Evening star., 1948-11-21
By Florence S. Berrymon

By Florence S. BerYmon
The third annual exhibition of
work by artists of Washington and
vicinity, to open to the public this
afternoon at the Corcoran Gallery
of Art, is the smallest and most dis
appointing collection have ever
seen offered as representative OF q
great city's artists. Actually, 1t
merely represents the opinions of
the three people two from Phila-
delphia) who composed the jury OF
selection. They seem to have mis-
understood the Corcoran Gallerys
aims in inaugurating this annual in
1916: to give artists in this area an
opportunity to exhibit in one major
show there. which would replace the
many smaller local group ANIMALS
which were filling the Gallerys pro-
gram throughout each season.
At any rate, the Corcorar1 has
done something about the situation
by holding its own Salon des Re-
fuses" with several hundred works.
Perhaps it will be q landmark in
Washington art history, as was that
famous salon" in Paris IS years
ago, which gave impetus to the I'M
pressionists. The Corcoran's "Sa-
lon" is being offered as a separate
show, so will be dealt with as such
here (next Sunday)
What I have written is not to be
construed as condemnation Of the 20
works by 10 artists comprising the
third annual. Eighty percent of the
artists are we'll known and estab-
lished here, as frequent participants
in Washington exhibitions. The
situation is simply that these few
do not alone constitute the top
cream SKINNED OF of Washingtons
art circles. Furthermore, I have
seen many better works by Is Of
these artists: the other four are
new names to me. Nor could I
guess from the collection of 20
works, what that "test of quality"
was, which the three jurors said
the $40 odd works did not meet.
One Prize Awarded
As reported in the Star the first
week of November, the jury award
ed only one prize. instead of the US
ual ls. The single award IAN
nounced only last night went to
Josef Pere Herzbrunn's WAR Motif"
. granite figure Of . man, tortured
and fragmentary. The only other
sculpture in the show is somewhat
amorphous cast stone toad by June
Schweitzer Of American University.
Eighteen pictures coils, water
eolors and graphic arts) range from
extreme right to left. Eugen Weisz'
soundly painted, traditional still
life, Easy Chair" will probably be
. favorite with the public. Virginia
Goolkasians conte drawing, head
of an old man, is beautifully done.
Samuel Bookatz' large conte draw
ing of the back Of younger man Is
q competent job. but is too reminis-
cent of . life class exercise. His
one-man show at the Corcoran Gal
lery all last summer had many bet
ter works.
Peter Blancs Hamlet" is painted
In a green, blue and orange color
scheme that suggests a theatrical
atmosphere. w. A. Carnelli Is re-
presented with an unfinished por-
trait Of . young girl whose red
blonde hair is echoed in the paint
tng's chalky yellow, white and tan.
Another incomplete work, pre-
liminary sketch which it would be
interesting to see finished, Is Sheila
Cowan's "Still Life With Flowers"
a large outline drawing In charcoal
on paper.
Debris Is Gloomy
Jack Perlmutter's CITY," a Cubist
arrangement of architectural ele--
ments, in q few sombre colors, is
characteristic of his work. Debris"
by Benjamin Abramowitz is akin to
much OF. his social commentary;
this gloomy little oil seems to COM
prise an analogy between pile OF
rubble and crowd OF people.
Barbara Ferrall has an abstract
portrait of Lafayette Square; its
fiat color areas and calligraphic In
dication Of the Jackson statue would
be recognized by few people. John
Chapman Lewis Cyclone" (an
amusement park has the astrin-
gent greenish blues and earth reds
which are his hallmarks.
Pietro Lazzari's large "In men,
oriam of Ed Rowan" Is done in the
artists unique potpourri OF thread
like lines and skeletal figures; it
conveys nothing to me Of the
warmth and geniality of Ed Row.
ans personality.
Jacob Kainen's line etching, Pill
grim" is one of the shows better
items.
Leonard Maurer's pen and wash
drawing of a man on horseback
gives the impression of being a
sketch for something more impor-
tant, rather than an end in itself.
Lucille Evans is represented with
two distractions. an encaustic and a
lithograph. They lack the poetic
mood that was in some of the paint
ings she showed at Dante Radice's
gallery on G place a season or two
ago.
I am looking forward eagerly to
seeing the Salon des Refuses this
afternoon.
In Transitional Period
Recent work by Kenneth Stubbs,
on view at the Whyte Gallery
through November 30, indicates that
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