ART AND ARTISTS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2479, 18 September 1901, Page 71

ART AND ARTISTS.

— Sir William 'Richmond, whose decorative work m the eh tncel of St. Paul'-a has piovoked to muoh diseu&sicn, is one of the mo3t hard-working artists of the piesent day. He estimates that his work in St. Paul's alone will keep him busy for 20 jears. — There have b^en several cases recorded in which famo is scilntors have been blind. Dr Vidal, the well-known French sculptor, was blind. He mad© a special ptudy of animals, surrounding hnnselt with pet? of all kinds, which he would fondle and pet until he was able to reproduce them in clay with a skill 'that surpassed any of his contemporaries. On one occasion, in order that he might make a true model of a lion, h-3 obtained permission from the proprietor of a menagerie to enter (accompanied by the tamer) a cage containing a magnificent specimen of the king of beafct*, which he stroked and caressed until he had acquired a'i exact conception of its shape and mien. Giovanni Gambasio, the sculptor, had been deprived of his sight for 10 years before the idea came to him to be an artist. He then set to work *. cry diligently, and, his fame as a sculptor spreading abroad, he was sent by the Grand Duke of Tuscany to Rome to model the statue of Pope Urban VIII. — The Duke of Leeds paid p. visit to Christie's on a recent Saturday, and was just in time to see a portion of his property from Hornby Castle, Yorkshire, sold for an astonishing sum, amid a pcene of great ex"itement. The propeity consisted of a magnificent and elaborately emiched pair of commodes of the Louis XV period, made by the famous Ebcniste Joseph ; and with the mounts, which were of chased ormolu, executed by Caffieri. The commodes, which were 35in high, Slgin wide, and 24£ in deep, were bought after some remarkable bidding by Mr Charles "Wertheimer for the extraordinary sum of £15.000. The rooms wcio crowded with peers, distinguished society people, collectors, and others at the time : but it i» probable that the attraction lay in the prospect of seeing Mrs Langtiy, who wa? also disposing of some of her art objects, quite as much a-> in the sale of the beautiful pieces of furniture of the Duke of Leeds. MISS LUCY KEMP-WELCH. In the Lady'= Magazine for July is a charming, illustrated article on the art of Mis» Lucy Kemp-Welch. Success has come to her early, and already she has had tv»o pictures -purchased by the Chaiurey Bequest, while others have been bought by' the colonies. Miss Kemp-Welch ha 3 spent much of her time in the New Forest, and has made a great study of horpe»; her first picture i-.i the Academy of '97, "Colt Hunting/ brought her prominently before the public. "Mis^ Lucy Kemp-Welch has never studied abroad, as is the fashion among so many artists. She has been entirely trained in the Art School at Bushey. founded by Professor Herkomer, who has taken great interest in his pupil, and the young painter is the first to acknowledge how much she owes to his teaching and encouragement. "She has bought a very interesting house in the old High street of Bushey. "The studio is reached through the garden, and is built in a paddock, in which the artist keeps a couple of New Forest ponies. "It is a spacious one, for the manipulating of large canvasses lequires plenrv of room, so that the painter can stand well back and judge the work as a whole. 'Ihe walls are hung with a number of clever sketches, and in one corner are some groups Mis? Kemp Welch is modelling in wax, eventually to be cast in bronze, for the artist believes that change of work is a kind of recreation. "The striking feature of the studio is the large glass annexe, somewhat .like s tall conservatory, with grass, instead of gravel or tiles, as a floor. In this annexe Miss Kemp- Welch can have, her animal, models, and s>tudy them as* well as she could out in the open, without having to consider the inclemency of the weather. It was a capital idea to have this addition made to her regular atelier, for there are long spells when working out of doors is impossible in England ; and yet it is. necessary constantly to refer to nature if one is to avoid mannerisms or conventionality. To get the open air quality, as though the subject had beci painted entirely outride, l* next to impossible if on© works long indoois, aud Miss Lucy Kemp-Welch succeeds in getting it ia every one of her pictures. "Tha New Forest 3? where much of network is painted, and where she has found some ot her most successful subjects — for instance, her ' Colt Hunting,' exhibited in 1897, which was pm chased, under the terms of the Chantiey Bequest, for 500gs, and as now in the Tale Gallery. It is a great honour foi any arti3t to have 'his or her work purchased by the Chantrey fund, and few as young as the painter of * Colt Hunting ' ha\e won such an honour. Two other public galleries, those of Grahainstown, South Africa, and Melbourne, Australia, each purchased one of her pictures for their permanent collection, while pc-ieral wellknown pi hate collectors have- bought example, of her work. The work done direct fiom Nature moy he termed t'-e raw material, and Miss Kemp-Welch, by spending some months each year m the New Forest, not only thinks out her subjects, but collects the Necessary data for then 1 accomplishment."

— An hir/iate of the nhushou-.e-> at f'helm"ford named Coe has, at the atje of 91. been baptltcc l at a meeting of the London Road Congregational Church. "All that glitters is not gold," A proverb old and true. Neither is a cough or cold, "What it appeai-3 to you. Do not treat it lightly, for 'Tis better to be sure. That you suffer never more, Get Gbea'a rspr-RUiNT CgsJi