H.—2l

Exhibitions The following is a list of the exhibitions held in the Gallery during the year:— (1) A collection of reproductions, National Collection pictures, and new acquisitions. (2) Autumn exhibition of the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts. (3) Pictures by official war artists of the Great War (1914-18), comprising oil paintings, water-colours, and drawings by Nugent Welch, George Butler, and P. H. Cumberworth. (4) Reproductions of paintings and drawings of the schools of Florence and Umbria. (5) Collection of early New Zealand water-colours and recent acquisitions. (6) Collection of reproductions of paintings and drawings of the schools of Venice, Rome, and Lombardy. (7) Annual exhibition of the New Zealand Academy of Pine Arts. (8) Paintings and drawings by Captain Peter Mclntyre, official war artist of New Zealand in the Middle East, held under the auspices of the Wellington Metropolitan Patriotic Committee. (9) A recently acquired collection of reproductions, including a large collection of drawings by old masters, purchased with Carnegie Trust funds. (10) A selection from the works by British, French, and Belgian artists in the Centennial International Art Collection, comprising oil paintings, watercolours, drawings, and prints. The Gallery was lent to the Wellington Metropolitan Patriotic Committee for the exhibition of paintings by Captain Peter Mclntyre, and to the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts for its autumn and annual exhibitions. All the other exhibitions were held by the Committee of Management and were under the direction of the Education Officer. The Committee's decision to show a section of the Centennial International Art Collection met with general approval. Thousands visited the exhibition, and many expressed their appreciation of the opportunity of seeing these outstanding paintings and drawings by eminent British and Continental artists. A number of the paintings were sold, and the Committee acquired some fine works, both by purchase and donation, for the National Collection. Educational Mrs. M. Murray Fuller was appointed to the part-time position of Education Officer of the Gallery in April, 1943. This was a new venture, no Education Officer having been appointed previously. Consequently, there was a great deal of preliminary research work to be undertaken, including the classification, labelling, and compiling of historical notes for the extensive collection of reproductions in the Gallery's possession. The exhibitions organized by the Education Officer are referred to under the heading of " Exhibitions." A series of luncheon-hour talks was given by the Education Officer in the Gallery in conjunction with exhibitions, and also talks to secondary-school students who visited the Gallery. It was not expected that it would be possible this year to commence educational work in other centres, but owing to the good progress made with the educational programme this work was commenced, and collections of reproductions, with prepared written lectures for adults and for school-children, were sent out to other centres in the Wellington Province. The work was carried out by the Education Officer under difficulties owing to lack of staif for packing, &c. The extent of the public appreciation of the educational work was shown by the increased attendances in the Gallery after the programme commenced. Letters of appreciation were received from the Principals of schools in other centres. Carnegie Grant for Reproductions Previous annual reports have given particulars of the grant of £2,000 from the Carnegie Corporation of New York for the purchase of reproductions to be used for educational work. Practically the whole of the grant has now been expended, two further shipments ordered—one from Great Britain and the other from the United States of America—having been received during the year. Further small shipments, one for each of the other three main centres —Auckland, Christchurch, and Dunedin—have been ordered to expend the balance of their grants. Reproductions from the Collection have been used for educational work in the Gallery and in other centres. National Collection Reference was made in a previous annual report to the steps taken to safeguard the National Collection pictures from damage which might result from possible enemy action. Most of the National Collection pictures were sent away from Wellington for safer storage, and a small collection was kept in Wellington for exhibition purposes. It has been decided to keep the pictures in their present storage location in the meantime. Acquisitions Up to the present there has been no endowment fund available for purchasing pictures, but the gallery will benefit in future from the Sir Harold Bcauchamp Trust Fund of £15,000, which has now reached the stage where the interest will be available for the purchase of pictures. Under the late Sir Harold Beauchamp's will a further sum of £5,000 for a like purpose will be available in two years' time. The Ellen Eames Collection Fund, estimated to realize £20,000, and the Thomas Lindsay Buick Bequest, estimated to realize over £10,000, will later become available. Annual grants made by the Board of Governors of the Thomas George Macarthy Trust in recent years have enabled the Board to add to its collection of pictures.

3