Evening star., 1947-10-05
Somber Themes Mark Works of Mestrovic;
Burchfeld and Gates in Retrospective
By Florence S. Berrymon

typical that every one in this region
will accept it at once as part OF his
everyday experience"
The present group OF paintings
comprehends nearly three decades,
from Moonlight Over Arbor" Q916)
and Road and Sky" Q91D to "Old
Tree" Q944). There is striking diff
ference between these earliest and
latest paintings. The former look
much more modern with their
broad, slashing strokes and CALI
graphic features. :.
Something of the bitter flavor OF
Burchfield's portraits OF common
place houses is found in "Ohio River
Shanty" 1880, and his Rainy
Night" is painted in such way that
it could easily serve as background
for an animated cartoon. Woman
in a Doorway" is rich in character
elderly and stolid. with an appro-
pirate stuffy setting.
Washington Water Colorist
Robert Franklin Gates II paint
ings ranging from 1882 to 1s46 re-
veal the changes in his work during
this period. No one could have
labeled the earliest paintings aca-
demic; nevertheless, they were closer
to naturalism than more recent
works. Virginia Hills, 1882 is
appealing in its lush greens. Wa
ter Front, St. Thomas" and Young
Corn" are fresh in color. Winter
Evening, Foggy Bottom and "Poto-
mac Ice Breaker" are broader in
handling, darker in tone, we'll suited
to the subjects. incidentally, MI.
Gates work of that period appealed
to art juries, too; he won four awards
during the '3Os. Mill Pond, Chat
ham" 1888 is more somber in tone.
has more movement. Later WORKS
continue this trend, become lncreas-
ingly experimental. -.
Mr.. Gates, who was born in Detroit
in 1906 tomorrow is his birthday i
began his study of art at the Arts
and Crafts School there; later at
tended the Art Students League OF
New York, the Colorado Springs
Fine Arts Center, and the Phillips
Memorial Gallery School here, also
worked with the late c. Law Watkins
and Henry Varnum Poor. Recently
he has been an instructor on the art
faculty. of American University,
Aleiiadinho via RACE
In Brazil in the 18th century. q
sculptor, Antonio Francisco de Lis
boa, worked feverishly despite ap-
palling physical disabilities. With
hands and feet paralyzed and dis
figured by leprosy, he was known as
Aleijadhino (the cripple. He with
drew from the world, to the interior
of Brazil and worked with frenzied
energy on sculptures which gave
him an important place in Latin
American colonial art history. His
most famous achievement Is group
of statues of the IL prophets in the
Santuario de Bonn Jesus do Mato-
zinhos in Congonhas do Campo, in
the State of Minos Geraes.
The Pan American Union has just
opened an exhibition of engravings
and etchings by Andre RACE, inter-
preting these prophet statues by
Aleijadhino, which will remain
through October o.. Mr.. RACE was
born in Romania. but is now living
in the United States and has par
ticipated in various print shows,
including the outstanding one at
the Brooklyn Museum last spring.
Mr.. RACE visited Brazil last year
and was much impressed by Aleijad-
limos religious sculpture. The
prints have just been issued in a
portfolio by Curt Valentin OF New
York, who enabled the Pan American
Union to present the first exhibition
of them in this country. Supple
the finished engravings and
etchings are preliminary studies and
early stages of the plates.
The catalogue foreword, describ-
ing Aleijadhino's statues and other
sculptures, says: 1T seemed better
= to present them to the Wash
ington public not through the cold
and external record of photographs,
but through the vision of great
who has been vividly i'm
pressed by them"
It does not seem better to me. II
the Pan American Union Is pri-
marily interested in showing Alei-
jadhino's sculpture to the Washing
ton public, photographs would
certainly be the logical medium for