NEGLECTED ART

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26782, 27 May 1948, Page 4

NEGLECTED ART

From an early stage in the war every effort was made to preserve a full record of the activities of the New Zealand Division. In the Middle East a war artist was appointed and technical staffs were set up so that the written story of the war correspondents would be supplemented by photographs, films and radio recordings. This policy was later extended when the Third Division moved into the Pacific theatre of war. Because of the compact and representative nature of the New Zealand forces it was possible, with the aid of these skilled and enthusiastic workers, to build up a very complete report of an army at war. Some of the material was. suitable for immediate use and obviously much of it could not be prepared for release until a later date. This was particularly the case with the work of the three war artists but, as is pointed out in an article in our news columns in this issue, nothing has been done to acquaint the people of New Zealand with the intensely interesting collection which has been stored in Wellington for over two years. None of the work of one artist has been exhibited, although the works of the two other artists which have been shown attracted wide attention. .It is a pecL’liar fact that probably more of Mr Mclntyre’s work has been seen in London than is known in this country. This material will be made use of to some extent in the compilation of the war histories and at some time in the future a museum of war art may be established, but in the meantime it should be possible to arrange for a representative selection of the paintings to be sent on exhibition throughout the country. Such an undertaking should be regarded by the authorities as a duty they owe to the public and, even if it were considered that such a scheme would involve some financial loss, it should be carried out. There is, however, no reason to suppose that the loss, if any, would be heavy. Indeed, the exhibition might prove to be a profitable venture. The paintings are intrinsically of cultural value and their subject matter endows them with a unique appeal which should ensure that they will attract a very general interest. The suggestion which has been referred to in our article, that such an exhibition could be sponsored for the purpose of raising funds for war relief, is one which is worthy of consideration. It would be particularly appropriate that art which owed its origin to the war should be used to assist in raising money to repair war destruction, but this is, comparatively speaking, a matter of detail. It appears to be obvious that the caretakers of this collection have no positive aims for the near future and it therefore becomes necessary that a public request be made for an explanation of this neglect. 9r’*y VV Tift