Evening star., 1942-11-22
Art
Notes
Washington Artists
Sculpture Group
At COrcOran
By Florence S. Bergman.

bCulptuIc, compared 10 CNe large
number of shows in other media,
gives added interest to the sculpture
group in the first annual exhibition
Of the Artists Guild of Washington,
now at the Corcoran Gallery of Art
1t is composed of two works by each
Of the six sculptor members.
The major exhibition in this Sec
tion is William H. Calfee's Deity"
carved by the artist directly from a
block of Georgia marble. In state
ment of his aims, published last
December in the Magazine of Art,
he mentioned the necessity for a
sculptor to conceive of his design
as q e-dimensional geometrical
unit. He has himself accomplished
this in Deity" 1t also conforms to
well-known rule for judging sculp-
ture: That it should be possible for
the work in question to roll down a
hill without any of its parts break
ing off.
Deity" is purely personal inter-
probation of a goddess having some
of the attributes of the Chinese
Kwan-yin, although these are ex-
pressed more in the figures mood
than in any visual similarity to the
beneficent Oriental goddess. Mr..
Calfee is also represented with q
small plaster model for bronze,
Little Woman" traditional in char
acter and presenting q contrast in
technique.
Dorothea Greenbaum's serene nude,
nearly Efe-size Girl With a Towel
Is good example of simplified natu-
ralism. Isabel Blai's portrait bust,
Lucy" on the other hand, will not
impress the average person as being
naturalistic because Of the subjects
swanlike neck; actually, it conforms
to the principle taught in anatomy
classes, that the length of a neck
from the point of the chin to the
collar bone is equal to the distance
from the chin to the eyes. 'Lucy's''
proportions will remind some visitors
Of paintings by Modigliani
Leo Steppat's two sculptural con-
tributions offer considerable con-
trast. His head of a middle-aged
man with rugged characterful face
appears to be an excellent portrait
His bas-relief entitled 'Intermezzo"
is undoubtedly the more important,
from the artists viewpoint. It is a
skillful composition, but depicts a
subject so gruesome that it is diff
cult to think Of an appropriate
locat ton for the panel, except in
azi-occupied Europe, whence Mr..
Steppat came few years ago, with
personal knowledge of its sufferings.
Works in sandstone and terra
Gotta by Lenore Thomas Straus are
somewhat heavy in character. The
-life-size Head" reveals ORR
entail influence. Skaters much
simplifed, do not convey the idea
most of us have of children on roller
skates. Instead of lightness and
speed, these sculptured Skaters"
give an impression of lesden feet.
Merit in two works by Pietro Laz-
zari, Mother and Child and head,
will elude most observers. They
appear to be deliberately archaic or
primitive in conception and their
texture and color is repelent.
The guild exhibition also includes
about 25 water colors, prints and
drawings. arranged in the atrium
cases. Water colors include vigor-
Gus presentation of Mexican women
Washing" by Mitchell Jameson;
two engaging flower subjects, by Nan
Watson, and a portrait by Carl
Nyquist. Crayon portraits of chill
dren by Leo Steppat are tender
and appealing, as is also Dorothea
Greenbaum's pencil sketch entitled
Tough Baby Sheffield Kagy shows
two wood block prints with a nice
balance of white and black areas,
"Banyan Tree" and Road to Null
berry" Among Autographs, Andrea
Zeregas Oyster Bay Station" has a
strong sense of atmosphere. Mitchell
Jamieson's "Cargadore" is an out
standing portrait of bearded
laborer, and William Thompson'S S
Little Boy Blue" pleasant ar
rangement of still life with Vic
torian flavor.
There is an interesting innovation
In the guild exhibition-a case con-
tanning photographs of self-portraits
Of all the artists represented.