ROYAL ACADEMY

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 117, 19 May 1937, Page 18

ROYAL ACADEMY

THE PRIVATE VIEW

PEOPLE AND THEIR DRESS

NO SENSATIONAL WORK

(By Nelle M, Scanlan.)

LONDON, May 1,

I'm afraid that the decorative qualities of the pig have been overlooked •far too long, but a posy of pink snouts thrust greedily . between dark wooden bars, with sleek bodies massed in rhythmic grace, and tiny eyes looking up hopefully at the feeding bucket that is being tilted towards the trough, . has its' place on this year's Academy wall. In fact, the pig is the theme of several farmyard scenes, and numerically the porker wins hands down from Spot and Pansy. There are fewer cows this year, and hens, too, have suffered an eclipse. Perhaps fashion's return to Edwardian elegance and ' grace must account for the presence of swans.inside several frames, the most striking of which is a picture by Dame Laura Knight. She ha's painted two proud swans and their still dingycoa,ted .offspring, the cygnet lacking much of the white . beauty of its parents. But it is a beautiful composition. The other swans I saw lacked the sleek grooming of Laura Knight's work., . ■.-■■' .■■.-. ' Overseas'visitors, however, will not find the exhibition, confined to farmyard scenes. There is. the usual crop oi mayors, chairmen of directqrs, and other important people, the painting of whose portraits-as a memento of services rendered is now traditional. Royalty has the central round gallery to itself, but I was. surprised to, find that, in Coronation year, there was'hot a-single portrait of the Queen or the young Princesses. King George VI, the late King George V, also King Edward VII. and a young Queen Victoria keep company- with William IV and George !IV. As these monarchs ■ occupy all ;the wall space, pictorial history goes back no further. .'. . The private ., view of the Academy has always'marked the opening of the social season, though;this year many events of note had anticipated -the exhibition. A grey, chilly morning did not encourage a display, of summer fashions. . Still, it was a very dressy affair, and those who bought new ■clothes for it wore them, and were rewarded by. sunshine and warmer weather when they went home for lunch. ■. '"■ THE FASHION DISPLAY. Among the earliest arrivals were Mr. Ramsay Mac Donald and his daughter, Ishbeli and Mrs. Stanley Baldwin, deserting her usual maroon; for' navy blue. But I did not see Mr. Baldwin. Too many late1 .-night sittings at the House to encourage early rising. Once again Lady Alexander struck a viyid note. Her hat, or-.toque I should call it, had bows, of bright lollie pink and blue "cornflowers, a combination not many would be brave enough .to wear,, and the. same bright, pink and blue were repeated on her dress. Wherever she went, heads-turned to look at her. ~-.'' ■ ■ I think the most conspicuous, figure there was ' surprisingly enough Mrs. ; Inge, the wife of the famous Dean Inge. Small,: rosy-cheeked, with snowwhite curled hair, she wore a dress swathed toque, and long cape of silver blue .satin. ;It was 9 smost unusual get-up, and strangers instantly decided that she must be one of the artists, most of whom aspire to flowing capes. ' Among the women artists the widebrimmed hat and the cape set them apart, while the young men artists put their faith" in whiskers. The number of baby-faced youths sporting a courageous crop of pale gold whiskers trimmed to varying shapes, seems to have increased. It is not always a case of by their works you shall know them, but by their beards.' : ' I saw. one smart society woman with :&vid red' hair, standing in front of her portrait Though she had been painted in black velvet, today she wore a striking gown and hat of bright purplish-blue velvet. I noticed Sir John Kavery, the artist, a short figure with black sideboard whiskers, and' an old-fashioned : collar and stock, looking very like the portrait of him that had been painted by another artist. .. > . ■'■ ■-.' The, very ■ correct young men and the old conservatives wore their top hats, one /or two even rushing into grey toppers, but the majority of men had compromised with felts or bowlers. Nor did I see so many ear-trum-pets and bath-chairs. Perhaps the rigours of the climate here have killed off a number of these spartans who fqr- so long have' made their one ari« rival public appearance at this show. Quite a number of young girls wore their hair in nets,, some of them the thick crochet nets of our graridrnothers' days. These-were worn not only with bobs and buns, but w.ith quite long hair that rested on the shoulder. A few women wore large picture hats, but most' smart women ■' favoured the neat toque,or small hat, , many made entirely of flowers. Lady Hewart, wife of! the Lord Chief Justice, was one whose ,round skull-cap was made entirely of tiny, gay flowers. 1 Black and white was the ■ smartest ■ wear, and being'cold; it was a.tailored ' day, though all the odd bits of ermine '1 in the family had an airing. : PICTURES IN DEMAND. , ..Sales were unusually good, and in ' less than two hours, forty pictures were soldi These included an interior' of ' the Palladium, showing the stage and ' the ' audience, • with a young girl in a i box in the forefront, by Laura Knight. Mr. George Black, one of the directors ' of the Palladium,^ bought this* for ] £1260, which was top price among '' the sales. Another of Laura Knight's pictures, the—"Gyppos," was sold for £367 10s, so our first woman Academician should' not starve this year.1 There was rather a sensation a few days ago when a picture by Moser , was taken from the walls after having been accepted by the selection committee. It was called "The Lord of Creation," and showed a young man, with a crown on his head, being led in chains by a woman, while other women were protesting. ' It was riot •until the committee's 'attention was called to the fact that this painting had been declined, by. another exhibition that they saw the implication. The artist indignantly denied that it had , any reference to the Duke of, Windsor, but the Academy felt it wiser to return it in view of the controversy that ' might arise. ■ , • ■ . ' One very charming picture, the. "Alcove" by Davis Richter, was among ' the early sales, and. was snapped up ' at £165. It was a great silver bowl ' of flowers,1 with a 'silver witch-ball sus- ■ pended above. The^room is reflected ! in the shining surface of both silver ] bowl and witch-ball. It is a mostun- ! usual composition, and was* instantly arresting. I envied the purchaser of ■ this delightful picture; ■ • > j There-are-no .problem pictures this, year, and nothing very Much of the work is admirable if uninspired. Munnings has a number of his scenes \ with horses, and there is a poignant note about the simple study of -the - late King George as a country gentle- '■ man riding on his ' favourite white . pony. , I Humour, is entirely absent. Perhaps j one should not expect anything sug- j gesting levity in this august gathering, ( but a typical respectability dominates ] all the subjects. . .. , ] Most of the water-colours were pale 1 and misty; there was only one bright ] note among the whole roomful. In ] the statuary room,.some very fine \