“DUNEDIN APPRECIATES ART."

Otago Witness, Issue 3768, 1 June 1926, Page 81

“DUNEDIN APPRECIATES ART."

DIRECTOR’S FAREWELL COMMENTS. “During the Exhibition it was a great pleasure to see the increasing interest and constant attendance of tne public—it showed me that New Zealanders as a whole, and the people of Dunedin in particular, have an excellent appreciation of art.” The speaker was Mr Ernest Marsh, -Art Director for the Exhibition Company, who is shortly to leave for the Homeland after having completed the final details of his long task at Logan Park. In an interview he told a reporter a few of the impressions gained during the six months that the Exhibition and Art Gallery were open. “The Art Gallery was a really remarkable success,” he said. “The mere fact that the total number of visitors reached 268,853 is in itself proof of the great interest taken by visitors In addition there were hundreds of schoolchildren who were brought into the Art Gallery from time to time, and all displayed a keen and intelligent interest in what they saw. “I was very pleased that the girls of the Christchurch Technical College took so great an interest in the pictures that they bought one from the gallery. I would like to have seen the inclusion of certain pictures there that were absent, but the gallery contained a very representative collection of modern art from Britain and America. France was not so well represented, while Australia was not nearly as good as it could have been. “However, those who selected the pictures doubtless did the very best they could, but it was very difficult to persuade people to send out pictures, as they did not realise the size and scope of the Exhibition as a whole.” Mr Marsh added that the assistance given by the Fine Arts Committee had, at all times, been of the very greatest assistance to him. and without the help of Mr R. H. Neilson. director of the Dunedin Art Gallery. in particular, he could not have carried on. Sir- Lindo Ferguson had also beep untiring in his efforts. The sales of pictures from the Art Gallery exceeded all expectations and the Mr.al reached —over £ll.ooo—was an excellent one considering that only three public Art Galleries purchased pictures. The details of the sales were as follows: Dunedin Art Gallery. £4964 8s: New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts (Wellington), £l6B (one picture): City Corporation Trust (Auckland). £290 (five bronzes).; private and sundry purchasers. £5737 12s. A special tribute was paid to the Dunedin Gallery bv Mr Marsh on account of the magnitude of its purchases. The amounts realised by sales from the various collections are as follows: British collection £7774 French collection ... 931 United States collection 1917 --South Australian collection Victorian* collection 189 Art Society (Sydney) collection ... 22 Royal Society of Art (Sydney) collection 67 New Zealand collection ... 75 Photographs 159 Total ... ... * ... £11,162 “It was somewhat disappointing that the M’Kelvie Trust, in Auckland, and the Christchurch Society did not buy,” he added. “Nor were there any Australian buyers. A feature of the Christchurch Exhibition was the fact that Australia provided the principal market for pictures sold from the Art Gallery there.” The art director concluded by commenting on the groat value of the Exhibition as a whole from the point of view of education. The general effect on the people of New Zealand would be apparent in the future. The attendance of the public at the Art Gallery had been marked by the most commendable orderliness and there had been no trouble of any kind “I cannot fail to regret my departure from Dunedin,” added. “My stay has been a most enjoyable one, and there have been very many pleasant associations.”

There is no shortage of positions for teachers in Hawke’s Bay, as appears to be the case in the south. In fact the secretary of the Education Board (Mr W. L. Dunn) said to-day, “Let some of those without positions communicate with us and we shall place them. If we cannot place them immediately in permanent positions we can probably give them relieving work to do.”