ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 52, 29 August 1925, Page 11

ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts held its thirty-fifth annual meeting in the Art Gallery last evening, the president (Mr. E. W. Hunt! in the chair. The following officers were elected :— President. Mr. E. W. Hunt ■(re-elected); vice-presidents, Messrs. J. Ellis and Wilson : council, retiring members re-elect-ed, Miss D. K. Kiehmoild, and Messrs. Nugent li. Welch, T. Shailer Weston, and A. D. Carbery; treasurer, Mr. H. E Anderson (re-elected); auditor, Mr. C. D. Morpeth (re-elected).

The president stated that the academy had now a total membership of 684. which included subscribing artists and seven life members. There was no reason why the membership in a city of the size of Wellington should not reach 1000. The interests of art would be better served with a larger member^ ship. The two regular exhibitions held in the year had both been successful. The actual saleß of pictures had unfortunately not been up to the record of the previous year. The sketch exhibition, on the other hand, was a little above the average so far as sales were concerned. The president said that he was sure that lack of suitable accommodation was depriving Wellington of many valuable gifts in the form of pictures, and mentioned that .Wanganui, with its splendid gallery, had received a very valuable collection of pictures from the late Lord Leverhulme, a gift undoubtedly due to the fact that Wanganui possessed a ■ suitable gallery to house the pictures. The report a!nd balance-sheet were adopted unanimously. Mrs. Tripe suggested that the annual exhibition be held in future in May, instead of September, pointing out the advantages of holding the exhibition at the end of the summer, as it was in that season that an artist's best work was done. She considered that it was time the academy. ceased to. fit in with Dunedin, and began to fit in with its own members.

Dr. Carbery and Mr. Nelson Isaacs supported Mrs. Tripe's suggestion. Mr. Isaacß was also of the opinion that an endeavour should be made to have tho title of the academy altered to that of the Koyal Academy of New Zealand, citing as an example in this respect the Royal Academy of Canada., It was formally moved and seconded that it be a recommendation to the incoming council to fix the date for the annual exhibition in the first week of May. The motion was carried by 22 votes to 17.