Evening star., 1939-09-17

in England and France was no less
notable. NevinSon'S drawings of
war. made at the front, although in
tenSely cubistic in manner and ex-
preston, were profoundly striking,
and once seen, never to be forgotten
Brangwyn's Autographs and posters
were superb, and those by Spencer
Pryse were profoundly impressive.
These were but three of many. Eng
land sent her best men, such as
Muirhead Bone, John McBey and
Augustus John, to the front for pur-
poses of record, and all three pro-
duced masterpieces. In France
there was Forain, great graphic art
ist with amazing gift of line, and
Lucien Jonas, whose series of illus
trated drawings of soldiers at the
front, Les Grandes Vertues Fran
caises," found high favor here as
abroad (This series was exhibited.
it will be recalled, in the Library of
CongreSS)
French Recognition.
AS far as possible France, recog-
nizing. as is her won't, the value of
the contribution which the artists
may make to the world at peace as
we'll as at war, endeavored to keep
her artists out of the fighting ranks
and thus conserve cultural assets.
However, occasionally one slipped in,
as did Lemordant, the Brittany
painter, who, alas. through severe
head wounds. lost his sight but who,
when offered sympathy, is said to
have exclaimed, 1T is less important
that one artist should be blinded
than that art be allowed to die"
Cadwallader Washburn, the dis
tinguished American etcher who is
a deaf mute, volunteered to carry
dispatches in the great war, and did
so without suffering injury. No
one" he said. would suspect a deaf
artist like myself of having official
documents in his pocket" Nor did
they His colleague, J. Andre Smith,
verely wounded, so severely that he
has been more or less incapacitated
since
The caricaturist also made his
contribution as an artist during the
Great War. AS Mr.. Phillip once
wrote: The cartoons of the in
spired Hollander, Louis Raemaekers,
are proof that picture may be a
powerful weapon in war. both for Of
fense and defense" A German ed
itor once said he was worth at
least two army corps to the Allies. "
And Raemaekers was. it will be re-
membered, of a neutral nation.
Gift to America.
In appreciation OF what citizens
of the United States had done to
help the artists of France during
the hard years of the World War, a
group of drawings by French artists
was assembled and sent to the
Smithsonian Institution, custodian
of our national art collection, as a
gift to the people of this country.
These may be seen in the National
Museum, Constitution avenue and
Tenth street, with the other paint
ings of the Great War and por-
traits of leaders in the conflict,
many of which were painted on
order, of self-organized commit
tee headed by Herbert Pratt of
New York, with members In our
chief cities. So close do they bring
us to the war of 19l4-19l8 that it
seems unbelievable that again
France and England are involved
in similar conflict. From them one
turns away in deep distress.
How great is the cost of war, not
merely in money and that which is
infinitely more precious-life-but
in the things of the spirit. In
Spain, in recent years, priceless
paintings were saved by being placed
in vaults beneath ground, but many
of her most beautiful buildings were
utterly destroyed by bombs dropped
from on high. In the Great War
the Cathedral at Rheims and the
Library at Louvain were torn asun-
der in such wise by the enemy.
Can we expect the same foe now
to respect and spare, if offensive
opportunity offers, such precious
world possessions as Sainte Chap
pelle, Chartres, Rouen and other
monuments of France and perhaps
England?
To place upon such works so much
value is by no means folly of en-
thusiasm. Art, at its best, is an in
estimable blessing to the whole hui
man race, refreshing, consoling, in
spring.
Unfortunately, this great mission
of art, in recent years, seems to have
been overlooked, and for this reason