EXHIBITION OF SOCIETY FOR CONTEMPORORY ART IS LAUDED BY CRITIC

The following article reviewing the exhibition of the Harvard Society for Contemporary Art was written for the Crimson by T. C. Howe Jr. '26 Instructor in Fine Arts. The exhibition is on view in the galleries in the Harvard Cooperative Building.

The second exhibition of the Harvard Society for Contemporary Art presents the work of the School of Paris from 1910 to 1928. This collection includes painting, sculpture and examples of the decorative arts. The paintings are a logical supplement to the loan exhibition of French Painting now on display at the Fogg Art Museum. In scope the former ranges from comparatively conservative to ultra-modern.

"Les Grandes Princesses", an outstanding canvas by Marie Laurencin, portrays a group of sophisticatedly naive, dark eyed ladies, painted in the melting, pastel shades typical of this artist.

In sharp contrast is a "Spring Landscape" by Segonzac, notable for its rugged and vigorous handling. The cool grays and vivid greens of the picture are particularly attractive. To grasp fully the charm of this heavily painted canvas it is necessary to stand as far from the picture as possible.

George Braques, who with Picasso was an exponent of Cubism before 1914, is represented by a "Still Life". Here the predominating tones are black, green and red. The composition, geometric in character, reveals the profitable influence of Cubistic training without being dominated by this school. The artist achieves here a powerful effect by the use of strong outlines which emphasize the objects.

Modigliani, the gifted young Italian who died at the beginning of a promising career is represented by the "Portrait of a Young Woman." This picture embodies much of the elusive charm of a Quattrocento portrait. It is interesting to compare this work, executed in sombre colors, with the rather harsh Modigliani "Woman and Child" in the Fogg Museum where the artist is working in a very different vein.

A significant canvas is the "Still Life" by Vlaminck, where the colors are mainly deep greens, with here and there the effect of burnished silver. Again an interesting contrast may be observed with the Vlaminck in the Fogg Museum.

Raoul Dufy, distinguished both as painter and as a designer of textiles is represented by a sparkling canvas of "Taormina."

Bonnard is the only transitional painter with work on display in the exhibition. He contributes a small picture entitled, "Interior with a Boy" which is marked by an appealing simplicity and attractive coloring.

Chirico and Miro, two artists identified with that final phase of expressionism known as Surrealism, are represented in the exhibit. "Two Steeds", the canvas by Chirico, is charming both in its color and obvious content, aside from an elaborate allegorical significance. On the other hand, Miro's composition, entitled "Abstraction", is meaningless without an understanding of the artist's intention.

This picture has been very appropriately hung directly behind Brancusi's "Golden Bird" since this is the one piece of sculpture, the significance of which is as difficult for the casual observer to grasp as is that of Miro's painting.

The other examples of sculpture include a fine "Portrait head of a woman" and a statuette of "Diana" by Despiau, and a "Standing Nude" by Maillol. The archaistic traits are obvious.

In the field of the decorative arts, too often neglected, the material is distinguished. Both the ceramics and the textiles of Raoul Dufy deserve special notice. The ingenious miniature reproductions in pottery of the Moorish Gardens at Granada, and the lively designs of his fabrics, attest to the versatility of this talented artist. Brilliant workmanship marks a great variety of objects on display, such as cigarette cases, book-covers, silver, jewelry and glassware.

Again we must congratulate the Harvard Society for Contemporary Art on their intelligent selection of a significant lot of material varying widely in character. And what is of fundamental importance, they have arranged these objects in eminently successful and effective fashion.