INTERCOLONIAL ART EXHIBITIONS.

Press, Volume XLVI, Issue 7258, 18 January 1889, Page 2

INTERCOLONIAL ART EXHIBITIONS.

There Is no theory dearer to the, soul of your modern artist and art critic: than the obvious;truism, that art is neither English nor French, nor Italian, but coeinopoHtian, and at the same time there is none which is so seldom put to', : a practical test. Artists, as officially represented by the Royal Academy, look; upon the efforts of foreigners with I jealpdsy and mistrust; critics prate about this or that school-of painting Just as if there -were some broad line of demarcation between a good'picture 'painted by ton Englishman and a good picture painted by a Frenchman or an Italian... there is only one way to paint pictures that live, just as there is only one way to write books that become classics; the other ways are Wrong, and b£ve no more relation to art or to literature than a sand house heaped together by a child on the beach has to architecture. This bf fag so, the efforts of Siir Cbutts lahdpay to bring together the worke of the best English and French a single gallery is'uottnerely praiseworthy, but niay be productive of resaite of the highest importance. - If \ English ' and French artiets would abandon jealousy and prejudice, and work together hi friendly rivalry, its. cannot seriously be questioned that both -would derive the greatest possible benefit from interchange of artistic ideas. At the Grdsrenor, for instance, the French pastels are almost as superior to the English as a good exhibition of English water-colours Is superior to a collection by the Socidte d'Aquarelliatee Frangais. It is evidently hopeless to expect the Academician? to do anything to promote international harmony. "When, a great French paintersexsds them a picture they stow it away in some unimportant gallery, and endeavour to kill it by the juxtaposition of horrible daubs; when a distinguished French sculptor contributes some piece of statuary which is actually sculpture, andnotaraere image, they summarily reject it. The result is that Frenchmen do not care to expose themselves to this sort of indignity. I have asked "French artists, jnen. ? o* European reputation, why they,, do }not send works to the Academy, and the an«wer has been invariably the same—a ehrug of the, shoulders, a studiously polite reference to the conservatism and insularity of the English R. A.*B. Pigheaded prejudice and abysmal stupidity are perhapt nearer the mark. I once had #ie honour of hearing an El's explanation of these eccentricities, end 1 am boond r to say that it was at least candid. He said, In effect, "the Academy is not for Frenchmen; they have their Salon. Why should we give space on the line to a lot of foreigners, and exclude works by our own naeaT , Why, indeed? Why should the.fatuities of Miss Simper, of Park Lane, who is distantly connected with one of the Banging Committee, or of Mr Dawfeer, of Grosvenor Square, whose father gives soch excellent dinners, be excluded in favour of the greatest foreign masterpiecet I really can give bat one answer* which is that the Academy is not an instituticn for the sole benefit of this

RA.'s and their friends, but was paid for with public money, and belongs to the public, who • certainly have a right to criticise Uβ management, and to demand .the fteet posible; ehlllings worth for a shUllngn Bat the Academy is past praying toe and there are plenty of talented outsiders here who look upon it in precisely the same manner an the French artists. After this experience I am not at all surprised that the French pastellists should consider Sir Coutts Lindsay a veritable Mecaenas, or that M. Roger Ballu should have expressed his gratitude in so fervent a manner. An excellent beginning has been made. Frenchmen have been taueht to realise that all Engltshrneii are not so narrow, minded as the Academicians, and it seems to mc that the amiable director of th e Grosvenor has a great opportunity.

Far be it from mc to recommend him to devote his gallery to French art only — tbat is by no means my idea. But now that a thoroughly representative body of young and talented English artiste can be relied upon to contribute to the Sir Coutts would do well to extend hi 8 French connection, and lam quite sure that many great French painters, who would never dream of sending a picture to run the gauntlet of senile criticism and the rjsk of rejection at the Academy, would gladly aid in making some future exhibition at the Grqsvenor a representative show of the best French art. Nothing of the sort has yet been attempted on either side of the Channel; many Englishmen will not compete at the Academy; many Frenchmen do not care to see their best work swamped amid the gigantic canvases which are now in vogue at the Salon. Why should they not combine, if only for an experiment, at the Grosvenor?