The Brooklyn Daily Eagle from Brooklyn, New York • Page 64

OS BROOKLYN DAILY EAGLE, NEW YORK, SUNDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1929. The Relation of Early American and Modern Styles Is Now Recognized HHt II lit A' A Vs. i i iff-- "fmiir iiiOlMfirro mJt 4- -4S5rroJK Zen- 1. "Enigma," in black granite, by the Jose de Creft, shown at Ferargil Galleries. 2.

Decoration, by Walter Shirlaw, shown in an exhibition of the artist's work which opens at Brooklyn Museum tomorrow. 3. "Paul on the Road to Damascus," by the celebrated Swedish sculptor, Carl Milles, who is having his first American exhibition at the 56th St. Galleries. 4.

"Cassis Sur Mer," a painting by Edward Bruce, being shown at the Reinhardt Galleries. 5. "Sentinels," etching by John Taylor Arms, one of the Illustrations used by the artist and his wife In their recently published book, "Churches, of France." An AU-American Opening 19 Early American Rooms Illustrating Development of Architecture and the Decorative Arts in Colonial Days, a Collection of Paintings by Walter Shirlaw Assembled by Katherine Dreier, President of the Societe Anonyme, and Paintings by John Koopman and Pupils to be Shown at Brooklyn Museum Tomorrow. Bj HELEN APPLETON READ NEWS AND COMMENTS on French ert have figured so largely on the weekly art pages of the metropolitan press since the commencement of the art season, not necessarily because of any predisposition in its favor, but quite logically because the major events have been for the most part concerned with French art in one form or another, that an opportunity to devote one's introductory paragraphs to an ail-American subject is a stimulating change. The opportunity to register reactions to an American subject is offered by a permanent exhibition of 19 Early American rooms at the Brooklyn Museum which 1U open tomorrow with a private view and to the public on Tuesday.

The rooms, which have been Installed under the authoritative supervision of Luke Vincent Lockwood, the well known expert on Early American architecture and furniture, illustrate various aspects of the subject as it was developed in the New England States, New York, New Jersey and the South from the middle of the 18th Century to the first quarter of the 19th. On the same day the first comprehensive collection of paintings by Walter Shirlaw, a painter of considerable reputation and influence, during the '80s and '90s, to have been assembled since his death in 1909 will be shown in the gallery of special exhibitions. A third exhibition, not ready to be reviewed in time for this issue, so that comment upon It must be reserved for the following week, comprises the work of John R- Koopman and his pupils. Instructor in painting in the educational department of the Brooklyn Institute. V- of Montmartre rebels.

His work not, however, in any way reminiscent of cublstio abstractions, but while remaining essentially plastic, is notable for its exotlo imagination and decorative quality. An advocate of the cutting direct method, he suits his medium to his subject, using Indo-China. Hardwood for his Oriental iub-jects, granite for his monumental pieces and ivory, ebony and terra cotta for his smaller decorative compositions. Exhibition Pal in tings ura Tlie title of ths charming paintinjj include 'Tick Tock. "Joy of tk Morning an 'Walk in ll.a WoodV Also print in eoler "Chum, 'Dream World and Lay Dayi.

togetner with lithographs and Chriitmai card. Macy Gall enes Sixth Floor Ettl Building J4.h ST. AND BROADWAY EXHIBITION of "The Golden Towers of Gotham" Paintings Pastel? by William S. Horton Dec. 3 to 26 inclurtv Durand-Ruel, inc.

1Z Eait 574 Street Restorer of Painting's CLEANED BEVARNIRHEO RELINEO (in n-nleri. PrlraU ODGER ROUST 130W.S7thSL TeL Circle 2431 Member Antique and Deeoritlta Aria Leegue, Inc. tural devices such as beams, floor boards, which unintentionally become part of the design, could all be used in modern backgrounds and take away nothing of the spirit of modernity, since they express a similar concept and serve the same function as concisely as anything that has been designed today purporting to serve the same purpose. Quality of America's Heritage The American wing at the Metropolitan Museum did an Invaluable service in opening the eyes of the American public to the social quality of America's artistic heritage. This second Exhibition of Americana should extend its influence a step further relate the past with the present.

