Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1938-12-11

Cl Es Offer Exceptional Opportunities for
Congess-Variet in o. Sculpture

parity perhaps because CneSe gave
him opportunity for contrasts of
light and shadow. He was a dis
ciple of Rembrandt, an admirer Of
Vermeer and the Dutchmen of
earlier days-but he initiated none
His work was in perfect accord with
his time.
An exception to the rule, with
reference to subject. is an illustra-
ton Of great charm in this collection
entitled Through the Needles Eye"
two men in a sailboat running in
heavy sea through a narrow
channel-the sun sparklingly bright,
the breeze blowing briskly-a
charming scene. This was made to
illustrate a story by Sewell Ford.
And SO all of these illustrations are
tied up with stories, written by
Americans of not so very long ago,
for American consumption-stories
well worth the reading and inher-
emily our own. One turns from
them little sadly with the knowl-
edge that the era they represent is
gone beyond recall Fortunate in
deed is it that the spirit is con-
served. as in this instance. by works
permanently included in the Lii
brary's Cabinet of American Illus
tration.
Sculpture in Bronze and
Porcelain and Plaster
By Nine. Corte.
Nine Corte gave last Sunday after
noon and will give again at the same
hour, $50. today a demonstration
of sculpture at the Arts Club, which
explains. if explanation is neces-
sary, the presence there at this time
Of half dozen of her works, incon-
spicuously placed in the gallery
where the Wagner water colors are
shown. These not only testify to
her distinction as a sculptor, but
also to her skill in the use of va
rious media. Three of the works
shown are in white porcelain, two
are in bronze, one is in plaster, and
according to the requirements of
the material used the sculptor S
manner is changed. The works in
porcelain are Madonna and Child
which might have come out of the
Renaissance era, head of a boy in
turban and head of a woman with
winged headdress suggesting the
mythical. In bronze is a very strong
head of a man, rendered with clas-
steal Roman finish, and one of a
boy essentially modern In treatment
disregarding surface texture, but
emphasizing alertness of expression
mood and feeling. The work in
plaster Is study of a head, under
life size, but very skillful. Strongly
does this work bring to mind the
fact that there is not one but many
right ways of producing a work OF
art, and that Immortality for such
rests not in the thing said but in the
way of its saying-that which is in
innate and personal to the sculptor
but capable of transmission-inde-
Unable but always recognizable
unmistakable. That Fausta Men,
garine Corte and her talented hus-
band are making their home here in
Washington now is gratifying to
know.
Portraits of Nee Perez Indians
and of NaUaho Rugs In
National Museum.
Art and science in felicitous union
are accountable for an exhibition of
Indian portraits and weavings set
forth in the foyer of the United
States National Museum, Tenth
street and Constitution avenue, this
month. The portraits. which fill two
alcoves, are OF Nez Perez Indians,
the work of Mrs. Gordon Dee Alcorn
of Tacoma, Wash; the weavings,
which occupy the remaining space,
are by Indians Of the Navajo tribe,
drawn from the Museums perma-
nent collection. Mrs. Alcorn, who is
represented by paintings in the
State Capitol of Idaho at Boise, the
State Museum of Washington at
Seattle, the Ferry Museum at Ia
coma and elsewhere, has given ex-
tensive study to the history of the
Nez Perez tribe, and has chosen for
portrayal individuals outstanding
for valorous exploits as well as
ethnologically typical. The majority
Of her canvases portray Nez Perez
Indians of today and were painted
from actual sittings, graciously
granted, but her portrait of Chief
Joseph-"Thurder Rolls Over the
Mountains"-the leader Of the Nez
Perez in the Indian Wars Of 1877,
was done from photographs and
tribal records. Her portrait Of
BLACK Wings" who fought under
Chief Joseph and with Sitting
Bull" but was later captured and
taken to San Francisco, was done
from life, the sitter recounting to
her, through an interpreter, memo
ries Of his journey to the West
Coast. AS a typical example Of the
modern Nez Perez Indian, Mrs. Al
corn has painted Joseph Black
Eagle, nephew Of Chief Joseph, who
is well educated and the farm aide
at the Lapwai Agency. But all Of
those that she has represented show
In their faces intelligence and char
acter.
Mrs. Alcorn's canvases are care
fully rendered with apparently chief
interest In the subject rather than
technical achievement-in other
words, her own personality has been
subordinated to her theme. She
works in q simple. broad manner,
restricting her color to . rather
narrow range and avoiding the use