THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS MONDAY, JUNE 8, 1931. ART GALLERY PURCHASES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20893, 8 June 1931, Page 8

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS MONDAY, JUNE 8, 1931. ART GALLERY PURCHASES.

Reporting on the recent purchases added to the Mackelvie collection in 1 the Art Gallery, a committee of •I eleven artists has commented adj versely on the additions and offered I suggestions concerning future pur- ! chases. The recent purchases, in their opinion, do not meet the requirements of the gallery. This united judgment confirms the apprehension aroused when it was known some time ago that a large number of pictures had been bought.. It did not seem reasonable that this wholesale buying could result in the obtaining of works of really high standard. Apparently, the buyers had proceeded on a very dangerous principle ; entrusted with a considerable sum to spend, it seemed that Ihey had been eager to get the njost —measured in square inches —for the money. There was a chance that l.his fear would prove groundless when the pictures arrived and became available for public inspection, aut the slender hope has been falsified. A few good pictures and the rest a poor lot, most of them not by painters of outstanding rank and I ability, and even those by such j painters, speaking generally, not in j any way approaching the standard of their best work —this is the unwelcome verdict. One precise statement by the committee attracts i special note: it is that, when the pictures are examined with reference to their inclusion of representative work by artists having pictures in the Tate Gallery, only one of theso pictures is sufficiently representative to qualify for that gallery. This criterion of representative work by eminent artists is of first importance in building up any worthy gallery. especially one intended by its chief benefactors, in their care for a community's education and enjoyment,' to be a source of inspiration. In the nucleus of the gallery, begun by Sir George Grey's generosity, a number of old masters appeared, and the very notable Mackelvie collection, as first bequeathed, added examples of outstanding work. It is very disappointing to know that through unsatisfactory devotion of the latter beauest, by which a great deal can be done to make the Auckland gallery secure in its high merit and attractiveness, the general standard is being lowered. There should be applied, with unfailing determination, the sound principles applying to all permanent galleries meant to serve the public good. Such galleries ought never to degenerate into characterless collections remarkable chiefly for their size and variety. No proper pride can be taken in collections of that sort, nor can they contribute much worth while to the life of the community. So distinguished an authority as W. G. Constable, assistant keeper of the National Gallery of London and lecturer at the Wallace Collection, lias well summarised the purposes of public institutions of this kind. "The public art gallery," he says, "is a creation of the nineteenth century. Unconsciously, it is an assertion of the collecting instinct of the community;' consciously, it has been designed to instruct the public, to educate artists, to encourage contemporary art by purchase, and to provide material for historical research." To do its share toward realisation of the conscious purposes of the gallery, rather than the unconscious aim of gratifying the collecting instinct, ought to be unswerving policy of the Mackelvie trustees. They have a permanent institution to consider. The position is considerably different from that of the annual exhibition of an art society. That may, to a certain extent, be educative of artists and the public, and it may do something to encourage contemporary artists by helping them to find buyers. But it is an ephemeral collection, and much may be forgiven it on that account. A permanent collection, on the contrary, is likely to be regarded, by the public and by ambitious artists, as setting an enduring stamp of merit on its component pictures. There will be room for dive-se tastes, no doubt, ; but the fact that the exhibits are either accepted or bought by the controlling public authority . gives j them an implied standing, and they perpetually attract a measure of interest. Disservice is done by lax admission of unworthy work, yet even the avoidance of this would not disarm | criticism The aim, as the com- i mittee of artists has suggested. ' should be more than a collection of j the best pictures procurable. The i collection should be the best for the] educative purposes in view, and this j implies getting as completely representative a collection as possible. I This will not lessen lay interest in j the gallery. There will be quite j as great an attraction in the aesthetic i pleasure offered, while in addition there will be the inducement held out by the thought that something of value can be learned about art. On the other hand, nothing is so calculated to diminish general appreciation as the knowledge that poor pictures have been bought, or at least pictures that are not representative of the best work of good artists. Not only will young artists be deterred from frequenting a gallery so unsatisfactorily supplied the general public will lose interest and cease to take a pride in it —and those capable of making money gifts to add to its store be disinclined to do so. To eschew mere quantity and aim at quality is therefore a first duty, and the committee of artists has rierhtly emphasised the desirability of the Mackelvie benefaction beins devoted to the purchase of only one or two pictures each year, to be of hierh standard and of ..thoroughly representative character. Other practical suercestions are made bv the committee as to methods of purchase. All deserve very careful consideration by those concerned and responsible.