ART EXHIBITION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19675, 29 June 1927, Page 13

ART EXHIBITION.

THE AUCKLAND SOCIETY.

SURVEY OF THE EXHIBITS. SOME WORKS OF DISTINCTION. So far as area of canvas and paper goes, the Auckland Society of Arts' annual exhibition of 1927 is a smaller affair than many of its predecessors, but in general merit it need fear no comparisons. The number of pictures is not below the average, although less wall-space is needed for hanging them. Nothing in the exhibition this year is likely to cause a public sensation, but there is plenty of evidence that a growing band of New Zealand painters is doing progressively better and more original work. Visitors to the Dominion have complimented it upon having a sinceie school of landscape, in which fads and fashions hold no place. This year s exhibition shows that many of the younger painters, especially the water-colourists, are trving new means of expression, although not in a self-conscious way or with a desire to do " stunts." The small landscapes often show originality in composition, confident use of colour, and a general strength that promises well for the future. Australian influence can be seen in some, but on the whole the artists have taken lines of their own. This independence shows a genuine love for the beauties of New Zealand landscape, and deserves much praise. „ Mr. Nicoll's Portrait. Water-colours are so numerous this year that the hanging committee has begun the catalogue with them. The usual group of important oil paintings at the far end of the gallery has been omitted. Portraits, figure studies, and still life do not bulk lajge as usual, but the quality of what is shown is probably all the better for that. Easily the most notable portrait is by Archibald F. Nicoll, and represents a lady in the thirties. The sitter wears a peacock-blue dress and small hat, and is seated holding a black fur-coat with brickred lining. The background is a darker tone of nearly the same red. There is no attempt at prettification, and the result is by v.;ay of being a characterstudy as well as a very pleasant composition.

M. E. R. Tripe and Ida H. Carey have quite delightful half-length portraits of women, and D. ,J. Payne sends a fulllength of a smiling girl, the largest canvas in the exhibition.

A girl in gorgeous striped shawl and red hat, complete with a cocktail and a cigarette, catches the eye at long range. The artist is T. H. Jenkins. An oncompromising sergeant-major in khaki, by W. B. Montgomery, is also best viewed from a distance. i Pastels and Water-colours. Among a small but distinguished collection of pastels are a bacchante and three portraits by Elizabeth Wailwork, and two heads by W. A. Bowring. Mrs. Wallwork's portraits include one of Sydney Thompson, the New Zealand painter. Only two nudes are shown, one being a representation of Venus rising from the sea, by D. J. Payne. H. Linley Richardson is represented by a group of children, treated in an apparently experimental style about which a good deal might be said. The water-colour section contains some work of real strength and originality. G. Savage, a new exhibitor, has a bold representation of farm buildings in bright sunlight, with a background of hUls. A. J. Brown sends a large and fii mly-handled study of the Waitakere Ranges. The skies in several pictures by Nugent Welch give them a distinction all their own. J. L. Palethorpe has two or three unnsual Auckland scenes in quiet tones. Robert Proctor, in addition to seme Italian scenes, sends a lively little picture of a tree-crowned Waitemata cliff. Studies of Tintern Abbey and an old street fountain, by A. E. Baxter, are a pleasant change, as architectural studies are few. I. M. Copeland has attempted a panorama of the Upper Manukau Harbour with gratifying success. M. 0. Stoddart sends a flowerstudy and a quiet-hued picture of seawashed clfffs. Two subjects of horses in motion by Amy Dawson would be very creditable indeed e% T en if the difficulty of the subject could be left out of account. A. S. Boyd has some scenes from Italy and Majorca.

Among other noteworthy contributors to the water-Colour section are Minnie Whyte, D. K. Richmond, Lois Swabey, Olive Lloyd, Ella Spicer, Russell Clark, and Alice F. Whyte. The Architectural Section. The oils, which are less numerous, include a characteristic study by Grace Butler of red-painted huts in snow among the Southern Alps. Among the existing and projected buildings represented in the architectural section by photographs or drawings are the new Hotel Auckland, King's College Chapel, St. David's Church and several houses. « Gerald Jones, Una Garlick, W. Revell Reynolds, Connie Lloyd, and Gwen Fullerton contribute to "the photographic section, which contains some excellent figure studies in bromide. Among the black-and-white work are lino-cut book-plates by Hilda Wiseman. Trevor and Connie Lloyd send etchings. There are also water-colour figure-drawings by H. Jenkin, fairy-tale pictures by Coreen Browne, colour-caricatures of celebrities by "Viv," and silhouettes by Doris Collins, not to mention a variety of work by other hands. The exhibition will be opened at a conversazione to-morrow evening.