Evening star., 1949-05-15

ems National Press Club. The ex-
litive paintings generally. Grand
a paying basis. She accepted the
appointment with the understand
ing that she would be free to
formulate policies with the con-
sent of the board. She was the
real architect of the federation's
development into a national Or
ganization. being it's secretary and
actual head until 1880, and re-
naming in q consultative capacity
for several years longer. During
the same period, she created and
edited the federation's monthly
periodical, Art and Progress,
now called Magazine Of Art.
In addition to these many
achievements, any one Of which
would have been career for most
people. she found time to inaugu-
rate many federation services.
such as the travelling exhibitions.
which, circulate throughout the
United States: to write articles for
other publications, and personally
to visit all parts Of the country
giving lectures on art.
+ Leila Mechlin was a woman Of
such EXTRAORDINARY gifts. that mol
one can fill her place In carrying
on all these projects; yet she gave
them such firm foundations as toI
1enable various successors to con-
ttinue what she started.
Flowers and Trees
Minnie l.. Briggs Raul Is aI
naturalist at heart. an etcher by
profession. The Division OF
Graphic Arts, Smithsonian Build
ing, has on exhibition through next
Sunday, 80 of her etchings and
drypoints. depicting many kinds
of wild and cultivated flowers with
attendant birds and insects, and
trees ranging from gnarled oaks to
dainty silver brches. Twenty Of
these prints are in colors.
Mrs. Raul is said to start work
by composing q poem about her
proposed subject and then, with
title determined. to begin work on
the plate. Despite this obliQue ap-
proach, she cuts such esthetic fac
cts as decorative quality. Her
flowers and tree subjects are ap-
pealing per Sc, and are Transcribed
with love and Imagination.
Incidentally. the Division OF
Graphic Arts. national In its
scope, has been generous to Wash
ington artists. In the past four
years with IL shows each) there
have been seven of work by WASH
ington printmakers.
Dream World
Juanita Marbrook. group of
whose paintings is at the Barnett
Alden Gallery through May. de-
picts an imaginary realm all her
own. Instead Of having the fam
tastic dislocations and grotesque
lunacies of surrealism. Miss Mar
brooks paintings convey the gen.
tie unrealities of a dream. which
seem perfectly normal until one
awakens and thinks them over.
My favorite in the collection is
Conversation by Lamplight." on
pier with q ship In the distance.
which conjures up vagrant mem
ories Of Venice, Atlantic City and
Cape Cod. without resembling any
Of them.
An eclipse of the sun takes place
in quite a number Of these paint
ings, which are also unified by q
rose tinted brown tonality. People
and animals produce the drama,
fantasy and whimsy. Altogether.
1t is a markedly individual show.
\ *
Callisraphic Abstractions
There may be nothing new
under the sun, but the paintings
and drawings by Madiha Umar In
the Peabody room Of the George
town Public Library are different
from anything I had seen. A ma
tive of Baghdad, Mrs. Umar stud
lied In Beirut, Constantinople and
London before coming to Washing
ton with her husband. the Finan-