ART IN NEW ZEALAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 19149, 15 October 1925, Page 12

ART IN NEW ZEALAND.

——- GALLERIES OVERSTOCKED, "WEEDING OUT THE WORTHLESS" The latest bulletin of the National Art Association of New Zealand contains several articles on matters of interest in the world of art, some excellent illustrations and a record of general information that should prove useful to members of the paleite-and-brush fraternity. Of special interest to Aucklanders is an. article on "Art in- New Zealand," based on the necessity for "weeding out the worthless" in the public galleries of the Dominion. "Among the encouraging signs of the times," states the writer, "are the increasing and freely-expressed demands for additional room for expansion and for an overhaul of the works in our art galleries. In each of the four centres the galleries are filled to overflowing with pictures purchased., presented and bequeathed, and the limited space has necessitated such close packing on the walls that any scientific system of arrangement is out of the question. The result is that visitors come to look and depart in a more or less bewildered condition, wondering what art is, or was, or should be. Students find little to help them in their quest for knowledge and those in control wonder, and do not seem to have any clear conception of the course to follow." The opinion is expressed that the time has come for a stocktaking and a rigorous weeding out of the worthless and the undesirables, of which every public gallery in the Dominion has its full share. "The time has come, too," concludes the writer, "for greater encouragement of New Zealand artists by the continued purchase of their best works for permanent exhibition. By this means alone will art, make sound progress in the Dominion. "