Evening star., 1948-07-11

interior, a group Of people listening
to a National Gallery concert.
Bette Hartnell Smith and Elaine
Drake are responsible for the most
modern" works, yet even these look
at home in the generally conserva-
tive show.
This exhibition marks the reopen
ing of the Arts Clubs first floor
rooms. which have been redecorated.
The walls have been covered with
wire mesh and upholstered with
monks cloth, making a restful. un-
obtrusive background for pictures
The Colonial white woodwork and |
soft Williamsburg gray-green on the
hall walls were chosen as the most .
suitable colors for this handsome.
historic house built In 1902, The
exhibition will remain until Sep
tember "a.
Youthful Water Colors
The water colors by Margaret
Hill. on view at the Central Public
Library through July, remind me OF
the simple. naturalistic, high-keyed
illustrations one sees in many books
for children Treatment of subject
(trees, landscapes, little boats. etc. .
and light. fiat color appear beamed
at young folks.
Miss Hill is graduate OF the
School of Fine Arts of the Univer-
sity of Kansas. She also studied at
Moore Institute of Art and Industry
at Philadelphia, the Craft Center
School, Boston, at the Corcoran
School of Art ffor still ife) and
the Phillips Gallery School (for life
draWingl, and has taken corre-
spondence courses in art. In view
of all this training 1 find the naive
character of her water colors at the
Public Library somewhat surprising.
1t Is doubtless due to the fact that
Miss Hills interests are with young
people. She taught art at National
Cathedral School to pupils 8 to IA,
and is returning next year, as she
likes teaching as a, profession, and
modelling and water color As avoca-
tions. She believes that the gift OF
creating should be developed IN .
every child: that to withhold 1t for
the elect few is to inhibit the race
and prevent full. natural growth
This is a beautiful ideal, but one
which. it seems to me. is likely to
lead to widespread Illustration. An
art educator recently told me that
he had tabulated the enrolment for
l948 in American art schools and .
college art departments, and had
estimated some 10000 youths Tin
this one year. are apparently hop
ing to make a living with art. Con-
sidering the unhappy implications
of Elizabeth McCausland's survey OF
artists economic status, published I.
several years ago by the American
Federation of Arts, careers in art
provide no bonanza, save for the
gifted and fortunate few.
*
Reiss's Indians i
The portraits OF American In
dians by Winold Reiss at the new
PLAYHOUSE Gallery appear at first
glance to be photographically nat
uralistic, and judging from the
comments Of visitors the average
person considers them speaking like
nesses. Actually these paintings are
verv selective. beautifully drawn and
executed in fresh, brilliant colors,
and a fat, poster-like style, against
plain-colored or barely suggested
backgrounds. All the signs of race,
character and age are carefully de-
lineated, but there is nothing
shabby. rumpled or underfed in
these Indians appearances. They
are as well groomed as though they
were about to act In a color sequence
for a frontier movie, =
Mr.. ReiSs is so skilled in the use
of various media that his combina-
tions of them in single picture
have an effective unity. He COM
hlnes colored crayons, gouache, pas
tells and transparent water color,
whatever will best produce the ef-
feet he desires He also paints in
Oil, as witness the portrait OF
Emanuel List. /,
Biographical data about the artist
was given in these columns two
weeks ago. Nearly three decades
of ,,aiptipo American Indians have