ART AND ARTISTS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2199, 23 April 1896, Page 49

ART AND ARTISTS.

»,• The ever-verdant Phil. May Is now' exclusively engaged by Pu&cb, and it bis lighter vein pictures still occasionally appear in other papers, this is because those editors, wise fa their generation, filled their drawers '.with Phn. May's while he was atiU a free lance. ••.•The French Academy occa»ionaHy .extraordinary devotion to duty happens to awards " virtue prizes " to persons whose become known. Lately euch a piizs of £25 war awarded to s young lady who had saotifictd yean and health in the gallant effort to support a sick sister and the letter's ; two small children. Set when a messenger : who hastened to cany the good news to her reaebed the poor dwelling he found the household in taars. Th« young martyr t«

duty had jusfc died. •. • Mr F. 0. Gould, the political caiicatwlnfe, takes « ecthailwWo toteiwt i&

natural biatory, and residing at Backbnrat Hill, in Epping Forest, be has some exceptional opportunities for its practical study. Many people will have noticed how often animals figure in Mr Gould's cartoons, and th« bobby has been of real value to the art which ha has professionally practised since giving np busmen on tbe Stock Exchange. Mr Gould has several " pets " in nia bouse, including a jackdaw, ou whose education he has bestowed much pains.

• . • No other painter has a home of such aristocratic luxuriougnees &b Alma Tadema. Perhaps its moat remarkable feature is tbe wall, which is panelled with tall, slim pictures, each of tbem by a different painter. Leigbton, Bougbton, Sargent, Calderon, and & full score of the artist's friends have contributed to this remarkable embellishment. Another feature ia the oak-and-ivory piano, on the lid of which, inside, are inscribed by their own bands the sames of the most celebrated singers and musicians of Europe.

• . • Mrg Eilis Rowan, the Australian flower collector and painter, is, says the Queen, about to settle for some time -in England, and she intends to devote berself entirely to her delightful work. Sbe has lately been engaged upon a set of eight panels, illustrative of bush life, which are destined for the Western Australian court; of the Imperial Institute, and will shortly bo placed there. Mrs Rowan's talents have aLso been employed in decorating a room in the house of Lady Newton. As Australia is most traly cosmopolitan, so is fcbi* clever artist's work. It is French in its superb finish, Italian in tone and in grace of posirjg, and Dutch in its breadth of treatment.

. • Here is an instance of Lord Leighfcon's kindness to poor students : A young fellow, without frienda or money, came up to London to make bis fortune with his brush. Bat' he soon found that it is no easy matter to get a foothold on the first rung of the ladder. In despair he wrote to the president of the Academy at his private address in Holland Park, and stated his case, forwarding at the ] same time some specimens of bis sketching. Within a few days he received an answer j asking him to call at Sir Frederick's house. He did so with fear and trembling. His host soon set him at bis ease, gave him encourage- ! ment, aad twojetters of introduction. Above all things he advised him to study. As Ihe young man was leaving Sir Frederick handed him an envelope, observing, "Here is an example of the best kind of drawing. No doubt one of these days you'll be able to do as well, if not better." It contained a cheque for £50. The recipient is a long waj np the ladder now.

• . • If the reception accorded on the Continent to Professor Herkomer's new invention be any criterion of what will happen when it is seen at the Fine Art Society's exhibition at the end of the month, we may expect a cordial welcome to a process which plays so admirably into tbe hands of the artist. Professor Herkomor claims that he can convert a painted surface into a plate suitable for printing without the intervention of photography, or any of those preliminaries of biting, rocking, and other technicalities which have for bo long deterred the painter from taking to etching or mezzotint eDgraving. He will now be able to be his own interpreter in black and white, with tbe full assurance that his direct touch and original idiosyncracy will for the first time reach the public. Tbe exhibition of the Fine Art Society will consist of some 40 plates, many of considerable importance, from Professor Herkomer's band, and as be has consented to have a demonstration of the whole \ process daring the course of the exhibition, those interested in this autographic art will be able not only to see the result, bat how it is arrived at.