SOCIETY OF ARTS EXHIBITION.

Auckland Star, Volume XXVI, Issue 82, 5 April 1895, Page 3

SOCIETY OF ARTS EXHIBITION.

There was a * large n umber of visitors ab ■..'. ■ the' Choral Hall yesberday^afternoon and -F evening, when bhe aro exhibition was open to the public. During the evening Mr Hunter's etring band was .in attendance, and added materially to the attractions of the exhibition. -The following;programme, was rehearsed : — Overture, " Lucretia Borgia;" waltz, "Ma Mie Rosette ;" seleo- , tion, "Maritana ;" waltz,. "Paul Jones ;" march, '* Serajevo, Lager;" lancers, "Naubical;" graceful dance, "The Coon,;" Selection, " Mascobbo ;" " Snow* flake Gavotbe," and bhe" March of Champion." The exhibition was open bo-day as . usual, and in bhe afternoon bhe school children from bhe Waika. °i who;oamei-to -, bown by special excursion, were takeo^to see the pictures. ..';.'■ ' SECOND NOTICE, | We:continue our -remarks on the- ex-; j hibita :— ;.''..-■ ■ >'~.' \ ' Mr L.J. Steele has only one picture on.? exhibition, bub ib is sufficienb of itself to '■■ mainbain bhe high reputation as ah artists ,_, which he holds in bhe colony and beyond ib. <" '„; Aiady almosb "divinely ball" stands in '". _bhe cenbre: of bho medium ißized canvas; Her life-like pose—uprighb, but; not) ,-• her cosbume, a plain",. sleeveless dresa ... of lavender silk, exquisibely arranged, and; the finely - moulded 'and somewhat) massive arm that flashes out against) the -darker background — all these . _ points: combine to make the portraib a most> attractive one.' In his management:. ; l of bhe drapery Mr Steele has shown hia r usual skill. There is no mistaking the bex- • ture of the robe; just- as there there was n 0... mistaking the texture of the 'native mats i which he introduced into his Maori picture lasb year. Nob lobs happy is he in hist'y painting of the fine, eofti Bkin. There is a depth and warmth ih his' flesh tints which r are wonderfully lifelike, and the lines of the face and of .the arms , flow in, the sofbe sbF curves. The expression of the lady's- face < is entirely natural; nob a trace of ■ stiffness or woodenness is in it. Attention should also be directed to bhe careful 'delineation of theetairs and the other parts of the ' background. Anobher artisb who has also established a reputation for high-class work, and more especially in bhe difficulb branch of portrait* - painting, is Miss Prideaux. The lady,i» F now in; England prosecu bing her studios, - * .bubshehas nob forgotten to eonbribube to; bhe success of the present exhibition.• Her.--; portrait of Capbain Claybon hardly requires bo be '<. singled oub for Bpecial notice.: Its remarkable truth to life is obvious to vi everyone who knows the subject of it. Ib; is surely,the worbhy capbain who looks outi; g from bhe frame, and no mere presenti- /OO] menb of him. Having said so much..F ib. is- hob necessary to dwell on .the F technical skill that is evident in the pic- F ture. It could hardly be a successful portrait if that were absenb.. Miss Prideaux: has asbudy of a girl a libble further;along which is also excellent. Her Maori girlia I nOb so pleasing, but thero is a bright litble picbure of a girl which is a favourite in. the F hall. As showing her proficiency in other,, departmenbs, bhe pob of chrysanthemuma in bhe anbe-robm should be seen. Ib iB one . " of bhe besb paintings of these ifavouritev flowers we have seen for a long time. - ; Mr Montague, who has\ several fine sea-. -; scapes on the walla, is a recenb arrival \v from bhe Old Country, and one who—to _ judge by his works—-is a valuable, acquisk tion to* our artistic ranks. His colonial; pictures are nob so much bo our baste,F r having very probably: been hurriedly exeFF cubedj but his scenes of the old counbry are ■ ■' excellenb. The. besb is undoubtedly -the fine breezy scene ab tho moubh of bheMed-.' way, albhough bhe rich warm colouring: andF the novelty ot the picture of' Rotterdam, may attract a larger number of admirora. Ib is nob often bhab a New Zealand artist; can meeb with such mellow hues and quainb, artisbica forms as one encounters - by the old canals in bhe premier ciby'of the 7 Netherlands.7 y ■'■. | " _ The warm libble kcenes of Miss. MaudF Vaile are found in many: parts of the hall;', and are as a Irulo. unmistakable. Miaß Vaile.loves.the evening, jusb as bhe Muses..'.,----j love the morning. She carries her palette by quiet bush streams smitben by bhe sunseb, when bhe small gnats mourn in wailful F Choir, and bhe mists begin to rise from the warm-earth. The misb she has an eßpeciaL. V predilection for; and when she leaves ib ;•: j and(chboses some less romantic hour of bhe , - bwenby-four than sundown, she is nob nearly ... ?' so fortunate in her efforts. ' Compare the ; broken water and the surrouhdinga in the '-;/. picture' of " Grose • River '-■ in- tha. after-F; noon, with those ' placid, -lake - like '• reaches of river-bed, of which* ehe has several examples, or wibh Grose River in, the moonlight. The last-mentioned picture is very good indeed. Kapuni River, Tarau'aki, and Waingongoro River,. Taranaki, ' are also very pleaßing, although the reason, v for bhe introduction of the same old misb F bhab haa done Bervice so often,1 is nob qaibe F clear. Orakei-Koroko is an attractive pic- 00, ture, and the remainder of Miss Vaile'a contributions are all of a pleasing character. ."; ■The lady continues to make steady progress , in har art, and is One of the most pro- . mising of our local'artists.' She has mqsti j undoubtedly a great de,al of true poetic " ■feeling. ;;':".'-•■ '■■'•■ ...-■-' ";:: "■' -: