| of the great assets of his country
| place is a trout stream which flows
| not far from his door. In the variety
as well as character Of the monthly
print shows, such as this, in the
Smithsonian Building, arranged by
Ruel p. Tolman, acting director of
the National Gallery of Art, lies spe-
cial interest to print lovers and
collectors. Invariably they are out
of the ordinary and well chosen.
A FTER an interim of a year or
more, due to the depression or
its aftermath, the American College
Society of Print Collectors, headed
by Prof. Marques E. Reitzel of Rock
ford College, has resumed activities
and issued to members a very fine
and thoroughly characteristic etching
by Charles H. Woodbury., entitled
The Sea Is Making" This society
was organized few years ago with
the purpose of creating among college
students an interest in prints and
Of building up print collections Of out
standing quality in the colleges. Its
membership is limited to colleges and
universities. The membership fee Is
$50 a year and each subscriber re-
ceiveS two prints yearly issued by the
society. The plates for publication
are invariably by the foremost artists
and are very carefully chosen. From
these plates an edition limited to
members of the society Is printed
and distributed, and none is put on
the market. Among the plates issued
up to this time are etchings by Sir
David Y. Cameron, Brangwyn and
others. These have been chosen from
sketches submitted by the etchers by
an advisory committee consisting of
the heads of college art departments
and other connoiSSeurs.
The Woodbury. print was etched
from the artists studio window and
shows typical cove on the Maine
coast, where the little boats are made
safe against an incoming storm. A
sloop and four rowboats are seen
tossed on cross-waves dashing bolster
ously against a rocky headland which
serves as protecting wall. Mass IS
used, the etcher has explained, when
ever necessary "to specify general
physical conditions" but it Is sec
ondary to the dynamic statement" of
pure line employed here to indicate
motion and force in their effect upon
water" It is indeed remarkable what
Mr.. Woodbury. can do with line. None
has better understanding of its po-
tentialities than he. In an etchings
such as this, full of motion, full of
! the sense of bulk and weight of forms,
he maintains, with the utmost sim
plicity, unity Of effect. In an article
on Woodbury's etchings published in
recent issue Of Prints" John Taylor
Arms, himself q great etcher, had
II l. E~Tn L