ART EXHIBITION

Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 83, 5 October 1933, Page 9

ART EXHIBITION

JSEW ZEALAND ACADEMY

OPENING CEREMONY

LORD BLEDISLOE'S ADDRESS

. Tu.tho presence of a largo gathering, including many prominent citizens, in tho. Whitmore Street Gallery last evening, his Excellency the Governor-Gen-eral (Lord Bledisloo) opened tho annual exhibition of tho New Zealand Aca-demy-of Fino Arts.. His. Excellency. ■was accompanied by Lady Bledisloe, with Captain J. W. Twccdie, A.D.C., in attendance. Tho president of tho academy, Mr. D. A. Ewon, M.8.E., said it was a very ; great pleasuro to welcomq their I Excellencies, and ho wished to assure them that the -. academy appreciated their kindness in honouring tho exhibi--1 ion with their presence. Tho academy was grateful for his Excellency's untiring and unselfish assistance in all its activities. Tho annual exhibition was >tho most important tho academy held, and he^thought that it/would be agreed that the standard on1 the average this year was perhaps higher than in past exhibitions. The selection committee had possibly been: a little wore strict in choosing the pictures to be hung. This action had. been exercised in-an-honest-endeavour .to raise tho standard of the exhibition in the liope that it would in that way assist to raise the level, of art in New Zealand. There, was, ho thought his Excellency would agreo, much to admire on the walls, particularly in tho oils section. After referring to some of the special features of the exhibition, Mr. Ewen said there Tvas recently a project on foot to bring out a collection of pictures by. the society known as'the Empire Loan Art ftocicty. They in Wellington, unfortunately, had-not- been able to sco their way clear to join in. the project, owing partly to uncertainty of habitat and also"because of straitened finances, and he wished to tako tho opportunity of urging member's-to assist in increasing the membership of the academy. SCOPE TOR IMPROVEMENT. , "Wo appreciate your cordial reception to us tonight at this, annual exhibition of1 pictorial art, and we appreciate, very, greatly, Mr. President, your kind references to our very genuine interest in every form of art,, pictorial and otherwise, in this.country," said.Lord Bledisloe. "I may perhaps mention that I have had a private view of the exhibition this afternoon under the skilled guidance of two of your committee, and I would not venture mySelf to express any opinion, even 3E I possessed the qualifications, which I dd not, upon tho relative merits of this as compared with previous exhibitions. But lam going to be bold enough, and perhaps impudent enough, to suggest that there is still consideriablo. scope for improvement. Mr. Murray • Fuller,' whoso death we must all deeply deplore, did a good work in ■bringing to tho. notice of New Zealanders some representative character and characteristic specimens of contemporary British art. JUay I* express the earnest hope that the effort, the public-spirited effort, of bringing specimens of art from tho Old Country into this, country will not have ceased with his .{death?' Mr.; Ewon has referred 1o the existence of the Empire Loan Art Society, and I venture to hope that Wellington will find it possible to coralline with tho other centres of population1 in the Dominion in promoting the excollent enterprise of this society, of which Mr. Ewen and his partner,.Mr. Sargood, have been very leading promoters, so: that really good specimens of Contemporary art may be continuously brought ,to our notice in this pountry." THE HANGING- OF PICTURES. His Excellency said thero were some Attractive pictures in the exhibition of very varied descriptions. For his.part he deplored the necessity of having, owing to lack of space, to hang pictures of very different character alongside each other. He did not suppose ho suffered from a lack of capa r city, to -concentrate to a greater extent than'some people, but for his part, and probably thero were others with simi]a.r•'feelings, he found it extremely difficult to concentrate on. a quiet-toned picture when something of much more "brilliant colouring was shouting at him on either side of the picture he was studying. There were some remarkably good portraits in the exhibition, two- of them of gentlemen with- whom her Excellency and he had parted company two days ago in Christchurch, two old Canterbury pilgrims —Mr. George Harper, painted, if ho remembered Tightly, by that eminent artist, Mr. Nicbll, and another, a, peculiarly pleasing portrait of that gallant nonagenarian mountain climber upon whom he. had the privilege in the name of tho King of conferring knighthood some two years ago, Sir Arthur Dudley Dobson. His Excellency said ho would .like particularly to congratulate Elizabeth Kelly on that remarkably pleasing likeness of Sir Arthur. Another picture to which he wished to draw attention was a drawing by Mr. Linley Richardson, which, he understood, was a. Selfportrait. There were also many other pictures well worthy of study and which, added to tho merits of the exhibition. ' ■ . Special reference was made. by his Excellency to jewellery and enamel work exhibited by.Eleanor Adkins.and paua pendants by Mr. Alfred Atkinson, and ho suggested that more, use should be made of the beautiful paua shells found on the beaches of New Zealand. IN CRITICAL MOOD. "May I venture to hope," continued his Excellency, "that as the judges have been more than usually strict in the solcction of the pictures for this exhibition they will continue to harden their hearts and maintain their strictness with ever-increasing severity in all future exhibitions—(laughter) —particularly when you enter into possession of the flno new building which is now in course of erection!" His Excellency said ho did not know why, but ho was'afraid ho was in & somewhat critical mood. Ho wished to appeal again to some artists not to spoil pictures with tho frames. There were some frames that in his opinion, and ho thought thero must bo many lovers of art who shared his view, were really too obtrusive. Other matters touched on by his Excellency appear under separate headings. In declaring tho exhibition open, ho wished tho academy every success. • ' .- "