Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-05-08
ABC Boards Scope

ABC Boards Scope
The decision Of the ARC
Board to deny the right Of a
restaurant to exhibit an ar
lists pictures deals quite a
blow to all the artists and
art lovers in Washington.
The city's small gallery di-
rectors-to say nothing Of
numerous others-are work.
ing hard TO make an art CEN
ter of our Capital. and we
are now confronted with an
agency that arbitrarily rules
that no artist can exhibit in
saloons or other places where
drinking is allowed. What
about Paris and Vienna and
all the other European and
American cities where some
great artists have had tfeir
pictures displayed in cafes,
saloons and rooming houses,
and probably have been
known to pay their bills with
paintings?
The more original art that
is shown in a city, the more
interested people become in
artists and their work. If
Washington eventually is to
gain the respect of the rest
Of the country or the world
as a cultural center, more
specialists will have to be
called upon to help make de-
cisions, more tolerance and
understanding practiced and
there should be less use of
bureaucratic power on the
part of agencies whose scope
is limited.
The galleries in Washing
ton cannot possibly exhibit
the paintings of all the eity's
artists, and I'd like to see
them hung on park trees, in
church gardens, in recreation
centers and in embassy halls,
in fact, wherever there is
a bare wall and a possible
appreciative audience.
I am just one of many who
sincerely hope that the Com
missioners will resolve the
matter Of Mrs. Grady's
paintings in Harrigan's Res
taurant in such a way as to
encourage the growth OF
Washington as an important
art center.
Mercedes ]. Draisner,
Director, Collectors Cor
ner Gallery.
X y
The American Art League,
Inc, with one of the largest
memberships of artists in the
Washington area and spon-
sors of the annual Metropoli-
tan Art Exhibition held at
the Smithsonian Institution,
wishes to strongly protest the
recent action taken by Mr.
Weakly and the Alcoholic
Beverage Control Board,
We invite Mr.. Weakly to
explain to all artists. patrons
of the arts and others inter-
ested in this unique and puz-
zling bureaucratic move, the
underlying. basic reasons for
the action against public dis
play of art in local restau-
rants such as Harrigan's.
If the reasons are logical
and sensible, the interested
parties are entitled to know
and consider them. If they
are whimsical and capricious,
we hope the board has the
stature to admit it's error and
withdraw its objections i'm
mediately.
Francis c. Peters,
President, American Al
League, Inc.
~ ~
If that restaurant were
permitted to sell those pic
lures when the ABC Board
inspector first inspected the
premises they had large For
Sale" signs on them then
what is to prevent other res
taurants from selling pic
lures. toothpaste, shaving
cream, baking flour or what
have you?
Independent agencies are
set up to work with the Po-
lice and Fire Departments,
agencies like the ABC Board
Just stop and think what
Washington would be like il
they weren't around. That
15-year-old boy of yours
could buy anything he
wanted or was dared to
drink, no questions asked
and that 14-year-old daugh-
ter could sit in any baI in
town and be served alcoholic
drinks and you couldn't do a
thing about it. Climb down
of your soap box, you poor,
ill-treated Voteless suckers
and start counting your
blessings; you've got more
49,. ~v&rt AAfv.trl