Evening star., 1946-11-17
Arts Club Shows Weidenaar Originals,
Portraits by Caroline Van H. Bean
Z ~ rI...... R
BY Florence S. Beryman

= The Arts Club opened two beau-
,tiful exhibitions last Sunday: Por-
trait drawings and street scenes. by
caroline van H. Bean, and original
prints by Reynold Weidenaar. Both
shows remain through December 6.
Z Mr.. Weidenaar's exhibition in the
Arts Clubs gallery. of nearly so etch-
ings, aquatints, drypoints, soft
ground and mezzotints, and various
combinations Of these media, CON-
prises more than half of his work
to date. Although he began only
seven years ago, he has made about
80 plates.
Reynold Weidenaar has an ex-
pressive line that does whatever he
wants it to do; an appreciation Of
the subtleties Of tone and knowledge
OF composition. While his technique
Is conservative, what he does with it
Is intensely personal. He could en-
Joy profitable career turning out
pleasant prints for popular consump-
ton. He has fair for detail, and
can amply satisfy the public's desire
for the pleasures of recognition.
But behind the familiar facade
Of each print is an arresting indi-
Vidual note. Always romantic. 1t va
fies from delicate whimsy to impli-
cations of tragedy or impending
doom. These moods intrigue ones
interest, stir the imagination and
start chain of speculative thought.
Strong Literary Overtone
The literary overtone is strong in
Weidenaar's work. The conscious
romantic melancholy Of Edgar Allen
Poe is seen in some Of his prints, the
elusive mystery Of Alain- -Fournier
peryades others. A third category
conjures UP q glimpse of Dickens in
multidetailed backgrounds and nu-
merous characters, some so broadly
drawn they verge upon carieature.
: The artists own statement of his
boyhood has fairy tale ring to 1t.
my early days were spent deep in
.Wisconsin's hills" he said, where
my father had little country parish
On the edge Of wood" In many
OF his prints one finds this delicate
balance between human settlement
and mysterious nature. The boys
observations during his impression
able years of trees and woods. of
cloud-filled skies with capricious
sunshine, of isolated dwellings and
lonely occupants, have been turned
to excellent account in his prints.
In 1914 Mr.. Weidenaar received a
Guggenheim Fellowship for a year
of unrestricted creative work in his
chosen field. He spent part of this
time in Mexico and Guatemala. His
months there have borne fruit in the
form OF IL prints, 3 Of which
have received major awards. Nearly
80 prizes have been bestowed upon
him, IL Of them for his Latin
American prints. all of which are in
-eiuded in the present exhibition.
The annual Pennell exhibition at
the Library of Congress, and the
washington Water Color Clubs an
hual are among the sources of his
awards.
A student of his entire graphic
achievement thus far will find that
it falls into four main subject cate
gories: wind-swept isolation, rural
melancholy, dilapidated civilization
and outcasts. In addition, he has
done some close likenesses of places,
including Washington Cathedral,
the Georgetown Canal, Taft Bridge
and other local landmarks, all of
which are on view at the Arts Club.
1t would be difficult to find an
other artists career of seven years
as eventful as Weidenaar's brief his
tory as printmaker.