ACADEMY OF ARTS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXIII, Issue 297, 14 December 1892, Page 5

ACADEMY OF ARTS.

FOURTH NOTICE.

The lady members of the Academy of Art have arranged to entertain with afternoon tea those who visit the Choral Halt during the latter part of the day. No doubt th e 1 exbra abbraction that is offered of beinar administered to by the artistic hands of the young ladies while admiriug the paintings on the walls, will induce many to be pre" sent ab bhe exhibition. We continue our notices of the pictures. Mr G. F. Townsend has two pictures of local scenery on exhibition.- The " Peep at Waitemata "*' is, as far a« the trees are concerned, batter managed than the scene of the beach' near Lake Takapuna. The foreground in the first picture is very lair, | but the sea and the distance are faulty in colour and perspective. Miss Bull is very successful in her flower painting. The tea roses in the different stages of bloom are prettily-coloured in the study of still life, and the .brouza vase is a piece of correct drawing with a natural appearance. Ml?s Bulldisplays the same clever treatment of flowers in her chrysanthemums,_ the petals of which are delicately represented. In the Japanese one she has caught the peculiarly subdued tones of the llowor very correctly. In her landscape she has been less fortunate, and tho natural appearance which she can give to her flowers is not imparted to her trees. Miss Nina Jones has also an exhibit of flower painting. Her puriri blossoms are somewhat light in colour and artificial An form; they Jack an appearanceof soft pliableness. The "Valley King-' as a study of a tree may be fairly correct in outline, bub its general treatment is heavy. Mies .lories also exhibits three other pictures. In two of these she has chosen rather difficult subjects. To make sandhills attractive, or even to paint them realistically, is nob a task that an amateur should attempt. Even where they are fairly successfully done tho subject is not an interesting one. The socond subject, that of a sea shore ab low water, when the many hues of the sky are reflected on the wet sand or in the pools in the rocks, can be mode mbsb decidedly attractive, but' ib requires a colourist of experience bo treat it. "In the Morning Sunshine," another marine scene, has the same indefiniteness of linisfa. The boats are well drawn aud ride naturally, it only ono could be certain of the sea. Miss Jones is like many young beginners of ability, too ambitious for quantity instead of taking quality as her aim. Miss Meeson's painting of New Zealand flowers is another instance of attempiing a difficult subject, because it is a beautiful one. The lady, though fairly successful, has not imparted to the delicate clematis that softness and purity of petal which belongs to tho flower. She also contributes a little landscape of Lake Whatipu and the portrait of a Maori "Arihi" Miss Mabel Hill is a voluminous contributor having no fewer than seven pictures on exhibition. Notwithstanding our belief that she should pay more attention to good quality than gieat quantity, we will nob deny that tbe former is present to. a certain degree in mosb of her pictures". Her study of still life is excellent in many respects. The texture of the' Maori mat is very true, and the other objects stand out roundly and clearly. "Tired" represents a little boy wha —thanks to Miss-Hill's brush—looks quitdone up with his journey. The delicate face and the shabby clothes both suggest) little strength and a good deal of labour tnd privation,, As a flo.w^-fapihter. Miss Hill comes off with honours. Her" Arum '. Lilies" aro very good,indeed,-and have ; very deservedly been praised. Her chryl santheinura panel is only second to the . lilies. Her little portrait (No. 79) is a rather nice piece of work, the drawing . being very fair indeed, while her landscape " Hutt River," Wallaeeville, displays to i the best advantage what she can do in the . treatment of scenes from nature. Both the sketch of sandy-muddy bank .and.the sunstruck pool are very creditable. A very good picture—if we adopt a . moderate standard of excellence, and it will ' be easily Seen we have done so throughout 1 all- our notices—is Mr Cousins' "Bush : Clearing." The drawing of the trees and > the oxen deserves praise, whilo the colour- , ing of the whole is harmonious. The tree foliage, reddened by the fire, is qnite corr rectly represented. On the other hand, l the perspective is somewhat faulty, the mountains appearing too close.