EXHIBITION OF PICTURES.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1289, 12 November 1896, Page 39

EXHIBITION OF PICTURES.

Some valuable paintings of New Zealand and Australian scenery, the work of Mr E. W. Christmas, who is a " line " exhibitor at the annual art exhibitions at Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide, were on view in a room adjoining the D.I.C. premises in Panama street, last week. The finest work in the exhibition is No. 26, a view of the backwater in the River Murray, South Australia, " In the prime of summer time, an evening calm and cool." The sun has just gone behind the horizon, and the whole scene is one of tranquil repose. The river lies placid as a mirror, reflecting equally with the red gum trees on its banks the flue golden tints of evening, while the figure of the man who sits in the foreground and allows the smoke to curl lazily upward from his pipe adds materially to the generally tranquil effect so well conveyed in the landscape. The treatment of the water vegetation in the foreground is exceptionally good. Another fine picture, No. 24, smaller, but naturally requiring vigorous treatment, represents sunrise on the Murray. The sky has caught the ruddy glow of morning, which permeates the whole picture, and the result is a work full of warmth and colour. No. 23 is a picture of Milford Sound —striking from the success with which the artist has dealt with the bold, sharp outlines of the peaks and his treatment of the hazy atmosphere. No. 22, Wellington Heads, is a capital picture, with a decided contrast in the tumult of the sea outside, and the placidity of the water in the lagoon within the rocks. A

seascape outside Wellington Heads, with an immense wave on the point of breaking filling the foreground, is one of the most striking works in the collection. There are some little gems illustrating Lake TVakatipu, and some fine views of South Australia, as well as a picture of a scene 1200 miles north cf Adelaide near the Musgrave ranges. All tiie works in this admirable collection of pictures prove artistic ability of a high class, and Mr Christmas should find a ready sale for them amongst connoisseurs and lovers of art.