Gropius Chooses 'Garden of Eden' As Title for Grad Dining Hall Mural

The mural in the Harkness Commons dining hall has been christened "The Garden of Eden." Walter Gropius, chief designer of the Graduate Center and judge in the recent contest to name the mural, awarded the $15 prize to Fred Ringel 2G.

In his accompanying explanation, Ringel described the painting as "strange and wonderful...radiant," and "pleasant to the slight of our eyes as the Garden of Eden was pleasant to the eyes of Adam and Eve."

Gropius qualified his choice by noting that naming the work of another artist is a difficult task. "An artist's message addresses the intuitive faculties of the onlooker rather than his intellect."

Second, third, and fourth places were won by: Jacques Barchilon 1G, for his "Free Space in a Green Universe": Henry J. Hodder 3G, who suggested "Design in Green"; and Lewis Long 2G, who offered "The Spiritual Search for Meaning."

George Bayer, the artist who painted the mural, had modestly titled it "Verdure." The work was inspired by 16th Century French tapestries which depicted various forms of plant life in many shades of green.

Richard Ripin 3G, Chairman of the Society for the Propagation of Taste and Discernment Among Intellectuals and Others, who sponsored the contest, said that he was pleased with the results.