Evening star., 1940-11-10

view. But what? Never were art
and artists so handsomely encour-
aged and exploited as here today,
but strangely enough they seem to
have by and large comparatively lit
tie to beStow. For our own con-
sumption, this exhibition assembled
under such generous terms by the
I. B. M. Corporation, affords much
of significant interest; but, surely, the
impression that it would convey to
foreigners, if shown in other lands,
would be misleading in the extreme.
The culture of a people is measured
by its attainment in art, music and
literature; the wealth of a country
by the richness of its soil; its en-
during quality by the courageous and
happy outlook of its people We in
these United States have these price
less possessions, and they are not
hidden; therefore, there is no reason
why our artists should not make
them manifest.
Turning now to some OF the more
gratifying aspects Of this thought
provoking exhibition, one OF the
strongest and best figure paintings
shown is the portrait by Kenneth
Adams of New Mexico, entitled
"Benerisa Taioya,O which received
the $1,000 award in the New York
Worlds Fair exhibition. 1t is a di-
rect piece of painting and an excel
lent Characterization. Admirable,
too, and among the best, is the head
of a young woman, Modern Puri-
tan" by Nan Watson of this city.
Paul Samples painting, Winter in
New Hampshire" truly reflects the
American scene" in that locality,
but with dramatic implication and
artistic skill The same can be said
of "Rockport in Winter" by Aldro
Hibbard, who represents Massa-
chuSetts and combines in his work
strength and beauty, fact and lllu-
sion, delightfully."-.
There is much to command in the
painting by Kenneth Bates of Con-
necticut boy, age Fourteen" seated
in an old winged chair reading, with
his dog at his feet, and yet it need
not, it would seem, have been left so
much in the rough. 1t is better in
reproduction than in the original,
which shows something wrong in its
color scheme rather than its rela-
ton of values. James Chaplin, al
ways good painter, is seen at his
best in his picture entitled Time
for a Drink" two New Jersey farm
ers pausing on a hilltop for refresh
ment. Delaware's representative is
N. c. Wyeth, the well-known illus
traitor, who shows with stark reality
three fishermen on the end of a
wharf.
Pleasing Landscapes.
Idaho and Florida are both rep
resented by typical and very pleas
ing landscapes, the former by Olaf
Moller, Silver Leaf Maple" and
the latter "Myaka Jungle" by Kath-
arine Merrill. Alexander Hogue
gives us a glimpse, far from reas-
suring, of The Dust Bowl but
much more artistic in treatment
than Lamar Dodd's View of
Athens" Georgia, which manifeSts
not the charm and beauty of this
little Southern city, seat of the
State university, but the depreda-
tions wrought by the improving"
hand of man, on the outskirts, such
as railroad cuts and embankments,
novels and broken roads.
From far-off Alaska has come a
painting by Sydney Laurence, who
went out at the time of the last
gold rush and lived for 20 years in
the shadow of Mount Mckinley. 1t
is entitled Cache" and, in style, is
essentially traditional, therefore at
somewhat of disadvantage in the
midst of so much that is in clear
cut modern mode.
Charles Burchfield's picture of
hideous houses on city street from
which the trees are being removed,
Civic Improvement" gives pause
to those who are leaders in this
field, and adds nothing more to the
exhibition. In fact, guided by the
city pictures in this showing, few
foreigners would, 1t may be sup
posed, be urged to emigrate. The
same, in most instances, can be
said of the pictures Of farm lands
in our great agricultural States. No
fault can be found, however, with
the vividness of the presentation.
Grant Wood, who, very properly,
represents Iowa, shows picture of
wheat field, the grain in stacks or
shocks, in an early snowstorm, each
hooded and draped by the flakes
hurled against it by the wind from
the North, rabbit tracks patterning