Evening star. [volume], March 06, 1937, Page B-3, Image 17

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
EILSHEMIUS AS PERSONALITY
Exhibition of Works at Phillips Gallery Turns Attention to Remark
able Qualities of Great Artist—Showing of Mr. Lahey’s
Prints and Drawings.
“House on the Lake,” a ivatercolor by Louis Eilshemius, on exhibition at the Phillips Memo
rial Gallery.
*
By Leila Mechlin.
PECIAL interest attaches to the
exhibition of water colors and
drawings by Louis M. Eilshemius
now on view in the print rooms
of the Phillips Memorial Gallery. The
artist is one of the old geniuses of our
age, but embodies in his person char
acteristics common to all. He has in
almost equal measure great self-esteem
and vast humility. These traits are
to be found, if one looks deep enough,
in all gifted artists. The source of the
conceit is in such case, most frequently,
profound belief in the supreme im
portance of art and amazement at
results attained beyond one’s modest
expectation. The difference between
Eilshemius and some of his colleagues
Is that he has with complete frankness
given expression to these dual and
conflicting emotions.
The Art Digest in a recent issue
gave, in connection with a review of
a one-man exhibition of paintings by
Eilshemius in the Valentine Gallery.
New York, a biographical account of
the painter, from which the following
facts are gleaned. Kis "saga” began
at Cornell University in 1862. After
having been at college two years he
decided that his professors had noth
ing to teach him. and that he would
become not only a painter but one of
the greatest. Three years later, after
studying with Kenyon Cox, he ex
hibited his first picture in the National
Academy of Design. Then he went
abroad and had a year of study under
Souguereau at the Academie Julien
in Paris, followed by 20 years of
travel in Europe, the South Seas and
elsewhere.
In 1917 Eilshemius sent a picture
to the Independents' Show in New
York and priced it at $50,000. Marcel
Duchamp, whose ‘‘Nude Descending
* Stair” had caused a furore in the
Armory Show, happened to be in New
York at that time, saw the painting,
and declared it worth the money.
How really serious was such valuation
on the part of either Mr. Eilshemius
or M. Duchamp no one will probably
ever know, but both, it would seem,
enjoy a joke or a hoax. Since 1922,
when the Societe Anonyme gave Eil
shemius a one-man show, his place
In American art seems to have been
secure. The merit of his work has
been widely acclaimed by the leading
critics and works have been purchased
by art museums and private collec
tions. No one can deny that they
have a childlike simplicity and charm,
•s well as in some instances loveliness
cf color and line.
In 1933. an exhibition of oil paint
ings by Louis Eilshemius was held in
the Phillips Memorial Gallery and
from it several canvases were acquired
for the gallery's permanent collection.
Since then, other public institutions
have followed that lead.
Eilshemius has not, it is said,
painted for 16 years, and for the past
few years he has been confined to his
home in New York as the result of an
automobile accident. He is. how
ever, a tireless letter writer, and his
letters are particularly characteristic,
half in earnest, half in jest, with
boundary slightly demarked. For ex
ample, following a review of his ex
hibition of oil paintings at the Phil
lips Memorial Gallery, the reviewer
received from him the following
epistle:
•'To the Art Critic on Washington
Star:
“Dear Art Critic—I read your nice
review of my works at Phillips Me
morial. Glad you liked them, espe
cially Samoan. When I painted them
Gauguin and La Forge wen. unknown
to me. That proves that it is the
ic-’nery that inspires the execution
of a painting.
"What amused me were the lines
on 'Aix les Bains.' Well, the pencil
drawing I made on the spot (Kursaal
Square) is ‘parfait.’ Nothing child
ish there. You must know I painted
It five years after in my New York
•tudio. I wanted to get the Neo-Im
pres^ nistic School beat. And that
Is the reason I dashed in the cabs and
people. I won. In fact, I did the
Whole painting in three-fourths hour.
"Glad to hear from you.
UU1VC1 tlj f
"LOUIS M. EILSHEMIUS.”
December 6, 1933.
More lately he addressed to the Art
Digest (published in their issue of
February 20, 1937), the following:
•‘Picasso is a Soso,
Marin is a hobo!
