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THE FINE ARTS Notes of a Peripatetic Gallerygoer IN THE heady if sometimes disconcerting atmosphere nebulously called "the New York art world," we tend to overlook propitious straws in the wind from other parts of the country and even from our own small island. Briefly described below are several such "straws" that have particularly impressed me during recent months. Topping the list is the Houston Museum of Fine Arts, where in three years an extraordinary revitalization has taken place under the leadership of a new director, James Johnson Sweeney. Buying with obsessive fervor, knowledge, and courage, Mr. Sweeney has wisely concentrated on sculpture——often monumental pieces that have stunning impact when seen in Cullinan Hall, a celebrated modern wing designed by Mies van der Rohe. Here one finds not merely good examples by definitive masterworks by such contemporary artists as Calder, Chillida, and Consagra. In fact, nowhere in the world is Calder so brilliantly represented. Mr. Sweeney has also tracked down a group of notable primitive carvings from Africa, Latin America, and the North and South Pacific. In contrast, a sophisticated, larger-than-life-size bronze figure of Ephebus by a Greek sculptor from the school of Polycletus is a work of such superlative subtlety as to leave one breathless. In Washington, the newest art event is Philip Johnson's revently completed wing for the Robert Woods Bliss Collection of Pre-Columbian Art at Dumbarton Oaks. This small building, which everywhere opens out on handsomely landscaped gardens, is a flawless setting for superb art from the Olmec, Mayan, Incan, and other Pre-Columbian cultures. The museum and the collection act as an object lesson in selectivity. Only examples of the highest quality are shown in uncluttered surroundings where every detail, every texture, every color complements the art itself. Out West the Oklahoma Printmakers Society, founded six years ago by seven citizens of Oklahoma City, sponsors and annual national survey of prints, watercolors, and drawings from which, miraculously, it sells better than one-third of the works shown. The exhibition (an excellent one, as a rule) is judged each year by a well-known professional but is otherwise efficiently administered entirely by volunteers. The purpose of the organization, put succinctly by one of its officers, is "to bring good art to Oklahoma while aiding good artists and avoiding factionalism." A small group of intelligent citizens working together without pomp or desire for prestige accomplishes more than many overorganized, overpublicized institutions. Also noteworthy is the Winston-Salem Gallery of Fine Arts in North Carolina, which has made history as the first full-time, nonprofit sales organization devoted to art in the South. Opened in 1956, it sells and rents works selected from a five-state area by competent professional jurors. The gallery, located on the main square of Old Salem, a beautiful Moravian town now being restored is again run by a dedicated staff composed almost exclusively of volunteers. Last December eighteen sculptors opened their own cooperative gallery in St. Louis, a venture described by art critic George McCue in the Post-Dispatch as filling a "long-felt need for an avenue of communication between sculptors and architects." In addition, he said, it offers "a businesslike operation, taking over the sculptor's marketing problems while allowing the artist to concentrate on his work." Called Sculptors Gallery, the venture not only arranges frequent exhibitions but sponsors numbered editions of small pieces that can be produced economically and yet properly supervised so that quality is not forfeited. An indication of the interest generated by this organization was the number of visitors (2,500) that crowded the opening. The Primitive Museum and Asia House in New York and the Phillips Collection in Washington continue to reassure us as classic examples of first-rate specialized galleries. One can always depend on them for well-selected exhibitions, informative catalogues, and impeccable standards. While larger organizations, swayed by numerous trustees and committees, often water down their decisions, these more privately directed institutions adhere uncompromisingly to their original principles. It is comforting to find them still undiluted by group pressures. For me, two recently published art catalogues stand out as exemplary: Margaret Scolari Barr's book on Medardo Rosso and H. H. Arnason's study of Jean-Antoine Hudon, the latter prepared for an exhibition at the Worcester (Continues on page 71) [[image]] ——Houston Museum of Fine Arts. Ephebus; school of Polycletus. [[image]] ——Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Laurence Tisch. One Way, by Richard Lindner. SR/April 25, 1964 27
