Hide Article Text (OCR)
Sponsored by Union of South Africa 170 Items in Exhibition at National y Florence South Africa, which seems very remote to many, will be better known to Washingtonians who visit the large exhibition of paint ings and sculpture to open this afternoon at the National Gallery of Art. Sponsored by the govern ment of the Union of South Africa, it was selected by the Union De partment of Education in collab oration with the South African Association of Arts. It opened at the Tate Gallery, London, last autumn and subsequently traveled to Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris and Ottawa. It will remain in our Na tional Gallery through Labor Day. ‘This first comprehensive exhibi tion from South Africa comprises nearly 170 picture and sculpture items, 149 of them contemporary. #fs from private collections in that country. The Selection Commit tee chose them after considering more than 1,000 works. They rep resent 43 painters and 10 sculp tors, 15 of whom are women. “A group of 18th and 19th cen tury paintings introduces and serves as background to the con temporary exhibition. One dated 1720 depicts “Table Bay,” dated, by George Lambert and Samuel, Scott, English marine painters commissioned to paint the stations on the trade route to the East. ‘This is one of the earliest pictures of the Cape, Which at one time hung in the offices of the British, East India Co. The other paint ings by English, Dutch and Ger man artists, are historic docu ments, giving vivid glimpses of Cape Town and Table Bay, arrival of early colonists, animal hunts, landscapes and street scenes, and natives and Cape Malsys. An informative catalogue accom panying the exhibition could well serve as a handbook of South African art. It has a foreword by C. T. te Water, president of the South African Association of Arts, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Union of South Africa, giving a brief analysis of the people, the objec tive in sending its exhibition to Europe and the Western Hemi sphere, and expressing the hope that the countries the show has visited will respond in like man ner. A comprehensive Introduc tion by Geoffrey Long, a member of the Board of Selection, surveys art and artists in South Africa for the last 30 years, with critical estimates of some of those repre sented in the show. Each artist's name in the catalog list is ac companied by biographical data. Mr. Long, a sympathetic but S. Berryman clear-eyed observer of South Afri can art, has anticipated critics’ reactions to this exhibition in say ing there are no new directions of a national Mayor, that the main influences in the last 30 years have come from European art, echoes of almost every “ism.” A majority of the artists are natives of South Africa (of European and British ancestry); the next larg est number are British-born. And there are individual artists from Poland, Austria, Russia and else where. But approximately four fifths of them studied art in Lon don, Paris, Munich and other con tinental centers. National Subject Matter Considering the care with which the show has been assembled, it obviously has what the committee considers the best of South Africa's painting and sculpture. The average visitor, however, will probably be more interested in the display as a reflection of the country, than as an embodiment of artistic merit. The show has both facets. ‘The paintings range from such traditional work as Robert Broad ley's “Snow in Lancashire and Willem Coetzer's still life “Dusty Shelf to the surrealistic, African influenced paintings of Alexis Preller. It is not an extensive gamut, and is considerably right of center, in character, Preller's paintings are arresting, with their African native subject matter, symbolism, blue tonality ilumi nated with flashes of crimson as in “The Kraal or their riot of color as in “Basuto Allegory. + Outstandingly Interesting to me are the paintings by Walter Battlss, wholly a product of South Africa, where he was born and studied. He has been a research worker and greatly interested in the prehistoric and Bushman rock paintings of his own country, and their influence in his work is ob vious .One painter, Gerard Sekoto, is, a Bantu (native African) self taught, but now studying in Paris. The life of his own people is his subject matter, and his several paintings have an authority and individuality quite different from the treatment of native subjects by such sophisticated artists as Neville Lewis, whose portrait of a native chief for instance, (in western clothes and seated in a well-stocked library) is an Occi dental-eye view of the African. — The same viewpoint is demon strated in quite a number of sculp tures in metal, stone and wood. Moses Kettler's “Mother and Child in what appears to be polished ebony, is but one of a number of warmly naturalistic works representing native women. Irma Stern is a vigorous inter preter of natives, both in oit and graphic media. She also has one of the best decorative paintings (not concerned with locale) in her heavily pigmented “Chrysanthe mums. Quite ‘a number of others have sent paintings of still life, flowers, figures and interiors. Notable is Jean Welz’ large “Earthenware,” showing the in fluence of modern French. Harry’ Trevor's “Still Life with Indian ae ds vividly colored, traditional technique. Maude Sumner's “Letter is the best of her group. Celebrating the South African scene are such paintings as “Weld Plowers, in vivid red, blue and yellow, by Hugo