“Dear sir: Well, how can you print
such stuff as Marin and that Cubist
disgrace of Picasso ‘Woman Reading
I Book’ . . . For the devil’s sake show
the public fine art.
"My art!
(Signed.) "MAHATMA.”
Obviously, if Eilshemius takes him
self seriously, he uoes not mean that
others shall. Here is, indeed, a unique
»nd intriguing personality.
The collection now on view in the
Phillips Memorial Gallery comprises
14 water colors and 20 drawings. Some
date back to the artist’s sojourns in
the South Sea Islands and in Switzer
land, as well as his travels in many
parts of the United States. The draw
ings are chiefly notes for his own use.
but will for this reason be found of
special interest to students. The water
colors are in his usual vein. No one
has probably ever painted and drawn
more as the spirit moved him or to
please himself than he. Perhaps for
f
this reason his works are found pleas
ing.
The exhibition is scheduled to con
tinue only until March 15.
Prints and Draivings by
Richard Lahey.
JN THE Public Library, main build
ing. an interesting exhibition of
etchings, drawings and lithographs
by Richard Lahey opened this week,
to continue throughout the month.
Mr. Lahey. as almost every one knows.
is principal of the Corcoran School of
Art, an excellent teacher, as well as
executive; a man endowed with ex
ceptional gifts, not least of which
is a very engaging personality. Before
he came to Washington, Mr. Lahey
taught at the Art Students’ League.
New York, and was very much in the
midst of those whirling currents which
make up the art life of oui great
metropolis. Before he was a teacher
he was a serious and industrious stu
dent, not distrusting tradition, as did
some of his colleagues, but unwilling
merely to take it for granted. His
admirations for those in whose works
he has found satisfaction and inspira
tion are sometimes reflected in his
own paintings and essays in other
media, but he follows none too closely.
mere is sometnmg bold and strong
and very sincere about the drawings
and prints by Mr. Lahey, now on
view in the Public Library, and no
one can fail to find them impressive,
but the subjects they set forth are.
it must be confessed, a little stem
and grave. To be sure, life today
has these ingredients, but it has others
as well—beauty is still on every side,
awaiting discovery and interpretation.
There may, of course, be beauty in
the commonplace, and an artist should
always follow his own instinctive in
clination in both choice of subject
and manner of rendering. It is for
the layman to search out and com
prehend, if possible, the artist’s point
of view. There is nothing set or
stereotyped in Mr. Lahey's manner,
on the contrary, it is a bit casual
and loose. He expresses form ad
mirably, but neither his drawings nor
etchings are remarkable for economy
of line. In some instances he seems
to find his way through confusion—
forcefully to wTest effect from failure
—but he achieves his end.
His prints have found much favor.
Several of those included in this ex
hibition have been acquired for our
foremost public print collections, such
as those of the Metropolitan Museum
of Art and the New York Public Li
brary, and quite a number have been
reproduced in "Pine Prints of the
Year.”
Especially impressive for strength
and directness are Mr. Lahey’s litho
graphs; one made at St. Malo and
one at Hourfleur, Prance; others in
the freight yards across the river from
New York, and in Brownsville, Pa.
Interesting, too, and quite out of the
ordinary, are several figure drawings
and etchings, made primarily, it would
seem, as character studies. For ex
ample; “Sneden's Poker Players” in
pen and ink and wash, “Plea for Jus
tice” in wash, but more dramatic;
“Billiards," an etching, and visitors
at “The Louvre,” a sorry, bored, motley
crowd, well studied. But of all these
the reviewer’s favorite is an etching
of the Normandy coast, which depicts
a little bay inclosed and fortified by
rocky headlands, on the top of which,
sharply outlined against the sky, is
a little church looking out to the sea.
There is also a New England coast
scene, “The Marginal Way, Ogonquit,”
and a transcription of restless ocean,
“Heavy Seas,” as seen from the deck
of a sturdy little boat.
With all the welter of present-day
production, the difficulties of adjust
ment between the artist and his public
have never been greater than now.
This is due in part to the breaking
down of old standards and the re
sultant loss of a common meeting
ground. But so long as there is sin
cerity on both sides there is nothing
to fear. Another decade should wit
ness re-establishment.
