FAMOUS PICTURES

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 109, 1 February 1941, Page 12

FAMOUS PICTURES

National Gallery’s New Collection FACSIMILE PRINTS Exhibition Opened Last Night The first exhibition of a new collection of facsimile colour reproductions of famous paintings was opened in the National Art Gallery, Wellington, last night. In the absence of the. chairman of the committee of management, Mr. D. A. Ewen, the speaker was Dr. A. D. Carbery. There was a large attendance.

The pictures constitute the third instalment of a collection of 390 prints bought by the gallery for £lO5O with money provided by die Carnegie Corporation of New York? They are to be used for educational purposes.

Dr. Carbery said that the Carnegie Corporation, founded in 1911, extended its benefactions to and other British Dominions in 1917. In 193 b £ll,OOO was granted for educational work in New Zealand museums and art galleries. Of this sum, £2OOO was allocated to the National Art Gallery, which decided to use the money to make a collection of reproductions or the works of old masters and some modern painters. Mrs. Murray Fuller and Mr. T. D. 11. Hall on visits to England and the United States met experts in reproduction and it was on their advice that the collection was made. It was not pretended -that the collection was complete, but it formed teaching material of the utmost value. When reproductions were good and these mostly were very good they became practically facsimiles of the originals. From them students could study the technique of the painters and‘a knowledge of technique was essentia! to appreciation of art.

Educational Purpose. The pictures were, held in trust for tlie nation and it was the intention of the gallery to send them in groups to remote towns with an educational officer to lecture on them. Some had already been sent out in this way. With Dr. Carbery on the platform were Lady Shirtcliffe, Mr. L. • Hunt, Mr. and Mrs. S. W. learn, Mr. and Mrs. T. D. H. Hall, Mr. H. McQueen, Mr. A. B. Thompson, lecturer to education at Auckland University College, Mr. F. H. Bass, secretary of the board of trustees, and Mr. L. D. Gore, .secretary of the management committee of the art gallery. In the new pictures representative of the Dutch school are several Rembrandts, including the well-known “Syndics'’ a remarkable example ot grouping and composition, aud the lesser known “Jesus and the Samaritan,” magnificent in its light and shadow. There are some early Dutch landscapes, including some of Ruisdael’s work, and among a group ot Vermeers is the popular. “Head of a Girl,” said by some critics to be tne finest portrait ever painted. Representation of the English school has been greatly extended.. Striking in its vitality is “The Shrimp Girl, one of the highlights of British portrait painting. Remarkable among the Gainsboroughs is “Gainsborough Dupont.” Constable, one of the most important figures in landscape work for his reintroduction of colour, is well represented, and there are three fine examples of Turner’s work. Among a group of Whistlers is the famous nocturne “Battersea Bridge." Moderns are represented by Sir George Clausen, Walter R. Sickert, Ethelbert White, John Nash, Sir Charles Holmes and some of the younger men. Flemish School.

In the Flemish school there is a striking group of pictures by Peter Breughel,, who has had a great influence on modern art. Religious paintings in this section are a revelation in i lie use of rich colours. Works by Rubens and Van Dyck are included. In the Spanish section are three exquisite examples of the work of Velasquez, and in the Italian da Vinci's Moua Lisa smiles inscrutably. In the French section the gallery has added pictures ranging from the romanticism of Watteau to the impiessiouisni of the moderns. Works bj Derain, Signal, Vlaminck ami Seurat are included. and particularly striking is Franz Mare's "Red Horses" The exhibition will remain open till February 28. On February 5, at 8 p.m., Dr. Carbery will lecture on the Flemish school. Lectures on Ihe French school, by .Mr. W. Wauchop, and the British school, by Mrs. M. Fuller, will follow on later dates. There is no charge for admission.