Henri Matisse was great artist, humanitarian who loved peace ENRI MATISSE, the great French artist, is dead, but his work will long remain as the cen- tre of the controversy that raged around it during ‘his life. Even at 84 and in ill-health he did not stop working. Just before his fatal collapse on November 4 he finished work on a sketch for a stained-glass window. He was born at Cateau, France, on the last day of December, 1869. His father put him to study law, but the young Matisse had other ideas. He went to Paris to study un- der Gustave Moreau. Matisse’s magnificent copies of old masters during this period are still to be seen in the Louvre. From Paris he went to London, where he studied Turner’s paint- ings. The subsequent influence of Japanese and Mohammedan art on his work came as he con- tinued his travels, studying and experimenting. In his development as an artist Matisse passed through a number of phases: the austere landscapes and street scenes of 1905-1917 and from there to the simplifica- tions of later years. It cannot be said that his work directly reflected the social con- ditions and struggles of his life- time. . He appeared more interested in developing the utmost richness of color orchestration and decora- tive quality of line — to conjure up in the viewer the feeling of peace, pleasure and relaxation. Yet much of his work had just the opposite effect. The violent BOOKS HENRI MATISSE and exciting color relationships revealed the underlying tensions of social conditions around him. Sir Alfred Munnings, RA, pour- ec scorn on Matisse’s work. Go and see them, he told reporters ... “because until you know how ridiculous they are it is no good me talking about them. .. . But whatever Sir Alfred or other critics might say, Matisse had plenty of admirers. The slightest pencil sketch~ by him sold for at least $250. og % $e 3 Last year the National Arts Foundation of New York honored him as an “outstanding artist of 1953.” He loved humanity. He was a member of the French Commun- ist party and a signoratory to the Stockholm Peace Appeal. With Picasso he made a joint declara- tion in support of the Vienna Peace Congress in 1952. Because he loved humanity he was also a man of great courage. Bedridden for the last ‘two years of his life he continued his work with special easels and gear. His recipe for success in art was simple. “You must work set hours every day. You must work like a workman. Anyone who has done anything worthwhile has done ‘that.’ One of Matisse’s: most recent and most-discussed works was the decoration of the Roman Catholie,chapel at Venice. Though a confirmed atheist, he designed and decorated the chapel as a work of art. Jean Cassou, director of the Paris Modern Art Museum and one of France’s leading art ex- perts said of him: “The death of Matisse is a great blow to France and Art. “Henri Matisse was one of the © last representatives of French genius. Every thinking man can consider himself as his dis- ciple. His thought illuminated our era.” Obstacles to Canadian-Soviet trade come from United States git agree to development of Canadian-Soviet trade agree- ments do not come from within Canada but from the United States, News-Facts, the monthly information bulletin published by the Canadian-Soviet Friend- ship Society, charges in a special booklet issued this month under the title Trade with the Soviet Union. ‘Leading spokesmen for all political parties in parliament, including Prime Minister St. Laurent, are quoted to-the effect Pari iy iy tit Hi 1 HO HO CHOP SUEY We serve only UNEXCELLED AUTHENTIC CHINESE CUISINE Pleasant atmosphere Courteous Service Reservation for Parties or Banquets Phone PA. 1030, PA. 0713 102 PENDER STREET EAST Vancouver, B.C. tt tt HRUBHEURI EL STG Castle Jnvealers Watchmaker and Jewelers Special Discount to RawN 7 Re oK oS Bring this ad > ; : with you 752 Granville St. “that Canada would stand to gain by increasing her commercial ties with all countries and that it is not the policy of the Cana- dian government to cut off trade with the USSR,” and advance press release on the pamphlet ceclares. “The obstacles’. . . come from the U.S. where leaders of busi- hess and government are trying to get for themselves as much as possible of Canada’s foreign trade and to restrict her trade with other countries.” Beginning with statistics on Soviet foreign trade, which in 1954 will reach an all-time high . of $7.4 billion, the booklet lists the countries that have signed trade agreements. with the USSR, Denmark, Australia, Great Brit- ain, France, Argentine, India, Greece, Finland, and Iran are among the 16 listed. These coun- tries sell to the USSR such goods as fish, butter, meat, lard, hides, cheese, wool, textiles, and ships, any of which could just as well, and just as profitably, be supplied by Canada. Answering the argument that “The USSR uses trade as a wea- pon to split the western coun- tries,” such obviously unsympath- etic (to the USSR) sources as Rhys M. Sale, president of Ford of Can- ada, and Harold Stassen, are quoted. Their conclusion is that the trade policies of the U.S. are a heavy strain on relations be- tween these countries. What is more surprising to most readers is the fact that U.S. businessmen themselves are now getting ready to sell to the USSR some of the very goods that the U.S. Battle Act has prevented many other countries from sel- ling. Trade with the Soviet Union also answers the argument that the USSR will soon be in a posi- tion where it is producing every- thing it needs, and where it will no longer be in the market for imports from other countries. The rate of growth of the popu- lation of the USSR, ‘compared with its present rate of increase in the output of consumers’ goods, guarantees that there will be a market there for years to come. To take one example from the booklet: If the Canadian output of shoes were to increase by 25 percent, or 10 million pairs a year, the Soviet Union could ab- sorb the entire increase without satisfying all the requirements of her population. eet As a practical step towards in- creasing Canadian-Soviet trade, the booklet suggests that the Can- adian government be urged to take the initiative in arranging a ‘Canadian trade mission to the USSR, as many other countries have done. Trade with the Soviet Union may be obtained at most book- stores, or direct from News-Facts, 753 Bathurst Street, Toronto 4, Ont., at 15 cents a copy, 10 copies for $1 or 100 copies for $9. Ivory carvings from the Soviet far north, hand-embroidered Byelorussian shirts, colorful hand-painted ceramics from Czecho- slovakia and other examples of folk art such as the iewel box made of inlaid colored straw shown at bottom will be seen when a-disp!ay of Slavic folk art tours Western Canada next month. Slavic folk art display to go on national tour HE swirling color cf a Russian dance, the delicate embroid- ery of a Ukrainian shirt — what lies behind this loveliness that Slavic immigrants have brought to Canada? Hundreds of years of folk tradi- tion, skill and imagination is the answer. These will be revealed more fully than in any previous Canadian exhibition when a grand display of Slavic folk art and handicrafts tours the country next month, The exhibit will feature beauti- ful embroidery, hand-painted cer- amics, wood and ivory carvings, rugs, tapestry, glassware, pottery, costume dolls. They come from the Soviet Union, Poland, Bul garia, Czechoslovakia and Yug0- slai