Not by Imitating Early American backgrounds, but by incorporating the same principles which have remained constant in our present backgrounds, by demonstrating that the best tradition of taste in this country tends toward the simple and practical and that period furniture fits in with modern backgrounds provided they have this common denominator. The decorator or, better, the woman who does her own decorating and who first achieves such a combination will be quite as much of a pioneer in the development of rational, harmonious backgrounds as the architect who first adopted ferroconcrete for private dwellings or Installed electrical appliances and modern plumbing. It is by no means true, however, that all good styles in the pnst have reflected functional needs, witness the overomamentation of the baroque, some of the Renaissance forms and the irratlonallsm of Chinese Chippendale. And it is only those periods which emphasized form rather than ornament which will fit into modem backgrounds Early American primarily, but also Empire, Louis XVI, some Jacobean and Queen Anne can be utilized in modern interiors without loslnj a Jot of their essential modernity and adding that necessary touch of tradition the absence of which largely accounts for the failure of the majority of self-consciously intentionally modern Interiors. The Four Groups The rooms which comprise the new American section can be divided into four groups.

The first illustrates the styles which prevailed in the South In the 18th Century and has three examples. The Secretary House, which received its nnme from the fact that Lord Baltimore's secretary lived there, consists of hallway, stairway, living room and bedroom. The second house in the Southern eroup comes from Edentin N. and goes by the name of the Cupola House. Especially noted in this group is the pane'ed dinln' room, painted a dull blue, which makes an Interesting contrast to the red marble facing of the fireplace.

The third example Is the Perry House, which comes from Sttmmer-vllle. 8. and is a superlative example of the classic revival introduced in England bv the Adam brotliers and which was refWtrrf In all pnrts of the east cost or thh countrv. Perry House Is the Klft of This quality is no way diminished because he is quite evidently taking painting, as painting, more seriously. Nor is the strong decorative note, one of his outstanding qualities, diminished because he has abandoned the field of the decorative arts in which he has made so notable a contribution, for straight painting.

Plages, casinos, restaurants and race tracks are peopled with gay, kalidoscopic crowds for the recording of which his accented staccato technique is eminently suited are among the subjects shown in the present exhibition. Apparently no Spanish artist of libera) tendencies can remain in 8pain. For all Spain's recent pronouncements that she Is entering the arena of Twentieth Century progressive ideas, esthetlcaUy she has not progressed beyond the Renaissance tradition. So it is that one finds a Picasso, Manola Pruna and Jose De Creeft living and exhibiting In Paris with scarcely a trace of an Iberian characteristic in their work to proclaim their heritage Jose De Creeft is now having his first American exhibition at the Ferargil Galleries. A Catalonlan by birth his artistic career has been associated with Paris and the Plcas-ro, Max Jacob, Appollnalre group KATHARINE KINSELIA EXHIBITING Paintings of Italy at 647 Fifth Avenue, N.

Y. WILDENSTEIN Paintings by ELSA DALGLISH BABCOCK GALLERIES 5 East 57th Street, N. Y. MEMORIAL EXHIBITION Sculpture of BOURDELLE ROSENBACH GALLERIES i'l5 East SUt N. Y.i Wethersfield, a bedroom from a Springfield house buil in 1754 and notable for Its natural pine paneling and the Joseph Russel House from Providence, R.

the gift of the Rembrandt Club. This is an exceptionally fine example of the New England taste in the late 18th Century. The house was occupied by the Chevalier de Chastellux, who commanded some of the French forces during the Revolution. The fourth section is unique in that it is the first time that a Long Island Dutch house has been preserved In a museum. The house originally belonged to the Schenck family and stood in what was once Canarsie Park.

It was obtained through the courtesy of the city of New York. The Walter Shirlaw Collection At the Brooklyn Museum The Walter Shirlaw exhibition, one of the three exhibitions scheduled to open at the Brooklyn Museum tomorrow, is primarily Interesting because of Its ability to invoke the flavor of a distinctive epoch in American cultural history the 80's and 90's. Although Shirlaw may have been among the first to see industrial subjects as material for art, drawings illustrating the industrial life of Pittsburg appeared In Harper's Magazine as early as 1880, the originals of which are Included In the present group, the bulk of his work and his most Important expression comprised decorations of an Imaginative character and romantic landscapes distinctive of the taste of the period. It is this aspect of liis work which is emphasized In the Brooklyn Museum group. Miss Katherine Dreier, president of the Societe Anonyme and a pupil of Shirlaw, nas assembled the collection and written a sympathetic anulysis of his work and contribution to American art appreciation, which appears as a forword to the catalogue.

Once Regarded as Revolutionary It is curious, in view of what now appears as a typically traditional point of view, to realize that Shirlaw was once regarded as a revolutionary. He, with St. Oaudens, Wyatt Eaton and others who had acquired a broader esthetic viewpoint through their studies In Paris and Munich than the one which prevailed In the National Academy, seceded from that august organization in 1877 and founded the Society of American Artists. Shirlaw was the new society's first president. Although Shlrlaw's meticulous Munich technique enabled him to present a subject realistically enough when the occasion demanded, he nrefcrred to give even everyday subject matter a decorative and Imaginative touch.

