Evening star., 1941-07-20
By Florence s. Bergman.

"The Great Fire of London, 1910,
Is the subject of an exceptionally
interesting exhibition which was
opened to the public at the Ma
tional Gallery of Art last Friday
and will continue to August II.
Sponsored by the British govern
ment, this collection of approXi-
mately 80 paintings and drawings
by British artists. who have been
or are now serving in the London
Auxiliary Fire Service, is having its
first showing in this country. From
Washington, it will visit other large
cities. The collection had its in
itial showing in London; it is not
to be confused with the exhibition
Britain at War" at the Museum
of Modern Art, New York City.
The subject matter is paramount
In this exhibition of The Great
Fire" as the artists were engaged
in recording, as vividly as possible,
scenes produced by the blitzkrieg.
Flaming buildings, topping ruins,
fire fighters struggling against
seemingly overwhelming odds, give
one an arresting glimpse of the
bombing of great city. These
pictures are not compositions
worked out at leisure in a peaceful
studio. but first-hand impressions
of experiences. horrors and trials
valiantly met by men and women
whose physical labor in defense of
their country was supplemented by
sensitive perception and creative
ability. The collection is a men,
orable record.
But it must not be assumed that
because of their documentary i'm
portance the paintings have no
other claim to interest. They are
the works of recognized artists and
were selected with consideration for
esthetic values by Sir Kenneth
Clark. director of the National Gal
lerv, London; Sir Walter w Rus
sell. R. A, keeper of the Royal
Academy. and J. B. Manson, former
curator of the Tate Gallery, Lon
don. Six of the paintings have been
acquired by the British government
and will be hung in the Tate Gallery.
Still another facet of the eXhlbl-
ton is its interest from the stand
point of civic defense. 1t is accom-
panied by three London flremen,
who went through all the raids
from September, 1910, to last May.
One of these "firemen" is painter,
Rudolf Haybrook. official war artist
of the London Fire Service. who
has perhaps the largest number of
works in the collection; he is in
attendance to answer questions
about the exhibition. Its civic de-
fense angle is of particular interest
to Mayor F. H. La Guardia of New
York. United States director of
civilian defense, who is sponsor for
the show.
In British Tradition.
Viewed primarily as an exhibition
of paintings and drawings, The
Great Fire of London" collection is
seen to be wholly in the tradition
of British art. The works are, in
most instances, straightforward, OBJ
jective presentations of scenes
which would horrify observers less
dauntless than the British. They
are undistorted records, restrained
and sincere, and with a few alb
stract EXCEPTIONS as naturalistic in
rendering as the artists were able
to make them. Because of this fac
tor, the collection as a whole is far
less painful to the observer than
one would expect it to be. The
British have a gift for looking real
ity in the face, no matter how terri
fying it may be. and, by this very
act. removing some of its terror.
Indeed the exhibition is graphic
illustration of the British genius
for understatement. The city,
scapes are anonymous, so far as
our recognition of the ruins is con-
cerned. st. Pauls great dome is
seen in many of them, and a few
other landmarks; but the stark