CANTERBURY SOCIETY OF ARTS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CI, Issue 11884, 6 May 1899, Page 2

CANTERBURY SOCIETY OF ARTS.

. THE ANNUAL EXHIBITION. 111. Visitors to the Art Gallery during the l present season should on no account fail I to go into the ante-room, because if they s do they will miss seeing some of the very best pictures in the exhibition. On one of the walls of this room there are hung a series of water-colour paintings contributed by Mr Albeit J. Hanson. One does not remember to have seen his name in any 1 previous catalogue issued by the Society, 1 but never was a new-comer more welcome. ' Mr Hanson seems to have studied in a purely English school, and to have developed a palette and a special technique for himself. The effects that he produces are crisp, clear, refreshing to look at. It is much to be hoped that he will prove a stayer in New Zealand, because work such as his cannot fail to create a beneficial impression, particularly upon water-colour students. His most striking exhibit, “ At ; the Village Smithy,” which forcibly re- ■ calls Longfellow's verses, might very well 1 be styled a diploma picture; for it is * understood that it won for him a much- ’ coveted membership in the British Society of Water-colour Painters. There are some Bembrandt-like effects in the murky gloom, the figures (notably that of the striker) are finely drawn, and the contrast of light and shade is admirable. Very tender treatment is to be found in some of Mr Hanson’s pictures, all of which will repay close and repeated examination. Could not the Society secure one of them for its permanent collection ? It might go farL ther and fare very much worse. ’ And in connection with the present exhibit’ou, it is of no small interest to note ! how large au influence has been exercised ' by the‘School of Art. If one notes the exhibits carefully it will be seen that Messrs G.- H. Elliott (the principal of the school), S. Hurst Seager and C. Kidson have aommplishod a very large amount of work in directing the tendencies of students, and in instituting and, developing new features. The results of Mr Eliiott’s methodical training are to be seen in very many exhibits, both in the oil and r water-colour sections. It is noticeable that —as compared with years ago—the crudities are conspieuous-by "their absence. The eccentricities in drawing are few and far between. Theie lias been a conscientious grounding in the first principles of drawing. Pupils have evidently been distinctly discouraged in the always too prevalent tendency to 1 dabble in colour before they can delineate form, and before they have any accurate knowledge of linear perspective.' The result, of course, is—and it must continue to be more apparent from year to year—that the average quality of student work exhibited shows a steady upward tendency. All the same, one hopes that in future exhibitions some steps will be taken to differentiate, in the hanging, between the pictures produced by students and those by artists of more matured experience. For it is not fair, either to the one class or the other, nor is it conducive to the artistic enlightenment \of the general/ public, that the present jxlmble method should be continued. As for individuality as a working and exhibiting 'artist, that does not so very much matter in comparison with the influence that ho may exercise ■upon those who come under his more or less direct control. Still, evidence of what Mr Eliott is capable of producing has been shown in previous exhibitions, both in oils and water-colours, and this year there is a forceful and particularly pleasing example in the latter section, a delineation of Aorangi “The Cloud Piercer,” No. 86, which is a really excellent specimen of New Zealand alpine study, notable specially for the harmony of its low tones and itsvigorous treatment. And then one comes to Mr S. Hurst V Seager, who is clearly responsible for various up-to-date innovations, the architectural presentments wherein the aid of the photographer has been so judiciously admitted, the wood-carving in a variety of styles that all show a true artistic conception, the introduction of loan exhibits, illustrating works in metal —in bronze, in brass and in hammered iron—the last-mentioned being particularly worthy of note; and the exceedingly interesting ceramic specimens that one hopes to see greatly extended upon future occasions. Apart from these things, there are' the beginnings of design in connection with the industrial arts. Some- * thing has been done in the way of prizegiving in this regard, but although the . manufacturing industries of New Zealand - are as yet comparatively few, there seems to he no good and. sufficient reason why some of the iron workers, the woollen. ■ workers, the makers of stained glass wint dows, the furniture manufacturers and * others, should not be persuaded to offer " inducements, at these yearly exhibitions, j for special designs that might become .the F absolute property of the prize-givers. * ' As regards Mr Kidson, the more one 1 sees of his special bent and unquestionable talent, the more one is disposed to , regret that he cannot apply himself exclusively to sculpture.. It is not merely that he himself is doing admirable work, | but that he is attracting special students ’ -to himself, and is obviously directing them ; wisely , and well. There need bo little ! hesitation in expressing the opinion that ' if Mr . Kidson were able to go to the Old i Country and pursue a definite course of ( study he would make an honoured name for himself, and so win special fame for | the Canterbury School of Art. His “ In- ‘ fancy,” No. 4 in the sculpture section, I shows a poetic conception and most delicate treatment, and his “ Study of a Boy” (No. 1), even though in parts unfinished, gives ample proof of quick realisation of | the subtleties of “ the human form divine/’ i and of executive ability to put those realisations i nto concrete form. One of the' best things that the Society * of Arts has done is the instituting of com- . petitions for medals, and this year it h: a I in this way secured a few really got d things. Take, for example, No. 63 in the ' oil section, the study of a head from Hie by Miss M. M’Leod, a Dunedin competitor, 1 that has most deservedly won a bronze medal, and that had previously won a similar distinction at Wellington. It is a capital portraiture study, the eyes full of light and life; the flesh—like.flesh; the hair skilfully treated, and the general effect, despite the r;dundancy of red drapery, highly satisfactory. The story ■ is told that this lady student failed ; to find a model who in any degree suited her purpose. So, not to be she draped herself, placed herself before a looking-glass, and limned her own

features. Then, turning to the landscape section, , what capital work of its kind is shown in No. 43, Mr S. L. Thompson’s bush interior, with its mystic light, and its sharp, after-touches of foliage, that has well won for him the silver medal given by the Society. Miss M. Fuller has not been so successful —though she has done good work —in the ducks utilised for her still-life composition. She will do better in the not . distant future, if one does not over-estimate her capabilities for close attention aud< painstaking application. In the_ designs for surface decoration, Mr D. Dickenson easily won first place, because he showed more versatility than his sole opponent. Miss Abbott’s plaster cast—which, ■ by the way, is understood to he the.first piece of work of this kind that she has produced—is highly creditable alike to herself and to her preceptor, and should undoubtedly encourage her to essay higher flights. And a word of praise must be ungrudgingly given to.. the architectural sketches shown by Mr Gf. B. Hart, who has been awarded a bronze medal. These are' emphatically good in their execution, and they evidence a keen appreciation of the Creative work of a clever man, the late B. W. Mountfort. j