Evening star., 1943-03-28
Art
Notes
Important Events
Mark Busy Week in
Art World Here
By Florence s. Bergman.

The pressure of current events in
Washington's art world has been
so heavy during the past fortnight
that several important happenings
can only be mentioned and post
poned for later and more adequate
presentation.
The National Gallery of Art and
the Library of Congress have re-
ceived another splendid gift in the
Lessing j. RosenWald collection. The
portion which goes to the gallery
comprises prints and drawings, Sc
lected exhibitions of which will be
held beginning in April. The other
portion, manuscripts and rare books,
becomes the property of the Library
of Congress and will be shown in
the rare-book room. For the pres
ent the bulk of the collection will
remain housed at the Alverthorpe
Gallery in Jenkintown, Pa.
The Thornton Society of Washing
ton, just organized, gives promise
of making important contributions
to the history of the Districts early
dISlllGCSItllC IL IL dpfJI ODI UC4N
named after William Thornton,
architect of the Capitol. and will be
concerned with the Washington
Georgetown Alexandria region and
surrounding areas of rural Virginia
and Maryland, where there are
many places of early architectural
interest.
A new gallery opens this afternoon
In Georgetown. at 1910 Thirty-t first
street. 1t is sponsored by David
Porter of Chicago. who plans to fea-
ture the work of young experimental
artists. The opening exhibition is
by MidWestern painters.
Eleanor Parke Cnstis
At the Arts Club
The Arts Clubs entire temporary
exhibition space is given over to
paintings and photographs by FL
eanor Parke Gusts. More than 20
of her gouaches make beautiful
display in the gallery. while her
photographs occupy the walls of
the reception room.
Early American villages in Mas |
sachusetts, Maine and New Hamp- |
shire are reflected in this series of |
paintings, which have been done in
the past two or three years. |
Eighteenth century houses and |
churches located in spacious |
grounds or around green's, shaded by |,
towering elms against serene blue !
skies. are subjects lovely in them
selves. Carefully studied and accu |
rately transcribed in fresh colors, /
these views of New England en-
chant the beholder.
The quality Of Miss Gusts paint |
ings is remarkably. even. Her
draughtsmanship and handling of
color reveal no fumbled passages. /
Naturally, one will prefer some of .
her paintings to others, but such
preference will be based upon sub
ject matter rather than on rendi-
ton. Miss Gusts compositions are
determined by vantage point. The
balanced diagonals in "Old South
Green, Ipswich" for example, make
it a better picture than the ar
rangement of equally handsome
buildings and trees in "Topsfeld +.
Green"
Miss Custis is internationally
known for her photographs, as she |
has exhibited in all Photographic |
salons in this country and others |
throughout the world Her work has |
received more than 100 medals and |
awards from these exhibitions
Her photographs in the present
show offer interesting contrast to |
her paintings. Whereas the latter /
have Cican-cut clarity. and are OBJ |
jective in character, her photographs ,
are predominantly works of mood
and atmosphere. Nearly half of the !
present group comprises Gloucester
harbor scenes. The others are
glimpses of many parts of Europe
and Central America,
This Washington artists eXhibi-
ton will remain until April 9.
Life in the
Soviet Union Portrayed.
Portraits of Russian Jewish colo |
nists by Frank HoroWitz, several
anu q otulpbltItI liNoS Va
PuShkin lent by the Soviet EN-
bassy ard pencil and wash drawings
by Nine. Litvinof and Anatol Gus
satinsky compose an arresting dis
play at Howard University Art Gal
lery. It opened last wednesday and
will remain through April Nine.
Litvinofs drawings include series
of informal portraits Of her hus-
band among other subjects. Mr
Gussat tinsky has depicted Russian
peasants.
The HoroWitz paintings. circu-
lated by the American Federation
of Arts, comprise the major portion
of the show. About five-siXths of
the group of 35 works are portraits,
the remainder being landscapes and
small sketches. Obviously, Mr..
Horow;tzs forte is portraiture. Heads
have engaged most of his attention;
the landscape backgrounds in most
instances are vague suggestions,
rather like stage scenery.
These vigorous paintings Of men
and women who are types as we'll
AS individuals, constitute a partial
record of an Homeric epic, which
was created during the first decade
after World War I. In that period,
the Soviet government enabled
10000 Jews to leave the crowded
ghettcs of their cities and take up
a new life tilling the soil on the
endless steppes. This happy change
from their centuries-old way of life