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ANNUAL EXHIBITION OF FOUNDATION COLLECTION Charles Demuth concluded his letters to his mother, “Lovingly, Charlie,” and much of his work strikes viewers as if that sign-off is directed at them as well. Few artists have demonstrated Demuth’s variety and inherent affection for art. His luxurious fruits and vegetables, his abundant flowers, his illustrations for books, his erotic watercolors, his vaudeville and circus pieces, his poster portraits, and his cubist-inspired cityscapes carry an intimacy that has always made them instantly accessible and attractive. Samples of most of these styles and subjects are being exhibited in the Foundation’s annual exhibition of Demuth’s work, including its collection of twenty-seven pieces, plus six others on loan from generous private collectors. •Zinnias and Scarlet Sage is a 1928 watercolor. •Another flower piece -- of a single iris, dating to circa 1914, -- demonstrates his meticulous craftsmanship. •A Bermuda painting of trees looks forward toward his Precisionist work... •When Demuth’s early dealer, Charles Daniel, turned down a selection of watercolors, the artist vented his wrath by tearing them into pieces. Like the Foundation’s Parrot Lady, a small landscape on loan for the exhibition has been restored from its destruction. •A seated figure of a man, executed in pencil. •Two sailors, a watercolor, offering one of Demuth’s familiar subjects but from a decidedly surprising angle. The Foundation’s collection nearly covers the chronological spectrum of his work, including not only Demuth’s last major watercolor – Pink Tulips – but examples of his juvenilia and china painting.. The exhibition, sponsored by Mr. and Mrs. Christian E. McMurtrie, in honor of Mabel Engle McMurtrie, opened May 17 and will run through July14. Members are cordially invited to a reception for the exhibition on June 14th, Friday evening from 5 until 8, coinciding with the “First Night” of Lancaster’s Summer Arts Festival.
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