Naude (1369- 1941), the first South African to study art abroad and become a Summer snow The Arts Club's summer show, recently opened, holds the record of some years past is being among the most traditional aenuals in Washington. Very few of the 58 paintings in oil and water color, pastels and prints by some 40 art ista ‘e number have two each, a few three each so much as nod in the direction of contemporary idoims. It is not an exciting show, but a pleasant one, composed largely of scenes and still life. Clara Saunders and Margaret B. Smith are showing portraits in Current Exhibitions NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART. Con stitution avenue and sixth street Paintings, sculptures by master Quibenkian collection of Eeyouan werre and French Ath century South African art, to open NATIONAL MUSEUM, Nations Col lection of Fine Arts, Constitution enue and Tenth street Ameri can paintings ,and old masters. Watercolors by Christine Deich mann, through today y MITHSONIAN BUILDING, Division of Graphic Arts, Independence avenue and Tenth street—Dahl green acquisitions. FREER GALLERY OF ART, ‘Tweitth er and Jeferson drive Orie and Far Eastern ert, Paint ings and etch ‘Whistler and Other American artista, changing exhibits CORCORAN GALLERY OF ART. Sev entteenth street between New York avenue end street—American Printings, and sculpture and the lark collection. American water colors and arachnes: Exhibitions by Kainen and Smith. PHILLIPS MEMORIAL GALLERY, the Twenty-first street—Paint ings and prints, Contemporary paintings from the collection. ARTS CLUB, 2017 I _street—Mem ber Show through September. DUMMARTON OAKS COLLECTION. 1703 Thirtiesecond street N.W.— Closed until September 6. PUBLIC, LIBRARY, Fignth, and Exhibition by Bettie Harinein to open Tuesday, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVER SITY LIBER 2024 G street Riw—Agbete School Exhibition to open tomorrow, FAN AMERICAN UNION. Seven nth and C streets N-W.—Exhi bition of Artie’ Guild “throug WHYTE GALLERY. 1518 Connecti ct avenue — N.W.—Washington artists, Prints. ALARED FOWLER FEINT GALL Tid Cosieticur evente NOW = Wood engravings by “Thos, Raton. Unrouga August. LITARY OF CONGRESS. Cas Usp. ane Pitst street'—Seventh Pennell’ exhibition, “through next Sunde RAWAM UNIVERSITY GALLERY ARTS. Sith street and ard place one comsady vhow. STUDIO GROUP. 4 Hillxe: court one Phillies Gallery! Patmsine by Genevieve ie. , Week ends only inrouEn August 7, CHEQUIRE HOUSE, 202 King street; ‘Alexanorlc—Doc Swann etchings. PLAYHOUSE, THEATER, GALLERY, 327 Fiftee!treet NW Retro spective Exhibition by Richard La hey. through August. SILVER SPRING ART Gal e 18 Flower Avenue. Silver M4.—Artbt Co-operative through the summer. BAMNETIADEN | GALLERY. 127 Bardevih —Ground x- Ribbion ‘ot water ‘solors, WATKINS GALLERY. American Uni versity Campus—Gates and group show. Closed Saturday GINN'S ART CENTER, S614 Georgia Avent Silver Sprine—Paintin by Lana Miller Keplinger, thru August 6 crayon and pastels In quite differ ent techniques, the former's pro file of a woman with red hair ef fectively handled in an impres sionistic manner; the latter's two, meticulous and detailed. Well composed and otherwise meritorious still life and flower paintings represent Lee Atkyns (from Pennsylvania), Margaret Herr, Florence Morgan, Garnet Jex, Mignon Atchison, Frances Campbell, Catherine McE. Ames, ,Ann Myers and Patricia Folk. Ruth Osgood’s broadly handled seacoast, “Angles of Maine,” is in strong contrast to the marine “Stormy Weather” by Simon de Korsakoff, which has the appear ance of an academic 19th century painting William F. Walter's “Bear's Wharf and Martha Bache’s little painting of Glouces ter Harbor, also Isabella Walker's block print “Provincetown” are competent depictions of this sub ject type. Marguerite Munn's watercolor “Vista,” perhaps the most “mod ern” work in the show, along the line of simplification and sugges tion, is full of fresh air and space. I like, too, Helen Stotesbury's oil, “End of Day,” a farm scene strong and tanseu in its color. Minor Jameson's “Clearing Skies, with its grayed colors, has the quiet atmosphere typical of his work. Janice Holland's “Sunlight and Shadows in Georgetown” is a charming street scene, in which theme class Catherine Melton and ner of Farragut Square from a height, in primitive manner. Hen ry Olson's “Steel Mills in color more subdued than most of his paintings, differentiates penasively between foreground and distance. Conchita Chibas* head of an In dian girl is the sole sculpture con tribution to the club's summer Crafts Demonstration An exhibition by the Potomac Craftemen sod the Kiln Club will open next Wednesday in the nat ural history building, National Museum. The show will be re viewed later, but attention is called to an interesting and in structive program of demonstra tions to be given every day, in a model weaving shop and potters’ studio, 10 to 12 and 1 to 4:30 weekdays, 7 to 4:30 Sundays, through August Robert Groves and Audrey Hayden away in demonstrations respectively” opening day. “A Basuto Allegory,” by Alexis Preller, in the National Gallery of Art exhibition of contem porary South African paintings, drawings and sculpture.
Newspaper Details
Washington Evening Star
Washington, Washington-DC, US
Sun, Jul 31, 1949
Page 64
Full Page
Clipped by
Hannah O.
GB 14 Sep 2026
Other Publications Near Washington, Washington-DC
Evening Star
Washington Evening Star
Washington Times
Washington Post
The Washington Herald
