ART STUDENTS' SHOW.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 139, 18 July 1914, Page 10

ART STUDENTS' SHOW.

PROMISING PAINTERS. An interesting exhibition of student work is now on view at the Canterbury College School of Art. The exhibition, •which is arranged by the Art Students' Association, was opened this afternoon, and some very excellent quality, besides much promising work is shown. The exhibits include applied art in embroidered fabrics, jewellery and metal work besides painting, though naturally painting predominates. " The foremost exhibitors are Mrs G. E. Butler and Miss R. Partridge, two students whose work is beyond the student stage and greatly superior to the work of all other exhibitors. Mrs Butler is the better of the two. She shows a great number of pictures, some not very successful, but others that have very fine quality. She has a pleasant colour sense, all her paintings are full of rich colour, even when they are kept low in tone, and she handles landscape well, keeping the feeling of atmosphere, light, and distance always. The study of pine trees is strongly handled, though not over-broadly, and there is a living freshness in the painting. But though this is good, the picture of tangled trees in the warmth of morning sunlight is better. This picture, "The Edge of the Wood," is one of the best things shown, though this artist shows other pieces that are worth while.

Miss Partridge also shows a goodly number of sketches. Her technical accomplishment is not so well defined — she betrays "influences"; nevertheless her work is good. The, portrait shown by her is clever but somewhat hard in method. She has a nice feeling for landscape, and it is in her water-colour landscapes that her best is given, for in these there is delicacy of treatment as well as of perception and richness of colour in juxtaposition. In some 1 of her water colours she is reminiscent of Miss Frances Hodgkins. Mr H. J. Edgar exhibits several quiet water * colours wherein he shows a pleasant decorative sense. His work is not strong, nor is it in any way remarkable, tut it has quality. Mr M. Gee has three or four small pictufes on view which show some originality of perception and treatment. Miss A. M. Gibb shows a portrait in oils, rather tentative in style, pretty, and lacking in strength, but there is one pastel study to show that she can do much stronger work in this medium. Miss Sadie Osborne has a determination to be original before all things, which prevents the ability she possesses from showing itself. Her picture of a cottage and trees is incoherent and without tonal quality. Miss Evelyn Munday shows Several cleanly handled water colours, and Miss E. H. Mouldey is another promising student. Miss E. Zeller also shows some good j work. Her picture of a stretch of water, with boats in the foreground, is notable for the success with which the movement of the water in the immediate foreground is painted. Miss Zeller exhibits, besides, two small etchings which, in a definite {< liney'' manner, are very well done. Miss E. Munday is the one other outstanding. exhibitor amongst the few etchers. Some of the work shown was exhibited at the previous show of students' work, but is not the less worth seeing for that. The embroidered fabrics are also excellent, and there is some interesting work in jewellery by Misses Buckhurst and Bowron. But all the work shown, even that of the first-year students, has its interest, and there is more meritorious work than indifferent.