The Press Junior THURSDAY, APRIL 7, 1938. Pictures and Galleries

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22371, 7 April 1938, Page 4 (Supplement)

The Press Junior THURSDAY, APRIL 7, 1938. Pictures and Galleries

During the last fortnight the people of Christchurch have had the chance to see some of the work that has' been done uunrig the last year by members of the Canterbury Society of Artsj at tne Durham street art gallery more than 250 oil paintings and. water colours are exhibited, and may be seen free by school children of the fifth and sixth standards ir they visit the gallery in groups and with their teachers. Any other school child who particularly wished to see the exhibition would be granted free admission In the company of a teacher. With this arrangement there is no excuse for any interested girl or boy to say that she or he was unable to a visit to the gallery. And there is every reason for all -Christchurch _ girls and boys to visit such exhibitions and to make it their habit to visit the McDougall art galley in the botanic gardens and the gallery in Durham street at ordinary ♦hnre Too often it will be found that the people who criticise the work of New Zealand artists are those who have not taken the trouble to visit either of these galleries or any of the galleries m the other centres m the Dominion. It may be well to criticise; but -it is. not -well-to-criticise without knowledge that is full and varied. And knowledge that is gained from looking at a few reproductions on posters and magazine covers is far from being full and varied knowledge. The facts are that some men and women living in New_ Zealand are putting their work into paintings and sculptures and writings: many of the pupils at present in the schools hope to make some worth-while contributions to the artistic production of the country; and the examples upon which most of the young workers model themselves are remaining the same, and there is little active encouragement to adopt new ideas. To consider these facts is to realise first the need for seeing. the work that is being done in various parts of the country, and next the need for seeing as much as possible of the work that is iwng done by artists overseas.Both for those who wish merely to look and to criticise and for those who themselves wish to malfp pictures or statues these things are necessary. To learn about the New Zealand work it Is easy to visit the galleries; and to learn about the overseas work it is easy to visit libraries and to examine the well-produced journals issued by some of the overseas art societies, and to look Into the many magazines which to-day reproduce, in colour , which becomes yearly more true , and natural, the works of men and women in countries of the Bast and of the West. Art dealers now have for sale—at_ prices which would be beyond individual purses, but not beyond _ a school fund—prints of beautiful quality from pictures that have, been much admired in older

countries. If these cannot be bought they can at least be seen by those , who care to visit the art dealers’ shops. The opportunities here for the young artist to see new works are not unlimited; but they are such as to leave little excuse lor the artist to continue, year after year, painting the same subjects with the same dullness.- The opportunities for seeing what work there is being done in the world are, such as to encourage and help any artist with ..ability,, and, a burning imagination. _