Evening star., 1937-03-27

painted what he saw; he has cap
tured the effect Of the surf on the
shore at Carmel and set forth the
sea view at Santa Barbara through
the royal palms on its esplanade. And
in all these, and many more, Mr..
O'Hara manifested beauty as he has
discovered it; beauty in strength, In
color, in composition. or perhaps only
beauty in truth-but beauty just the
same-and in this he has exercised
as an artist his chief prerogative. Mr..
O'Hara has been invited t. hold one
man exhibitions next season in the
art museums In San Diego and Los
Angeles.
A Washington Artist
Exhibits in NeW York.
MARY G. RILEY Of this city is at
A'A the present time holding an
exhibition OF water colors at the Nor
ton Galleries, 1870 West Fifty-seventh
street, New York. Some of the paint
ings there on view were done in
Mexico Summer before last and shown
during the past season In the Cor
coran Gallery Of Art, but others were
painted only few months ago in
Guatemala and have not heretofore
been exhibited. Among the latter are
two of exceptional interest Both are
Of churches or temples in the Mayan
style, approached by long flights Of
steps ascending from wide base in
pyramidal form. The steps and the
walls Of the buildings are white. One
of these paintings is entitled Indians
at Chichicastenango" and shows
many of the natives sitting on the
steps-a very complicated compost
ton most admirably handled.
The success of these latest works
by no means casts the earlier ones
into shadow. The paintings done in
Mexico are not one whit less good
seen in New York, where there Is at
this season OF year a welter Of ex-
hibitions, and much fine art in COM
petition, than they were when seen
here for the first time. If anything,
they improve upon reseeing. Miss
Riley is exceptionally skillful in tran
scribing mountains and in indicating
their natural formation. All her
paintings are excellent in perspective;
the several planes are as they should
be, and, withal, her compositions are
invariably unified. She paints broad
ly, but never carelessly; her work is
very competent and very sincere. It
reaches and maintains a very high
level. 1t is very engaging and also
satisfying. Miss Riley is member
OF the Washington Water Color Club.
illustrations by Frederic
Dorr Steele to be Sho1Un Here.
THE Division Of Fine Arts of the
Library of Congress announces an
exhibition of the work of Frederic
Dorr Steele from the cabinet OF Amer
ican Illustration, to open in the
Library of Congress on March 80.
The collection, which was presented
by the artist. includes over 100 draw
ings, in black and white, covering a
period from 1901 to 1892. This is the
first showing that the Library has
made of the illustrative work of a
living artist, but by including his
work in the cabinet of illustration
memorial to the art OF illustration,
which reached its highest development
IN the last decade of the nineteenth
century-the Library has, it declares,
no intention OF relegating him to the
past. To the contrary, the Library
finds In his work "the best traditions
Of that golden age of the illustrated
magazine carried on into an age where
the art has somewhat lowered its
standards"
To many people, Frederic Dorr
Steele Is best known as the creator
Of the pictorial type of Sherlock
Holmes. That great detective" it
has been said, belongs to him as
much as Alice belongs to Tenniel."
But Mr.. Steele has illustrated the
works Of numerous authors, among
whom may be mentioned Conrad,
Ktpling, Harrington, Richard Harding
Davis and Mary Roberts Rinehart.
His earliest illustrations appeared in
the Century, Scribner's and Harper's
Monthly. He has the gift OF creating
types which perfectly ft the authors
transformations. His work is still in
demand. And who shall say that
Illustration may not yet some day
come back into its own? What can
possibly take the artists place as
illustrator? Certainly not the camera
when the matter to be illustrated is
fiction. There Is evidence of a turn
ing tide This forthcoming exhibi-
ton may be anticipated with excep-
tional interest.
Our Christian Era Dramati-
cally Pictured by Luis Mora.
Tor many years, painting was the
handmaiden of the church, and
the majority of the paintings pro-
duced were of religious themes Since
the light of the Renaissance faded,
very little religious painting has been
done, and during the last century
such paintings Of note have been few
and far between. This, we are told,
Is q machine age, and 1t Is the triumph
OF mans ingenuity In this field that
the artists of today chiefly set before
us. But there comes an exception.
F. Luis Mora, National Academician,
who, it will be remembered, gave .
lecture demonstration here this VIM
ter, under the auspices OF the WASH
ington Society OF the Fine Arts, has
painted great canvas entitled, "Our
Christian Era" which is being ex-
hibited at this time in the Grand
Central Galleries, Fifth avenue at
Fifty-first street, once fashionable
mems club, and is attracting wide at
tention on the part of individuals and
the press, as deeply significant and
possibly epoch-marking. In the fore
ground one sees hordes OF warriors
,,oou{no foruyord m horcAhac ck and