Evening star., 1945-05-20

Nothing could better Illustrate the
great service that the Army Medical
Corps has rendered, and is render
ing, at the several theaters of war
than the collection of paintings
and drawings now on view in the
Corcoran Gallery of Art.
This collection, which occupies
five large galleries. consists of the
work of II artists commissioned by
the Abbot Laboratories of Chicago
with the consent and cooperation
of the War Department to which it
has now been presented as a per-
manent, pictorial record of achieve
ment and courage.
The artists making contribution
were Robert Benney and Franklin
Boggs, who were assigned to the
Pacific area; Howard Baer, who COW
cred the China India Burma fronts;
Joseph Hirsch, whose assignment
was Italy; Lawrence Beall Smith,
who worked in England, Normandy
and Belgium, with. in addition,
Peter Blume, Francis CrisS, John
Steuart Curry, Ernest Fiene, Marion
Greenwald, Fred Shane and Manuel
Telegian, all of whom painted at
training centers and in hospitals,
giving thus glimpse of activities
and conditions on the home front.
The majority of these artists were
born since 1900 and, it is interesting
to note, some from all parts of the
T1n5fnI Cfofnc pao II
Smith was born in Washington, is a
graduate of the University of Chi
cago, formed a habit of spending
his summers in New England, stud
led under Charles Hopkinson, and
is an instructor in art in the Boston
public schools. Franklin Boggs was
a student at the Pennsylvania Acad-
emy and winner of a travelling
scholarship, For some years he has
been official artist for the Ten
nessee Valley project. Robert Ben
ney is a native of New York, has
travelled much and exhibited widely.
Before the war he was living in a
little cottage on Gaspe Peninsula.
He had, up to then, made spe-
cialty of portraiture And so it
goes, Curry halls from the Middle
West, Hirch from Philadelphia, Tol-
egian from California A number of
these men have been winners of
Guggenheim fellowships; each
shows originality and exceptional
ability.
Artists Win High Praise
1T was not an easy task these
artists were called upon to under
take" says Surg. Gen. Kirk in his
introduction to the catalogue of
the current exhibition, adding in ex-
PLANTATION, Seven of them spent
many long days in hospitals, on hos
pital trains and ships and in the
drug laboratories. Five of them
braved the dangers of submarine
infested seas to reach combat areas
They were subjected to the same
hardships and dangers as the 'front.'
line units to which they were at
tached. Armed only with palette
and brush, they lived in New Guinea
foxholes and Normandy cellars
They took everything the enemy
had to offer and risked their lives
voluntarily and repeatedly to COM
plete their mission"
This is a fine tribute, but perhaps
finer still is the statement by the
same high authority that while their
paintings and drawings deal with
the appalling aftermaths of mod
ern warfare" there has been no
emphasis on the spectacular" Great
moments have been recorded and
with such courage and simplicity
that their sincerity and authen-
ITCHY cannot be questioned. This
is achievement of which to be proud.
Progress of Var Medicine
There were two reasons for this
undertaking, sponsored by the Alb
bott Laboratories and the War De-
partment, which were, first, to man
ifest the progress made in medicine
and surgery in recent years, and,
second, through such knowledge to
give comfort and reinsurance to
those whose loved ones were, and
are, subjected to wars hazards. It
Is an amazing fact that out of 100
American soldiers wounded 81,
under the best conditions, recover
and, in some instances, are able to
return to combat. But, even so,
there Is much suffering between in
jury and recovery. The story these
authentic pictures tell is, in most
instances, grim indeed. But such
is war, inevitably.
Because so many of these paint
ings and drawings are so very well