Evening star., 1947-03-30
News Of Art and Artists

snowy Gay OH CITY SCTeeu, JIle raw
chill conveyed by harsh colors as
well as by the leaden sky, leafess
trees and staccato notes Of children
playing or shoveling snow.
Hermann Warner Williams, jr.,
director of the Corcoran Gallery, ex-
presses appreciation in the cata-
logue for the arduous labors of the
jurymen during many weeks. A
glance at the paintings by which
they are themselves represented will
convince one that they earnestly
looked for merit in works quite
different from their own (Which
were not in competitor for the prize
awards. One will find that they
have diversity OF viewpoint, which
accounts in some measure for the
varied character of the biennial.
Jnry's Paintings
Henry Varnum Poor's Little
Nude" Is simple, unpretentious
work, painted in a close harmony
of flesh color, browns and gray;
the curved lines Of the sofa COM
plement those of the figure. Harold
Weston also shows a nude, Figure
on Green" the back of a girl re-
clining, nicely painted and con-
trasted with the background.
Richard Lahey and Julian Levi
show portraits of young women, we'll
executed and thoroughly individual
in characterizations. Mr.. Lahey's
Paula" is the more elaborate work,
showing the subject full length,
with flowers in her hair and on a
small table.
Louis Bosa's little figures in a
Landscape, enjoying the snow on
Pilgrims Hill, Central Park" are
hardly the sort of people one would
expect to find in New York. They
are pixie-like folk, with faces
straight out of Breughel peasant
gathering. Their quaint costumes
heighten the conviction that they
are not really New Workers, but
creatures of the artists imagination.
Groups nfhe Exhibition
The various subject classifications
are all here: portraits, figures, land
scapes, still life and flowers, interi-
ors, street scenes, river and harbor,
marines, and animals. The paint
ngs range from beautiful tradition
al works, such as Daniel CARRIERS
"Environs of Milford" lush and
shimmering in the summer sun, to
complete distractions such as At
tilio Salemme's Last Journey" the
vertical rectangular shapes of
which, IN beautiful fresh colors, do
not suggest the title nor, indeed,
anything else.
War paintings have practically
given way here to aftermath paint
ings," of which there are few, de-
picting the ruins of bombed cities
and refugees. These vary from in
terpretations strangely beautiful,
such as Barse Mi1ler's Returned In
to Ashes, Nagasaki," soft browns and
related colors, to Harry Dix's sombre
Memories of Berlin" and Kenneth
Shopen's colorful Monumental
Fragments, Nuremberg" ."-Olin Dows'
Refugees, Torrigny," has curious
ly symbolic appearance, in the little
procession moving briskly into the
background.
Religious painting is represented
by just one fine example: Raymond
Breinin's Prophetic Vision, a strong,
sombre work, reverent in spirit, in
which the deeptoned colors, browns
and olive-black, heighten the feel
ing of impending tragedy. Christ
Is not the idealized Interpretation
of Titan, Giorgione, Hoffman and
other earlier painters, but is truly
a Man of sorrows, acquainted with
grief" Although not elongated, he
Is more akin to the Christ of Ell
Greco.
In addition to examples of realism,
romanticism, abstraction and ex-
pressionism, fantasy and surrealism
are represented in some arresting
paintings. These and other aspects
OF the Goth Biennial will be consid-
cred here during the coming six
weeks that the exhibition will be on
view.
Corcoran Gallery A brH Talks
AS a special Easter program, An
drea Vanni's "Crucifixion Triptych"
will be shown in the Members Room
at the Corcoran Gallery for one
week beginning tomorrow, with talks
Tuesday and Saturday at 12:45 by
Amy Briggs and jeanette Raynor.