OTAGO ART SOCIETY.

Evening Star, Issue 14575, 25 May 1911, Page 3

OTAGO ART SOCIETY.

EXHIBITION OF OIL AND WATER COLOR SKETCHES. AND WORK OP SCHOOL OP ART STUDENTS. It shoidd bo matter for gratification among the members of the "Otngo Art •Society that their experimental interim exhibition of sketches reus elicited so creditable au array of pictures as that- exposed on the vails of the Art Gallery to-day. The catalogue is so formidable numerically —oompi'kiug many hundreds of exhibits—that there is no possibility of dealing with it comprehensively, let alone exhaustively, in the space at disposal; but* it may be said, without incurring the suspicion of flattering, that there is much on the walls that, is'staking, and a little that can tie lookei! at with"delight. An exhibition of. this kind is :i good deal less formal than one of full-grown paintings, and not less interesting in many ways, especially in the case of a society in a youn;; eoi*iuniity, ■where somo projortion of the works hung come from the hands of aspirants rather ihan craftsmen. These are apt to treat large subjects with hoa.vy-h.uukd elaboration, and though there e.\ists in the blight sketch (which does not. requite any vcy definite design) the dillicult obstacle of conciseness of farm, yet- it i» in the execution of these slighter compositions that the critic is nbl« to separate those likely to achieve from those whose labor is likely to be one of more or less hopeless endeavor. With every wish to pun-.ee the generalisation into the detail of specitic instances, we refrain, not only iron: p. aeons of space. but also because without any knowledge of the status claimed by th- executants of the sketches referred lo criticism on the line suggested would 1 e ah rtive. Amongst the studio- ! '""g by artists of assured standing in otle.r cities of the Dominion are works by M; ssre Hcrdman Smith (Christchurch). '.M. Welch (Wellington), A. F. Nicoll (Auckland). J. M. Madden (Christchurch). K. W. Paytott (Auckland). Misses D. Duriaut, K. 1?. Warn (Kngland). and K. B.iird Luxton (Christ - choi'ch). and amongst Duncdin contributors are Messrs A. S. Wood, Moultrav, Oarrington, arid Bollard. Mrs Rollo Fisher. Mis E. 0. Reynolds. Mrs Joachim, Mis Woodhouse, Miss .Mabel Hill, and Miss Hartley. Almost on entering tho hall tho eye- is ?eized by Miss Luxton's tlneo sketelHis of Brighton River, all shapely compositions .Trimming in the faint glow of the tun behind heavy fohaged trees. Close by aro several example* of Mr 11. fi. Cole's leaning towards sea-scapes and ships. Tho best of these is ' Th© Gate of the World.' a sketch of a tramp making slow passage up the Thames. A seu'eapo full of the essential element of dignity is Mr S. E. Green's 'Rescued,' a rather 'strikingly-treated subject, in which tho artist has achieved skylike depths. Mabel Hill's 'Autumn' and : From a Wellington Window' are composed in a style as candid a,s a child's face, jnd M. Ize.tt's 'A Garden i'ath,' with its graceful embroidery of summer dowers gleaming like jewels, is virginal in scheme of color and entirely grateful to tho eye. Xo one. will fail to notice Miss K. HillJack's drawing of a head, eloquently illustrative! of dignity, or Mr G. W. Cirrington's • Lawyer Head.' a study in blue. Mr X. Welch's most imaginative effort is 'Near Tory Channel, Cook's Strait,' disclosing a " smooth, and gradual swell —a peaceful sketch in every way. Some of the mast vivid contributions aro by Mr A. S. Wood, ' A Coming Storm' being spiced with some audacity, while ' light and Shade' reveals in another way the artist's distinctive style and originality of idea. Mr J. F. Scott exhibits several Holland sketches; Miss Hartley a number of monotypes and an impressionist study, ' The 'Thames by Night'; Mr Herdman Smith ia represented best by ' A Street in Pompeii,' purple as the crowns of thistles; and Mr W. Allen Bollard reveals sevoral larger canvasses executed in his usual style, embracing so much of a countryside hk to be of topographical as well as artistic value. -bid the.se are only a fow of tho exhibits, whose quality is considerably above anything in the way of sketches that the Ait Society have hung before. Tho whole of the south wall is occupied by tho highly creditable work of tho students of the School of Art. It merits special attention. A most commendable feature is tho entire absence of work from tho flat copy. Nature and the round have been the evident sources of the work. Painting, drawing in charcoal, pencil and wash, design. brushwork, and all the minor branches of I art education aro represented; some excellent work of tho architectural students ! is to be found on the stage, where also are displayed some tine examples of ap- I plied design in stencilled cushions, curtains, etc. ; and tradesmen will be interested in the full-sized working drawings for cabinetmaking. The whole collection. to quote the expression of the preside/it oi the Art Society. " atl'v's much food for thought and much ground for congratulation." | Tho exhibition is open to the public : every afternoon and evening until Satur- j day night, and is free. : On Tuesday night, several hundred people attended by invitation, and Mr fi. Joachim ! made a shoit address. Ho said that the j exhibit from the School of Art was .-pe- < cialiy interesting in that the futuie of tho ; Art Society mainly depended on the stu- j dents turned out by the School of Art, and | therefore the exhibition afforded much food j for thought and much ground for congrntu- | lation. Tho society were much indebted j to tho trustees of the Art Gallery for lending the hall without charge, and this enabled them to throw the exhibition open ' till tho end of the week free of iharge.— (Applause.) There is an art union in connection with j exhibits which are not sold, by which en- j traits may, for th© sum oi Ls, take their j ; chance of obtaining sketches valued at from j oiio guinea upwards. j \