Consequently his best work resulted when the subject allowed full play for his bent. Nymphs, goddesses, shepherds and shepherdesses figure lurgcly In his compositions which are notable more for their rythmic pattern and sure draftsmanship than for color, which tends to be opaque and commonplace. These qualifications made i him a logical choice as mural deco for the purpose of decorating the oalaces of Industry and Art. Shirlaw also decorated the Congressional Mbrary in Washington. Had Great Influence a Teacher Miss Dreier points out in her forword that it was Shlrlaw's unusually strong sense of rythm which should make his work sympathetic to the present generation, who are taught to be moro sensitive to this quality than were Shlrlaw's contemporaries.

Apparently he was able to transmit this quality to his pupils, a collection of whose works, all of them notable for their emphasis on line, is shown in connection with the exhibition. Anne Goldthwaite, the late Dorathea Dreier, Katherine Dreier and Robert Reid are among the artists whose works are shown. Miss Dreier, whose Interest In modern art is well known, explains the apparent paradox of her interest in abstraction and Shlrlaw's imaginative decorations as follows: "People wonder at my love for the beauty I find in Shinaws work, associating me as tney do only with the abstract in art but wltnout the training Shirlaw gave me in beauty, vitality, rythm and design or organization I could never have taken the step or leap into this new great expression in art, based as it is fundamentally on these manifestations." It is of special interest to Brook-lynltes to be reminded that Shirlaw was for several years connected with the Brooklyn Istituta and the Art Guild, where he conducted classes In design and decoration. Churches of France By Dorothy Noyes Arms and John Taylor Arms The increasing number of art books published by American publishing houses is encouraging evidence of America's artistic maturity. Hard-headed publishers do not invest sums of money in such enterprises unless they are reasonably sure of a public responsive to their efforts.

"Churches of France." published By MacMillan. tho text written by Dorothy Noyes Arms, the Illustrations reproductions from etchings and drawings by John Taylor Arms is the latest and certainly one of the handsomest additions to the list. John Taylor Arms Is of cour.se well known to print lovers as one of America's foremost etchers. His wife, who provides the sympathetic Informative text, was the former Dorothy Noyes of this city, daughter of Mr. and Mrs.

Henry Noyes. Although the majority of the etchings and drawings, of which there are 51, have been exhibited at one time or another, gathered together in their present form and sequence they offer the print lover a new angle from which to enjoy the quality of Mr. Arms' work. Due to the exactness of the process they lose almost nothing of their original quality In being reproductions. Aside from the purely esthetic quality of the book it is the first time that the story of French ecclesiastical architecture has been given so complete an exposition through the medium of the artist print.

Mrs. Arms' point of view is consistently human and informal throughout. While she records her reaction to each one of the cathedrals in what Is frequently a penetrating bit of esthetic never allows herself to become tediously pedantic, prererrlnT that her husband's drawings shall tell the architectural story. The text Is enlivened throughout by incidents in the adventure of ronductlng a husband and three children throughout the length and breadth of France In search of the desired material, and by illuminating bits of historical data. Comments and News The Whitney Studio Gallery Is holding a four-man water color show, which, due to the physical arrangement of the galleries, constitutes four one-man shows, each artist being assigned a seDarate gallery.

The artists are Paul Rohland, Richard Lahey, Stuart Davis and Mark Baum, the last named a newcomer in the exhibition World. Mr. Rohland's spontaneous enjoyment of casual aspects of whatever, portion of the universe he happens to find himself In Is set down with a freshness and spontaneity adequately expressive of the mood. He does, "however, modify his technique to the exigencies of his subject. The tropics have the rhythm and sparkle suggested by pa'ms and sunlight.

New England farm houses and French provincial towns are given a structural emnhasis by means of pen and ink outlines. Richard Lahey's Maine coast scenes are notable tor a rlcner, warmer quality than has hitherto been seen in his work. The same may also be said of Stuart Davis' abstractions, if warmth and abstraction are not essentially antipathetic. It is probably because ho is emerging from pure abstraction to a decorative treatment of visual reality which accounts for this newly acquired quality. Mark Baum, owin? to the necessitv of earning a living, belongs to the Sunday painter grouo.

