[MODERN FRENCH PAINTINGS. THE LEICESTER AND LEFEVRE
GALLERIES.]
Two exhibitions of modern French paintings are now running, and both deserve a visit, The exhibition at the Leicester Galleries is the larger of the two having over a hundred works, while there are only thirty-five at the Lefevre Gallery. The exhibition at the Leicester Galleries has been organized by a committee on which the names of the Presidents of both the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies appear, so that it seems to have an official status. The selectors have aimed at giving a broad representation of contemporary French Art, and the result is a lively and interesting collection. It
is a leap from R. Menard, whose La falaise looks a bit old- fashioned, to the curious architectural compositions of de Chirico. The whole show demoastrates very clearly the many-sidedness of modern art, and one cannot help wondering what will emerge eventually from such a variety of subjects and treatments. The drawings, of which there are twenty- eight, are attractive, particularly Picasso's Femme Assise, Roussel's Femme Couches and Gliickmann's Nu. La Sieste, by Orthon Friesz with its finely blended landscape and figures, is a pre-eminent work, Derain's landscape •Paysage du Midi is subdued and Asselin's Femme Lisant is also in a quiet key, except for a bright spot Of colour on the lips. There are also works by Matisse, Despian, and The fare offered at the Lefevre Gallery is more concentrated, for each of the eleven artists is a celebrity, . and all the pictureS have been carefully selected. In the circumstances criticism is hardly called for, Of the four Derains, the large Feninie Nue Assise, the figure, perfect in form and sup- ported by a bit of blue drapery and a black eat, dominates the room. There are a Danseuse and Jockeys by Degas, two street scenes by Utrillo, an interior, a landscape, a still life:— two peaches on a lovely blue plate—and a vase with a flower by Matisse, two small Renoirs and one small Seurat, and a fine Sisley full of bright tints of autumn. Dufresne, Redon, Lurcat, and Modigliani make up the eleven.
• At the same gallery thirty new drawingi by Mr. Ian Strang are being shown. The subjects range from Oxford Street to Granada via Sussex, Evesham, Avignon, and Toledo. Mr. Strang is a virtuoso of the pencil and all his drawings have a pleasantly soft and decided touch. His compositions are seen with the eye of an etcher, and they leave one mar- velling at the detail he works in so clearly and with such ease. A Corner of the Alhambra, Shepherd Market, The Back Garden, and Childs Wickham deserve special mention,
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