Evening star., 1947-03-30
Corcoran Art Gallery
Opens Exhibit Of
American PAINTINGS

The Goth Biennial Exhibition of
Contemporary American Oil Paint
ings at the Corcoran Gallery of Art
will be opened to the public today.
Government officials, diplomats
and Washington civic leaders and
art patrons were among the crowds
Of people who attended q private
preview OF the exhibit last night.
The evening opening was return to
the prewar custom. In both 1943
and 1945, afternoon previews were
held because Of war conditions.
Hermann Warner Williams, jr., di-
rector of the gallery, and trustees
of the gallery welcomed the visit
ors. Music was furnished during
the evening by a group of IA mem
bers Of the National Symphony
Orchestra.
Open to Pubic at 2 PM.
The public will have its first view
of the exhibition from to 5 pm. to-
day. Regular gallery hours which
will continue in effect are: Mondays,
noon until 4:30 pm; Tuesdays
through Fridays, 10 am. to 4:3O pm;
Saturdays, 9 am. to 4:30 pm, and
Sundays, 2 to pm.
During the biennial exhibit the
gallery also will be open from 8
to 10 pm. each Friday evening. The
exhibition closes May IL.
The 313 paintings in the exhibit,
representing as many artists, are
hung in 13 galleries on the second
floor. The seven prize winners, four
of which won w. A. Clark awards
and three honorable mentions are
grouped together in Gallery So,
which was the center of attraction
for the guests last night. II
Three Winners Receive Awards.
Sigmund Menkes, artist who won
the First w. A. Clark Prize of $4,000
and the Corcoran Gold Medal for
his painting, Days End, 1946";;
Walter Stuempfig, who won the
Second w. A. Clark Prize of $500
and the Corcoran Silver Medal for
1.-TWO Houses" and Jack Levine,
winner of the third prize of $1,000
for "Apteka," attended the formal
opening last night. All three received
their awards from Corcoran Thorn,
president of the gallery, in an
informal ceremony.
For Mr.. Menkes it was the second
time he had received a prize for an
entry in the biennial exhibit. In
l941 he won the Fourth w. A. Clark
Prize. The artist, who is ma
tive of Poland, now lives in New
York. He is represented in the
Metropolitan Museum of Art and
the National Museum of Tel Aviv,
Palestine, and others.
Mr.. Stuempfig lives in College,
vile, Pa, and is a native of that
State. He has held one-man show
at the Pennsylvania Academy of
the Fine Arts.
Other prize winning artists are ex-
pected to visit the exhibit before it
closes.
The additional prize winners. an
nounced last week, are: Hobson
Pittman for '"The Conversation"
won the Fourth w. A. Clark Prize
of $500 and the Corcoran Honorable
Mention Certificate; second, third
and the Corcoran Honorable Mention1
and fourth honorable mentions were
given. respectively, to Maxwell Gors1
don for BUSY Street. Sol wilson,
foc The Evening Meal" and
Stephen Csoka for The Green
Light"
The jury selected the winners after
close study of more than 1900 paint
ings entered by artists from all parts
of the country. Members of the jury
were Henry Varnum Poor, chair
man; Richard Lahey, Julian E. Levi,
Louis Bosa and Harold Weston. Mr..
Williams was an ex off1cio member
of the jury. -
The BIENNIAL exhibition offers a
cross-section of what United States
artists are painting today, since, to
be considered in the prize competi-
ton the work must have been COM
pleted within the last two years.
Both conservative and modern
schools Of painting are represented
in the collection.
Paintings on Sale.
A critical appraisal of the eXhibi-
ton by Miss Florence S. Bergman,
art editor of The Star, is to be found
elsewhere in today's edition.
The paintings in the exhibition
are for sale, and no commission is
charged by the Corcoran Gallery.
just in front of the gallery where
the prize winning paintings are
hung is desk labeled Member
ship" where Junior League men,
bers last night were handing out
booklets to guests explaining how
they could become members of the
Association of the Corcoran Gallery
of Art.
Because of the increase in popula-
ton, the developing interest of the
public and students in art and the
marked growth of American art, the
gallery trustees believe there is an
increasing need for it to enlarge its
activities. To develop fully the
many activities. however, additional
funds are needed.
The gallery requires the support
and participation of the commu-
nifty. Many of the guests last night,