Evening star., 1945-03-18

resentative in scope and charac-
ter, and which includes works .eX-
employing the different schools and
phases of painting as they now
exist 1t ranges from such strongly
conservative paintings as Luigi
Lucioni's handsome still life, Design
for Color" to Stuart Davis abstrac-
ton, "Ursine Park" Impressionists,
expressionists. surrealistS, romanti-
cists, cubists, primitives, the socially
conscious and number of others
are represented, as we'll as some that
cannot be pigeonholed.
rise-Winning PAINTINGS
Recipients Of the coveted Clark
prizes and Corcoran medals natu-
rally excite widespread interest and
usually considerable bewilderment in
the public. The present group of
winners is no exception. Statements
from juries of award. giving their
/ reasons for each selection, would be
valuable enlightenment; one regrets
they are not made. Forty-two paint
/ ingS in the present biennial were not
eligible for awards for various rea-
sons: They were painted more than
two years ago, or the artists had
! received the first Clark prize at
earlier biennials, or they were done
by members of the present commit
/ tee Of award.
| Reginald Marsh's painting, Strip
Tease in New Jersey" to which was
awarded the first w. A. Clark prize
of $4,000 and the Corcoran gold
medal, is vigorous Interpretation
oI the subject. He has emphasized
the unsavory aspects of this form of
entertainment. The brown color
scheme suggests the murky, smoke
filled theater. The coarse, leering
old men in the audience and the
hardened young eXhibitionist on the
stage seem to be drawn with black
brush strokes, rather than painted.
Their facial expressions have just a
touch of caricature that gives them
a "truer than life" quality
Deer Isle, Maine" by Zsissly "a
brush name) to whom was awarded
the second Clark prize of 81 500 and
the Corcoran silver medal, will prob
ably be the winning work most
comprehensive to the public. 1t is a
straightforward representation of
the little coast town, in fresh, cool
colors.
In contrast, the third prize-win-
ming work, Isabel Bishops Two
Girls Outdoors, is perhaps most diff
f1cult to appreciate. 1t is practically
a monochrome in golden tan; the
girls seem to be embedded in amber.
The artist is preoccupied with set
ting for herself and solving difficult
problems in the rendering of form.
Jean Liberties Twin Lights
Rockport,' which received the fourth
Clark prize of $500 and the Corcoran
honorable mention certificate, is
a night scene painted in dark blue,
green and black, with flashes of
white and yellow moon. A success
sion of planes gives a true effect of
distance, and forms are rugged,
simplif1ed and dim, just as they
would seem in actuality, if ones eyes
picked them out in the darkness.
Although, the prize winners con-
stitute surprising group of strong
contrasts. 1t is of interest in this
connection, to study the paintings
on view by the artists who chose the
exhibition and bestowed the awards.
Jurors Paintings
Kenneth Hayes Miller, chairman
of the Committee of Selection and
Award, is represented by one of the
largest paintings on view: city
Street." which occupies the place
of honor in gallery B. The figures
of several women, and others on
busy corner, are strongly modelled,
painted in clear. fresh colors and
the whole scene is bathed in golden
light.
Nearby is Richard Lahey's por-
trait "Old Warrior" pathetic
elderly man alone with his men,
ories, clad in uniform which defied
the reviewers efforts at identifica-
ton. The painting has a quiet
color scheme of black, grey and
green, the somberness of which en-
phasizes the characterization.
In the same gallery is Lamar
Dodd's "Madonnas of the Rain"
several Negro women in a wagon
indicated only by horses reins
in the hands of one of them. The
shawl-draped figures are seen, i'm
mobile, against a rain-darkened sky.
Here too, is emphasis on form,
painted in close harmony of soft
greyed colors.