ART GALLERIES

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 108, 8 May 1937, Page 13

ART GALLERIES

WORKS IN DOMINION

A DUNEDIN OPINION

(By Telegraph.) (Special to the "Evening Post.")

DUNEDIN, This Day.

While agreeing with many of the statements made, Mr. :J. L. Mclndo«, a member of the Council of the Duiiedin Art Gallery Society, considered that in the main the criticism of the

Dominion's art galleries by Captain Humphreys Davies, of Auckland, ; is altogether too severe, though he i) sto be commended for his courageous/and outspoken comments. That Captain Davies was competent to speak as he did v.-as given full recognition by Mr. Mclndoe, who said he was a very competent critic and a man of very keen perception, possessing a wide knowledge of art.

"There are certainly a number of mediocre works of art in the Dominion that have been accepted by galleries from time to time, and I do, think that Captain Davies has based tiis criticism too much on them at the expense of a majority of good works," commented Mr. Mclndoe. He' agreed, however, that there was a strong tendency to buy names instead of pictures. The fact was . frequently overlooked that some good artists produce some very poor work. ■ Weeding out of ppor works was a gradual process, and /was being undertaken in the Dunedin gallery. The accumulation of trash was accentuated by gifts from .well-meaning and generous citizens, • The difficulty was to know how to deal tactfully with these gifts. . /' Efforts by Ne\y Zealand, galleries to build up old master collections was characterised by Mr. Mclndoe as useless. The galleries could not hope to compete with' the older and more wealthy English'1 . and 'Continental galleries. . ' ' ■

Another aspect of the collections was a marked hesitancy of those responsible for acquiring paintings to pur-chase-good examples of really modern works, which would be of invaluable assistance to art students and would indicate the trend of art work in England and on the Continent. Tho work of New Zealand artists should also be encouraged in the galleries here, and examples should be selected with great care. Some. artists in the" Dominion were equal to many of the leading' English contemporaries.