Decorative Ceiling Panel
By Mrs. Saugstad.
'J'HERE is much to be said in praise
of the oval ceiling panel painted
by Eugenie De Land Saugstad for the
dining room of the international head
quarters of the Order of the Eastern
Star, long known as the palatial Bel
mont house. This panel, the painting
of which occupied the artist many
months, is 14 by 9 feet in dimensions.
It is on canvas, affixed to the ceiling
and surrounded by a heavy gold mold
ing. The effect is decorative. Five
angelic figures, saintly women of the
Scriptures, are seen floating in the
clouds, which partly obscure a deep
blue sky. The composition is sym
bolical, but has been treated in such
wise that a unified effect is preserved.
The color Is charming.
A California
Etcher Exhibits Here.
A QUATINTS and etchings by
Charles B. Keeler of Glendoro,
Calif., constitute the March exhibi
tion set forth in the Smithsonian
Building by the Division of Graphic
Arts of the United States National
Museum. Mr. Keeler, the etcher, was
born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa: educated
in the schools of Chicago and at Har
vard University, and trained as an
architect, but the fascination of the
*
etched plate and its production turned
his life into other channels. He has
traveled extensively in Spain and
other European countries, of which
travels the prints making up the
current exhibition are delightful sou
venirs.
There is great charm as well as
merit in his work. His compositions
are excellent and his choice of sub
ject matter Is good. He is one of
those who open our eyes to beauty
in nature which has stirred the emo
tions. An intimate touch is given
this exhibition by the addition of a
group of sketches and photographs of
the etcher on his travels, the former
by his colleagues. Nordfelt and Ron
ald Hargrave. Prominent in these is
his donkey, Chico, which carried him
and his paraphernalia to many remote
places over the mountainous roads of
Spain. He is said now to have ex- !
changed these beloved mountains for
those in .Southern California, and
Chico, alas, for an American car,
but we cannot note any appreciable
loss of merit thereby in his work. Its
excellence and charm are quite uni
form.
Japanese Textile Prints
Lent by Mrs. Walcott.
'J'OO late for a review in these col
umns this week, an exhibition of
Japanese textile prints opened in the
foyer of the National Museum. Tenth
street and Constitution avenue. These
prints, 28 in number, were collected
by Mrs. Charles D. Walcott (whose
water colors of wild flowers are well
known and distinctive i when on a re
cent visit to Japan, and are lent by her
for the current showing.
In this connection, mention may be
made of the fact that, by request, the
closing date for the exhibition of
photographs of "Early American Archi
tecture” by Frances Benjamin John
ston, also in the. foyer of the National
Museum, was extended to March 13.
At Studio House is now to be seen
an exhibition of paintings of the
Virgin Islands, which includes water
colors, oils, drawings and etchings, bv
Mitchell Jamieson, Robert Franklin
Gates, Avery Johnson. Steven Do
hanos. Margaret C. Gates. Prentiss
Taylor. John Gemand, Dwight Wil
liams and Townsend Morgan, all of
whom spent the Summer of 1936
painting in the West Indies. In ad
dition to the paintings there are in
cluded in this showing sketches and
color notes from the artists’ sketch
books, outstanding among which are
quick figure sketches by Robert Frank
lin Gates of native West Indians.
This exhibition will continue to
March 27.
Lecture on Greek
Art Announced.
IS EL A M. A. RICHTER, curator of
the classical department of the
Metropolitan Museum of Art, will give
an illustrated lecture on “Recent Dis
coveries in Greek Sculpture and Their
Significance" on next Thursday eve
ning, March 11. in the auditorium of
the United States Chamber of Com
merce under the auspices of the Wash
ington Society of Fine Arts. Miss
Richter holds an M. A. degree from
Cambridge University, England; Litt.
D. from Trinity College, Dublin, Ire
land, and L. H. D. from Smith Col
lege, Northampton, Mass. She is the
author of “The Sculpture and Sculp
tors of the Greek,” “Animals in Greek
Sculpture,” etc., and is regarded as
one of the leading classical scholars.
