Evening star., 1937-07-31
AIDING NATIVE ART
Feleral Projects Represent Greatest Effort in
This Field Any Nation Has Made.
Varying Results.
By Leila Mechliu.

= EVERAL additions have been
made within the past few months
to the mural paintings in public
buildings in Washington. These
are in the Department of Justice Build
Ing and the Post once Department
Building. and were included in the
hrst project undertaken by the Paint
ing and Sculpture Section OF the Pro-
curement Division of the Treasury De-
partment, after its organization in
October, 1884.
1t WAS decided at that time to con-
sider these two buildings as one project
and to divide them into % painting
and IA sculpture units. Following the
advice OF an advisory committee, COM
missions were given Immediately to 10
painters and two sculptors, after which
national competitions were set up,
through the medium of which 8
additional painters and II additional
sculptors were commissioned. All of
these artists were given two years to
complete their works, but the majority
nave had to ask and have received ex-
tension OF time. 1t will not be long
now. however, before the project Is
completed.
In the Justice Building the ma jority
OF the mural paintings will be found on
the nth floor, in the stair we'll opposite
the elevators, in the elevator lobby, in
the ADJACENT corridor running east and
west, in the Attorney Generals recep-
tion room and. eventually, in the
library, but space has been assigned to
three painters on the west wall of the
stair-well on the first, second and third
noors, and to one in the entrance from
the inner court
In the new Post ONCE Department
Building the painters have been each
given two panels identical in shape and
size located respectively in the north
and south lobbies in the center of the
building on the second, fourth, fifth.
sixth and seventh floors. Also two
painters have been commissioned to
produce murals for the lobbies of the
eubetation. known as the BENJAMIN
Franklin Postal Station. located in the
department building. Besides which
room will be ornamented by 13 half
size statues of mail carriers from
pioneer days to today and two full size
statues Of Osgood. the first Postmaster
General. and Benjamin Franklin, all
by we'll known sculptors.
HE flrst of the paintings to be COM
pleted was the fresco by George
Biddle. which illustrates Tenement
and Sweat Shop Conditions versus
Society Planned With Justice" to be
quickly followed by Henry Varnum
Poor's dramatic panels representing.
respectively, Bureau of Prisons" and
Bureau Of Lands and Customs" both
In the Justice Building, and neither
favorably received by the public. It
was George Biddle of Philadelphia
Originality who. it is said. first sug-
gested to the President the inclusion
OF artists In the white collar" groups
whom the first relief measure was
designed to benefit, and among the
persons set forth in his extensive COM
position on the walls OF the stair hall
are members OF his family, himself
and Edward B. Rowan superintend-
ent OF the Treasury art project. As
q technical achievement, this work has
received hearty applause from artists,
but it does not support its thesis.
Henry Varnum Poor, who is pri-
marily a potter and a very distin-
guished one, also, his confreres claim
very sensitive artist, has over
dramatized his theme and disregarded
practically all the tenets of wall deco
ration, as well as, in one instance, of
conventional fact Gin the scene he
pictures before the Supreme Court
the lawyer is addressing the audience
rather than the justicesl. Further
more, the figures in his compositions
are out Of scale with the architectural
detail and his themes do not in
variably explain themselves.
The third installation-two lunettes,
BY John Steuart Curry at the north
and south ends Of the elevator lobby
on the fifth floor of the Justice Build
Ing, the one representing Justice of
the Plains" the other Justice versus
Mob Violence"-marked a step for
ward, eyidencing a better comprehen-
sion of the requirements of mural
decoration, They are strong and
effective, not beautiful, but impress
sive
Then came Leon krolls lunettes for
the Attorney Generals reception room,
the best yet, and likely to be the best
for many long day-WoTks of great
beauty and distinction. finely COM
posed, well rendered, fully significant
suitable to their place and in the
truest sense works Of art. These rep
resent the Defeat of Justice" and
the Triumph of Justice" Both have
been given appropriate landscape set
ting; both have been composed with
due regard to the space to be filled.
The Defeat of Justice" shows villainy
unmasked. crime is being committed;
labor is under the leash; a despairing,
PROSTATE suppliant is utterly disre-
rarded. But there is no confusion in
the composition. no overStraining of
the dramatic; the group as a whole is
unified, the figures have been beauti-
fully rendered Here is a very dis
tinguished achievement.
The Triumph of Justice" is more
Elysian. To the left We see man tilling
productive fields, TO the right youth
goes ACQUIRING Justice is repre-
Eented by maiden with hand upheld
In blessing. behind whom comes the
Law in the person, incidentally, of
Justice Stone, uplifting (by the hand
the downtrodden and the ignorant.
IN the background is a distant COM
mercial or industrial city, and in the
sky overhead are birds of flight
feAthered and man-made.
The coloring Is hlgh-keyed and
paeasantly varied. the effect is decora-
tNe-the work charms the eve, but
e1ny explains itself. Mr. Kroll, who
- = painter OF easel pictures, has
received the highest honors within