Evening star., 1941-02-02
Washington 50 Annual Exhibition COrcOran
Gallery Allots
Double Space
ToBig Event
Out.Of-Town jury
Gives Value to
Selections
By Leila MechHn.

bp Lena w GCHftU.
The Society of Washington Artists
today opens to the public its 50th
annual exhibition in the Corcoran
Gallery of Art. Because this exhibit
ton marks the society's semi-cen-
tennial, special Importance attaches
to it. in recognition of which double
the usual space has been made avail
able and twice the usual number
of works are included therein. Fur
thermore, this year, for the first
time, an ut-of-toWn jury not only
made the awards but selected the
exhibits and hung them.
This was bound to make dill
ference in the character OF the eX-
rioition. an outside viewpoint re-
N,acipg that of the organization as
a whole. The jury of selection COM
p~ised John Carlson, Reginald Marsh
and William Gropper, the first nota-
BY conservative in tendency, the
others exponentS of the new school
sometimes called radical" or pro
gressive." About TOO works OF art,
paintings and sculpture, were sub
mitted to this jury, and l58 accepted:
Whether or not in this matter OF
selection the jury was limited oy
the material available or selection
governed by majority rule, none may
ever know, but the result is Ger
tainIy a revelation of change from
the accepted tradition OF the past.
Speak Enthusiastically.
10Th Mr.. Gropper and Mr.. Marsh,
A dinner given at the Arts Club
I-nor of the jury, spoke with en-
7.csm of finding so much inter-
ing work being done here by
ISIS whose names were quite un-
roWn to them Washingtonlans
y.siting this exhibition will have the
same experience, for, although par
t.cipation was limited to artists OF
the District of Columbia, Maryland
and Virginia, many of those listed
in the catalogue are comparatively,
if not totally, strange. While II is
nice thus to welcome newcomers, 1t
is regrettahle to miss from the show
.irg so many old friends-memoers
q the society who, in the past, have
r,ode notable contributions.
Mr.. Gropper said that, in his Judg-
r-cnt, this exhibition compared with
- best that we're held in New
2-k and elsewhere-and, IN all
~o3ability, it is in character similar
y many that are current today, for
lich reason 1t should be judicially
died and considered. In the past
9,hle decade, a great change has
-odually come over art. Beginning
\ New York. it has spread over
tie length and breadth OF our land,
Until now it dominates, as here,
1,~a ctically every general exhibition
CT contemporary painting.
Art Never Static.
Obviously. we must ask ourselves
that it is all about-whether re-
lection of life or a factor in life's
determination. Art has never been
static. or it would long ago have
perished; but. heretofore. the
changes it has passed through have
heen external rather than funda-
mental: artists have done things
differently, but have held on to old
established ideals. We have had I'M
pr,ss1onism, cubiSm poSt-lmpres-
sionism, sur-realism and, recently,
abstract and Effective art; but
the art Of today is none OF these,
save as the shadow is a repetition
Of reality. 1t is rather f1ounderlng
without direct purpose-a STRIVING
for something but vaguely compre-
hended. The anchor of tradition
being cast off, the frail boat in which
the artist has embarked is tossed
without direction by each passing
wave.
It is difficult to interpret this new
school-if such it may be called-or
to evaluate it's emanations. No one
would wish to prevent, or curtal,
freedom of expression, but when ex-
preston conveys no meaning, It's
value is gone.
Art, like music and literature, Is
not Just a performance done for the
performers pleasure; it is tWo-slded.
The artist paints to share his en-
thusiasm with another, the beholder;
the author writes to be read, the
musician composes or plays to be
heard, and none of these would be
content were it otherwise. There
fore. while admitting that the public
has infinitely the smaller share IN
this partnership. it is fair to demand
for this minority a certain amount
of consideration.
Clings to Old Belief.
For many years, art was a synonym
of beauty. No longer is this true
even the very word, in certain art
circles, is now anathema. But the
public still clings to the old belief
and Graves the JOY and consolation
which beauty in art afforded and
still affords in the works OF the
masters. Drama is often found in
tragedy, but it takes a master so to
interpret it that it's nobler qualities
become patent to all. Sheer ugliness
and vulgarity can do nothing but
depress and lower the level of living
hence civilization. Nature-the
works of the great Creator-sets a
standard which, up to now, artists
have followed; but it is cast aside
today, that the works of man in a
mechanical world may be empha-
sized. The superficial and transitory
has taken precedence over what may
be termed the eternal veritieS
Landscape painting as such has
almost passed out of existence, save
as background for gas tanks, fac
tories, and the like; railway tracks
take the place of roadways on the
artists canvases; slums and run
down neighborhoods that of shaded
streets and dwellings occupied by
those of refinement and taste. The
same is true of men and women who
are pictured. 1t is the vulgar and
degraded who. in most instances, are
taken as models and set before us,
not for the best that is in them, but