Evening star., 1949-01-16
By Florence S. Berymon

That there is no dlSputlIlg ol
tastes" is well demonstrated in
special field by the DE Gustibus"
exhibition now at the Corcoran Gal
lery of Art, illustrating a century OF
taste and criticism with respect to
American paintings.
After the visitor has completed
the round of the three galleries on
the second floor, and has read the
labels accompanying most OF the
paintings, and the excellent intro
ductory surveys to various decades
in the catalogue "a publication OF
permanent INTEREST,", it may occur to
him that the Latin proverb which
gives the exhibition its title can be
supplemented with French saying;
Plus ca change, plus ca reste Ia
meme chose" the more it changes
the more it remains the same.
It's a chastening reflection for
public, artists and critics. Certainly.
it is not novel one, for every think
ing person must be aware from early
childhood how things change, and
vet how the old patterns repeat
themselves at intervals with modlfl-
cations, and how their popularity
rises and falls. But it is good to be
reminded of it as effectively as this
exhibition reminds us.
Truly aware of the situation, the
public of today may be little less
scornful of experimental art and the
artists less arrogant in considering
their respective academies, whether
conservative or abstract, as eXclu-
sive affairs of the pure flame of art.
Of the three classes, the critics are
already most acutely aware OF rapid
change, and how it has crossed up
their professional forebears. The
astigmatism of art critics, beginning
! 80 years ago, with regard to the I'M
pressionists, Whistler and others on
down to the 20s, and the subsequent
near-deifcation of all those artists.
made the critics who condemned
them sound like village idiots to later
generations. This has so crushed
the spirit of later critics, that at
times, we seem to hesitate to de-
nounce the most septic daub. for
fear we will see it enshrined In the
National Gallery decade hence,
to reproach us.
Visitors will see many famous
paintings, borrowed for this show
from more than 80 outstanding mu-
seums and private collections in
New England, New York, Pennsyl-
vania and as far away as Missouri,
Kansas and Michigan. OF the So
paintings, II belong to the Cor
coran Gallery, five to the Phillips
Memorial Gallery and one to the
National Gallery Of Art. Not few
OF these paintings. Johnson's old
Kentucky Home" from the New
York Historical Society, Duveneck's S
"Whistling Boy" from the Clncln-
natl Art Museum, Hunts "Bathers
from the Worcester Art Museum,
Hovenden's "Bseaking Home Ties
from the Philadelphia Museum OF
Art, Curry's Tornado" from the
Hackley Art Gallery and many
others, are already familiar through
cOlOI vi llllS d1lO ACPA AOAASoAoAAo 80
books and magazines.
| Eleanor SWenson. associate cura-
tor of the Corcoran Gallery, who
organized the exhibition, and in a
wear of research excavated the con-
temporary and later criticisms from
the files of the Library of Congress.
Frick Art Reference Library and
elsewhere, has assembled some tell
ing comments. For example, for
the third and fourth paintings IN
the exhibition. allegorical landscapes
by Thomas Cole (painted 1880 she
found a bouquet from William Cul-
len Bryant 1848 and a scholarly
brickbat from Suzanne La Toilette
/ 1920. A number of criticisms
demonstrate that what is one gen.
eration's meat is later generation S
poison and vice versa.
Some 500 visitors studied DE
Gustibus' last Sunday afternoon
and there have been many more.
The show should be a must on
every art lovers calendar before 1t
closes February 20.
| X II