Evening star., 1935-11-17
BvLeila MechHn.

V prints by artists OF Washing.
4 L ton, Baltimore and Rich
mond, which opened yesterday in the
Phillips Memorial Gallery. Mr.. Phil
lips has for some time set aside one
room for the showing of works by
local artists, but for this current ex-
hibition he has given over his main
gallery and all the rooms on the sec
ond floor, as well as the walls Of the
stair hall. This permits the display
of approximately 100 paintings in oil
and water color selected from a con-
siderably larger number submitted by
invited artists.
Invitations were sent last Summer
to $50 artists, chosen with great care
because of their attainment. and this
Autumn, these invitations were fol-
lowed up as far as possible to insure
representative showing. No one, how
ever, was exempt from jury; and no
work has been included in this exhibit
ton which did not pass the Judicial
Committee of Three, consisting OF Mr..
Phillips, Mr.. Watkins and Mr.. DoWs.
The purpose, as announced, was to
uphold this exhibition to a very high
standard, and to show only works
which could be sincerely recommended
for purchase.
In respect to standard, the organ
izers of the exhibition admit disap-
pointment, but on the whole they
claim that the general average OF
merit is higher than was anticipated
and hence a much larger number of
works found acceptable.
There is cause for hope" writes
Mr.. Phillips in the catalogue, that
the public will indorse with enthusi-
asm the jury's catholicity of choice
and its faith in the future potentiali-
ties of these exhibitors"
There is today great confusion in
the field of art. Old standards have
been cast aside, new prophets have
arisen. A premium seems to be put
on incompetence-bad drawing, poor
composition, muddy color. fumbling
technic win the prize awards. This
is not modern but stupid. Good art is
quite as good today as it ever was and
bad art is no better.
judgment of art, furthermore, Is
not, as some would have US suppose,
an arbitrary thing--a matter OF per-
sonal liking. There are certain funda-
mental principles to which all great
art, which has endured throughout
the ages, has conformed-nere liking
has nothing to do with it--in fact. if
a critic is honest, he must often
praise that which to him may be dis
tasteful. To lose sight of this fact is
to increase the present bewilderment
THAT the paintings included in
- this exhibition in the Phillips Me-
mortal Gallery have been chosen with
cathoicity of taste and judgment
there is no doubt, but from what this
taste is derived and on what this
Judgment based 1t Is difficult to under
stand, for there seems to be no COM
mon denomination. AL of the works
shown, We are told. possess unique
personality" but when discounted by
technical incompetence. is this suf-
flcient to insure merit?
Furthermore, with but few excep-
tions, these works do not have in
trinsic beauty, without which no art
has been known to live Now beauty,
of course, is an Elusive quality and
perhaps difficult of explanation, but
strangely enough, it is on the basis
of apprehension of beauty that man
claims superiority to the beast. Only
as this apprehension develops do we
ascend in the scale of civilization And
If beauty cannot be defined, it can
be understood-in fact, in certain
instances there is almost universal
agreement-for instance, none denies
the beauty Of sunset-nor of the
stained glass in st. Chapelle. To art,
man has looked for centuries as an
expression of his aspirations-when it
no longer so serves, it will cease to
exist.
The loss OF this quality in art is a
serious matter. It is not essential
that q painter choose only beautiful
subjects to portray. but it is necessary
that he make beauty manifest through
Interpretation. 1t is on this score
that much of the so-calIed modern
art is found disturbing if not horrify-
ing. The artists who seek protection
under this classification seem to pre-
fer the ugly, the sordid. the debased
for expression and reiteration, and in
but few instances have they the power
and gift to exalt their subjects.
This is particularly true of a ma
jority of the paintings set forth in
this current exhibition now under re-
view, and one cannot but query If. in
deed this were a governing factor in
their choice. If so, why? What does
1t mean? Some may claim that it is
modernism, but look closely and one
will find that quite q number of these
paintings are very academic in rem
dering. In that sense, at lease, the
choice was assuredly made with
catholicity. 1t IS perplexing and none
seems to have the key to the riddle.
ITO TURN to the paintings them
- selves. Aside from the two shown
by Mrs. Phillips, in compliment to the
other exhibitors. which have her
charm Of naive expression, the most
notable exhibits are paintings in oil
by c. Law Watkins, assistant director
of the Phillips Memorial Gallery and
head of Studio House.
MIR. Watkins has had no instruction
In art whatsoever. Up to five or six
years ago he was engaged In business
which had to do with mine manage
ment; then he went to the Phillips
Memorial Gallery as educational di-
rector, his interest being to bring art
to the people and within their scope.
While in Europe during and after the
war, he visited the great museums
and studied the works of the great
masters; after coming to Washington
he continued these studies in the
Phillips Memorial Gallery and its fine
collection. Then he began to paint.
and now he is instructing large classes