ART EXHIBITION

Evening Post, Volume LXXXVIII, Issue 150, 22 December 1914, Page 2

ART EXHIBITION

WATER COLOURS It. The water colours exhibited generally do the selection committee credit. Here and there one may see a work that would not, cause the majority to suffer by, its elimination, but on the'' whole the standard of the water colours is much highet than usual. The names of many old, tried, and trusted exhiblt&i's will.b* noticed in the catalogue, and beside them ftome new ones. The chief of these is M. Duportal. Whether tho work* of this artist will sell is one thing and thfei* distinctive character is quite another. The Academy is to be congratulated upon attracting such fine examples to its annual show. Strong, firm, masculine touches and an unerring een*e of what is beautiful and tfuly poetic are but a few of the salient features of this ftrtist. There are no bald stone blue expanses of skies, but skies of character, beautiful under their various conditions and beautiful because true. The gilt frames ahd mounts do not enhance the beauty of the works in question. The one picture, "Hills in Brittany" (79), i* quite sufficient to atamp M. Duportal as an artist who honours the show with his work. The drawings of Mr. C. H. Worsley are very Jiko the 'drawings by C. H. Worsley. There is a scene on Lake COmO. and Sorrento has been reproduced With their fishing boats and graceful lateen sails and their gaily-costumed peasants. Best of all Mr. ' Worsley'a work is the Sussex Downs picture—* large work (75) with a field of golden cofn (poppy 'studded) for foreground, a, nestling village in tlie middle distance and the graceful rolling dowhs beyond — . a beautifully painted scene of true Eng. lisli ma! beauty. The Holbwn Circus pictui-e by the same artist (130) ia a perfectly truthful transcription of the place 1 and it* atmosphere, and a revelation of the iubtle beauties of London which on© must have seen to ivnderetand. The work of W. M. Hughes is varied this year. "The Old and New" (107), depicting a disused colliery enginenouso, while ih the distance mines at work are fleen, smoke tailing from the chimney indicating activity, offers a. striking contrast to "The Tree-Girt Field' (100), a very clever work, highly decorative in character, and resembling somewhat Italian intareia. Both pictures will have many admirers, ac they deserve to do. "A Cornish Landscape" (66) rather resembles the treatment of the " Tree-Girt Held," but in all eke it ia as unlike that picture as it does not resemble the old mine workings. These three works are decided acquisitions to the exhibition, and it would be ft gracei ful honour to the artist il one of them I were secured, preferably the Cornish pic« ture, for the National Collection. Mr. Nugent Welch has a surprisingly clever drawing of what would bo regarded as a most unattractive subject—' over the roofs of Wellington houses. A blue-Violet haze, quite qomnion to the flat part of the city in winter mercifully masks the ugliness of the houses. Buildings we silhouetted against, an evening sky, lighting up is just bal'ely hinted at, and in the background a characteristic Wellington hill4op rises out of the haze, is not Mr. Welch's most impc-i-tani vn-k in the show, but it is decidedly clever, and proves the painter's honesty of purpose in transcribing just what he sees and how he sees it. "Papatoetoe" (87) shows hftw clevei'l* Mr. Welch seizes upon the rather difficult (to adequately paint) subjects that New Zealand scenery presents to the artist. A quamt fantasy of fireworks against a heavy purple night is contributed by W. IT. Cartel* (82) in pastel. There is real merit in this work. Miss M. O. Stoddart'a delightful little v?ork "The Whale Boat" (78) will rightly have many admirers. Mrs. Hannah (Sybil Johnson) is again a welosme eidiibitof in several figure studtes in pastel. The portrait of " Miss Metcalf" (72), an elderly lady wearing a violet shawl, will attract much atten tion. It is a clever piece of work, and one evidently an-lei'taken with much in* terest and pleasure. Tlie portrait of "Mrs. Tudor Atkinson" (11), by Agnes Cohen, on brown paper, is exceptionally good, apart from its merits a* a likeness. The pose, drawing, and treatment of the subject generally are unexceptionable. Near by is another portrait in crayon of Mi's, Walter G. Johnston (19), by Mr. W. A. Bowring, whose Versatility is astohifehing, for on a screen opposite he has his ongmal drawing of the Bench of Judges cartoon (a clever, witty, and inoffensive work)^ and on the opposite wall three portraits in oils of people well known in their own spheres. Particular attention should be paid to two exquisite drawings by Mabel Hill (10 and 18). Mi. Linley Riehavdson is again a contributor of some admirable book illustration gems, «.nd also some attractive child studies, daintily executed. Reference to the water colours would be incomplete without specially mentioning the work of Miss D. K. Richmond— a consistent and valued exhibitor year in and year out. "The Old Gum Trees" (32) is a fine example of Miss Richmond's decorates style and her freely flowing brush and sure hahdlihg. Mr. Edmond Atkinson is not, as of yore, a^ prolific ex hibitor, but tho work sent in* is original in conception and treatment, and deserves to have many friends among those who appreciate Any aud every effort of »n artist to be himself rather than blindly, lazily follow some one else. Mi&S Jes&ie Newton's "JapOnioa." (85) is a rather better -effdtt than her "Roses' 1 (109). The exhibition is all the more attractive for the work of that young New Zealand artist, Owen Merton. He ha* not sent much, however, this year, but what there is of iH is excellent of its kihd and shows a tendency to bteak away fiom the brilliant orange stalls and deep blue seas and skies of other days. The "Autumn Evening in the Pyrenees" (125) is a small but meritorious example of Mr. Merton's work.