ART EXHIBITION.

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 376, 18 March 1932, Page 12

ART EXHIBITION.

A Wealth of Delightful Pictures. ATTRACTIVE PORTRAITS. (Written for the “ Star.”) If you are fanciful you may form the idea, from the first impression of the 1932 exhibition of the Canterbury Society of Arts, that art reflects the times. The mass effect of this year’s exhibition tends to the sombre. Vivid splashes of colour are rare. It is as though the artists were mostly in serious vein, and the result is that the crowded walls throw back little of a spirit of gaiety. There are more quiet than jubilant moods. Here and there a lively brush gives a gayer note, and the result is a little island amid the mass of quieter things. But, if the artists have been somewhat subdued, they have been none the less industrious and efficient. If they have chosen to express themselves in quieter tones, they have sacrificed nothing of the fidelity and technical efficiency that they displayed in the past. The general verdict, probably, will be that the standard of this year’s exhibition is well above the average. The powers that be have certainly sought this result by a more exacting standard. The judges on whose verdict depends whether or not a picture shall be hung have been sterner this year than formerly, and the result is that there are no jarring frailties to mar the general excellence. But even in the face of the demand for a higher standard no fewer than 395 pictures have earned the official approval. Portrait Section. The portrait section is small, but assertive. The portrait studies claim instant attention. Their quality is so high that one regrets that there are not more of them. Mr A. F. Nicoll’s portrait of Mr George Harper is a remarkably fine piece of work. The striking fidelity of the likeness will give pleasure to everybody. The figure is vibrant with life, for the brush of this gifted artist has not stopped at the portrayal of a likeness only. There is nothing stiff or posed about it, and the spectator feels the vitality that lies behind the reposeful face. Near by is Mr L. H. Booth’s study of Professor Shelley, another fine example of excellent technical skill allied to an ability to transmit to the canvas something of the impression of vital force that the subject conveys. Mr Nicoll’s skill in portraiture is further illustrated in his study of the late Mr Menzies Gibb. Not only is the likeness again perfect, but this picture also seems to breathe something of a living subject. Mrs Elizabeth Wallwork’s “ Kahu-Rangi ” is going to claim a lot of admiring attention. It is portraiture of the daintiest type. It gives the impression of being at once a portrait and a fanciful study. There is poetry in it, and it possesses an artistic charm that demands much more than passing attention. Figure Studies.

Mrs A. Elizabeth Kelly’s figure study, “ The Orchid,” will gain as many admirers as the portraits. There is about this picture an atmosphere of reverie that stirs one’s fancy and sets imagination questing for a story to fit the situation. There is more in it than the actual picture. One has the impression of looking at something more than just a girl grasping a flower, and the mind conjectures vaguely as to what it is. This picture both charms and intrigues. Mr C. S. LovellSmith has an arresting figure study, “ The Musterer.” It is all figttre, despite the fact that the picture shows big distances and the blues of mountain reaches. The artist has presented an immaculate musterer who fills a whole canvas to the exclusion of many other things that are also on the canvas. Other Pictures. It is difficult in a brief visit to the exhibition to gain more than a very general impression, and one must linger long over the pictures to obtain any very clear idea of the manner in which the individual artists have contributed to the general success. In a cursory examination one paused before Mrs Grace Butler’s “ Rata, Otira Gorge,” a delightful contrast of the high lights of the red bloom, the white of the snow and the well-presented uncertainties of the mountain distances. Miss K. Salmond has contributed one of the rare bright patches, a study of tulips, in which the richness, of the colours is very attractive. Miss Salmond, by the way, has also a very fine figure study. The animal studies of Mrs B. E. Whiteman, of Wanganui, are outstanding. This artist draws horses, dogs and cats with remarkable fidelity. There is a small study of the head of a dog that is worth a lot of attention. Miss D. K. Richmond illustrates her versatility by the wide range her brush has covered. She seems equally at home in flower studies in bold colouring and in snow scenes with subdued lights playing over the distant prospects. Miss M. O. Stoddart gives a delightful effect to massed native blooms, and Mrs E. Rosa Sawtell’s “ Roses and Old Delft ” is a piece of , dainty painting. Artist’s Epitaph.

There are eight studies by Mr A. Baxter, whose work, it seems to be generally agreed, shows a decided improvement on his earlier efforts. The late Mr Menzies Gibb is remembered in this year’s exhibition by eight studies that will claim attention as much for the fact that they are the epitaph of a gifted and popular artist as for their own merit. A good deal of attention will be given to Mr H. Linley Richardson’s study of a Maori chieftainess, which varies so widely in treatment from the same artist’s figure group that one is surprised to find that both are from the same brush. It is impossible in a hasty survey of the exhibition to give anything like an adequate impression of ail the good things that it contains. The artists have good cause to be satisfied with their work, and the society to be pleased with an exhibition that attains a very high general standard.

BRILLIANT SPECTACLE.

Gallery Thronged for Opening Ceremony.

The opening of the annual exhibition of the Canterbury Society of - Arts is always a brilliant function, and last night’s gathering at the Art Gallery was no exception to the general rule. When the president, Dr G. M. L. Lester, officially declared the exhibition open,

the permanent gallery was hardly big enough to hold the throng of members and visitors. Dr Lester first drew the attention of those present to Mr A. F. Nicoll’s fine portrait of the late Mr W. Menzies Gibb. “Through Mr Gibb’s passing we have lost a great artist and a genial personality,” said Dr Lester. “His death is a great loss to New Zealand and especially to the Canterbury Society of Arts, in whose interests Mr Gibb was an able and untiring worker. Perhaps his artistic work was not quite in accord with the modern trend, but he formed an ideal early and followed it steadfastly.” The president said that it gave him pleasure to mention the success of Mrs Elizabeth Kelly, a New Zealand artist, who had had a portrait accepted by the Royal Academy. Pictures by other New Zealand artists had been hung, but Mrs Kelly’s was the first example of portraiture from this country to achieve the great distinction. Hundreds and thousands of portraits were submitted annually to the selection committee, so that acceptance was a wonderful tribute to the artist’s ability. The honour was thoroughly deserved.