Evening star., 1946-07-07
Art and Artists
American Painting at Its Best Seen
In Washington's Corcoran Gallery
By Leila MechIin

Attention has been focused this
summer on American Painting for
200 Years a collection assembled
chiefly from loans from leading
American museums and shown in
the Tate Gallery, London, under the
auspices of our National Gallery of
Art None can doubt that the COL
lection, chosen by an expert COM
mittee, is fully representative, but
the fact should not be overlooked
that the collection in the Corcoran
Gallery of Art in this city is even
fuller and more significant.
In 1870 the Corcoran Gallery of
Art, through the munificence of the
late w. w. Corcoran, was chartered
as public institution, nontaxable.
by an act of Congress. 1t was Mr..
CorcoranS desire to advance art in
America and its appreciation among
the people. Like the late Mr. Mel
Ion. although on a much Sma Her
scale, he gave the collection he had
assembled and the building in which
1t first was housed. besides funds
for better housing and further
acquisition. He himself made GER
tain purchases. Others were to fol-
low. the majority of which were
acquired through living artists and
have admirably stood the test of
time.
Has Stuart at His Best.
When tho Cnrpnror % ,,,o
established the early school of
American portrait painting had
made its contribution, but it was
not forgotten. Included today in
the Corcoran Gallery's permanent
possessions are portraits of Wash
ington, Chief Justice Shippen of
Pennsylvania and John Randolph
of Roanoke, all by Gilbert Stuart
at his best. In addition, a port
raft of Benjamin Franklin by
Wright also is here, as we'll
as a full-length portrait of Gen.
Jackson by Sully, and a self portrait,
of beautiful quality, by NAL
bone, the greatest of our American
painters. In those early
days, before photography assumed
its present importance, portrait
painting attained to considerable
height in America, not merely as
the recording of likeness, but inter-
probation of character. Examples
of this achievement are to be found
in George de Forest Brush's portrait
of his wife holding one of their
babies, rosy-cheeked little lad.
clasping an apple in his left hand.
Comparable with this is Irving
WileS' portrait of his elderly father
and mother, done with evident COM
mand of technique, and also with
gentle affection. In this group of
the best, included without question
is the portrait of G. Powell Mime
eerood, director of the Corcoran
Gallery, by John c. Johansen.
In England, certain modern land
scape painters have been declared
the "Discoverers of America" but it
was Columbus, not the modern
painters, to whom this credit has
been properly given. 1t was the
men of the Hudson River school who
opened the way for such discovery
painting what they knew and saw,
men who loved nature and found in
its transcription evidence of the
goodness of God. Among these men
were Cole, Whitridge and a score of
others. George Inness was, how
ever, the leader in this field, follow
ing the path of beauty without sac
riice of technical merit. The Cor
coran Gallery is immensely fortunate
in owning his large, impressive can
vas, Sunset in the Woods"
Americans Represented.
Toward the latter part of the last
century many new currents flowed
into the great stream of art, in some
instances exerting influence fully
beneficial. This is to be seen par
ticularly in the works of Childe
Hassem and Mary Cassatt, and also
in that of the more conservative,
such as Benson, Tarbell, Weir, Law
son and host of Others The sun
light found in the paintings of these
artists was Transcribed more simply
by Schofleld, Redfield and Symons.
'Plain-air painters" they were
called. All of them are splendidly
represented in the Corcoran Gallery's
collection. Their message is of
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