Evening star., 1937-01-10

care of the financial side OF their
work. for history has shown them to
be very impractical where money mat
ters were concerned. Mr.. Bruce evi-
IDENTIFY having wide knowledge of the
financial depression which was affect
ing all classes of people in every walk
of life, knew that it was also devastat-
ing to the fine arts professions, and 1t
was then that he became vitality inter-
ested in what some one has termed
the great national adventure in art.
Artists, Actors, Musicians and
Writers Must Eat.
Later there was set up the P. w. A.
proximately 5000 American artists
from which has been selected artists
employed on all Federal Government
work. The result of this has been the
permanent bureau in the Treasury
which supervises the selection of artists
employed for the work and appoints
the committee of judges who pass on
the different projects. 1t may have
been in January, 1885, that Mr.. Harry
Hopkins, head of P. w. A., assigned
something like S27,OO0,OO0 for the re-
lief of artists. writers, musicians and
actors who were in dire need OF
assistance and to whom the de-
preston had brought, in some cases
almost starvation-without the poetic
bohemian background one reads about
A great many people looked upon the
1f ~ ovd lettnrS q
luxuries not to be considered in times
of great stress when the daily needs
of life were at stake, and even many
men in public life were not favorable
to the project.
The Adventure Is
An Accomplished Fact.
Now that the adventure is fait &C
compli, Mr.. Forbes Watson, one OF
Americas best known art critics, for
merly of the New York Evening Post
and the New York World, has pre-
pared for the information of the in
terested reading public the first vol
ume of a series on the "Art in Fed
eral Building" which is beautiful
" illustrated record of muralS which
by the way have been perhaps the
most prominent phase OF the art prof.
ect movement embracing as it does
the work in large and small Federal
buildings throughout the country
such as post Offices, court houses and
public school buildings, where the aid
of public funds was requested. Apro-
pos of the last, Mr.. Watson said local
talent, whenever possible, was en-
ployed on local work.
A Beautiful Publication
On Federal Art.
The first volume Of cart in Federal
Building" which will be followed
from time to time by others, was
compiled and ably edited by Mr.. Wat
son, whose associate sponsors are Ed
ward Bruce, Olin Dows, Maria Ealand,
1nslee Hopper, Cecil H. Jones, Henry
LaFarge and Edward Rowan. 1t is
explained by Mr.. Watson that al
though the series Twill deal exclusive
ly with painting and sculpture car
ried out under the Treasury Depart
ment, the department has no funds
which legally can be devoted to a pub
lication of this nature" Consequent
~ funds for the production and cost
of publishing the first volume have
been furnished from private sources.
The book is dedicated to Secretary
and Mrs. Morgenthau who have en-
Enthusiastically supported the Treasury
project.
To-
Bruce says: THE volumes which we
are now bringing out tells the story
Visually. AS a painter, I can't help
envying the younger artists who are
lucky enough to be growing up under
a system of art promotion which has
such healthy similarity to the periods
in which some of the greatest art in
the world was produced but
rarely did the best appear unless the
community was back of it once
more the community is behind the
artist. My inference hope is suffi-
ciently obvious" The first volume is
brought out in two different bindings
one in a dark blue matt paper and
the other in a loosely woven canvas.
The format Is the same with the ex-
ception of the quality of the paper
used for the illustrations in the more
expensive book. Even from a nom
professional viewpoint it would ap-
pear that the series will be almost in
valuable to artists and students.
Mr.. Watson, in the course of re-
cent conversation relative to the Gov
ernment's adventure into the realm
of art, expressed himself as very
much gratified with the results, and
In his personal contribution to the
first volume of art in Federal Build
ing" says that much now depends
entirely upon the artist himself.
"After everything Is ready, after nu-
merous walls have been thrown open
to artists, after method whereby
they can be supported in their pro-
fession has been evolved, there Is still
much to do. That much depends
entirely upon the artist" In pass
ing may we say Mr.. WatSon's essay Is
Afk