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3/19/1958 - Art in Central Africa by Smith Hempstone Jr.

NOT FOR PUBLICATION INSTITUTE OF CURRENT ORLD AFFAIRS SH Art Central Africa Salisbury Southern Rhodesia Mr Walter S Rogers Institute Current World Affairs 5Fifth Avenue New York N Y Dear Mr Rogers Art facilities which exhibit things which granted which almost totally lacking Africa Cape Good Hope Straits Gibraltar There galleries sorts Algiers Johannesbhrg Cape Town American European standards really Art cultural generally world Salisbury oddly enough exception This capital Federation which boast population which Africans making pretty SALISBURY S RHODES GALLERY attempt plugging cultural Filig Back thirties group wealthy Rhodesians began talking starting gallery The project languished World War II people thing think about reborn death SirJameslcDonald Art lovercDonald swillbequeathed150 O00 build gallery Salisbury Seven years later Southern Rhodesian government appointed inaugural board additional public subscriptions successfully collected legislation passed setting statutory board trustees responsibility building equipment administration proposed institution It wasto called Rhodes National Gallery The Salisbury contributed downtown gallery architectural contract local Building began completed To gallery trustees chose artist adven turer Frank McEwen Scent IcEwen educated English public schools skipped university preference artistic career studied Sorbonne Louvre artistic apprentice under Pisarro cEwen lived painted eight years Paris thesouthofFrance andNorthAfrica hadseveralone shows Paris Copenhagen I I painted recalls When NcEwen attached Allied Head quarters specialist Arab affairs He participated invasions North Africa Italy since there Arabs Italy transferred British Council England cultural propaganda organization From cEwen served Council France He concentrated organizing exhibits becme Coun specialist contemporary In cEwen asked Rhodesis establish gallery He sailboat Aside bearded Frank cEwen navigation He sailed England ketch whaling shark fishing Azores reached Brazil safely there girls recruited another under poles nights through rugged storm finally reached Cape Town months later The whole without recourse ketch ailing auxiliary motor cEwen Salisbury married pretty local sculptress superintended internal gallery rooms shifting sliding walls himself appointed first director whole shebang Faced arranging inaugural NcEwen found little available locally sufficient caliber grace exhibit which opened Queen other Rhodesia professional artists never produced anything native Congo Africa cEwen Europe arrange loans inaugural exhibition immediately problems curators great galleries never heard Rhodesia When Central Africa pictured their priceless treasures being grass Smokey clearings By talking every cEwen arranged treasures ranging Rembrandt Picasso cEwen loans London National Gallery Amsterdam Rijksmuseum Paris Louvre Although museums reluctant allow their treasures trans ported Paris London cEwen sweet talked eries allowing their masterpieces flown Salisbury plane loads SH Although local artists snuff Ewen found valuable pieces One Salisbury family loaned collection msters which included Van Dyck 0stade Hals From Wilds eastern highlands settler collection which included works Turner Brueghel Bellini Nantegna Rosselli Veronese Clearly every Rho desian living walled NcEwen troubles weren exception Rubens E1 Greco Cara vaggio whose owners developed minute Salis inaugural exhibition efore humidifiers installed among others priceless Rembrandt began shrink cEwen spent several nights before exhibit draping paintings towes But gallery opened people exhibit All paintings safely returned total damage of0to frame lcEwen followed inaugural success biggest exhibit shown south Sahara exhibition sculpture Henry Japanese prints This month topped getting first African showing Edward teichen Family Nan photographic collection Family whose pictures countries people New York alone illion EUrope going Salisbury In first exhibit Rhodesians panorama NcEwen rigged lights exhibit night Al though admissien price reasonable weekdays Saturday Africans taken eppertunity Family unfortunately RHODESIANS AND FAMILY cultural experience mostly Rhodesia white Acclaim squabble pepulation The enough success cause squabble between Salisbury SH Bulawaye industrial center Bulawayo asked special showing Family there short shrift cEwen impressed handled Henry exhibit Family ceuldn anyway booked Johannesbury after leaves Salisbury cEwen doesn laurels H scheduling industrial design exhibition furniture plans organize library university school eventually arrange Rhodesian exhibited abroad reaches sufficiently standard His current problems those directors verywhere money inadequate staff Financial difficulties prevented acquisitien permanent collection cEwen content build colleetion slowly build He believes gallery finest Africa right It certainly toward filling yawning cultural which Africa Sincerely Smith Hempston Jr Received New York