Evening star., 1937-10-30

THE Edward C. and Mary Walker
collection, acquired by the Cor
coran Gallery of Art, through
- bequest. about six months ago
and now on exhibition. adds 40 paint
ings to this institutions permanent
collection. These are now hung in
the gallery which as rule is set aside
for transient exhibitions. They will
not remain here indefinitely, but they
can never be distributed among the
gallery's other possessions, as this was
one of the conditions of gift in Mrs.
Walkers will Being hung as unit
enhances interest for the moment. but
in the long run creates embarrassment;
first. in the matter of space; second,
because the collection as a whole is
not completely homogeneous. When
these paintings were on the walls of
the sumptuous apartment that Mrs.
Walker once occupied on MaSsachu-
sets avenue at Eighteenth street, there
were only a few in each room, and
they took their place with the furnish
ings. enhancing the decorative effect
At that time they fulfilled perhaps
the highest function of the easel pic
ture, which is, not to be displayed in
a public gallery. but to fit into a home
where it can be privately studied and
Intimately known. Now that they are
brought together in a single large
gallery, while they may collectively gain
in effect, they individually lose through
accOpiati
Mr. Walker, it is said, always bought
with the idea of a public collection in
mind and made great effort to secure
representative examples, while Mrs.
Walker was more apt to purchase. in
accordance with her own taste. works
in which she found personal pleasure.
Which paintings were purchased by
Mr.. Walker and which by Mrs Walker
is not known, nor does it matter. but
it is interesting to have the two view
points illustrated in the one collection.
The Walker collection, taken all in
all. is essentially conservative. In
some instances paintings are included
which were produced before 1900, but
the majority date from the late 18th
and Goth centuries, just such works as
were found most tempting to the pri-
vate collector of those days
ONE of the earliest and most inter-
esting of the paintings in this COL
lection is portrait of little girl, said
TO be Lady Arabella Stewart, attributed
tn Fo otjf - M
Flanders. whose name in Flemish was
Marc Geerarts. spelled variously with
additional e's as and rs. There were
two of this name father and son,
both living during the reign of Queen
Elizabeth in England. The father,
born at BRUCE. was the more cele-
brated of the two, but there is a great
resemblance in the sons work to his.
Geerarts senior was the author of
remarkable plan of BRUCE, of which
the original is still in the possession
of the corporation of that city He
was famous not only as painter. but
rs an engraVer, and he made llluStra-
tions for volume of Aesop's Fables,
published in BRUCE in 1867. 1t is more
probable that the portrait in the
Walker collection was painted by his
son, but that too, is of no great con-
sequence. The interest in the portrait
derives from the very engaging way
in which it is painted. The little face
Is piquant, the quaint figured gown is
most skillfully Transcribed, and the
whole canvas shows most competent
handling.
Leaping over an interim of more
than three centuries one finds here a
number of outstanding works by
painters of the modern French
school-Monet. Pissarro, Raffaelli.
The Monet, THE Poplars." is a gem,
a most lovely landscape, painted with
this artists lightness of touch and
keen appreciation of the loneliness of
light out of doors, unShaded. but gen.
tie and caressing. PiSsarro's The
Champs Elysees" are both gray,
somber pictures, but very typical of
Paris and also of the school they rep
resent
Renoir is represented by land
scape. "LEsterol." readily to be identi-
fed by its characteristic coloring, but
not this master at his best. Primarily,
Renoir was figure painter, but this
essay in landscape painting is an 10
teresting souvenir. There are a de-
hghtful little Constable, by one who
was, it will be remembered, the father
of landscape painting in England an
interesting Daubigny; a Courbet, in
dicative of potential power (Courbet,
1t will be remembered, was said TO
have been the first rude" painter in
the history of French art); splendid
Jacob Maris, Man on Horse" boldly
rendered, more French than Dutch in
feeling.
OF VERY considerable importance
also is small study for decora-
tive painting by Puvis de Chavannes,
hgure composition. Representative
Of the German school are canvas by
Menzel. Fishermen" and portrait
of little girl by the great Lenbach.
There are portraits attributed to the
distinguished painters of the English
school of the 18th century, among
which perhaps most notable are one
by Sir Joshua Reynolds, supposedly OF
Charles James Fox, friend of the
Colonies, and another by the same
artist Of Princess Amelia, daughter OF