AN ARTISTIC PROFESSION.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 10440, 20 April 1912, Page 4

AN ARTISTIC PROFESSION.

[Fkom Ora Ladt Correspondent.] LONDON, March 1. By a colonial woma* —Miss Bertha Merfield, of Melbourne—has been discovered a new and beautiful work for women. It is suitable for men artists also (since art knows n» sex), but its secondary nature is one that its creator, in common with some of the greatest English architects, thinks a woman's teuch improves, viz., that of co-operation with an architect in the designing and arrangement of rooms. Miss Merfield herself is an artist who, after getting as near the top of the tree as she could In Melbourne, came over to England, France and Italy to carry out her studies under the'guidance of European masters., After some years of work she returned to Australia, and, while back once more among these beloved scenes, felt an overwhelming desire to reproduce them, and to do so in a manner somewhat more expressive of its peculiar vastness and atmosphere than other painters had yet achieved. This, of course—since Miss Merfield is the least self-conscious of workers—implies no belittlement of the work of other painters, but rather a specially ardent desire to do yet more to express the spirit of Australia. u She was met by # that often confronts painters and writers, and felt impelled to go far away from the scenes of her work before she could feel satisfied with her results. So sho came again to England, bringing with her, now, sketches and colour notes or what she intended to do. Instead of solidifying her ideas on ordinary canvases sho chose to paint Australian scenes as the old Italian masters designed their frescoes, that is to say in such fashion that the picture might seem, or indeed become, part of a room As thev are shown in London at present, Miss Merfield's pictures are framed, hut the long panels should undoubtedly bo let into walls to show them with tho distinction they d&serve. This is her idea—to raise the profession of interior decoration to a much higher level than it now occupies, and by working with the architect to make of houses homes th"at the owners may well cling to. She would reproduce on screens, friezes, dadoes and doors, etc., landscapes dear to the owners, thus transporting them on London's greyest clay to the yellow sun the gorgeous flora or tho stretches of blue water of their own land. So, too, Londoners abroad might carry their country with them. ... So far, the scheme bevng in its infancy, tho ideal will he by no means easy of achievement, since the architecture of to-day wins little praise from the artists of to-day. Houses.are not built to live in for hundreds of years, for one thing. There is a restlessness in the ago, too, that refuses to provide, as was once done with pride, for work that generations ahead may enjoy. Also, there is another stumbling block to bo disposed of that did not exist when the old Florentine masters designed their beautiful frescoes. No longer are there schools of helpers—painters themselves who yet would play the second part, who each would do their little bit under the instructions of tho master so that, having designed one panel, the creator need do nothing further than act as overseer.

In those days tho helpers wero workmen and received workmen's wages. Now there is littlo doubt they would require recognition as painters. Life and conditions altogether have altered sinl-o the old times.

Nevertheless, in spite of possible barriers, Miss Merfield has received every encouragement since her exhibition opened in London, from decorators and artists alike, who greet fier as a pioneer of an important branch of art. She would like, if that is possible, to institute a school hero so that women might learn the possibilities of mural decoration as a possession and, if they wish, as a profession. Necessarily such work as Miss Merfield docs would be a good deal more costly than the most expensive wall-paner I Its restfulnefa and originality of effect could hardly bo put into pounds, shillings and penco dimensions, however. The writer asked her how, on giving an estimate for decorating a room, tho artist could fix her price, and this sho acknowledged had been somewhat pu'i-

zling—now, however, she arranges it on a business-like basis, charging for her design, then for her timo in carrying out that chosen. Her own studies that hare been on exhibition for a few days in London treat of sevenl subjects, all open-air scenes. For the portrayal of trees, itseems to an outsider in art, Miss Merfield has something not far short of genius—the gaunt guardians of plains and seashore, and crags, the beautiful giants of fields and roadside, river and cornfield, or the delicate young softtinted bluegums as expressed hy her brush seeming not pictures, but rather magic photographs of the moods and atmosphere of tho land of the sun.