Evening star., 1937-05-15
REBIRTH GIVEN PHILLIPS ART
Sresg of Modern Art Is Feature of New Arrangement
Has Effect of Developing Interest in Galery-Needs of
Washington and Some Parts of Nation


above stairs by Braque, who follows
Picasso and uses as vehicles Well known
forms which he distorts. Hearty re-
welcome may we'll be given to the
mastely portrait of Miss Van Buren,"
by Thomas Eakins which now hangs
in the front hallway Within the past
10 years Eakins paintings have come
to be numbered with the foremost and
hnest, collectors and museums vying
for their possession. The recent sale
OF a portrait study by Eakins of a
Young Woman in Pink Dress" to a
private collector has been prominently
noted in the leading daily newspapers
as well as art journals. The Phillips
Memorial Gallery is fortunate indeed
IN possessing one of the most i'm
portant works in portraiture by this
American master.
incidentally and as indicative of the
generosity of museums in this country,
one to another, it is interesting to
know that this gallery's renoir-"The
Lunch Of the Canoeists"-is now on
loan to the Metropolitan Museum Of
Art and included in a special exhibi-
ton which opened therein this week.
More Galleries
Wanted.
WASHINGTON is fortunate in Its
art galleries and in the fact that
they supplement one another. The
great, new National Gallery of Art
will contain chiefly Old World MASTER
pieces; the Corcoran Gallery of Art
takes first rank because of its Ameri-
can collection dating back to Colonial
days and bringing the record up to
the present; the Freer Gallery is
known the world over for its treasures
of Oriental art, in addition to its
works by Whistler; the Phillips GAL
lery is at present stressing modern
art, especially the French school, which
has proved so influential as measured
by great works of the past, and the
Textile Museum has field of its own,
supplemented, obviously, but not du-
pllcated, by the Clark collection, of
which the Corcoran Gallery of Art is
custodian.
And still there are wants which are
not filled. There is no national por-
trait gallery, although there are many
fine works in this field in Govern
ment ownership, portraits in some in
stances by distinguished painters
hanging in the Capitol and in govern
mental departments, to say nothing
of the interesting collection of por-
traits Of men prominent in the World
War-the most distinguished men of
the allied nations-painted to order
and presented to the United States by
a self-organized committee, OF which
Herbert Pratt was chairman. These
paintings, which include portraits of
Cardinal Mercier, Admiral Beatty and
Clemenceau by Cecilia Beaux, Lloyd
George by Bolk. Foch by Tarbell, and
Joffre by Johansen, to mention only a
few, now hang in the ill-lighted cor
rldor OF the rotunda in the Natural
History Building of the National
Museum. Also there is no gallery for
the display of the National art COL
lections of which the Smithsonian
Institution is custodian. But, strange
as 1t may seem, there is not in the
whole City of Washington a single art
dealers establishment with a we'll
equipped gallery for transient exhi-
bitions nor a single print-seller where
the print lover and collector can ex-
anime prints of quality and make
purchases. These last are almost
wants. Much is said
In regard to Washington, the capital
OF our Nation, becoming an art center,
but it should not be forgotten that no
city becomes an art center until it
has become an art market-the two
go hand in hand
The Famous Bache Collection
10 Become Public Possession.
THE recent announcement of the
gift of the Jules S. Bache COL
lection to the State Of New York has
caused no little excitement in art
circles. This is a rich and valuable
collection comprising go paintings of
rare and superlative character. Accord
ing to the announcement, the terms of
gilt include the Bache residence on
upper Fifth avenue and provision for
their permanent housing. Like the
Mellon gift, these works and funds
Tor the upkeep of the collection and
It's housing are vested in trust-the
Bache foundation-with the approval
OF the Board OF Regents of the State
OF New York and to be so controlled
ano administered Thus the collection
will be kept together indefinitely and
another little museum will be added
to New York.
Such gift is immeasurably generous.
1t means perpetual sharing with
the public, but it erects barriers and
creates limitations that may be worth
considering. What has been and is
the fate Of such private museums
when made into public institutions?
The Wallace collection of London Is
perhaps the outstanding success. In
this, interest has never waned. But
S'SAA oAANAS VIC dCCS1lOdllCC Is CERTAINTY
not comparable with that Of the Ma
tlonal Gallery. The Gardner Museum
OF Boston F'enway Court, which is
on q very lavish scale and has q very
varied content, Is admittedly very
dead and cold, as a public institution
static; and, after a trial of unsuc-
cessful showing in the donors private
residence, the Johnson collection of
has been largely trans
ferTeo to the Pennsylvania Museum.
When the Frick collection was first
opened to the public a year or more
ago there were many who clamored
for admission-so many that appli-
cation had to be made in advance
and tickets issued-but the attendance
today, without such formalities, Is.
1t Is stated, only about 100 a day.
In other words, the art museum in a
converted residence, separate and
alone, appeals to and reaches a very
small public.
Also it is a question whether or not
the multiplication Of small museums
is an unalloyed blessing. There can
even be "too much Of a good thing
Sllch as this Ohvio,1s1u co1Io,+or