She knows, however, how to make
her subject interesting to those less
“Santa Maria La Mayor," etching by Charles B. Keeler of
Glendora, Calif., on special exhibition in the division of graphic
arts, Smithsonian Building.
I-1'
Bulletin *of Exhibitions
CORCORAN GALLERY OP ART—Permanent collection, American
paintings and sculpture, Barye bronzes. Clark collection—European
paintings, rugs, tapestries, laces, etc. Drawings by Sargent. Special
exhibition of portrait drawings in pastel by Elisabeth Telling.
NATIONAL GALLERY OP ART. United States National Museum—Per
manent collections—Evans, Gellatly, Ralph Cross Johnson, Harriet
Lane Johnson and Herbert Ward African sculptures. Stained glass
windows by John La Farge and William Willet. Paintings and etch
ings by Thomas Moran.
JAPANESE TEXTILE PRINTS—Loaned bv Mrs. Charles D Walcott.
Photographs of Early American architecture by Frances Benjamin
Johnston.
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. DIVISION OF GRAPHIC ARTS—Ex
hibition of etchings by Charles B. Keeler.
NATIONAL MUSEUM, ARTS AND INDUSTRIES BUILDING—Exhibi
tion of photographs of flowers and other objects by Lilian A. Guernsey.
FREER GALLERY OF ART—Permanent collection, paintings, drawings
and etchings by Whistler. The peacock room, Oriental paintings,
bronzes, pottery, miniatures, etc
PHILLIPS MEMORIAL GALLERY—Permanent collection, paintings by
old and modern masters: also works in sculpture. Recent acquisition.
"St. Peter,” by Goya. Special exhibition, print rooms—Drawings and
water colors by L. M. Eilshemius.
STUDIO HOUSE—Exhibition of paintings made under the W. P. A art
project by artists in the Virgin Islands.
TEXTILE MUSEUM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA—Permanent
collection, rugs, tapestries and other textiles of the Near and Far East.
Open Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 2 to 5 p.m.. Admission by
card, obtainable at office George Hewitt Myers, 730 Fifteenth street.
ARTS CLUB OF WASHINGTON—Memorial exhibition of paintings by
Marian T. Macintosh and exhibition of etchings, drawings and water
colors by Harrison Cady.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, DIVISION OF FINE ARTS—Exhibition of
etchings and other prints by contemporary printmakers: Pennell litho
graphs; drawings by American illustrators.
PUBLIC LIBRARY. MAIN BUILDING—Exhibition of prints and draw
ings by Richard Lahey. Northeast Branch—Oil paintings by Washing
ton artists lately shown in the Corcoran Gallery of Art. Takoma Park
Branch—Paintings by members of the Landscape Club. Mount Pleas
ant Branch—Water colors by Suzanne Mullett and Paul Arle.
WOMEN'S CITY CLUB—Water colors by Susan B. Chase
DUMBARTON HOUSE—Historical art exhibit, furniture, articles of
utility and pictures.
ART GALLERY, HOWARD UNIVERSITY—Exhibition oil paintings by
Anthony J. Sisti.
JUNIOR LEAGUE GALLERY—Second annual Washington photographic
exhibition. Intimate Bookshop-Little Gallery—Water colors by
Adme Train.
“Below Segovia.” an etching and drypoint. by Charles B
Keeler of Glendora. Cali)., on special exhibition in the division of
graphic arts, Smithsonian Building.
learned than herself, as well as in
structive.
The Corcoran Gallery of
Art’s Coming Biennial.
V/f ONDAY, March 8, is the last day
^ 1 for receiving paintings at the
Corcoran Gallery of Art which are to
be submitted to the jury of admission
and award for the fifteenth biennial
exhibition, which is to open with a
private view on Saturday evening,
March 27. The handsome prizes of
fered, through the generous endow
ment of the late Senator W. A. Clark
in connection with this exhibition,
tend to induce large representation.
No work, however, is eligible that has
not been completed within the last
two years, and no artist may receive
the same prize more than once nor
compete for a lower prize than the
one previously received. These re
strictions obviously narrow the com
petition. The jury this year will con
sist of William J. Glacken, chairman:
John Stuart Curry, Daniel Garber,
Richard Lahey and William M. Pax
ton.
