Camera Work: A Photographic Quarterly (1911 (Heft 36))

THE EXHIBITIONS AT “291”

THE season which closed last May with an exhibition of the work of
Pablo Picasso has been such as greatly to strengthen the position of
the Photo-Secession in the art world, and has been, in away, the culmi-
nation of the work carried on for three seasons in the reduced quarters of
the Secession.
After the series of exhibitions held this year, it is felt that although much
of interest remains to be shown, the future exhibitions of the Photo-Secession
will hardly, for some time, exemplify any decided advance along the lines
which have been followed for three years. It must have been plain to anyone
who has followed with care the exhibitions held at the Little Galleries, that
their sometimes surprising sequence was not the result of chance, but that
every move was made with some definite purpose in view; was indeed part
of a logical development; and was always made at the psychological moment.
In Camera Work, No. XXXIII, we reviewed the exhibitions of litho-
graphs and drawings by French artists, the paintings of Henri Rousseau, and
the drawings and etchings by Gordon Craig, all of which had been exhibited
in the earlier part of the season of 1910-1911.
MAX WEBER EXHIBITION
The month of January was devoted to an exhibition of paintings by one
of the young American artists, Mr. Max Weber, a graduate of Pratt Institute
and a pupil of Henri Matisse. His work shows that he has done much original
thinking, and is remarkable for the blending of emotional pictorial qualities
with rational construction. Form, with him, is not the reproduction on canvas
of the image formed on the retina. It is analyzed into its constituent parts,
its bulk is emphasized, the relationship of lines and masses is explained.
Mr. Weber shows that he possesses thoroughly the technique of drawing and
painting. His compositions are logical and forceful, his mind is creative, his
color is pleasing—and yet his work worries one. It appeals so much to the
mind that it challenges criticism, and one cannot quite relax in front of it.
This show was a preparation and an introduction to the work of Paul Cezanne
and of Pablo Picasso, which followed respectively in March and April.
MARIN EXHIBITION
The water-colors of John Marin, which decorated the walls of the Little
Galleries during February, following the exhibition of Mr. Weber, were like
a breath of fresh air or a field of flowers to one who has just left the classroom
after working out an arduous problem of trigonometry. One relaxed with
pleasure before these refreshing transcriptions of the wonder and grandeur of
the Tyrolean Alps; and a few views of New York city which were shown
whetted our curiosity for a more comprehensive reflection of the attitude of
this master of water-color towards this wonderful product of commercial and
industrial giants. This was the third exhibition of Marin’s held at the Little
Galleries, this distinction being fully warranted by the importance of his work.

29