The Big Frieze

Three summers ago, San Francisco's Board of Education asked the WPA Art Project to provide a bas-relief for George Washington High School, on which construction was then beginning. The bas-relief was intended to be the world's biggest frieze: a panel 12 ft. high, 183 ft. long, set in a wall at the end of an athletic field, where spectators could view it. WPA agreed, under a standard arrangement whereby it would furnish the work, the board the cost of materials. The wall and bas-relief were to be poured as one concrete unit. But that notion had to be abandoned. Not until last week, with the school long since finished, was San Francisco within reach of its big frieze.

WPA Sculptor Beniamino Bufano. famed for his barrel-shaped steel statue of St. Francis (TIME, Feb. 15, 1937), was picked to do the bas-relief. Able, but alternately dreamy, impulsive and opinionated. Sculptor Bufano turned in an acceptable drawing of the frieze, began work on a 30-ft. clay model of one section, niggled, quibbled, haggled, ordered materials only to change his mind after the requisitions had become entangled in WPA red tape. At one time he planned to cut the frieze in stone, get it financed by private sponsors. Last March, because of the delay, the local art project felt it necessary to fire Sculptor Bufano.

His successor was Sargent Claude Johnson, 51, Boston-born quadroon who has won many a prize, is one of the best artists of the Negro race. Sculptor Johnson submitted a drawing to the Board of Education, the San Francisco Art Commission. Both asked for some changes, which he made. Then, at the suggestion of a WPA official who wanted to use up the remaining clay before it spoiled. Sculptor Johnson made a 31-ft. model. It showed thick-limbed athletes diving, throwing javelins, playing golf, leaping hurdles.

The head of the Art Commission is an Italian-born editor named OttorinoRonchi. When he heard that Sculptor Johnson had made a model, he exploded, accused the sculptor and WPA of trying to rush the Commission into giving its official O.K. Inspecting the model, Mr. Ronchi clapped his hands to his head, exclaimed: "It's like having the hiccups! It jerks! It doesn't knit together! It has bad composition! It looks like the figures are pasted to the wall! It hasn't a flowing line from beginning to end! It. ... It. ... It. ... Ah. now. take Benny Bufano's model. He gave us something. He's selling papers now, isn't he?"*

Despite Mr. Ronchi, it looked last week as if San Francisco would finally get the big frieze. The Board of Education ap-oroved Sculptor Johnson's drawing. So did the Art Commission, Mr. Ronchi dissenting. As a sop to him, the Commission held up formal approval of the clay models until slight changes should be made.

* A few times Sculptor Bufano has rather ostentatiously sold papers, but he also makes weekly trips to Los Angeles to speak under XYA auspices at $25 an appearance.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.