Evening star., 1939-09-03

1856 the Washington Art Associa-
ton was formed with w. w. Corco-
ran on the Board of Trustees and
such honorary members as Ashur
B. Durand, president of the Ma
tional Academy of Design; Emman-
uel Leutze, painter of the picture
in the Capitol, Westward the Star
of Empire Takes It's Way" and
Robert w. Weir, professor of art
at West Point, as honorary men,
bers. The original manuscript rec
ords of this society are in the Ii
brary of the Corcoran Gallery, and
rightly so, for who shall say that,
without its stimulus. the greater in
stitution might not have come into
being?
In any event, the Corcoran Gal
lery Of Art, as the gift of Mr.. Cor
coran, was established in the great
brick building erected for the pur-
pose on the northeast corner of
Pennsylvania avenue and Seven
teenth street NV. in 1869. At
that time there was no other pub
lie gallery of art nearer than Phil
adelphia-and even then there was
no school of art in Washington.
Partially to remedy or at least to
mitigate the need for instruction in
painting student painters were priv
ileged to copy in the Corcoran
Gallery; and out of the goodness
of his heart Eliphalet F. Andrews,
a portrait painter born in Steuben-
vile, Ohio, but student of Bon
nat in Paris, who had established
himself here, constituted himself
guide, counsellor and friend" to
aspiring young artists and gave
them criticisms regularly.
Famous Studio.
Q Mr.. Andrews had a studio in the
old Corcoran Building, which for
many years occupied the site on
which now stands the Washington
Hotel. Here it was that he painted
the portrait of Mrs. Washington
which hangs in the White House.
In connection with this the writer
has two very vivid childhood mem
ories-one of meeting in Mr.. An
drews' studio Mrs. Alexander Gra-
ham Bell, whose portrait he was
painting in those early years when
she could have been little more
than the bride so dramatically i'm
personated in the moving picture
which goes by her husbands name
and also of seeing the pink quilt
which had served as dress skirt in
the portrait of the wife of the first
president.
Mr. Andrews was a most excel
lent teacher, and when the Cor
coran School of Art was established
in little brick building on Seven
teenth street, behind the great gal
lery, he became principal-a posi-
ton which he held until his death in
1915. An excellent portrait plaque
of him in bronze is on the wall of
the vestibule to the Corcoran School
of Art in its present quarters on
New York avenue. This gifted
painter and teacher was abrupt in
manner-hence somewhat alarming
to his pupils-but none was ever
kinder than he, or more generous
host. His first wife died before he
came to Washington, and after be-
ing widower for many years he
married, in the 90s, Marietta Min
nigerode, gifted young artist of Alex
andria, who, at that time, was teach
ing under him in the Corcoran
School. Their home on Sixteenth
street was from then on a meeting
place for artists. and through Mr..
and Mrs. Andrews kindness many
a young Washington artist was given
a substantial hand up.
Brought to Capital.
It is interesting to note that the
same year the Corcoran Gallery of
Art was established group of art
lists was brought to Washington by
the Treasury Department to organ
ize the Bureau of Engraving and
Printing. Among these were men
whose family names are we'll known
in the history of art-such as
Casilear, Smile, Hill and Prud-
'homme, all of whom had been as
sociated with the upbuilding of the
National Academy of Design in New
York-and who were in a measure
responsible for the development of
art in America.
The last named was portrait en-
graver, born on the Island of st.
Thomas in 1900, and brought to this
country by his parents in 1907. At
an early AGE he WaS annrenficad To