Evening star., 1936-03-21

by deep-toned browns, blues and
greens, with heavy accents of black.
Some visitors will doubtless discern
a subtle undercurrent of humor in his
paintings of Thomas and Scott Circles
and Farragut Square. Active Incl
dental figures contrast in each case
with the motionless statues sill
houetted against the sky; uncon-
cerned hucksters and pedestrians in
baggy trousers pass below the majestic
figure of Gen. Thomas; children on
velocipedes whirl around Scott, and a
flock of pigeons picks up crumbs near
Farragut, poised dramatically above
his cannon. Mr.. Gates well-organized
composition is easily discernible in
such paintings as "St Clair River" a
romantic night scene involving a
the water. A view of the Potomac
River near Key Bridge and another
at Great Falls are also shown. The
far-reaching landscape in North Fork
Mountain" with successive planes of
hilly ranges. is reminiscent of the
method of obtaining distance seen in
ancient Chinese landscape paintings.
In his country scenes, all of Mr.. Gates
farmers are so industrious. laboring
over their hay in the very teeth" of
an onrushing storm, or doing their
Spring Planting" that one feels they
deserve to be subsidized, If necessary.
No loafers are portrayed in any of
these paintings. Firemen are battling
Fire at Dawn" with feverish energy,
but the monstrous flame and smoke
seem to be getting ahead Of them.
Mr.. Gates ability to capture the OBJ
servers interest, characterizes nearly
all the paintings In the current show
Some of them are in gouache, and
the technique Is varied according to
the effect desired. but all the work is
infused with vitality.
Mrs. Acheson's and Mr.. Gates paint
ings make a very harmonious display,
yet they are distinctly individual and
could not possibly be confused as to
origin. The majority of Mrs. Acheson's
paintings are in oils, with mat sur
face. She achieves decorative all
over pattern effect with fresh colors,
by avoiding extensive sky areas, even
in her landscapes. In some instances
she does this by painting a scene as
though viewed from a slight elevation,
thus emitting the sky; or she fills the
sky space with tree branches or foliage
so that only glimpses of it are visible.
The figures in Mrs. Acheson'S paint.
ings verge upon caricature, yet are so
truthful that one recognizes them all.
She has captured the jaunty angu-
larity of young Negroes walk in 60
ing Down the Road" and in her
Market" she presents gallery of
portraits" seen in any market
place; the heavily-budgeted house.
wives, sharply examining the produce;
the casual, well-fed market man; the
limpness of dead fowls laid out in
decorative rows alongside the vege-
tables, and live chickens crowded into
coops, pushing heads out here and
there to pick up stray grain. One
should note how the backs of grazing
cows repeat the sloptng angles Of farm
buildings in Pasture" There is a
note of irony in the arresting "Fine
Day" interpreted by slum dwellers
taking the air on their crowded door
steps and miniature grass plots, with
their dogs and chickens, and children
on "scooters." Mrs. Acheson also
shows a few woodcuts of Georgetown
houses, beautifully cut, strong and in
cisive. This exhibition will remain
| through March 28, affording residents
Of Washington an opportunity to view
local scenes through the medium Of