Evening star., 1940-01-28

QeugnCeQly OUT OF Lne WINDOW on
from the West toward Chesapeake
he turned back to his book and m
traveller who had been likewise oc-
cupied. There was instant under
standing, and the stranger said a
single word. solemnly and with
evident deep conviction-"Swell!"
This incident is recalled by the
exhibition of recent accessions OF
prints by contemporary American
and foreign artists, purchased from
the Joseph and E. R. Pennell Fund,
now set forth by the Division OF
Fine Arts in the Library of Congress,
because to it this particular word Is
so completely applicable. A better
showing could hardly be made or one
more calculated to inspire respect
for the contribution of artists in the
field of graphic art in, say, the last
half century. AS these prints were
acquired as opportunity offered,
from time to time during the past
year, it is altogether proper that the
Purchasing Committee, consisting of
DR.. Leicester B. Holland, chief of the
Division of Fine Arts of the Library
of Congress; John Taylor Arms,
etcher, and Stow Wengenroth, lith-
ographer, was unaware, before the
collection was assembled and put on
view, how consistently wise had been
the choice and how high a standard
had been maintained. Ones only
regret is that the donors of the fund
which made the purchases possible,
Mr.. and Mrs. Joseph Pennell, could
not have had the satisfaction Of
themselves witnessing the rich fruit
which their beneficence has pro-
duced.
But in this exhibition the Pencils
are by no means forgotten, and, all
considered, their participation is
not only very real but precisely along
the lines they themselves would have
chosen, for one whole section of the
display Is made up of Autographs by
Mr. Pennell, not a few of which were
made to accompany, as Illustrations,
books, or articles, written by his
gifted wife, Elizabeth Robins Pen
nell. These, which were not in the
original Pennell bequest, but have
been gotten together from various
sources, make up the first section
of this notable exhibition, and gives
the beholder very clear and con-
vincing idea of the remarkable skill
with which Joseph Pennell handled
photographic crayon.
Lithograph Revival.
Lithography as an original medium
for artistic expression reached a
great height in the early years Of
the 18th century and then, being
commercialized, fell into disrepute,
so that when Joseph Pennell and
his bride in 1884 tri-cycled over
Europe as illustrator and author,
under commission from the Century
Magazine, very few Autographs
which might be regarded as works
of art were being made. Whistler
was one Of the first to return to it
experimentally, and he and Pennell
were largely responsible for bringing
it back into vogue, but, as will be
seen in this exhibition, there was a
wide difference between the Itho-
graphs of the late nineties and those
which came from the hand of the
same artist at the time of the Great
War.
There is something exquisitely
dainty and quite lovely in the litho-
graphs by Mr.. Pennell, seen here,
made in Scotland and England in
1867, such as "Infracombe, Gate
way Clovelly," Truro Cathedral"
and "Whitby Abbey" as well as "On
Dartmoor," "The Cornish Coast"
ETC.; also two done in Holland the
latter year-"Zaandam" and Near
Rotterdam" These are all like
pencil drawings, without strong ac-
cent, but very accurate as to drafts
manship and peculiarly illustrative.
OF particular interest. because of as
sociation, is tiny little print en-
titled "The Shop of the Little Cat"
dated 1896, which shows two women
seated in a doorway and is COM
pletely reminiscent of Whistler.
1t was about this time that the
famous "Lithograph Case" came
into court the actual date being
April, 1870, which was brought
about by Walter Sickert's complaint,
published the previous December in
the Saturday Review" that be-
cause Pennell and Whistler used
transfer paper instead of drawing
directly on the stone, their Itho-
graphs were not Autographs at all
but mere transfers. However, the
decision was in favor of the plain
tiffs, the dinner which was to have
been given to celebrate their defeat
did not come of, and to their lives
end they both continued to use this
method. After all, what difference
does it make how an artist arrives
at result, provided, Of course, that
the result truly and completely
justif1es the means?
Essentially Modern.
In these earlier Autographs by
Pennell we see him as illustrator
and etcher feeling his way toward
more adequate expression through a
new medium, but by 1904, when he
did the very engaging print in this
collection, Broadway From Bowling
Green" he had apparently found
himself, and in his "Wilkesbarre" of
1910 we see his distinctive genius
and leaning quite fully manifested.
The fact is that Joseph. Pennell, with
his great admiration for the art of
the Old Word and his ideal Of per-
lection, was essentially a modernist
in the best sense Of that word, and
above all else q lover Of these United
States of America. He was no in
dustrialist, but he was profoundly
moved by "the wonder of work" and,
more than any other, he, In his htho-
graphs, has manifested to the world
at large beauty to be found therein.