1.The logical place to begin a tour is with the featured painting “Norman Kirk and his Staff” by Francis Criss. Criss was an exponent of a school of painting called “precisionist” that blended the figurative (realistic) and the abstract in the 1930’s. He was reduced by finances to teaching and commercial art in the 40’s. This is strictly a commission piece, yet it shows a firm grasp of fine art’s intellectual conventions. This painting shows the representation of the figures with almost photographic clarity. What is abstract about the painting is that the “meeting” being portrayed never happened. These were busy guys. The moment in time captured with them all crowded into the same office was highly unlikely. I also doubt that the Capitol dome was visible from Kirk’s window. Criss used it as an architectural icon to place the scene in Washington. Norman Kirk is clearly the dominant figure in the composition, commanding the attention of all those present, yet Criss shows him sitting. I suspect that the pose was used intentionally to downplay Kirk’s diminutive stature. I seem to remember him as being 5’5”. Inquiry question: There is another painting by Criss in the show that uses the same devices. A realistic figure works by a window through which a familiar architectural façade can be seen. Can you find it?  (A: Braces to Order)