OTAGO ART SOCIETY'S EXHIBITION.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 818, 26 November 1878, Page 2

OTAGO ART SOCIETY'S EXHIBITION.

//•- -3 —~ * Mr. Edward A. Gifford's Contributions. Having been afforded, the honor and the privilege of a private view of the water-color paintings that Mr. Edward A. Gif Ford purposes to send down for exhibition at the approaching meeting of the Otago Art Society in Dunedin, I feel that I cannot in justice to Oamaru permit them to leave without a word upon the subject. Possibly I may be thought by some premature in any remarks, seeing that they are as it were nub judicc, but 1 believe that the lovers of art at all events will forgive me. Any remarks that I have to make can in no way a fleet tho judgment of those upon whom will devolve the critical task of selecting the pictures that will be entitled to the place of honor at the Exhibition, and if I thought for a moment that they would, I would not dare venture to compromise the gifted artist who has at much sacrifice of time and labor produced the collection that will form, if not the total contribution from our own district, at least an essential part thereof, and, if I am not very much mistaken, a part that will be eminently appreciated. Mr. Gifford's studio contains some half a dozen subjects for the south, and amongst others the following, which cannot fail to attract the attention of lovers of a high school of Art. I will not venture to touch upon all. I will mei-ely give you the subjects of a few, one of which is an admirably executed copy from nature of a runholder's homestead in the Mackenzie Country, that of Mr. Ostler, at Ben Ohau. The homestead itself is faithfully pourtrayed—so true to nature ; the foreground being composed of all the usual surroundings of a. New Zealand well-to-do settler, The artist, although grand in his conception of the magnificent range of snowclad mountains in the far perspective, has not disdained to fill in his foreground with all the little adjuncts that appertain to a holding like that now enjoyed by Mr. Ostler. The meandering rivulet close by the homestead, the willow trees of such exquisite symmetry the cattle rim in for the night, the group of fowls, with a solitary brace c;f turkeys, which are being fed, cannot fail to suggest to one tho happin ss of a country life and the pleasant surroundings that a New Zealand settler has the good fortune to enjoy now at his very door. The range of mountains in tho background forma a portion of the Southern Alps, which constitute a natural line of demarcation botweon the eastern and western coasts of the Middle Island. The river silently gliding across the face of the picture is called the Ahuriri. The next subject that I have to take notice of is one that equally with its sister picture of Ben Ohau Station will strike the eye. It is a lovely view of Lake TekapQ, with Mtiunt Cook and the Dividing Range some forty miles distant, The scene is simply sublime; but setting aside the scenery altogether, it is difficult to realise how ni the course of a comparatively short visit Mr, Gifford could have given such a faithful portraiture of the place. Here, again, there are specialties attaching to the foreground, the tussocks being admirably reproduced. The lone, winter-bound tree to the left, the stretch of green life-like verdure on a promontory of land some distance further with a clump of trees at its very apex, and the grand and partially glacial chain p.f mountains in the' district extending north to south for porhaps over fifty miles in a direct line, form a fitting accompaniment to the still waters of the loch itself, which might vie with that fairy lake in Scotland—Loch Lomond. The lake is so well delineated, that with a very slight stretch of the imagination, one could fancy oneself almost a pai't of the picture and ready to jump into the boat that I willing hands had navigated from another station at the furtiier ep.d, §pme 20 miles away, and which has apparently just touched the strand, awaiting the arrival of jhief and his fair 3™3 patfi.eian young fiance, who, strange, to say, are seen hastening down to the Loch on horseback, ft ß QTI9 W a highmettled blaojc charger, the other on a dark chestnut, From memory I cannot do justice to the softness of the scene, nor yet" can I sufficiently speak of the natural touches of tho artist's pencil in copying nature \ as he has done here. I will only say [ that his best efforts over his Milford i Sound pictures are not superior. I \ now come to a most exquisite painting of Florence and the Arno—an evening scene—taken by the ar-tist himself while sojourning in Italy. The view is familiar to me, It is taken from the " Ponte Trinita,' 1 and must be a favorite not only aesthetically, but also a favorite by all those who have had the privilege of visiting the late seat of Government in Italy and the abode of the Grand Dukes of Tuscany for generations. The lamps are lit up on the well-known Lung Arno, the view being taken in what is called the "gloaming" in Scotland, as well aa in Otago. Amongat other works there are two very fine paintings of a local scene—two different views of Moeraki and the boulders we know so well. It is only necessary to say ;hat the surf of one and the sky of the other ire so well depicted that it would be impossible ;o detect any difference in either between the ■eproduction and the reality ; and that the nossy green adhering to the boulders has ,uch a really natural tint about it that hose who know the place had better see the

pictures and judge for themselves. Of the English scenes, one represents the city of Bath taken from nature, from the wellknown promenade, Lansdowne Road. In front appears the Ladies' College, which all votaries of the " Pump" will recognise at a glr.nce ; and further along may be seen the turrets of St. Stephens. The'city itself is enveloped in fog, the exhalations having not yet attained the altitude of the fashion■able drive, the time being early morning.' THe other English subject is one of some -little interest to those who hail from more southern parts—that of the. .quiet little hamlet of C'harlcombe, in Somersetshire. From the trees on the left-hand slope clad in their golden autumnal tint, to the quaint little square towered English church in the peaceful valley below,' the eye of the veriest connoisseur will find it difficult indeed to discern a fault. All in all, lam confirmed in the opinion you offered a few months ago, that our townsman is bound to take first rank in his 2'i'ofession in New Zealand, and it is with pleasure that I find our grain favored district possessed of one who can justify Oaniaru iii_. laying claims likewise to bo a seat of art. l am given to understand that Mi*. Giftbrd intends to exhibit at home before long. If this be so, his contemporaries in England—the Hunts and the Moores—may look to their laurels at the Royal Academy. Given a good artist and a grand field for his pencil, Mr. Gifford ought to increase the well-earned reputation he has already gained side by side with his English compeers.—l am, &c, Artis Amor.