Museum Expansion
Indication of Better Times.
an ENCOURAGING sign of the
■‘"*1 times, indicative of a return of
prosperity, is found in the building
and expansion of art museums. The
Pennsylvania Museum, Fairmont, Phil
adelphia. has just announced a
*15,500,000 program covering objects
for the next 10 years. This includes an
Jefferson Outlined a Modest Memorial for Himself
- . -- <—
By Elizabeth Ford.
ALTHOUGH the new Jefferson
Memorial in Washington may
cost as much as $3,000,000,
Thomas Jefferson himself be
fore his death outlined plans for a
monument that would have cost hardly
more than *100. He even wrote his
own epitaph.
Detailed instructions for the monu
ment planned by Jefferson are pre
served in his own handwriting in a
document in the Library of Congress
here in Washington.
The tomb was to consist of “a plain
die or cube of 3 feet without any
mouldings, surmounted by an obelisk 6
feet m height.” On the faces of the
obelisk should appear the following
inscription and not a word more:
"Here was buried Thomas Jefferson,
author of the Declaration of American
Independence and of the Statute of
Virginia tor religious freedom, and
father of the University of Virginia.”
"By these testimonials that I have
lived.” he wrote, "I wish most to be
remembered.”
He specified that the tomb should
be made of such coarse stone that no
body would be tempted in after years
to destroy it for the value of the ma
terials.
He also said that his bust by Cirac
chi "with the pedestal and truncated
column on which it stands” might oe
given to the University of Virginia,
providing it was placed in the rotunda
under the dome.
The Library of Congress, which
possesses this unusual manuscript, is
itself a monument to Jefferson.
M
Proposed Monument Would Have Cost Only $100,
Compared With Millions to Be Spent on Accepted
Plan—Epitaph Suggested by Statesman.
TN 1800 Congress passed a bill pro
viding for a library in the Capitol.
The early collection was a strange and
lopsided affair. It came to a fiery and
unlamented end in 1814, when the
British visited Washington and left
their cards. After the conflagration,
i which just about burned out every
thing, Congress, starting the library
again from scratch, bought Thomas
Jefferson’s own collection of 6,500 vol
umes. They paid $23,950 for what
was considered a bargain. These books
form the basis of the Congressional
Library of today. They are carefully
guarded under lock and key.
Some of the early expenses of the
rehabilitated library, listed in a re
port of the United States Joint Com
mittee on the Library' in 1816, included
the purchase of wood to keep the read
ers cozy, a brass fender for their heels,
a broom, a pair of shears, ink and
candles.
The new books were housed in a
building formerly used as a post office.
As the report said, "The Capitol does
not afford any room which could in
its present state be deemed a safe
place of deposit for the library.”
Jefferson wished to be remembered
as a champion of religious freedom.
He never guessed that a little “scrap
book” which he had made himself
would be cme of his first claims to
t
that honor. This is the so-called
Jefferson Bible—another priceless item
in the Congressional Library's strong
box.
It has a unique story.
For a long time Jefferson had been
thinking about making a simple Bible
that the Indians could use and under
stand. Then it occurred to him that
a simple Bible—made up only of the
actual sayings of Jesus—might be a
desirable thing for the use of every
body. He wrote to a Dr. Priestley in
1803, giving him the idea and saying,
“You are the person who of all others
would do it best. You have all the
materials at hand."
IN 1804 he wrote to Priestley again.
Priestley had undertaken to pre
pare a treatise comparing the moral
doctrines of Jesus with those of
ancient philosophers. Jefferson said:
“I think you cannot avoid giving as
preliminary to the comparison a digest
of His moral doctrines extracted in
His own words from the evangelists
and leaving out everything relative
to His personal history and character.
With a view to this, I, myself, have
sent to Philadelphia to get two Testa
ments in Greek and two in English
with a design to cut out the morsels
of morality and paste them on Um
1
| leaves of a book. But I shall now
get It done by better hands."
Years passed and Priestley died,
without carrying out Jefferson’s plan.
