Evening star., 1941-10-12
Events the World of Art and Music of Interest Wasngtonans
Arts and Crafts of
Early Americans
Are Impressive
Bp Leila Mechiin.


q most interesting and important
exhibition of Early American Arts
and Crafts" produced between 1850
and I84O, has been assembled and
set forth in the foyer of the Ma
tional Museum, Tenth street and
Constitution avenue NV, for the
month of october.
The works shown have been care
fully selected from the collections IN
the National Museum (Which, by
the way. have been almost entirely
built up by gifts) and from the
National Collection of Fine Arts,
which originally constituted the
nucleus of a National Gallery OF Art
and now has independent standing
under the Smithsonian Institution.
Included are portraits in oil, mini
atures. textiles, woven fabrics,
needleWork, glass. silver, pottery,
printing, costumes, etc, with as
background and indicative OF the
life lived contemporaneOuSly tools
and devices used, such as spinning
wheels. lace cushion, bobbinS and
tatting shuttle. as we'll as models
of ships, a covered wagon, stage
coach and first railroad train, TO
say nothing of musical instruments,
which, incidentally, occupy a whole
alcove The choice Of exhibits has
been exceedingly well made and the
arrangement for display admirable.
Possesses Dignity.
The first two alcoVeS are given
over to portraits, 20 in number,
among which are some notable can
vases. The earliest, probably, Is that
Of Thomas Hopkinson. attributed to
Robert Feke. who during the 1740S
painted in Boston, New York and
Philadelphia. In 1850 he went to
Bermuda for his health and died
there. This portrait has darkened
with age, but still possesses dignity
and distinction.
Next in point of time come two
portraits by John Wollaston, an
Englishman. who came to this
country about 1850 and spent 10 or
more years painting portraits IN the
leading Colonial cities. The works
on display-very pleasing likeneSSes
of Joseph Turner and Elizabeth
Oswald CheW-Were lent by Mrs.
Mary Montgomery Norton.
There are also five authenticated
portraits by Gilbert Stuart and
sixth attributed to him Most
notable of these is one of Commo-
dore Decatur, bequeathed to the
National collection by William De-
catur Parsons. Dr.. L. P. Shipper
Of Georgetown has lent two of men,
bers Of the Shipper family-Thomas
Lee Shipper, jr., and Dr.. Will
liam Shippen-both rather thinly
painted. but mellow in tone. Only
one of the StuartS is of feminine
sitter, and this is an unfinished cam
vas showing nothing more than the
head. but an amazingly clever piece
of brushwork and in perfect cOndi-
ton. It was derived from the Story
beouest. as was the fifth canvas
a portrait of Joseph Head, round
faced. ruddy gentleman. The sixth
is of Washington. showing the right
side of the face turned toward the
observer, one of the types OF which
numerous replicas were made by
the painter and copies by others.
1t Is very good,
Buried With Greatest.
BENJAMIN Vests portrait of him
self. which for long hung in the
Capitol. also is here, and it is worthy
of study. It was. it will BE- remem-
bered, to West that Stuart and many
another early American portrait
painter owed inestimable debt. both
for instruction and introduction,
when they went to London to seek
their fortunes, as well as to learn.
The English elected him president
of their Royal Academy and gave
him burial with their greatest in
St. Paul Cathedral. We may be
proud to have his self-portrait in
our National collection.
There are three portraits here by
Charles Wilson Peale, and one by
his nephew. Charles Peale Polk, son !
of his sister and for some time his
assistant in Philadelphia. All four
of these are loans from Miss Mary
z. Parke. Two are of women, one
is Of a child. the fourth-that by
Polk-is of Washington wearing the
Colonial uniform, blue with buff /
trimmings. The feminine portraits .
represent three generations-Mrs. |
Elliott, an elderly. sWeet-faced lady .
wearing a lace cap and kerchief,
seated in a chair with her gold /
trimmed SpeCtacleS in her left hand: .
Mrs. John ODOnneu. young
woman, fashionably dressed. holding
IN her right hand a miniature of .
her husband for the observers at
tention, and finally wee girl. Mary
ODonnell, done a little less than
llfesize, holding up in much the
same manner, two bright red
cherries.
Much interest attaches TO a por-
trait Of Andrew Jackson bv Ralph
E. w. Earl, son of Ralph Earl, whose
reputation far surpassed his own,
but who, in this painting. reached a
considerable height. Ralph ir., came
to this country with his father
when lad, but returned to England
10 perfect his art. He was in Paris
in 1914, but came back to the United
States the following year. going
to Georgia. and from there
to Tennessee, where he met and
married a niece of Gen. Jackson,
IN whose house, after his wife's
death, he lived for many years.