FINE ARTS ACADEMY.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 908, 30 August 1910, Page 2

FINE ARTS ACADEMY.

ANNUAL ( MEETING. - The twenty-first annual meeting of mem bars at- th« New Zealand Academy of Fine Arls was hold last evening, and . attended by about 30 of that body. 31r. :-.' U. S. Wfirdell, president, occupied the chair. ■ ' ■ ■■■■■■" / The annual report showed that at the'. exhibition held in September of last year there was an increase in the number of works sent in fur exhibition as compared with previous years—dOS • were''accepted and 147' rejected. The sum of £6'i was - received for admission of non-members, . as compared with £48 in the previous year. The sales, including tho art union prize-holders' 'selections;' amounted to .' MM, a disappointingly small ' amount considering the character of the. cxhibi-' tion. A sketch exhibition, recommended at last annual meeting, was' held iu«; May, and was successful .and satisfactory , in all but its financial aspect. \Purchases' by the public to the amount of X7O were '■■ madv. The roll of members showed a ' small increase, the present numbers be-' irg 84 artist members, 198 subscribing members, and three- life members—a total of 295, the largest number in the history of the Academy. During the year a few small but. Interesting pictures had;., been added to the gallery—one-by- pur-' chase and three by donation:' They had now in the gallery 35 oil, 26 water-colour, i and a few black and white. The theft of tho Leader, picture had'rendered-it- ueces- , .-. sary to expend somo money in making ." the building more secure, and they now \; considered it.satisfactory. A matter for . congratulation was the intimation given i' by the Prime Minister that a monetary grant for the purchase of pictures would'.; probably be distributed or apportioned*. between the .societies of the , four centres.;. Tho council had to acknowledge receipt' of £o0 from the City Council and some small donations. - The balance-sheet showed receipts irom. various sources amounting • tc;' X6Bl- Zs. ■ Id. (including-a balance in hand, from' the previous year of £7 6s. and expenditure JCGSI 45., leaving a balance'to' credit of i>29 18s. Id .. ';.. v. .PresidentV-Addtes*-; '■'~.} ■ '(; The president, in moving the adoption.; : of the. report and balance-sheet, said:—"■'. Tho report and balance-sheet now 'submitted records shortly and simply tho work of the Academy during^'tho year., ending June 30 last, and. its financiai/. position at that "date. While wo ilavt; no ""- phenomenal progress to report, -"\ye can congratulate members, on' *~\i&\ greatly-increased interest is arlistioi matters, shown by the-public. Year by. year during the twenty-one years of \Xa'< existence the Academy has striven to educate the public taste and instil into the , ' mind. of the community the . claims of! aesthetic pleasures to some part, of Haj timo and money: Wo are therefore glad' to see that, thanks to thu energy of eomt> of our members,.a young and vigorous so--ciety having this object in view has been 1 formed, which will, we are assured, al'« ford valuable' aid in 'the work of the Academy. Tho recognition of tho claims of art and tho desire to assist in its advancement so eloquently and ■ admirably expressed by .the l'rimc Minister on a receut occasion and his more recent remarks in Parliament afford us good , grounds^for hope that before long our oft-e.xprcssed dtdire for tiio erection of a ■ suitable ])üblic art gallery in Wellington will be realised.. In respect of .the'suggestion in tho public press—that pictures in the gallery have sutWred.from carelessness or neglect-j-we are satisfied, as the result of a ciiruful exumiualioii thiit they have not suffered from such cause, arid a published letter from Mr. Clouston, who wrote an independent expert in reply, was calculated to .remove;..from-, your mincta . any anxiety, which may have been pn> ducod. We have in previous reports referred to. the risk of. injury-to them aris- , ' ing from- the necessity of removing them to make room for our annual but-, we are satisfied that up to. the present no injury has been douo. The pic-, turo by Leader,- which-was stolen from . the ■ gallery - in' March, hist, ■ haj Ijcen rc> covered by the police'aid restored to its place on the walls. < The persons .charged with the theft;have:stood their-trial, and by the verdict of the jury 'acquitted. The gallery continues to be, attractive to i the public; >'tho nuinbfer'who.have ,l visited ' it during the year'being 4400, an.dvcragu of 35 a day. (Applause.) . .: . ..-,-■ Mr. C. Wilson seconded. *J>e'motion, which was carried unanimously. ' \ . Election of..Officers. ; The following officers were elected for' the i ensuing year:—Patron, His . Excellency ■ Lord Islington;' 1 president; Mr. If , . S. Wardell j vice-president, Air. H. Xt. Gore; council, Miss Sybil Johuson, Mrs. J. A. Tripe, Messrs. It. H. Iliiyward and A. ,T. Bato; hon. treasurer,- Mr. C. -.Wilson; auditor,' Mr. C. W. Morpeth. ■■ ■■";'] Mr. Killick moved that it be a recorii- - mendation to the incoming council that a. selection...committee be appointed, not necessarily of its own members. — Mr. Uayward seconded the. motion. : Mr. C. Wilson urged thatthcro was as much need for reform on the HtiDging Committee as on the Council of Selection, and lie thought there was favouritism being shown by the Hanging Committeeshe did not say consciously—at least that impression had got übroiid. JI« thought there should:be ou'sjde. assistance on tho Hanging Committee,- as• well as , on tho l Selection Coinmittci;;. and .suggested that . Mi-. Killick might embody that in hie motion. .- ■-~'-./ ;'■ : -'. ':* . Mr. Killick did not favour the sugges- ■' .■ . - : \- ~,■■.:)" ' ■ '■'; - The motion was declared carried on a show of bands.' •. . •'.'■..- Mr. Wilson then proposed that the sanie rule apply to. the. Hanging Committee. . '." • " \ , This was seconded by Mr. Rayward and carried. ■ • " ' / A vote of thanks to the president concluded the proceedings.