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Statement of Accounts for the Half-year ending 31st December, 1897. Receipts. & s. d. Expenditure, £ a. d. Fees received from students .. 712 0 Salary of instructor (at 2s. 6d. per hour) .. 11 10 0 Capitation from Education Department .. 516 10 Miscellaneous .. .. .. .. 0 6 0 Balance .. .. .. .. 112 10 £13 8 10 £13 8 10

CANTERBURY SCHOOL OP ART. Act Mastee's Ebpobt. [Extract from the Annual Report of the Canterbury College.] The Art Master reported on the work for the year 1897, as follows : — " Owing to the necessity having arisen for economy, alterations have had to be made, including the raising materially of the fees in both morning and evening classes. The school has thus been severely handicapped, and'the numbers necessarily have been somewhat less than in the previous year. Notwithstanding this slight decrease, however, the work in all the different branches has been very satisfactory. The numbers for the three terms compared with 1896 have been respectively as follows: Morning: 1896—38, 34, 37; 1897—32, 29, 31. Evening: 1896: 98, 98, 104; 1897— 101, 89, 93. Saturday : 1896—77, 100, 106 ; 1897—97, 88, 93. In the morning class for drawing and painting the work, as in former years, has been divided into four branches—one elementary, two intermediate, and advanced. In the first, outline and elementary light and shade have been studied from models, still life, and the cast ; in the two intermediate ones more difficult work, combined with colour, has been given; and in the advanced the students have drawn from the cast of the full figure and painted from life and still life. We have been hindered very much in our still-life work by the want of suitable objects from which to study, and I trust we shall be able to obtain a better supply of more appropriate ones this year. Those qualified have painted landscape from nature each Tuesday when the weather permitted. The class was rather larger and the average attendance a little higher than in the previous year. In the evening class all the students at the commencement of their studies, to whatever branch of work they wish ultimately to devote their attention, are thoroughly grounded in freehand and model, and no special certificate of any kind is granted until the student has obtained certificates in these subjects ; hence these foundation classes are always two of the largest. In the freehand work, the brush has been freely used as well as the pencil with which to line-in or finish a drawing. As greater care and delicacy of handling is required when using this method, it gives increased power of manipulation, and is extremely useful in preparation for future work. The memory has been again trained by special work both at school and at home, and its usefulness is now more manifest in the advanced work. Modelling in clay and plaster-casting have been taught on Monday night from 7 to 9, and on Wednesday morning from 11.30 to 1. The last term the number attending was—morning 10, evening 21. The work has been very satisfactory, and the quality and quantity have both made marked progress. From being one of the most insignificant this class has developed into one of the most successful in the school. As yet the work has been, with one exception, of an elementary character, most of the students copying from elementary casts of ornament and the antique, and a few from drawings and photographs. Two have modelled heads from the antique, and one has done several bas-reliefs from life. A new feature in the last year's work has been the moulding and casting, and very successful results have been achieved, considering the short experience of the students. Chip-, gelatine-, and piece-moulding have all been practised. B. Garsia, G. Hart, E. Archbold, and C. Brassington have produced the best and most advanced work. Classes for drawing and painting from life have been held. The numbers .attending for the last term were as follows: Draped—morning 13, evening 8 ; nude—morning 6, evening 8. At the beginning of last term a ladies' class for drawing from the full figure was started, and nine students attended. This class was established by the Board at the request of the lady students, and will, doubtless, prove a great help to their progress, as nothing can equal study from the figure for learning form and proportion. The work from the life surpasses anything yet produced, especially that from the nude, of which there is a splendid series of drawings and sketches in the annual exhibition, showing the very marked progress of the students. Classes in woodcarving and sloyd have been held, for the former on Friday from 3 to 5 p.m., and on Saturday from 10 to 11.30 a.m., and for sloyd on Saturday from 11.30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The attendance for the last term was six in each class. Compared with that of last year this is somewhat disappointing considering the educational value of sloyd work. The work for the most part consisted of chip-, carving and the construction of models in cardboard. The few who attended produced some creditable work, especially in the carving. Classes in geometry and perspective (elementary and advanced) have been held. The attendance has been about the same as the two previous years, but the results of the work, as shown by the examinations, have much improved, especially in elementary geometry. The teachers under the North Canterbury Board of Education have attended on Saturday mornings from 9.30 to 12.30, and have been taught freehand, model, geometry, perspective, elementary light and shade, and memory-drawing on the blackboard. The same number as in the previous year completed their full second-grade certificates—viz., Sydney Taylor and Eobert S. Pearson. Classes in architecture and decorative design have been held on Thursday and Friday evenings, from 7to 9, under the direction of Mr. Hurst-Seager. The last term the attendance was—Decorative design, 25; architecture, 12. The lectures, illustrated by limelight views of the best examples of all periods, were well attended throughout the year, and the home- and class-work based on the principles learnt were very creditable. A loan collection of studies from South Kensington was shown for three weeks last September, and was exceedingly