EXHIBITION OF PAINTINGS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3098, 30 July 1913, Page 4

EXHIBITION OF PAINTINGS.

MISS HODGKINS'S PICTURES. A collection oi pictures iroin tiie brush ol Miss Frances iioogie.ns, who has been pro- ! securing her studies in the Old Country and ! lias silent a considerable portion ot the time i she has been absent trom New Zealand in Pane,, was on exhib.tion in the Art Gallery on the 21st. When Mies Hodgkins left Duuedni die nad already eouuilidiecl a reputation as an art.tit ol merit, and it is evident iroui an uisp euon 01 me woiks on tnc walls of the Art Gallery Hall that she has ; X'li a iviayor (Mr W. Uowme Stewart) opened tiie exhibition in the afternoon, and in the course of some brief remarks ex- . pressed ine pleasure it gave him to perform j the opening ceremony and to also welcome Miss Hodgkins back to Dunedin—(hear, hear) —alter the great success she had attained in the Old Country. Alisa Hodgkins had earned a reputation in New Zealand as a painter in water-colours, and had ventured upon a difficult task in going away to the Old Country to win her way to a place among the ranks of artists in art centres there. They know that she had been singularly successful in her e/lort both on the Continent and in England, and the people of Dunedin had good reason to be extremely proud of what Aliss Hodgkins had accomplished. She had established herself in Paris, and had there built up a school, or academy, of her own which had been very successful, and had returned to Dunedin merely for the purpose ot paying a visit to her old home. Those who had read the Australian papers would know of the phenomenal success Albs Hodgkins had met with. Her worth had there been recognised, as of a very high standard, and she had developed an individuality in her work that was always in evidence. Air 1). K. Theomin, speaking as one of the Art Gallery trustees, thanked the Mayor ! for attending to open the exhibition, and ! said an effort would be made to capture ] some of Aliss Hodgkins’s pictures for the i local gallery. 1 The collection exhibited by Aliss Hodgkins I contains over 40 pictures, and from a rej mark dropped by the Mayor there are still : a few pictures to bo added. About half the number on the walls are figure studies, and in her treatment of those Aliss Hodgkins . excels, but there is nothing in the collection that is not entirely creditable to Aliss Hodgkins as an artist. In landscape work the pictures are for the most part of Continental subjects, and the scenes, which vary very i considerably, have been very ably handled, i m iss Hodgkins’s colouring is at all times i good, and she seems to condemn the fairly | common practice of a too liberal use of i bright colour for prettiness’ sake, without j regard to fidelity. It is not alone in her [ selection of colour that Aliss Hodgkins’s artistic taste is plainly apparent, for the hand of the artist is quite equally noticeable in the brush work that follows. And, whether the subject requires bold and vigorous treatment, or refined and delicate handling, Aliss Hodgkins’s work always stands close and critical inspection. It is possibly in figure study tbit Miss Hodgkins particularly excels, and most of such studies now on exhibition are full of action. The drawing, grouping, and posing in her figure work is exceptionally good, and an instance of this is met with in “ The Hill Top,”

where a party of ladies, having reached the summit of the hill, have decided upon a rest and have assumed an easy abandonment of attitude tiiat is strikingly effective,- Another notable picture is “ April.” which i.s also a figure study, and there i.s included in the collection a very fine picture entitled ” The Black Scarf.” The collection is now open for inspection, and is well worth seeing even by those without anv strong bent in the direction of this branch of art.