It might have been lo6t forever. How
ever, in his free moments. Jefferson
had decided to finish the little book
he had been working on when he wrote
to Priestley in 1804, and which he
never intended for publication. This
became the famous Jefferson Bible.
It was only 83 pages long.
Under a resolution passed by the
Fifty-seventh Congress, 9,000 repro
ductions were made by photo-litho
graphic process.
Jefferson had bought a plain, blank
note book. Then he had cut out
extracts from Greek, Latin. French
and English versions of the New Tes
tament and pasted them into it. They
were arranged in four columns, with
marginal marks referring them back
to a textual table in his own hand
writing. For a title he wrote:
The
Life and Morals
Of
Jesus of Nazareth
Extracted Textually
From the Gospels
In
Greek, Latin
French Sc English.
If you go to the rare book room of
the Library of Congress you will be
able to see one of the photo-litho
graphic copies of JeHerson’s Bible,
which he said “was the work of two
or three nights at Washington after
getting through the evening task of
reading the letters and papers of the
day.”
“Pont Neuf,” an etching by Richard Lakey, on exhibition in the Public Library.
I
appropriation of $2,500,000 for the
completion of the interior of this
museum, which was halted by the de
pression and has greatly handicaped
display of collections. The Baltimore
Museum broke ground last Fall for a
new wing, which will be completed
during the coming Summer and is
purposed to house in its eight galleries
the Jacobs collection, acquired by be
quest. of paintings, tapestries and ob
jets d art. This building, which in
cidentally has been erected through a
Federal grant of funds, will also pro
vide a much-needed auditorium de
signed to seat 500 persons.
Five More
Competitions Jor Mural
Paintings Jor Public Buildings.
'T'HE Treasury Department through
its Procurement Division Art Sec
tion has announced another national
and four regional competitions for
mural paintings for public buildings.
The first is for a mural painting to
cover the entire wall of the foyer of
the San Antonio post office and court
house. The subject must deal with
j either the history of Texas or the
j functions of the building. For this
| 700-foot mural painting the winning
j artist will receive $12,000. Artists de
i siring to compete will be furnished
j blue prints and data upon application,
but designs must be submitted by
May 13. Quick work. Reginald Marsh,
who has painted two murals for the
Post Office Department building m
this city, and Ward Lockwood, painter
| and lithographer of New Mexico, have
j consented to act as advisers in the
! selection of the winner,
j The four regional contests are for
murals in the post offices at Phoenix,
j Ariz., and Wilmington, Del., and in
court houses at El Paso. Tex., and
Miami, Fla. These are to cost from
$3,700 to $6,800. and the competitions
will be conducted by local committees.
Annual Meeting of
the Landscape Club.
'THE Landscape Club will hold its
j 1 eleventh annual meeting tonight
at the Arts Club. According to cus
! tom. this meeting begins auspiciously
with a dinner, which is followed by a
program of entertainment supplied
by the members. Heretofore these din
ners have been exclusively mascu
line: this year for the first time the
gentler sex has been invited to par
! ticipate. This club, which consists
largely of those who follow art as an
avocation, producing only during holi
day hours as recreation, is one of the
most live art organizations in the
city. Many of its members have at
tained to professional proficiency and
repeatedly display in current exhibi
tions. Furthermore, the club itself
puts on numerous very creditable
shows each year, not only in Wash
ington but in cities in the South and
West.
The Virginia Museum Puts On a
Second Notable Sculpture Show.
THE Virginia Museum of Art m
A Richmond is making a name for
itself among American museums by
the notable exhibitions of sculpture
1 it has arranged. A few months ago
a very important exhibition o' sculp
ture by Paul Manship was set forth
in its sculpture hall—which, by the
w°'\ is a memorial to Mary Ball, the
mother of Washington—and now. to
day, it will open, with a private view,
a comprehensive exhibition of sculp
ture by Malvina Hoffman. This cur
rent exhibition will include not only
the bronzes and works in other media
by Miss Hoffman, shown here a couple
of seasons ago in Explorers’ Hall, the
National Geographic Society, but also
and for the first time, in this country,
her frieze of the Pavlowa Bacchanale
and her monumental work, "The Four
I»ursemen of the Apocalypse." The
last will, it is announced, dominate
the central sculpture hall, the north
ern division of which will be given
over exclusively to the display of the
Pavlowa Frieze, and the southern sec
tion to the 78 bronzes, marbles and
plaster models produced for the Field
Museum "Hall of Man.’’ This should
be an imposing display and one well
rewarding Washingtonians for a trip
to Richmond.
