Evening star., 1947-11-23
Art
and
Artists
National Gallery Has
Special Showing of
Works by Navy
Combat Painters
BY Florence S. Berymon

War portraits Of the more promi-
nent leaders and men OF our naval
services during one of the most
threatening periods in our history
will be exhibited at the National
Gallery Of Art for three weeks, be-
ginning tomorrow. This Is the
initial showing Of this entire group
Of portraits, which are the work OF
three official Navy combat artists
Comdr. Dwight Shepler. Comdr. AL
bert K. Murray and 1t. Comdr. Will
liam F. Draper.
Incidentally, this Is the first spe-
cial exhibition the National Gallery
has opened in half year.
The portraits are official only in
the sense that they are public prop
erty, created by the Navy Depart
ment during and since the war as
q historic record for eventual in
stallation in the proposed national
museum Of military and naval his
tory.
There Is considerably more variety
than the description Of the exhibit
tion might indicate. Several media
have been used-oil, charcoal, pastel
and crayon. Subjects constitute a
representative cross-section. rang
ing from the highest officers Of the
Navy and Marine Corps, to gallant
enlisted men, and including a few
colorful tribal guerrillas who sub
stantially aided our forces to attain
their objectives. Finally, there are
a few portraits representing the
legion of women who helped keep
our fighting men in action.
Differences in lighting, compost
tion and equipment Of the subjects
add to the shows variety. There are
group portraits as well as single
figures. Some of the subjects were
painted aboard their flagships,
others were drawn in the field be-
side their headquarters, or at ad-
vanced base quarters.
Halsey Sequel by Draper
Admiral Halsey is one Of the few
instances in which the same man
has been portrayed by two artists
In different localities, conditions
and times. A portrait drawing OF
him done at Neumea by Comdr.
Shepler during Christmas, 1912, re-
veals the haggard look Of heavy re-
sponsibility, the exhaustion, anxiety
and determination of that early
period of the war year after Pearl
Harbor. An admirable sequel to this
portrait drawing is 1t Comdr
Drapers oil portrait reproduced
of Halsey in the South Pacific the
following year. He is seated in a.
relaxed pose against a background
Of japanese print in which figures
are fleeing before an approaching
storm, regarded as symbolic OF
Japan's impending defeat. Marine
Gen. Vandegrift also was portrayed
twice-at Guadalcanal by Shepier
and by Murray in washington three
years later. =
Capt. Charles Bittinger, one OF
washington's best-known artists,
who served during the war as a
camoufage expert, made portrait
sketches of three leaders Of the
Bikini atomic tests: Admiral w. P.
II. Blandy Rear Admiral w. S. Par
sons and DR.. r. A. Sawyer. These
are included in the exhibition.
Comdr. Shepler served In both
Pacific and Atlantic theaters OF the
war; he participated in actions at
Guadalcanal and Santa Cruz, the
Normandy invasion, the Philippine
campaign at Ormoc, Leyte, Lingayen
Gulf and, finally, Okinawa. Comdr.
Murray spent most OF his time dur
ing the war in the Caribbean, South
Atlantic and Mediterranean the
aters. 1t. Comdr. Draper's service
was in the Aleutians, Bougainville,
Saipan and Guam.
This collection of portraits con-
stitutes documentary record OF
many outstanding performers IN one
of the most dramatic and triumphant
chapters Of our Navy's history.
X X X X
Prolific Painter
Only last month, Robert Frank
lin Gates had a one-man show at
the Phillips Memorial Gallery, trac-
ing his career from 1882 to 1946 (his
years In Washington. Now the
United Nations Club, with the COL
laboration Of the Whyte Gallery, Is
showing a group Of "a of Mr.. Gates
recent tempera and water color
paintings. AS visitors to the Phil
lips retrospective probably noticed,
Mr.. Gates work during IS years has
moved steadily from comparatively
naturalistic painting in fresh colors
toward administrations IN somber
tones mostly of brown and green.