Evening star., 1937-03-13
WEST INDIES ART
Paintings From Virgin Islands Included
Among Subjects Found in Current
Exhibits-Japanese Textiles.

numerous wares meticulously depicted.
Dwight Williams "Poliberj" is one
Of the larger paintings, in which
village, with adjacent country. is seen
from considerable height; no sky
is visible, but the suns presence IS
registered in the light and shadows
on the landscape
A series Of etchings by F.. Townsend
Morgan includes landscape, archi-
tectural and figure subjects. Prentiss
Taylor shows pencil and colored
crayon sketches Of flowers and trees,
and a variety Of other subjects. This
exhibition will remain on view until
March ~.
Japanese Terttle Prints on Vie1D
In the National Museum.
IF THERE is any race whose esthetic
instinct Is common to every class,
and not just to cultured minority,
1t is the japanese. An exhibition Of
japanese textiles, now on view at the
National Museum, until the end Of
March, as q loan from Mrs Charles
D. Walcott, confirms this belief.
Most Of these textiles are brush paint
ings and block prints on cotton, which
were done by peasants for their per-
sonal use. Silks and linens were for
hidden to the lower classes, and were
probably also beyond their reach in
price, but the designs, in conception
and execution, are worthy of the finest
materials. Some of them are on white
or natural colored cotton, while a
majority are on colored ground, chiefly
dark blue. Cranes, storks, pheasants.
peacocks and the legendary phoenix
bird, as well as flowers and trees, and
geometrical devices, are the bases Of
the designs. The artists made elabo-
rate use OF the birds plumage, differen-
tiating between many feather ap-
pearances, in such textiles as No. /, a
peacock, and No. 10, q pheasant. Some
Of the prints are small all-over pat
terms, while others have q single
solid ground. No. II, for instance, has
two storks in q color scheme Of light
mulberry, gray, white and light blue
forming, with their wings, circular
motif on a dark blue background.
These beautiful textiles, which we
would use as wall hangings or table
covers, were variously employed by the
original owners. The narrow strips
were wearing apparel, perhaps, but the
large square pieces would be stuffed
with straw and rags or similar ma
terial to serve the owner as mattress
to sleep on. One series OF seven pieces,
some block-printed strips and others
brush-painted squares, in the prevail
ing color Of blue, were used in the tea
ceremony. All of these textiles are be-
tween rs and 100 years old and are no
longer made.
In addition to these prints and
paintings on cotton there are several
supplementary groups in the exhibi-
ton, among them number OF hand
some japanese obis brocaded with silk
and gold thread, and a Chinese finger
nail brocade, the prototype Of japanese
brocade with gold thread. Some of
these are in simple small designs and
SoAoA SN4lCAlSo, OIllClS CldDOla lalc OCSlAllS
with birds, flowers and foliage One
pictorial brocade from Kyoto repre-
sents farmers harvesting grain.
Among the small objects in one Of
the cases on view are painted stone
ware bowl, statuette carved from a
single piece OF jade, chopsticks, a
bronze dish, temple bells and two en-
chanting little Buddhas, carved from
sandalwood in such manner that when
put together they form lotus. There
are also IL fascinating miniature
masks Of "No" ceremony characters.
TWo Young Wdshingtonians
Exhibit in Mt. Pleasant Libraru.
A T THE Mount Pleasant branch of
the Public Library is an exhibition
OF rs water colors by Suzanne M. Null
lett and Paul Arlt. The work of both