CORRESPONDENCE

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 119, 20 May 1912, Page 3

CORRESPONDENCE

APPRECIATION OF THE PICTURES TO TUB EDITOR. Sir, — Mr. Gore, in opening up a correspondence, may do a great deal of good in the interests of art in this city. 1 should like to point out to him, because others have different opinions to himself in regard to the Baillie venture, he should not consider them wilful, spiteful, and hostile. The arguments which he has discovered used against the scheme are not very sound. It is no doubt true that Mr. Baillie is a Wellington boy, and learned his art in this city, but surely the same may be said of some of the Choosing Committea; perhaps Mr Gore himself comes under that heading. Unfortunately, though it is not supposed to come into the question of art, the commercial side is to be considered by those entrusted with the spending of public money. If Mr. Gore has been Home, as he no doubt has, he must know that there is an enormous number of bad pictures by good artists and good pictures by un« known artists, to be procured for almost the asking in hundreds of dealers' shops throughout London and the Continent. 1 do not suggest any of Mr. Baillie's aye such, but surely Mr. Gore will allow that some of them that, are hung in his gallery are open to criticism. When Mr. Gore says that £5000 or £6000 could not have been raised without a scheme of this kind, he is no doubt quite right, but I am suro that half that amount in the bands of people who know the run of the ropes in London would go just as far with an unlimited selection to choose from, but he says "we would in all probability have been dissatisfied with the choice made for us." I presume by "us" he means the Choosing Committee and not the public, because I, for one, and many others, would much rather risk a Selection Committee in London than our local body, some of whose picture knowledge extends to a handful or two of pictures which have from time to time come on exhibition to this country. Mr. Gore might be quite right in saying that Mr. Baillie is the only man in the world that could have carried out the scheme, but I think the result will be that many more will try our market if the present prices secured can be well advertised in London, especially if they are promised a committee of assistant salesmen. This, of course, will be to the New Zealand people's benefit. — I am, etc. KAEOEI. 18th May.