ART SALE

Evening Star, Issue 23041, 20 August 1938, Page 12

ART SALE

FRAMED PHOTOGRAPH OF R.L.S. INCLUDED Messrs Park, Reynolds Limited advertise in this issue a catalogue of 70 oil and water colours to be-sold by auction on Thursday next. Included is a framed photograph of Robert Louis Stevenson, autographed by R.L.S. and G. P. Nerli, and framed beneath it, lathe poet’s own handwriting, an impromptu unpublished rhyme. _ ■ . This is bound to create special ■ interest, as when Nerli visited Samoa he painted a portrait of R.L.S., and- a great deal of controversy still goes on as to -which is the original of at least two portraits which are known to exist, both claimed to be such—one in Royal Scottish Academy, the other in Sydney. Nerli the artist was for a considerable time a resident in Dunedin, where he not only painted, hut- gave lessons. There are five iof his works .in this collection, thoroughly . descriptive of his broad treatment of any subject, and any one of them-is well. Wortk posses-, sion. In ‘.Banana; Palms he gives the heavy, rich green. foliage of this tropical plant, and in, Carnival ’ there is real movement. - , . , /, , •, L. W. Wilson has nearly a dozen, all done ;at a ’time,-when- He was acknow-ledged-to-he‘at his best. His forte was undoubtedly mountain and lake scenery, and ‘ Franklin Mountains,’ ‘ Te Anau,’ and ‘ Kinloch Range ’ are really fine examples of his skill. The views near Purakanui and Puketeraki and ‘The Bush. Track ’ are also remarkably well drawn and coloured.-

W;. M. Hodgkins’s ‘ Canterbury Plans ’ is’ thoroughly descriptive ofjrfhe scene) arid serves to show his skill in depicting.; thp-,,pcdinary countryside, as a thing of beauty. F. Hodgkins, his daughter, now resident in London and described by some of the responsibile authorities as one of the foremost women painters of the day, has an early example in Maori Settlement,’ in which the grouping and colouring, are good, and the same applies to Walter Wright, who confined himself- -almost entirely to painting Maori life. He has two good examples in ‘ Summer Time ’ and ‘ Gossip,’ and they are well worth inspecting. A large canvas by E. Sanchez Sola depicts' an, accident in the sanctuary, where brie ;6f fhe 'four, acolytes has tripped over the carpet and 'smashed the Communion cruet, to the general consternation of all. This is a well constructed picture, and the colouring is beautiful. _ . There are amongst this collection some other very fine works by Grace Joel, A. H. O’Keefe, C. E. Ferris, W. K. Snrott, R. Herdman Smith. Blythe Fletcher. Alice E. Norton, 0, Hay Campbell, and Marcus King, all worthy of attention, as is also a beautiful little piece by Caude Hayes, a British artist'of note) entitled. ‘ Rural Scene,’ - The Collection will be on view until the time of sale.