Evening star., 1962-05-13

easily described than defined
and Il Ia most usefully de-
scribed simply BY listing . few
Of the painters who occupy
important places In the COLI
lection.
In the Tobey Spirit
The earliest Is Giorgione.
whose small work ct once
establishes the AIR Of gentle
mystery and quiet contern-
plation which informs so
much Of the collection. This
spirit continues through the
El Greco "St. Peter" the
Monticelli scene from "As
You Like It." the Rousult
landscapes. the Braque still
lifes, the large cloud abstrac-
Itions Of Augustus Tack and
the specially installed paint
ings Of Mark Rothko.
It is very much the spirit
Of Mark Tobey.
These considerations make
the Phillips the best suited
museum In the world for the
present exhibition. But the
management has gone even
further.
Morris Graves
In the corridor approach
ing the show are hung four
paintings by Morris Graves,
the younger Pacific painter
usually regarded as Tobey's
chief disciple. In the ground
floor gallery usually devoted
to prints is an installation Of
Arthur Dove. the American
who anticipated Tobey's alb
straction in the early decades
Of the century.
The gallery adjoining the
Tobey rooms has, as usual,
the paintings Of John Marin.
not without connection to
Tobey. That room also has
q Naum Gabo construction in
plexiglass which. in. sudden
relation to Tobey, reveals
new things about itself and
about the theory Of art put
forth by Gabo and his
brother, Pevsner.
Finally, Just down the hall
from the Tobey show Is the
Phillips room of Paul Klee.
Tobey himself remarks In the
catalogue, ''I don't resemble
anyone. but have some kin to
Klee."
The visitor, therefore, Is
urged to take advantage Of
this rare opportunity to see
an important contemporary
surrounded by the art that
went before and that has
come since in his special area
Of painting.
Slgnlficance Of Tobey
Having done 50. what do
you arrive at? What Is the
significance of Mark Tobey?
In the first place. it is
important to clear your mind
Of e good deal Of the enthu-
siasrn for Tobey that has built
up during the last decade.
Much Of it is misplaced.
Tobey's stature on the world
scene may be charted by two
events. A few years ago he
became the first American
since Whistler to receive the
grand prize at the Venice
Biennale and to be given q
retrospective exhibition OF the
Louvre. At home he is often
praised as one Of the numer-
Gus fathers Of abstract ex-
pressionism.
Monet, too, especially the
late Monet Of the water lilies
and lilacs, was rediscovered
o few years back ana hailed
as q father Of abstract ex-
pressionism. Yet the pictures
on which this late honor was
based had really very little to
do with the American paint
ing Of the SOS. They were
first and foremost lovely pic
lures Of floating flowers and
hanging blossoms.
Something Of the same thing
may have happened with
Tobey. The show ct the Phil
lips. at any rate, suggests Q
few reservations about crown
ing the man from Seattle as
king Of the New York school.
Paintings Are Small
Size Is the first thing.
Compared to abstract express
sionist work. Tobey's paint
ings are all very small. They
are small inside as well as In
overall dimension. The in
dividual strokes Of paint are
tiny. The pictures are made
by q process Of accretion,
analogous to the growth Of
crystals or Of grass, both Of
which figure as subjects or
points Of departure in the
show.
The process OF. accretion,
moreover. is under the init
mate, thoughtful control Of
the artist at every step.
Nothing happens by accident.
The painting is deliberately
built up. stroke by patient
stroke. until an overall field
Of marks has been Created
the famous white writing"
which Tobey himself has
accented as A name for much