Evening star., 1937-04-24

floor and the smaller one at the
foot OF the short flight of stairs lead
ing thereto are given over exclusively
to the works loaned All of the paint
ings to which reference has Just been
made are to be seen in the larger
gallery, while in the smaller are found
works by painters Of the latter-day
French school-or produced under its
influence. Here one finds a famous
Portrait of Lady seen against a
background of flowers, by Mary Cas-
satt, American by birth but long
resident in Paris and an exponent of
the impressionist school; Portrait of
Young Girl" by Berthe Morisot, the
one woman associated on even footing
with the great impressionists, and
Portrait of Young Woman" pastel,
by Renoir, all three lent by Mrs. Mar
shall Field; as we'll as two Degas-
one a famous canvas, Repetition
de Chant" the other a Portrait of
Julie Bellelli'-and very lovely ex-
ample of the work Of Alfred Steven
Belgian-of Mother and Child" all
three Of which are drawn from the
Dumbarton Oaks collection. To segra-
gate this group was an excellent idea,
as 1t is essentially modern and
peculiarly individualistic.
On the opposite side OF the hall
a single little gallery is given over at
present to the eight or more small
paintings by Daumier of the Phillips
collection, which, interesting enough,
seem to furnish a link between the
old and the new. Any one of these
could hang, as does the Daumier,
Street Musicians" from the Dunn
barton Oaks collection, in the main
gallery with Rembrandt and Greco,
Cranach and Memling, or in the
smaller gallery with Degas and Seurat.
Very much alive, they have in every
instance the intrinsic beauty Of paint
on canvas"
Whimsical Drawings of Insets,
Birds, Beasts, By Pierre Bonnard.
0FFSETTING the grave dignity and
seriousness of the Loan Exhi5i-
tion is a collection of drawings by
Pierre Bonnard now on view in the
print rooms in the basement of the
Phillips Memorial Gallery. These,
mostly in pen and ink, were made as
for Histories MAJ rallies, ="
by Jules Renard, and are of bird,
beasts, insects and fishes. There is a
hghtness and gayety about them that
is refreshing. They are essentially
for children, but make appeal no less
to those of mature years To an ex-
tent the artist uses a juvenile idiom
not with pretence but naturalism,
adapting himself and his work to the
child mind. These are such drawings
as child might well demand of an
me a cow-draw me q
goat-draw me deer"-ad infinitum
Not only has M. Bonnard drawn all
these, but pigs, sheep, ducks, swallows,
owls, fish, bees and various insects.
A delightful drawing Is Of ants in
groups carrying on their endless in
dustry,
Bonnard was born in 1857 and is
Of the new school, linking
In his work the Impressionists with
the Expres5ionists. Writing of his
paintings, of which the Phillips Me-
mortal Gallery owns several excellent
examples, Mr.. Phillips has said that
he Is "a whimsical artist of unmistak-
able genius" and refers to hts capri
cious JOY at seeing life for himself" as
well as to his childlike mind which
"frolics in the eternal Springtime of
a piquant fancy" thus creating for
us "glimpses of fairyland." Analogy
has been traced between his paintings
and the musical compositions of De-
busy, but this Is a matter Of color
rather than line. In a world racked
by war and torn by many terrors, the
mere fact that one artist at least can
find delight in making merry drawings
for children, such as these by Bonnard
now on view, should be matter for re-
assurance and rejoicing.
"TWenty Women Painters"
Make Excellent Shouting.
THE Twenty Women Painters
an organization neither formal
nor fixed-has opened, this week, an
exhibition of the works of members
and invited (feminine) guests in the
little gallery at Jelleff's. It is a color
ful and excellent show. There are
works in oils and in water color, and
they hang together admirably. In the
matter of subjects, there is nice va
r1ety-hgures, landscapes, street
scenes, interiors and still life, Gladvs
Nelson Smith shows a clever and
semi-humorous composition, entitled
THE Snob,' which evidences a pic
torial sense and also a command of
her medium. Gertrude G. Brown is
likewise seen to have essayed a figure
composition, "The Penny Jig" a lively
scene, young Negroes dancing, rather
sketchily indicated, but out Of the
ordinary. Marguerite Mum, who Is
exhibiting at this same time at the
Arts Club, Is twice represented, and
we'll, by a study of "Gladioli" and a
landscape, the latter an excellent
transcription of a mountain, seen
across an arid plain.
Very appropriate to the time is a
painting of Cherry Blossoms"
in Potomac Park-by Ethel Foster,
lovely IN color and evanescent in
effect and very sensitively rendered.
Paula MacWhite is admirably rep
resented by small painting Of the
"Old Mission Church. Tans." which