His work has that engaging quality of naive sincerity, which results when a genuine reaction to nature Is set down with painstaking but sufficient technique. It Is imnosslble to sen a group of Raou) Duffy's work without having ore'b mood keved a point or two higher. This Is especially true of the collection of his most recent works which are now on view at the Valentine Ga'lery and constitute the "a'lerv's official opening The artist's evident and soontaneous en-loyment of the gayer aspects of the contemporary scene is contagious. PORTRAITS MARGARET FITZHUGH BROWNE December Sd to Hlh AINSLIE GALLERIES 677 Fifth Avenua, N. Y.

near S4th StrMt works PAivTrn tt npjrv nv Maurice FromkesTi INCM'DINO PORTRAITS OF TWEI.VI EMINENT MEN Of SrAIN Hrcrmhtr td tt Iff MILCH GALLERIES 108 West 57tb Street, N. Y. The American rooms are the culmination of an Idea which had ita inception in 1917, when the Secretary House, an exceptionally fine example of the architecture anik decoration of the Colonial period In Maryland, was bought for the Museum by Luke Vincent Lockwood as a nucleus for a symposium of Early American interiors. The rooms were installed in 1917, later taken down to allow for changes In Museum arrangement, were again Installed at the end of the picture gallery and were aqain taken down to be placed in their present permanent arrangement as part of a detailed story of Early American expression in the decorative arts and architecture. Rooms Demomtrata Art It Is interesting to remember that in the matter of installing complete rooms Illustrating periods in Amer-i'-as cultural development, the Brooklyn Museum had priority over the Metropolitan by seven years.

The American wing opened in 1917. Americana had of course been in the Morgan wing before mis time, dul noi as complete decorative units. It has alwavs been the Brooklyn Museum's policy to phaslze the -t of installation. The present exhibition is another evidence of this. The rooms are arranged so that they form a series of houses, which the ample floor (pace and high ceilings of the Mu- fcum allow jor.

Tiie visitor enters the doorwayR of shineled or clap-boarded houses In some cases the nglnal wood is uwd-Malrs lead from into the upper btories, although only ground-floor rooms tire shown, and sunlight streams In through windows, by means of a convincing method of siumlating unlljht. harly American and Modern Before going on to describe the various rooms the relation which exists between our ancestors' conception of sensible, livable and harmonious exteriors and Interiors and lhe results which the best of the latlonai moderns are attempting to rvolve should be pointed out to Ihose for whom modern is anathema i nd with not the remotest connec-jn to anything conceived In the 1 ast. 1 Possibly to the traditionally i llnded who have not analvzed Ither period to th point of finding a com-'iion denominator It Is a vir cry irom a Dutch kitchen In Cumin-le or a panflcd dining room in Colonial Virginia to the tiled utilities of the modern American l.itchcn or the steel and cement, attonaltsm of a house designed bv Le Corbusler. But listen to what Corljusler, the eminent Swiss trcrutect and leading figure in the advance guard, has to say in ragard to the analogy between rational modern and Queen Anne: "A barn recently restored (the Interior) is exactly in the same architectural spirit as our interiors at Garche (Garche Is the most recent and most theoretical of Le Corbusler's experiments in domestic architecture). Its constructional feeling, its human scale are similar, and Lod knows I am Ignorant enough of Queen Anne." This is in no way to be taken as an evidence of the swinging back of the pendulum to past styles and traditional forms, but points to the fact that the best efforts in the direction of evolving a sane and beautiful modern architecture, exterior and interior, are again being made dependent upon functional and structural requirements, that ornament which Is not an outgrowth of function is extraneous and therefore bad.

The analogy between Early American, English and Dutch design of the same period and more especially of the nut so wealthy classes, and modern Is that thi designers of this period planned their dwellings so as to most efficiently meet the problems of architectural construction determined by the materials at hand, space, climatic conditions and practicability in upkeep. From this practical basis evolved the simple, austerely beautiful forms admired by 20th Century collectors. Using materials in their natural 6tate and those at hand was common practice and a fundamental principle of good modern design. The rational modern Is endeavoring to bring back the dwelling house to the same logical expression of human needs. Since certain needs are constant and given the principle of using the materials of today to express these needs a relation is unrefutable.

Logical Country It has irequently been the contention of the writer that America is the logical country in which a style expressive of the times will receive its most complete expression. has unquestionably been the Impetus lor the Idea of an international architecture, withs its mechanical labor-saving devices, use of modern building materials and methods of construction and the standardization of equipment. It only remainslor our architects to sense the esthetic concomitant and to case disguising the elements of potential beauty with suixrimposed styls which have nothing to do with the case. Such elements as the simple forms of American furniture, the built-in cupboards, even the built-in beds of the Dutch farm bouses, the rectangular design of mantels and fireplaces, the struc- Company 1 "Pjrator when the World Fair gathered The se'rnnrt orn.m a group of young painters grouD comnrispn parlor and d'ring rnom from a hotme in Irvlnrton, N. built in the enrl-part of the 19th Century.

The third Troup Is from Nw and comprises a simple farmhouse interior built in the Revolutionary period, an 18t Century house Irom Exhibition of Pictures by EVERETT HAMILTON. Drcembrr 2nd to lith MONTROSS GALLERY East 56th St, N..