Malvina Hoffman has for long been
an outstanding figure in American
sculpture, but within h last year she
has become known to a wide lay cir
cle through the publication of her
engaging and very remarkable auto
biography. "Heads and Tales.” which
gives unusual insight into an artist's
life and what is more, preparation
for and attitude toward her work
In connection with this exhibition
in Richmond, two unique motion pic
tures are to be shown to invited au
diences under the auspices of the
Virginia Museum—one of the "Dances
of Pavlowa"—a sound motion pic
ture—and the other, to be shown by
Mis Hoffman herself—of her jour
ney around the world incident to
modeling her series of sculptures of
the Races of Mankind.
The Governor of Virginia and the
director and trustees of the Virginia
Museum have issued invitations to a
specially favored group of out-of-town
art lovers to attend this pre-view and
these premiere performances. The
exhibition opens to the public on
March 7 and will be on view until
April 4.
important Out-oj-Toivn
Happenings.
'J'HE art season is at this time at
its height. No less than 40 exhi
bitions are reported to have opened
simultaneously in New York last
week. The activities in this field, fur
thermore. are widespread—art is no
longer confined to the Atlantic sea
board. The outstanding current ex
hibition is undoubtedly that of
“Master Bronzes” now in progress in
the Albright Gallery, Buffalo. N. Y.
This exhibition, comprising 173 bronzes
dating from nearly 3000 B. C. to the
present time, was made possible
through the co-operation of the Met
ropolitan Museum. New York, and the
Museum of Fine Arts. Boston, both
of which, as well as many individuals,
lent generously. It was financed by
a single family. The works shown
were selected by the director of the
Albright Gallery. Mr. Gordon Bailey
Washburn, and are three dimensional.
An elaborate catalogue in which
every item is handsomely illustrated
and with scholarly notes supplied by
experts has been published as a per
manent record. In this immensely
important exhibition the modern sec
I tion is found somewhat surprising.
inasmuch as those represented therein,
while given inclusion because of har
monious relation with the past, are
among those regarded as the inno
vators of the present. They are Dau
mier. Degas, Renoir. Matisse—great
painters all. but not considered great
sculptors: Barve, Carpeaux. Rodin,
Maillol. La chaise, Despiau, Manolo,
Lembruek. Barlach, Kolbe and Sin
i tenis. The only American so listed
is Gaston Lachaise. who. although
he lived in New York, was essentially
of France.
I The exhibition of "Surrealism—the
Art of the Fantastic and the Mar
velous” has started on its travels and
has moved from the Museum of Mod
ern Art in New York, where it was
assembled, to the Pennsylvania Mu
seum in Philadelphia.
In New York, at the National Arts
Club, a national exhibition of wood
; cuts and lithographs, under the aus
pices of the Society of American Etch
ers, is on view. This consists of 200
prints, the majority lithographs—se
lected from 2.000 entered by print
makers throughout the country. Sev
enteen, it is said, were by P W. A.
workers and of these 13 have been
chosen to go with the group abroad
I to be shown in Sweden. Denmark
and Finland by special invitation.
The president of the Society of
American Etchers, John Taylor Arms,
who, by the way, is represented in
the current exhibition of the Minia
ture Painters, Sculptors and Gravers
at the Corcoran Gallery, held a retro
spective exhibition in the Grand Cen
1 tral Galleries. New York, recently, at
which, attesting the widespread ap
preciation of his work, 231 prints were
sold.
i
I
Afiss Eckel Exhibits
In Georgetown.
An exhibition of paintings by Julia
! Eckel opened in the Little Gallery.
Intimate Bookshop. 3204 O street.
Georgetown, on February 8, to con
tinue to March 8.
World Champion Typist
Gives Rules for Speed
Polly Carey.
ILENCE filled the room while
George Hossfield. world cham
pion typist, of Englewood.
