HACKELVIE PICTURES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20887, 1 June 1931, Page 12

HACKELVIE PICTURES.

PUBLIC VIEW TO-DAY.

NOTES ON THE ETCHINGS. SUGGESTIONS FOR VISITORS. The whole of the recent purchases for the Mackelvie collection, comprising 134 paintings and 82 etchings, drypoints and aquatints, have now been arranged and labelled. The public will have its first opportunity this morning of seeing tlieni and appraising their worth. Some further notes upon tho oil and water-colour paintings may be welcomed by intending visitors. With several exceptions, the largest canvases are less worthy of special attention than the smaller ones. In the general English section, the large Brangwyn, "Trees at Avignon," which has boon "skied," demands notice at once by its bold decorative quality and restrained colouring. Tlrn pictures beneath this one are of very unequal merit, but include some of the best in the collection, notably the two strongly-painted nudes by Philip Connard, R.A., and W. G. de Glehn, the interior by If. Davis Richter and the large landscape by S. J. Laniorna Birch. "The Birthday," by T. C. Gotch, will win many friends. Prominent Features in Other Groups. Sir John Lavcry's "Winter in Switzerland" is a sprightly little piece of work. "Afterglow," by Bertram Priestman, a vigorous large landscape, deserves better treatment than to be hung in a corner. On tho wall adjoining, "Chelsea Reach," by do Glehn, and "Landscape," by Connard, are overpowered by tho larger pictures, but should be singled out for scrutiny. Among tho Cornish works, "St. Ives," by Stanhope Forbes, R.A., and two email pictures by Arthur Hay ward deserve the same attention. The Scottish section is sombro by comparison with the rest, and even rather depressing. Probably the "nocturnes" by various artists provide most interest.

The French section contains two comparatively small oils that deserve the very highest praise. They are by P. E. Lecomte, and represent one a market and the other a village church. In colour, atmosphere and breadth of treatment they bear comparison with the beet work of Philip Con nn rd and J. Munnings, R.A. A peculiar landscape by Paul Laurent should not bo hastily dismissed. It has merits, though they are not all immediately apparent, Water Colours and Etchings.

Tn (ho water-colour section, "Young Ladies' Seminary," by Anna Airy, two landscapes by S. J. La morn a Birch and a (own scene by A. 11. Knighton Hammond arc outstanding. The large pastel "The Tired Model" will bo of great technical interest to (he few Aucklanders who have tried this medium and realise the difficulties it offers.

The prints, which are the first the trustees and (heir advisers have ever seen fit to buy, form a collection representative of tho very fine work that is being done bv present-day British etchers, who, as a body, outrival those of all the rest of the world put together. It is true that not many of (he purchases mado by Mr. E. W. I'aylon for the trustees are from really notable plates, but (he collection includes good examples by some, though not nearly all, of the best-known contemporary English and Scottish etchers.

As among the paintings, a conspicuous fust place is taken by Frank Brangwvn. No purchaso could very well exclude at least 0110 of his huge plates, which are so large and boldly executed that many peoplo still consider them an abuse of the process. The one selected is of the old wooden three-decker Britannia, at her last moorings and about to bo broken up. The lighting is Rembrandtesque, as might be expected, and the massiveness and bulk of the old ship are strongly emphasised. Three smaller prints by (ho same artist are included. A Glimpse o! Low Life. At the other end of the scale, the eminent Sir Frank Short is very well represented. His plates are not large, but are remarkable for a subtlety of lino and composition and of " feeling," which appeals strongly to all who make a serious study of etching. Examples include " Timber Wharf, Walberswick," and " Sleeping till the Flood, Bosham," the latter depicting a muddy creek at low tide. A lovely aquatint of a wide landscape under a stormy sky will better please the average visitor. The magnificent " Segovia Cathedral," by William Strang, is one of the most satisfying prints in tho whole collection. It shows iho massive church rising on its hilltop above a sea of houses. " The Kruit teller '' and " The Ki(ldler " arc two very fine examples of this distinguished artist's work in genre.

In the same category is " Tho Fallen Star," by Stanley Anderson. This will appeal to everyone, because it tells a story of low life with shrewdness, hnmour and sympathy. Among other figure subjects the most noteworthy are two studies of nudes in the open air by Anders Zorn, the Swedish master, who is about the only foreign artist included. These, like all Zorn's work, show an almost magical power to render refinements of modelling by means of coarse cross-patching. \ Ships and the Sea.

A delightful half-length, " Mother and Child," by S. Van Abbe, typifies a class of work which might bo much better represented in tho collection. Several scenes of farm life by George Soper and studies of children by Eileen Soper aro pleasant in a restrained way. Tho sea and ships are not neglected. Tliero is Norman Wilkinson's " The Spanish Main," a straightforward page of romance, showing a boat pulling away from a burning galleon. " The Pilot " is similar in general' arrangement, but the vessel is a modern cargo steamer to the very life.

The sincere work which has put Arthur Briscoe in the forefront of marine etchers appears in " Caulking," an admirable study of men at work on a deck, and in two other prints. Two etchings by Hie veteran sea painter W. L. Wyllie, who died recently, nre interesting as survivals from the last century. Indian and Spanish scenes by E. S. Lumsden nre distinctive, especially " The Preacher," which is of a crowd on a Benares ghat, viewed from above.

Some other etchers of first rank are represented by single prints. " The Sniper," by James Mcßey, shows a helmeted soldier lying among grass. There is an animated study of a horse rolling by Edmund Blampied nnd a small Eastern scene by Marius Bauer Architectural subjects abound, and among further names nvav bo mentioned E. D. Both, Oliver Hali, Alfred Hartley and Malcolm Osborno.