Evening star., 1949-03-27
F\rt
Corcoran Biennial
Is Even Balance
Of Traditional and
Modern Paintings
By Florence S. Bergman

The Twenty-first Biennial Ex-
hibition of Contemporary Ameri-
can Oil Painting. which opened
at the Corcoran Gallery Of Art last
evening with an invitation pre-
view. is a surprise on two counts.
1t is a true cross-section present.
ing traditionalists and modern
lists on equal terms. instead Of
being heavily weighted in favor Of
the latter. as has been the case IN
a majority of important national
exhibitions in recent years: and
IL Is the smallest biennial can
recall: 1877 paintings. In 1943, in
the midst of the war. when trans
portation difficulties made the bi-
ennial an almost wholly invited
show, it had 264 works. T. bien-
mails Of '35'and 81 had mole than
400 works each; that Of 1947 had
more than 800.
, Arbitrary though 1t may be,
to force many strongly individual
paintings into q few tight pigeon
holes merely according to ones
own opinions. checked each
painting as traditional" middle
of the road" and modern" in
order to obtain a rough idea Of
distribution. In counting up. I
found just under so in each Of
the first two categories. and TO
odd in the last. Each of the three.
Of course. can be further divided
into other classiflcations. The
prize awards lean to the left.
The jury of selection included
Paul Sample. Abraham Rather,
Mitchell Jameson. all nationally
known painters. and Hermann
Warner Williams. jr.. director of
the Corcoran Gallery of Art. The
first three. with Homer Saint
Gaudens, director OF Carnegie In
stitute. Pittsburgh. and Henri
Marceau. associate director and
chief of the division of painting
and sculpture of the Philadelphia
Museum, made up the jury of
awards.
Analysis of Winning Works
Eric Isenburger's Romantic
Figure" which received the first
w. A. Clark prize (s2.000 and
the Corcoran gold medal. is
balanced painting with
q restrained color scheme and
definite contrasts and accents of
stripes and diagonals, worked out
In the architecture Of the room,
Indian blanket in the background,
upholstery. the figures mantle
and the positions of arms and legs.
"Witchery." by Fred Conway,
recipient of the second Clark
prize (s1.5oO) and the Corcoran
silver medal. is a symbolic abb
made up of carnival de-
tails and elongated figures. It has
q garish scheme of bright colors
In harmony with its inspiration.
B. j. O. Nordfeldt's Flood"
which won the third Clark prize
Isl .00O), and the Corcoran bronze
medal. is a semiabstraction Of
simplified forms, success
fully conveying the relentless
sweep Of the water. and the solid
ity Of the rocks In the foreground.
half submerged but immovable.
The city on the farther shore pro-
vides a telling sense of distance.
Everett Spruce's Century Plant"
which fetched the fourth Clark
prize ts50O.. and the Corcoran
honorable mention certificate. is
the most sombre, with its dark
colors and harsh forms. The sharp
thrust of the plants spiky |
leaves is contrasted with the hori- /
Eontal areas of the landscape.
In addition, there are four more
honorable mentions, carrying no
cash awards. The second went to
Karl Knaths' Indian Blanket"
an abstraction in a fresh, bright
color scheme akin to the later |
work In his one-man show still
at the Phillips Memorial
Gallery. The fourth honorable
too, was bestowed upon
IN abstract painting, Hans Moller's
Still Life With Hour Glass" in a
balanced linear pattern. |