H.—2l

NATIONAL ART GALLERY MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st MARCH, 1939. Eleven meetings of the Committee, in addition to a number of meetings of sub-committees, which meet frequently as occasion arises, were held during the twelve months under review. The period has been a busy one for the Art Gallery Management Committee and staff. A number of special loan exhibitions were held, and these were of great value in maintaining interest in the Gallery and in furthering public appreciation of art. It is the aim of the Gallery to endeavour to bring about a wider interest in the arts and to educate public taste. The Committee feels that, with the limited funds at its disposal, the results achieved have been most satisfactory. Exhibitions. —The following exhibitions were held during the year : — Canadian Contemporary Paintings.—During March and April, 1938, a collection of ninety-six Canadian paintings, sent on a tour of the British dominions by the National Gallery of Canada on behalf of the Carnegie Corporation of New York, was shown. The project was sponsored by the Carnegie Corporation as part of its programme of assistance to the arts and sciences in the British Empire. This was the first exhibition of Canadian paintings shown in New Zealand. It constituted a representative collection of the work which is being produced by Canadian present-day artists, and demonstrated that Canada has produced a number of talented artists with a fine sense of colour and design. The Management Committee undertook to make the arrangements for the New Zealand tour, and the collection has since been shown at Auckland, Wanganui, Nelson, Napier, Christchurch, and Dunediu. One of the paintings in the exhibition, " Winter in Quebec," by Alexander Young Jackson, was purchased for the National Collection by the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts. The Napier, Nelson, and Auckland galleries also purchased pictures. The thanks of the Trustees are due to the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the National Gallery of Canada. Exhibition of Paintings of Horses. —During August His Excellency the Governor-General, Viscount Galway, lent for exhibition a collection of oil paintings of horses. The selection contained interesting examples of the work of J. E. Ferenley, Wotton, John W. Sartorius, and others. The Trustees wish to express their thanks for the loan of these works and to record their appreciation of the practical interest which His Excellency has taken in the Gallery. Exhibition of Reproductions. —In March, 1939, a collection of old masters and modern paintings of one hundred and eighty facsimile reproductions presented by the Carnegie Corporation of New York were exhibited. All the exhibitions were well attended. The Management Committee encourages the schools to send their pupils to the Gallery, and many parties of school-children visited the exhibitions. Lectures. During exhibition times voluntary lectures were given by members of the Management Committee and others. These were of great assistance to visitors in helping them to understand and enjoy the pictures. Co-operation between Art School and Art Gallery. The Director of the Wellington Technical College has arranged for a teacher of the Art School to be available at the Gallery on two days a week to give talks on art appreciation to secondary-school pupils and children of the Fifth and Sixth Standards of the primary schools. The talks will be continued throughout the coming year. National Collection. Much necessary work in framing and glazing the National Collection pictures has been completed during the year. The Hanging Committee has rearranged a number of the exhibits, and in the New Zealand section bays or small rooms have been utilized where possible for the grouping of the work of individual artists. Purchase of New Zealand Artists' Work for New York Gallery. The International Business Machines Corporation, New York, has recently built an art gallery incorporated in its new headquarters building and has purchased a collection of pictures representing the art of seventy-nine countries. The Management Committee was asked to assist the company to obtain two representative examples of New Zealand landscape painting. " Evening, Rakaia Gorge," by Archibald F. Nicoll (Christcnurch), and " On the Shores of Kawhia Harbour," by Miss E. M. Collier (Wanganui), two typical New Zealand landscapes, were selected. Reproductions : Carnegie Corporation Grant. Out of a generous grant made available to New Zealand by the Carnegie Corporation of New York to be expended for the benefit of art galleries and art education generally, the Management Committee has purchased a collection of facsimile reproductions of paintings and drawings of all schools of art from the earliest primitive to the present day. The first collection purchased was the " Contrast " collection shown at the National Art Gallery last year and since sent on a tour of art galleries throughout New Zealand. A further collection of 180 prints has been obtained. This was exhibited at the National Gallery in March, and created wide interest. The total number of the prints now in the gallery's possession is 238. A further collection is to be obtained to fill up any gaps in the existing collection, so that the ultimate collection will be as complete and as representative as possible. These pictures are to be made available to other galleries on loan, and selections of them will be sent to smaller centres for educational work.

4