Evening star., 1949-10-23
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Harbors Enchant
Miss Vera Andrus ;
Herblock Originals
By Florence S. Berrymon

Inc eXnlOlClOQ OF 1CQOSTApQS III
the Division Of Graphic Arts,
Smithsonian Building. through
October, indicates that the artist,
Vera Andrus. prefers harbors to
all other subjects. Many visitors
will undoubtedly like harbors as
seen through her eyes. She SIM
plifies and manipulates the shapes
of ships, wharves. buildings and
headlands. and places light and
dark areas to advantage. But
along with her effective pattern
ing, she depicts the familiar ele-
ments in a manner more natural
tstic than abstract, with the re-
suit that her prints have the tang
OF the sea and the charm Of pic
turesque, traditional symbols.
Miss Andrts does not deal ex-
clusively with seacoast subjects.
She has done several excellent
floral motifs, also stressing the de-
sign element; the interior Of q
station. children ice-skating on a
pond. a rickety old staircase and
other themes. The only puzzling
aspect of her show is that the %
exhibits are dated from 1888 to
1946-where are examples Of ths
last three years in this RETROSPECT
tive?
A native of Wisconsin, Miss
Andrus studied at the University
Of Minnesota, at st. Paul and
Minneapolis art institutions and
for one year under Boardman
Robinson. In 1890 she became a
member of the staff Of the Metro
politan Museum of Art, a position
she continues to hold. Her litho-
graphs have fetched awards
and are included in museum
collections.
Cartoons by Herblock
The Greater Washington Area
Council. American Veterans Com
mittee. inaugurated its 1949-50
season recently at the clubhouse,
with an exhibition of original car
toons by Herbert Block, editorial
cartoonist Of the Washington
Post. The show will remain to
mid-November and the public is
welcome every day.
This is Herblock's second one
man show in Washington. the
premiere having been at the Gen.
tral Public Library two seasons
ago. Familiar as Washingto-
mans are with this cartoonist's
work, the public gets an extra
dividend" when given an oppor-
tunity to see original drawings,
four or five times larger and with
the full effect Of medium. Her.
block uses graphite. obtaining
tonal quality on a pebbled surface,
reinforced with strong black out
lines.
Nearly 80 originals are on view
IN the first and second floor
lounges and the bar. All but two
or three are work Of this year.
The selection ranges over the wide
field Of international affairs. do
mestic affairs, social problems,
witch hunts. antics of Congress,
the Washington scene, and the
atom bomb monster Herblock
uses at intervals to 'reiterate that
its later than we think. My
favorite of the collection is "It's
the same thing without mechani-
cal problems, a penetrating con-
trast between Uncle Sans Mar
shall Plan and that Of Stain.
Herblock began his career In
his native city. Chicago, with sew
eral years at the Daily News and
q decade with the NEA Serv-
ices; where his work won him
Pulitzer prize in 1912. He came
to Washington that year. but his
work with the Post since then was
interrupted for nearly three years
in the Army. He has won awards
from Sigma Delta Chi, the Amer
ican Newspaper Guild, the Amer
leans for Democratic Action and
the AVG, as well as the 1e4G
Headliners Award.
Next January Herblock will
have an exhibition at the Cor
coran Gallery of Art.
Modern Textiles
The Institute Of Contemporary
Arts opened October 10 with Of
ferings In many art fields. It
1naugurated its 1949-50 exhibition
season with a large display Of
modern textiles, which have a
cheerful effect because Of their
bright colors and gay designs.
Creations Of six designers, they
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