CANTERBURY SOCIETY OF ARTS.

Press, Volume XLVIII, Issue 14523, 27 November 1912, Page 10

CANTERBURY SOCIETY OF ARTS.

ANNUAL MEETING

The annual meeting of the Canterbury Society of Arts was held yesterday afternoon, Mr W. Recce, the president, presiding over a fairly large attendance. The annual report, which was taken as read, dealt with the exhibitions held j during the year, referred to the pictures ! purchased for the Society by Mr Neils M. Lund, the purchase of the picture "Otira Gorge" (Van der Velden) and "May Day" (Fred Roe), and the presentation by Mr J. B. Reid, of Elderslie, of tho oil painting, '"The Key to Normandy" (Alfred Hayward). Regret j was expressed at the resignation, owing to pressure of work, of his Honour Mr j Justico Denniston as vice-president, , and the council recorded, with regret, I tho death of the late secretary, Mr Alfred Evans The balance-sheet showed a balance to credit of £17 6s 7d, and a surplus of assets over liabilities of'£7oo7 4s Od. The Chairman, in moving tho adoption of tho report and balance-sheet, said that there was not much, as far as tho question of the Society's finances to draw attention ' to. j As usual, expenditure about balanced receipts, and they wcyo satiified to that extent,, as tho object of the Society was not to mako money. Tho balance-sheet for next year, it was hoped, would bo better, as some of the items of expenditure this year would i

not bo recurrent. The membership had kept up very well, indeed, but there were somo losses, and tho secretary proposed to devoto some time to enrolling new members, and hoped to enlist tho assistance of members on tho matter. The saies at tho exhibition were not nearly so good as the previous year, and this was probably duo to tho private sales which were held. The t-ociety had nothing to sa.v in that direction —artists must sell their pictures—and the Society had also to fight against importations. They were satisfied if every second year they had a good year, and the previous year was a good one,, and it was hoped that this year would bo better. Referring lb the Arts aijd Crafts Exhibition, Mr Reeco reiterated the remarks made by him when opening it —that artisans and their employers would feel it is their duty, to exhibit, and that the Society should encourage tho artisan to take prido in his work. Tho Sketch Exhibition, which was part of tho Arts and Crafts Exhibition, Mr Recce continued. was : very creditable, and he was astonished that the sales effected were not more numerous. Ho praised the selection of pictures made by Mr Lund, and, referring te "The Key to Normandy," presented by Mr J. B. Reid, of Elder-lie, said that Hayward, the artist, promised to develop into a prominent artist, and the example of his work in the Society's permanent collection was an excellent picture, which should bo of assistance te local artists. It was a striking example of the broad French school, and a valuable addition to the gallery. He expressed the hope that the example set by Mr Reid would be followed by other lovers of art in the

community. After mentioning the fact that the Government hcd discontinued

tho grant of £500 to each of the Art Societies in tho four centres ? Mr Recce remarked that if the intention was to provide a national collection which would be sent in turn to each centre, no one could object very much to the withdrawal of the* grant. Mr Recce then referred to the question of the improvement of tEe Society's Art Gallery,, and said that after going into the matter tho council of the Society decided to recommend one final alteration to tho Gallery which would.meet all requirements. The question.. of ways and means to effect this alteration would be one of the first matters to engage the attention of the new council. He commented on the large attendances at tho Gallery, and added that it did not appear to be generally known that tho Gallery was open daily to the public, without charge, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Sundays from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. These hours were, he, said, a great concession to the public, and thero were few galleries in the world which made such liberal provision. Mr James Jamieson seconded the motion, which was agreed to. The Chairman announced that the number of nominations received for tho vacancies on the council did not exceed the number of vacancies to bo filled, and therefore he" declared all those nominated duly, elected. The officers for the ensuing year are:—President, tho Hon. E. C. J. Stevens, M.L.C; vice-presidents, Messrs W. Menzies Gibb, P. L. Hallenstein; Wm. Recce, and McGregor Wright;'council, Messrs H. J. Beswick, F. G.'Gurnsey, S. Hurst Seager, L. H. Booth, C. F. Kelly,, and Dr. E. Jennings. As Mr R. Procter will be Absent from the Dominion for some time, he was not a candidate. Mr Walter J. Moore was re-appointed hon. treasurer, and Mr iNorman L. Macbeth hon. auditor. On the. motion of tho chairman, hearty votes of thanks were accorded the hon. treasurer and hon. auditor. On the motion of Mr McGregor Wright, seconded by Mr P. L. Hallenstein, a Jiearty vote of thanks was j accorded the retiring president. I