OTAGO ART SOCIETY

Evening Star, Issue 16582, 15 November 1917, Page 6

OTAGO ART SOCIETY

SOME OF THE EXHIBITS

No. I.—-The Oils

' W. Allen Bollard, who has done long j service to the public in directing their attention to 'he beauty of tho New Zealand hush in the rough" is seen at his best ,in ' The Hear', of the Bush ' (No. 11). The. ; scene selected is a fern-clad creek bed in i tho midst of tangled timber. It is a bold . bit of work, Nature herself the composer. | Mr Bollard has handled the high "colors ■■ in a masterly rr aimer, and what we particularly like about the picture is that , though the- bush is toon ;.nd twisted it is presented without any 'man-made' confusion such as might arise.if the artist were overpowered bv his subject. In 'The Banks of the Waikato' (No. 3) the Maori village _ shows that indolent movement, which is characteristic of the race, also th" proverbial indisposition to straighten up the surrovnflin.es. In p. white man's crmp the insecure and jagged edges of ihd bank would be rounded off with a shovel. Oiv.? of tho sweetest things that Mr Bollard, has ever produced is 'The Witching i Hour.' a charming small pane! showing a 1 1) t of river in moonlight. The color is I soncwhat intense for moonlight, but it is a work that one would gro>v fond of. The other three by this artist include 'The : Fisherman's Home,' which is noticeableI fov its sinless drawing. j J. W. Brock's four exhibits are -veil ; worthy of inspection. One is appropriate 'to the period. It is entitled 'An Easy Ptey.' The scene is of a submarine, hidden . in the rough water, approaching a- ship. i Mr Brock also gives us a portrait of a j soldier in uniform. But better tbnn either | —very much better—is his landscape called | ' A Grey Morning.' •• The mist effect is | very nicelv put hi. And better still is his 'Mists of Early .Morning' (No. 27). Tho increasing light is making itself felt, and causing reflections in water which has the j quality of transparency in a degree rarely ic.'iched in oils. Maybe the foreground is a trifle dee)), this giving iis3 to a bisecting appearance, but the painting of the water is of such quality that one caimot graciously suggest that we could do without part of it. Grace Butler does not show any "idvance on her last year's v.ork, but it i* fair to add that it is up to the standard Wo li".:e her treatment of the sand in 'New Biighton Beach' (No 6), and the Lake Kanieri view (No 13) has a let of feeling in it, the evening effects being quite harmonious, whilst 'Near Kennedy's Bush' (Xo. 55) gives a fine sense of bigness in tho close-to features of rough and rocky country. This last-irentioned piece is painted with marked liberty and vigor F. Brooke-smith. F.N.8.A.. sends four landscapes which command respect. 'Dipton Valley' (Xo. 74) is a. particular'y clcan and delicately painted landscape'; 'Head of Mauapouri' is topographically interesting, the lighting a fe-Vure : and 'Awnnia' (No. 123: is probablv worthy of being regarded as the finest landscape In the room. It is a large canvas, giving an embracing prospect ~ji lu t ] le truth, and from border to border every j inch of the painting is under the one in-! licence, and that influence a perfect agreement between earth and sky. ' Mount I Tukito; (Xo. 116) is not so 'good. The nice bit of bu*h in the centre protests against the gaudiness of the water. F. R-; Brown is represented bv two landscapes that are somewhat daring as to color. But Mr Brown gets harmonv, andhis sketching is good. Xo. 102 (' Evening ') is probably the more meritorious of the two. K. G. Hood's one picture, entitled ' Birch Trees.' is very satisfactory. It has breadth, and the sobriety of* Nature in a familiar mood, and. though the subject is somewhat worn, the artist makes the view interesting by downright good paintiii". Of F. L. Hutchinson's four pieces" we prefer 'The Camp' (Xo. 65), a nice little bush scene, carefully treated. M. Hartley has" this year gone in for some boldness as to color, as witness her sketch from tho second beach at St. Clair (No. 139) and the garden scene (No. 134). The flowers at the left hand in the lastment'.oned work are very showv and faithful. But it is for her portrait "(No. 88) that 11 ss # Hartley is chiefly to be praised. It is skilful in combining strength with refinement. X. L. D. Hutton's ' The Nuggets.' though by no means ambitious, is the 3 sort of thing by which beginners may correct mistakes. E. Johnston, showing this year for the first time, may find encouragement in the praise that is heard ,in regard to the truly boyish expression in the face of the young subject of the portrait (No. 37). The'other contributions from this exhibitor are stilllife studies. C._ F. Kelly has managed, witllout any forcing, to give a certain' newness to the old theme of beach, surf, and sky (Xo. 8). and for hi/gh quality there are few works on tho walls to compare with ' A Pathway to the Sea.' (Xo. 51). Mr Kelly has reached the stage at which hack auxiliaries can be safely omitted. A. E. Kelly enriches the gallery with one of its notable successes. We refer to the large canvas, entitled '-Summer' (No 17). ft represents a young lady picking poppies. Hie figure is delightful 'in every way—as to proportion,_ pose, and comeliness—and she is really picking the flowers, not making a pretence for the purpose of having her likeness taken. The drapery, too, is very skilfully painted. It is a 'charming picture in almost every respect. The face" perhaps, might have been brought a little more off the severe not to say ugly background fence. That is the only suggestion we have heard from fuilt-finders