Evening star., 1947-05-25
War Scenes at Corcoran Gallery of Art
Benefit From More Mature Perspective

ClOSC-up "a oAl t0llho cbk@o SNlA4S4o
moving through a section OF the
ruined Norman city. The upward
thrust of the distant Cathedral spire
and other remains, the feeling of
sunlight flltering through dust and
mist, and the realistic attitudes of
the men, all combine to make this
an exciting painting. Mr.. Vidar
presents a panoramic view of Ma
nila, dramatically illuminated, re-
minding one of Ell Greco's ominous
view of Toledo. A long line of tanks
winding into the foreground COM
pletes an elliptical composition.
There is a structural kinship be-
tween the mountainous landscapes
by Mitchell Jameson, Washington's
artist in the group, and Frank
Duncan, jr. Both depict extensive
stretches of territory broken by
sharply rising peaks, and in the
foreground of each are men and
tanks. Mr.. Jamieson's Inferno on
Two Jima" has the reddish brown
tonality Of a volcanic island, while
Mr.. Duncan's Dawn Offensive at
Casino" Is almost a monochrome
in dark slate gray.
Airplanes are featured in three of
the paintings. John Lavalle's pic
ture of planes bombing a bridge in
Northern France is a beautiful illus
tration in gray and blue; Richard
Munsell's Fire Bombing of Tokyo"
is extremely effective in its sugges-
ton of great height with the serene
cap Of Fujiyama in the distance,
while William F. Draper's Hell
divers on an Essex Class Carrier" Is
Ia blue and tan pattern of planes
and deck, with many little accents
of men, some in bright yellow
helmets.
Awaiting the Buzzbombers.
'Eadar on the English Channel
by William A. Smith expresses SUBJ
dued drama, as one of our coastal
batteries awaits the buzzbombers
at the edge of an angry sea under
a sullen sky. This impressed me
as more successful than Edward
Millman's "Kamikaze Attack" a
closeup Of four of our men desper-
ately firing at Japanese suicide
planes. Such frantic activity un-
doubtedly affected the soldiers ap-
pearance; but the artist has dis
torted them to the extent that they
appear to be much too old ever to
have been accepted for active
service.
George Harding's Surrender on
Guam" an opalescent green tapes
try, and Robert Benney's Residue
of Defeat on Saipan" emphasize thes'
human element, without the stirring
effect of some of the above-men-
toned paintings. These, along with
Albert Murray's sunny "Mediter-
ranean Beachhead" and Edward
Laning's "Oil Pipelines Through
Tuscany" also bright and fresh in
color, are good documentary records.
Finally, there is Charles Basker-
ville's capture of three wounded
men in casts on a hospital lawn,
talking over their experiences. Col.
Baskerville is primarily a portrait
painter, and was assigned in this
capacity to the Army Air Forces.
A large number of his A. A. F.
portraits were shown at the Ma
tional Gallery of Art few years
ago. He was invited by Chrysler
Corp. to direct the war-scenes
project, and he selected the artists
to carry it out. All of them had had
battlefront experience or had lived
with the war in an interpretive
sense.
The exhibition will remain
through June Is, after which it will
go to the Detroit Institute of Art
on a museum circuit arranged by
The American, Federation of Arts.
The present engagement Is the first
on two-year to- nr.
~
Local artists Exhibition
Recent paintings by Andrea
Pietro zerega comprise the second
offering Of the Whyte Gallery at
United Nations Club, to remain
through June 7. Most of the "a
canvases on view in the drawing
and dining rooms, depict flowers
and still life, and landscape. There
are two portraits, one of DR.. Henry
Olson, with pixie expression.
Mr.. Zerega's painting, long ia
miliar to Washingtonians, has
changed somewhat; the present COL
lection reveals marked sinplifica-
ton in many instances. But 1t has
the singing colors and feeling of
exuberance and breadth which are
characteristic Of his work. He was
born in Italy about 80 years ago,
and although he came to America
when very young, his painting has
quality one can only describe as
coinciding with an Americans men
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