TREASURY OF ART.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 98, 25 April 1912, Page 8

TREASURY OF ART.

-PICTURES WHICH THRILL.

Such -an embarrassment of riches is . now in the Harbour Board's U store that the homely bricks, accustomed to the' presence of wool and hemp, hides, and pelts, must be excused' if they . feel a little tremulous. The store has become a, treasury, a temple of Art, with the laa-gost capital, where the people will soon find some £40,000 worth of oils, water-colours, and black and white to admire. Skilful artisans, under Mr. John Baillie's expert guidance, have glorified that store. Nothing crude in the fittings meets the eye of the visitor. Everything is being arranged in the manner of a great British or Continental exhibition to enable the work of the artists to reveal itself »n all its splendour ta the public of Wellington. Connoisseurs who haro seen the precious things taken from their cases glow with fervour about their charm for the eye of any man or woman j^ith, a 'jtsenfie ot the .beautiful. , Tho temperaments and the technique of many of Britain's best artists are nobly set out. The themes cover the whole face of "Nature, and the mind and heart of man. The contrasts in landscape and seascape are as. wonderful ac the contrasts in »the human subjects. The moods of the sea, the whims of the wind, the mystery of night, the witchery of changing seasons, tho peacefulness of sunny pastures, the grandeur of rugged uplands, the nobility of trees, arcf hero all set out -with a power to compel the onlooker to do reverence to the artists. From the sad and sonifcre deepe tho eye goes to the bright heights of joy, and always, whether the artist's purpose has been to frankly gladden or induce a sober meditation, the- spectator is conscious of 'master-craft-. On the human side the subject* range from the rosebud innocence of childhood to the despairing throw of a gambler's laefc card. Here is Beauty in repose, Beauty in subtle reflection, Beauty scornful, Beauty seductive. Hero is mother's love, and here is a mean man's hate. All the emotions that can parade in tragedy or play in comedy on the human face are plain for all to see in > the Baillie exhibition of British pictures. The formal opening will take .place, to-morrow, and the public will be admitted from Saturday -onwarde.