Evening star., 1952-06-29
Art News
Forty Works in Show
By Artists Guild
By Florence S. Berrymon

Members of the Artists Guild
of Washington have put on an
exhibition of 40 works in vari-
Gus established media. as well
as unusual combinations of
them. The committee which as
sembled and installed the show
was composed Of Prentiss Tay-
lor, chairman; Lucille Evans
and Leonard Maurer, all of
whom are represented. They
made the most of the shows
five sculptures. which, instead
Of being lost in the numerical
superiority of water colors,
prints and drawings, actually
dominate the gallery of the
American Institute of Archi-
tects' administration building
(1741 New York avenue).
First in this quintet of mis-
cellaneous sculptures is Maxim
Elias Bird" suspended from
the ceiling. It is a clever con-
struction Of several pieces Of
wood. and slightly daffy, add
ing little gayety to our somber
times. Pietro LazZari's beauti-
full cast stone portrait head has
arresting vitality. Also in cast
stone is Jane Loves semi-ab-
stract figure. Flight" its para
doxically elephantine thighs
calculated to impede any move
ment faster than a crawl.
Leonore Straus' limestone fig
ure diving into a cleaning black
surface is sufficiently natural
iStic to make one wonder how
successful this plunge" will be,
in view of the creatures dubious
form. Marilee Shapiro's Semi
nude figure in terra Gotta con-
cludes the sculpture group on a
quiet note.
Many Approaches
The Guilds membership is
composed of artists of many ap-
proaches. Uncomplicated con-
servative water colors on view
are Eliot O'Hara's Boats and
Spars," simplified and stream
lined, and up to his usual high
standard. Carl Nyquist's pic
turesque old street in Charles
ton, S. c., anu Lois Mailou
Jones Sun-drenched French viii
lage. Marcella Comes informal
capture in pastel of George
Hamilton is excellent; so, too.
are Prentiss Taylor's pencil por-
trait of a young man. and his
lithograph, Summer Converse
tion." Frances Ferry has drawn
Man Holding a Child" in a few
ink lines with convincing effect,
as Kenneth Stubbs did in his
little "Florentine Street" on
brown paper.
Stressing design more obvi-
ously. but still naturalistic. is
John Chapman Lewis conte
crayon, "Cluttered Wharf" Mar
garet Gates gouache, Sea
Shore" conveys a mood. Sarah
Bakers monotype, THE Bou-
doir." completely integrates the
nude figure with the background,
making an all-over design. Bar
bara Farrall's monotype, Horse
men Under the Bridge" con-
trasts the procession of prancing
horses with the architectural
mass. Leonard Maurers gouache,
THE White Towers" is out
standing. incidentally. 1t elic-
tied enthusiastic praise from
Henry Caldwell, the Corcoran
Gallery's assistant director, who
attended the guild shows OPEN
ing. .
Aline Fruhauf's chic water
color caricature of Fira Benen-
son. with a belt coiled like a
snake at her feet. is the exhibi-
tion's sole offering in this class.
Also unique is Andrea Zerega's
large crayon and tempera paint
ing, Giovanni, Too. Died for
His Country: whether the mes
sage would be as clear minus
the title, is doubtful.
Several facets of abstraction
are represented. among them
Peter Blanc's "Falconer," in wax
and tempera; Lucille Evans two
works, Jacob Kaimen's "The
VESSEL" Marilee Shapiro's high
eyed pastel. Expansion" like a
widening ripple; William Thomp-
sons "Stilts Walker" in a red
V-shaped pattern, and Norma
Mazo's color lithograph. Living
Things" which would make a
good textile design. Jack PERL
mutter's color lithograph, Re
Elections at Night" was included
in his one-man show at the
IFA Galleries, reviewed here
two weeks ago.
The Artists Guild exhibition
will remain through August IA.