N. J., was timed in correcting
an error deliberately made for a dem
onstration held in a Government of
fice building here a few days ago.
“Get ready—go.” said Jones, the
timekeeper, and Hossfield corrected
the error in 11 seconds.
Jones timed him again while he
typed for 11 seconds, and at the call
of "stop” he had written 30 tcords.
■‘See,” he exclaimed to the crowded
roomful of stenographers and typists,
who had gathered to see the demon
stration, “that error would have cost
me 30 words. This is why accuracy
comes first.”
Mr. Hossfield won the world cham
pion typist title at the recent contest.
His speed is 130 to 140 words a minute.
“Do not sit too near or too far away
from the typewriter.” Mr. Hossfield
stressed. “Feet should be flat on the
floor and chair at a comfortable
height.” Some time ago students were
taught to hold their wTists up as in
a piano movement. But attention is
now called to the contrast between
the position of the keys on a type
writer and the keys on a piano. By
dropping the wrists slightly, instead
of holding them up after the piano
manner, the hand is held parallel to
the typewriting keys, and this adds
immeasurably to speed.
"DHYTHM and the elimination of
lost motion are most important
to speed in typewriting,” Mr. Hossfield
says. An even, steady, systematic
ticking makes for speed and accuracy.
He discouraged the use of an uneven,
staccato touch. When he illustrated
the latter and said, "Never type like
this,” a peal of laughter went up
from the crowd because many recog
nized their own particular touch in
that example. He stressed rhythm
for both accuracy and speed.
The elimination of lo6t motion can
not be overlooked if one expects to
attain a higher rate of speed in type
writing. A forefinger, firm touch
should be used to move the carriage
back in place. In most instances the
operator pushes the carriage back
with such a bang that it usually goes
too far back and ruins the left-hand
margin. On the other hand, if the
push is not measured by enough force,
it will fall a few spaces short and the
same effect Is produced.
Only the movement of the fingers
is necessary in typing. It is not nec
essary to move the arms. When they
are kept in position while the fingers
move speed is well on the way.
No. Mr Hossfield does not even
glance at the numbers as he types.
But he does say: “In writing num
bers. only 50 per cent of the normal
typing speed can be attained, because
they are equal to a Jumble of letters
without sequence. The eyes cannot
A
| grasp them as readily as they do
words and syllables."
I
J^HYTHM may be heightened by
having your typewriter adjusted
so that it will really develop your
touch. Different people have differ
ent degrees of touch, some light, some
medium and some heavy. By this
distinction, Mr. Hossfield can tell
when some one has used his type
writer. When the tension is adjusted
j to suit the personal touch, speed is
given a head start.
Work on your machine while the
repairman is present. He can then
accurately make the necessary ad
justments. In this way the difficulty
of explaining the trouble in proper
mechanical terms is avoided. Many
■ people do not know how to tell their
; trouble 10 the mechanic after he
1 comes. When they can describe the
ailment, nine times out of ten the
explanation diagnoses another caae,
j instead of the particular one for
: which they want a remedy.
Concentration also plays a great
part in attaining speed You must
think about what you are doing. It
is impossible to be either accurate or
rapid if you drift to your favorite
! reverie or think about other things,
i You must be present in both mind
j and body to be an accurate, rapid
i typist.
1 Granting that your typewriter has
been carefully adjusted to your touch,
that you are in the correct position
proper distance from the machine
with chair at comfortable height for
your arms to remain in position while
your fingers move—that you are well
versed in rhythm and the elimination
of lost motion, you have only to con
centrate on what you are doing to
attain a higher speed in typewriting.
Electrification Benefits
Cited.
Rural electrification, one of the
major objectives of the administration.
Is expected to boom business to the
extent of at least a billion and a half
dollars during the next ten years.
Electric power brought to the farms,
if present plans carry through, will
mean a greatly increased market for
all types of electrical equipment, from
modern plumbing and other adjuncts
of modern life which are sadly lacking
on most farms.
v--- ;
Chinese nest tables and cab
inets. Jewel boxes and trunks
of painted leather.
ASIAN ARTS j
1143 Connecticut Avenue