Evening star., 1936-01-19

To Washington; he has not eXnlnlted
here before: he is now the head OF the
Corcoran School of Art, and therefore
likely to influence subsequent art pro-
duction in this city. In compliment to
the artist and the position he holds.
the director Of the Corcoran Gallery
of Art has assigned to this exhibition
the southeast upper gallery usually
occupied by permanent exhibits
signal honor.
Mr.. Lahey shows thirteen oil paint
ings, nine water colors, two drawings
and four etchings, thereby manifest
ing his versatility. Furthermore, he
evidences through these works equal
aptitude for portrait and figure paint
ings and for landscape and still life.
That Mr.. Lahey has had good training
and wide experience none who sees
this exhibition can doubt. Further
more, it is evident that he has broad
vision and catholic taste. The various
currents that have affected the main
stream of art in recent years are
plainly noticeable in his works. Here
is a bit of Cezanne, there a bit OF
Gauguin-the source is French So
called Modern"
And what does this mean? En-
phasis on structural strength, dra-
matte vehemence of expression, COM
plete disregard of the amenities OF
beauty, according to established codes,
and an assumption of slovenliness IN
technique which is, according to the
knowledge of the artist, more or less
pose, Gauguin set the wheels going
py declaring, first. that he wished to
be las simple and naive as child"
and then, finding this did not answer,
that it was essential to return to
savagery. Cezanne. with all sincerity,
strove to realize form in a manner be-
yond his reach-just beyond his reach,
tormentingly. Matisse, according to
Gertrude Stein, was one, OF many, who
wanted Ito be clearly expressing some
thing. something being struggling,
something being going to be some
other thing"-and so on ad inflnitum.
The wheels revolve, and, strangely
enough, get us back to the place from
which we started. The process is in
teresting and not without use or sig
nificance. The difficulty is to keep it
within the field of art, and therein lies
the menace.
Art is the visual expression OF
something which wells up within-it
cannot be scientifically explained or
produced. Plato in one of his epistles,
says, There is no way of putting art
into words, but after constant inter-
course with the thing itself, suddenly,
like a light kindled from leaping
fire, it is born within the soul, and
henceforth nourisheth itself" A work
Of art is essentially spirit as well as
substance means to an end, not
an end in itself-and undoubtedly it
was to stress this fact that the mod
ernists have gone to such lengths.
The pendulum which had swung too
far to the right, gathering momen-
tum, has inscribed an equally wide
arc to the left. In the process there
have been both gains and losses.
That Mr.. Lahey has kept his work
within the field of purely visual ex-
preston none can deny. His point
Of view may not be the traditional;
he may seek beauty in strange places
strange to the average observer
but that he is a seeker for beauty
and truth is plain. His still life,
white Cineraria," which hangs in
the center of the south wall closing
the vista Of the series of east gal
leries, is certainly effective and de-
clares itself in competence of express
sion. The portrait study of Car
lotta," which hangs to the right, is
interesting in design, direct and SIM
pile in treatment; the portrait Of Mrs.
Tonetti, the widow of the sculptor and
an artist in her own right, has pleas
ing color quality. But there is more
than a touch of savagery in the
paintings of Ann Mattel" and
Isabel" and the aspects Of nature
despoiled by man as set forth in
"Rainy Morning." "Brickyards" and
Fishing Shacks" hardly atones for
the skill of achievement.
It is said that the humbleSt repre-
sentative of the Latin races has in
variably seen in art symbol of his
own potential aristocracy. If art
ceases to be aristocratic and is brought
down to the level of the lowest, what
will become Of us? Through all the
centuries during which civilization
has been in ascendance, art has been
looked to as source of inspiration
-joy-givin - consoling - reassuring.
The soul of man hungers for beauty
and though we may quibble over
the exact definition of the word, it
Is, when seen, unmistakable.
"a N exhibition Of "Bookbinding To-
"a day" opened yesterday in the
Corcoran Gallery of Art, in the lower
southeast gallery, directly beneath
that in which Mr.. Laheys paintings,
drawings and etchings are shown.
This comprises not only works by
some of the leading contemporary
binders but also books in various
stages OF binding, illustrating graphic
ally the several steps in the process.
It has been truly said that decoration,
being the most obvious aspect of book
binding. overshadows construction,
which often, therefore, passes un-
noticed. The layman sees the result,
notes color and effect, but does not
realize the many small, secret steps
which had to be taken to assure that
result, and are hidden away under the
leather or cloth cover. As a well
known binder remarks, "The final gold
tooling, however elaborates and gilt
tering, can never make amends for the
defects Of q badly forwarded book
craftsmanship counts tremendously
herein the genius for taking pains"
wins its reward. To demonstrate
what this really means. the tools, the
leather, end-papers, designs and work.
Ing drawings are included in this
unique exhibition, together with the
finished work.
Seven distinguished American book
binders are represented in this exhi-
bition, and although the methods Of