Evening star., 1942-12-06
Art
Notes
Fine Talent Shown
In Exhibition at
Corcoran Gallery
By Florence S. Bergman.

BY Florence y. bergman.
The special exhibition of sculpture
by Heinz Warnecke and prints by
Peggy Bacon, which opened at the
Corcoran Gallery of Art last Tues
day. provides a comprehensive idea
of the gifts Of these CistinTuishe1
artists who are this year on the fac
uity of the Corco~an School of Art
Miss Bacon's work was reviewed on
this page last week.
Mr.. Warnecke'S present display
comprises mostly works small in
size, but they are large in concep-
ton. Many of them, in fact, have
been produced on much larger
scale. The artist has often been re-
ferred to as in the forefront of
modern sculpture" description
which seems to be inaccurate, for
these little figures give one an i'm
preston of timelesSness. They are
faithful to nature, yet expressed
with the utmost simplicity. A little
ivory cat. for instance, is akin II Is
sculptured by Egyptians several
thousand years ago,
The majority Of works in the
present display are figures Of ami
mails. done in many media-terra
Gotta, bronze, brass, ebony, ivory,
carved brick, iron, plaster and
meteor. Mr.. Warneke's love Of ami
mails goes back to his childhood
near Bremen, Germany. where his
family lived in the midst of farm
Ing district although his father was
not a farmer, but Government en-
ploye.
The boy loved to roam in the
neighboring farmyards, observing
domestic animals, as we'll as little
creatures in the woods and marshes.
He spent his summers with his
grandparents, who lived on the ledge
of a game preserve where there were
real wild animalS-deer and wild
boar. He always returned home
with sheafs CT drawings and sculD-
tured sketches in clay which he
found near a brick factory in the
vicinity
At the age Of 16 he began to study
art, receiving thorough training
under various instructors in Bremen
and Berlin. He spent the First
World War period in Rumania on a
staff in charge of war merori-
ais, afterward receiving masters
studio in a Berlin museum which
afforded opportunity to develop his
art.
The search for my own style,
he said. lied me steadily toward
simplifcation and during this happy
period I had time to carve away in
both wood and brass" But the dis
astrous imitation in Germany early
in the 1905 interrupted h+S v'oHk,
a statue sold one day would purchase
only an egg the next. He came to
the United States about 20 years aGo
first settling in st. Louis, where
there were friends Of his family
He was successful from the outset,
beginning with commercial work
which he found uncongenial and
vas gratifed when the first exhibit
ton in New York of his creative
work. was we'll received.
He was already becoming an
American citizen. For the past
decade he has lived in Connecticut
In section bordering the Connec-
ticut River. which he describes as
remote and wild" Here he and his
fan1ilv are surrounded with farm
animals which provide him with
accessible models.
One case in the present exhibition
Is filed with colts and horses OF
various types, in different materials;
one in cleaning ebony. beautifully
a-ticulated, several in bronze, with
rich green patina, in which one
will notice flecks of turquoise
Three sturdy draft horses compose
group in warm terra Gotta.
Works in Brass
There are numerous works In
brass, carefully polished to bring
out the subtle nuances in the forms
as the light plays on them. One of
these pieces. a cat washing, has an
irridescent tint in the brass. All of
the little animals tempt the touch,
and the visitor should study them
from whatever angles are possible,
for they have many different aspects.
Thes, brasses ere literally carved.
Mr.. Warneke makes a model which
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