TOLERANCE IN ART.

Otago Witness, Issue 3033, 1 May 1912, Page 30

TOLERANCE IN ART.

ADDRESS BY MR JOHN BAILLIE. (From Our Own Correspondents.) WELLINGTON, April 29. Mr John Baillie, who is here just now with a fine collection of British paintings, was tile guest at the Savage Club on Saturday evening, and in the course of a brief address he made an appeal for tolerance in art. Mr Baillie is hi meal f an artist, but for some years now he has been acting successfully in London as an artists’ agent. He commenced in a very humble way at first, a long way from Bond street. One of hia first successes was in a halfcrown art union. One of the best pictures was won by a friend from whom he bought it. He subsequently sold it for four times the original price to Mr George Edwardes, of the London Gaiety. He has had a long experience now of pictures and buyers of pictures, and he made an appeal to thoce present for greater tolerance in matters of art. Some people had said there was a great deal of rubbish in his collection-people intolerant of the modern in art —but they should rem ember that all the great artists were moderns once, and that artists .such as Whistler, Corot, and others were once iaughed l at as “too absurd for anything.” Mr Baillie drew a distinction between the real artist and tlie painter. The painter—and there were many of quite exceptional talent —generally painted that which he deemed popular and likely to sell. The artist painted what impulse told him, irrespective of whether it pleased others or not. He was creative. So it was when one saw a picture. People must not imagine that the picture was painted for them alone. It was very nice to be able to paint a picture which charmed everybody at once, but there were other good pictures which might not please one, but yet might make an appeal to others to euch an extent that they desired to possess it. It was after all the public who made the artist, and it was the public who very often had in the past killed good artists by intolerance. Unfortunately, perhaps, at Home there was rather too much tolerance. There had been so many mistakes made in the past that people were chary about condemning anybody.