Evening star., 1949-04-03
/\rt
Watkins Portraits
Devoid of Flattery;
Praise of Boston
In Novak Works
BY Florence S. Berymon

NlLdllJy "dS. tllC dOA1luldhL 411A :
preston I derived from the exhibi-
ton of American portraits at Wat
kins Gallery, American University.
A factual account of the show,
with a statement of its objectives
was given in these columns the
day it opened. 1t seems advisable
to remind readers that it will be
on view only through April l3. for
1t is a collection of such quality
that no one should miss seeing it.
1t is composed Of loans from the
Corcoran, Phillips Memorial and
Howard University Art Galleries
and private collectors.
These 80 portraits are charac-
terizations, honestly seen. devoid
of fiattery. free from the sickness
and ostentation of society por-
traits" however close likenesses
some Of those may be. The Wat
kins show comprises the work Of
men and women primarily known
as artists" not specialists at face
painting. Half are contemporary.
the others are recent. having died
within the last 80 years.
Mary Cassatt, the one American
closely associated with the French
impressionists, Is the earliest artist
represented. with the well-known
woman With a Dog" a study In
the open air and sunshine. This
came from the Corcoran. along
with portraits by Frank Duveneck,
J. Alden Weir, Theodore Robinson
and John s. Sargent, all distin-
suished and individual, although
deeper in tone and muted in color
compared to the Cassatt.
Robert Henri's sparkling capture
Of q little Dutch girl and George
Euks' telling character study Of an
old crope are works by two who
we're considered very radical early
IA this century. Alfred Maurer,
O pioneer American modernist. is
represented with q beautiful tradi-
tional portrait of woman pre-
sumably done before he went to
Paris and was caught up In the
modern movement. Adolphe Borie's
admirable portrait of a woman
absorbed in a French novel. was
reproduced here March 20. Ed
ward Bruce's portrait Of William
Friday, lent by Howard University,
n simple and strong.
George Bellows and c. Law
watkins. who would be in the COS
were they living, have outstanding
portraits of women. Mr.. Watkins
"Marie" has a beautiful loW-toned
color scheme and a serene face.
. OF works by the 16 contempo-
Yary artists. I liked especially
Alexander Brooks Kate" an
alert gray-haired woman. sensi-
tive and intelligent: Edwin Dick
inson's unusual Janice Tworkov."
whose face emerges vividly from
the dark gray background: Rich
ard Lahey's portrait of his wife
In q meditative mood, Pietro Lag
sari's exquisite silverpoint drawing
of q lovely girl. Carl Nyquist's very
boyish art" Majorie Phillips
thoughtful self portrait and Eugen
weisz's black crayon drawing of
q young woman. on blue paper.
Notably decorative in color
schemes are Sarah Bakers por-
trait Of Helen Chambers and Karl
Knaths' "Mairi Foreman" In gray
and earth red.
II y y
Old Boston in New Prints
Louis Novak works in praise Of
Boston. particularly its old build
ings. which in addition to their
architectural beauty and interest,
are enhanced by a patina of his
toric association. In his eXhibi-
ton of more than 20 color block
prints now on view at Alfred
Fowler's print gallery, third or
more depict such subjects as the
Boston Statehouse, Faneuil Hall,
the old North Church, Louisberg
Square, and the Fish Pier. All are
fresh and colorful, traditional in
technique.
On a visit to Washington he
made one of the Jefferson Me-
mortal and cherry trees in bloom,
In q higher key than the archi-
tectural subjects. He also depicts
landscape for its own sake. But
old architecture is his real love,
to judge from his show. Interiors
and exteriors of famous old houses
in New England. as we'll as public
buildings. are on view.
Mr.. Novak, born in Czechoslo-
vakia G903) came to the United
States as a child. went to ele-
mentary school in New York. but
obtained all of his art education
In Boston, at the Massachusetts,