Massachusetts College of Art and Design - Palette and Pen Yearbook (Boston, MA)

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veloped a new looser handling in his Vermontscapes, approximating a happy medium between the usual Guild theme and any Aldro Hibbard. Among other things came water colors by John Whorf and por- traits in oil by the late Robert Henri, the former at Grace Horne, the latter at Vose. Henri, richly bewildering in color and facility, captivated us, as always. We are still waiting hopefully for John Whorf to say something a la J. Whorf. Important among exhibits of the season was the sculpture of American-made, Swedish-born Carl Milles, at the Institute. The shy Scandinavian is the author of fauns, myth-gods, and naiads. We found Milles strong, solid, quite lyrical, if a little cold. He can be poetic even when modeling fish which lack only twin-screw propellers. M.S.A. turned out to hear, see, and otherwise experience “Fan- tasia.” Disney’s most serious attempt to date was tragic in its degrada- tion of Beethoven to centaurettes, highly successful in its interpretation of Tchaikowsky. Disney, I hope, will continue experiments using music more adaptable to the visual (Scheherazade, for instance), and leave such pure abstractionists as Bach and Beethoven to survive of their own genius. Stokowski will always get by as a Hollywood matinee idol; Deems Taylor and the sound track were highly intelligent. ABBOTT GOMBERG

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EXHIBITIONS OF THE SEASON— A REFLECTION ast year Picasso came to town and, in consequence, Boston knew how Paul Revere must have felt when he heard the British shuffling in. Anyway, there were very few reports of fainting dowagers or psychopathic maladies among col- leagues, and Massachusetts School of Art people, encouraged by an exuberant Miss Munsterberg, or goaded by a growling Mr. Major, crept into the Museum of Fine Arts and gaped. Many were enlightened, some were scandalized, none was corrupted. Ourselves, we struggled through what we hope has only jokingly been called a classic period, and were finally rewarded by “Guernica.” Picasso’s departure was less warm with eclat than his arrival; the Custom House is still erect. This year, in the svelte new rooms of the Institute of Modern Art on Beacon Street, we met Mr. Rouault, who vies with Picasso for honors in artistic radicalism. We liked his glowing melancholy color. He is noted mainly for heads of Christ and uniquely conceived clowns. We were disappointed in the sameness of his works, a sameness which prevailed even in subject matter to the point of monotony. He is the chap who paints like stained glass, but to our knowledge “Connick’s” hasn’t com- plained as yet. By this time one must have thought the Guild of Boston Artists would barricade their sidewalk, but they held aloof and presented an almost refreshing show of oils by Charles Curtis Allen, who has de-

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DEMOCRACY AND EDUCATION Out of the whirlwind of destruction comes a voice calling the sal- vation of the world, “Democracy.” We, as Americans, have suddenly become aware of our uniqueness among the host of nations on the globe. Our rights and privileges have come to the fore: freedom of speech, religion and the press. Freedom in education and the arts have suddenly impressed themselves on our consciousness. We suddenly wonder how we are to preserve these rights, how we are to direct our energies and talents in order that they may exist safely in a world gone mad with cruelty, greed, and suppression. Our system of government is not dated. It was made to withstand the test of time and it has done it nobly where other democratic systems have failed. What of the individuals in our government? Are they prepared to protect their inalienable privileges? They are, we know. Education has played a vital part in this preparedness, but its job is not done. It is through education that hope for democracy remains bright. In a dic- tatorship, national ideologies have determined the pattern of educa- tion; the subjugation of the individual has been the result. Here, where education guarantees the individual and his rights, we have no such problem. Our ideal, then, is to perpetuate democracy through educa- tion. In the field of art education the possibilities are vast, for the in- dividual is given opportunity to develop In a fuller, richer way. Children develop into tolerant, cooperative, creative members of society through