AUCKLAND SOCIETY OF ARTS EXHIBITION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVII, Issue 8267, 28 May 1890, Page 6

AUCKLAND SOCIETY OF ARTS EXHIBITION.

There was a good attendance at the Society of Arts yesterday afternoon. The Exhibition was not open in the evening owing to the practice of the Auckland Choral Society. To-night, at eight o'clock, His Worship the Mayor (Mr. J. H. Upton) will distribute the prizes awarded at the late competition, and the successful competitors are requested to take their seats on the platform before that hour. The art union will be drawn on Thursday evening, at half-past eight;. Fourth Notice.—Oils. We continue our notices of the remaining oils :— " The Outskirts of a Bush," is one of Mr. T. L. Drummond's best efforts in landscape. On the left is a clump of bush with a pool in the foreground. The little gem of sunshine in the middle distance is a very happy effect, and the distance and sky show considerable atmosphere. "At Whangarei Heads, Low Water," is an effective picture. In this picture Mr. Drummond has dropped considerably his blues and blacks, the result being improved work. "At Matakana," the artist lias not been quite so happy as in some of his other exhibits. The picture is much too black in the left foreground to our thinking, and the rocks and boulders do not appear to have been so carefully studied. In the treatment of water, distance, and sky the artist has been much more happy. " Aubrey's Mountain, Whangarei Heads, ' is a good piece of work. It shows a somewhat stormy sky, with heavy clouds. The water and foliage in the foreground are well given, and the clouds drifting across the crest of the mountain range are very effectively depicted. " The Karaka Croek "is a favourite subject of Mr. Drummond, and several views of this excellent creek have appeared from his brush, but this, of all, we like the best. It shows careful study, is good in composition, and atmospheric effect. " Mount Egmont, from Paretutu," by Charles Blomtield, is one of the most pleasing of this artist's works, and shows careful treatment. The perspective of the plain is very good, and the snow-capped mountain is well defined against the clear sky. In " Waitakerei Falls " this artist is not so happy as usual. The treatment is somewhat stiff. " Ohinemutu" is a very realistic soene ; somewhat hard in outline, andj characteristic of the locality. " A Welsh Mill," by E. W. Payton, is a style which is little seen in this country. The perspective and details are excellently given. " Lucas' Creek, near Riverhead," by W. A. Cooper, calls for little comment, being crude in colouring and somewhat harsh in treatment throughout. " Prospecting "in Otago," by Thornhill Cooper, represents a mining prospector with his pan at a creek in the bush. The foliage is well treated, and the figure vigorously drawn, but the boulders in the margin of the creek are net well defined. " Morning, Like Wakatipu," is painted in W. M. Gibb's characteristic style. The pearly greys of the sky, distance, and sea give a softness which is very pleasing. " A Misty Day, Wakatipu," by Mrs. Archie Clark, is not quite so successful as that lady's other works. The colouring is somewhat black, and the mist is not successfully treated. " Carey's Creek, Otago," by J. Elder Moultray, appears to be a New Zealand scene with a Scotch aspect, and the son is evidently a disciple of the father in this respect. fhe foliage to the right is somewhat flat, but the turbulent water" is well depicted, as is also the extreme distance. " The River-side, Waikaukau," by the same artist, provokes the same criticism as to style. The rocks in the right foreground are well represented, and the water translucent, but some of the defects of the other picture are apparent in this. " Negro Fish Hawker, Dunedin," is scarcely a subject for artistic treatment. The drawing is somewhat good, but there is a stiffness which detracts from the effect of a picture which is eminently realistic. " The Postman's Hut, Waikaukau,"is a very small work full of atmosphere, but scarcely that ot New Zealand. " Black Jack's Point, Dunedin,*' and " Isn't It Boiling, Yet?" are also small. The latter represents a bushman bivouacking on the side of the road, and cookiug his evening meal. It ii a good piece of work. " North Bay, Kaikoura," bv John Gibb, is the least successful of his works. The sky is hard, and the colouring in the foreground does not harmonise well with it. Miss Annie Dobson contributes a halfhour's sketch, "An Old Friar." This being a sketch calls for no further comment than to say that the figure is well proportioned, and shows much facility for manipulation to be executed in so short a period. At the North Head," by Walter Wright, has more the appearance of an outdoor sketch than a finished picture. Though tolerably correct in drawing, it is somewhat crude throughout. " Before the Storm" is rather an ambitious work on the part of this young artist. The colouring is scarcely that of New Zealand. Harry W. Kirkwood, of Dunedin, exhibits an oil" painting of Caswell Sound, which arrived too late for cataloguing. The work shows considerable artistic ability, though lacking finish in the foreground. Two other works by the same artist are placed in close proximity, but call for no particular mention. In still life there are a good many exhibits of a meritorious character. "Apples Growing," by W. M. Gibb, represents apples on a tree, evidently faithfully and naturally painted. " Relics," by Miss Dobson, depicts a skull, book, and rosary. It has the appearance of an early work of the artist, and old age is successfully represented in the sketch. Miss M. Herrold exhibits excellent work, the chrysanthemums and the red jar in the foreground being particularly well put in. As to the blue-and-white jar at the back, we cannot speak of it in such commendatary terms, being in sufficiently rounded, ami having a flat effect. We should have liked it better if the Japanese tray at the back had been of a soberer colour. Still withal, the work is on the whole good. The lady also contributes a dessert piece—apples, bananas, cocoanut, Cape gooseberries, etc., all well and faithfully painted. MissEdmiston shows good work. It represents a water bottle, tobacco jar, and glass, with a copy of New Zkalaxd Herald lying on the table. The water bottle in centre is excellently painted, being well rounded, and faithful in drawing and in colour. In this picture the artist has shown judgment, by having a perfectly plain background, the effect being to throw up the articles in the I foreground. E. W. Payton exhibits an excellent specimen of still life work. The apples are well represented, though the fruit plate on which they are placed is not nearly so successfully painted. Mrs. Walrond's exhibit is an old brown jug and ginger jar with a rush or reed in the foreground. There is not much material here to make a picture, but the artist has done well with the materials at hand. A collection of shells and sponge is an exhibit by Miss C. Hardie. It shows careful drawing, and gives promise of better things. Miss U. Purchas also exhibits in still life (Venetian glass). In this there is very good work, but we think the artist would have done better if she had selected a different colour for the curtains in the background. Mr. H. M. Jones has a -1111 life study, " Harmony," old jar, pipe, etc, are put in very dark, ami have more the appearance of old Dutch work. Mrs. A. P. Wilson contributes several exhibits. The first is a work for which the artist took second honours in one of the competitions, namely, green and red jars, with shells, which are faithfully drawn and painted. The shell in the front is so correctly painted that it would hold water. A second exhibit ' is that of a ginger jar, apples, oranges, and i geraniums in jar. This is an excellent, study. | The apples are especially well painted. The I tablecloth is not quite so successful. The I third exhibit is also good. " Souvenirs from the Field of Battle," by C. F. Goldie, is an i excellent piece of work, and without doubt ' the best piece of.still life work in the Exhibition. It represents military helmet, old flintlock holster pistol, spurs, scimitar in brass case, and water bottle. A piece of old tapestry and crimson curtain form the background, while the weapons of war and the folds of the curtain are excellently managed and painted. It is a work which will admit of close inspection, and must have entailed a large amount of labour and thought on the part of the artist.