THE BICKERINGS OF ARTISTS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 947, 14 October 1910, Page 6

THE BICKERINGS OF ARTISTS.

;/'/;.;//: A;DIVIDED; SOCIETY.;;-/'/;-/?X ,(Br. Telegraph!—Special/Correspondent.) "-/, ■r.'.'X;'';;';'-';-/' Auckland, October/ 13// ,-; A' lively, discussion: on- the; question, of "adopting a new constitution' and rules for the; Auckland-. Society. \'oi: Arts' took : place at the annual meeting; of ■ the society last 'evening'.,/:.'.■.'■.:'-''■'■/':'/'";;;/'/'■';'■'.• -■;;/';.'//!.;,.. ;, ;Mr.;E^/;A..Armstrong moved:.;."That/a .'special/prov^ohal/committee' - be'- set up' to draft a more "comprehensivb;-cbnstitu-tion;' and. rules- for /the /proper.."'conduct of! the 'affairs; of the society./Mr;.Armstrong said' thatr.the/sqciety. had :at.present too many';customs, and;:.' too fewrules. • ;From; one.' annual,;exhibition;,to' ;another, the, society ; was practically; dead; The.. adoptioh'/of •' a few'-rules' : would/lead : to, a; great. ■ improvement . in ; regard'.to the hanging of /pictures;. For. instance,; he/had," as. an 'exhibitor, .sent,'a,;.painfully , polite• letter" to . ask; the/committee why his: small picture -had/been "ikied,", and'why.hls';big picture, had been thrown out; altogether;;; He '. did not • expect .to ;be informed^.of/.;th.e'' reason, ;but -he; did .expect an > acknowledgement/ of., his letter./-

/Mr. ,H. Moore; Jones;, in supporting the motion,'/said ..that./there was. no; ; .doubt that'the work',of ; , the; society/had- been carried/,,bn/in-, a", "very.'rotten/manner" in.. the past., /The/ members , at least /had a-right -to '.expect? that-: the society should be,manage 'dby their, peers;"and'that the work, of.,the .committee should/'consist of .something, more 'than' gathering ; with their .friends once, a year,' for. the purpose, of; ■' hanging; their ■ • own., pictures;. -/If - ;the ■society iWas/.to/be,, managed in.; this/way, the. sooner the;,gallery; was turned;:into a skating rink,the..better,; and yet: these' were .-the people who were supposed /.to. lead art,, and!.to';elevate and' educate/the people. l ■ It >vas'"perfect r.bt." /, At/the. last' exhibition, some 'pictures-from: the. south had .b'eeh-put'aside/'.bec'ause/ they ..were a; few/ minutes ./late. in .'arriving. vWhat 'regard 1 ' was' shown for- the interests of artin this case?:. ..;.;.; ■ / .■;■'.-;

; Miss V. Jacobsen remarked -upon the .caparity'''.in/the management, of the society.; She,.suggested .that,;with;a view .'to 'the' encouragement of .buyers /of: pictures,; the'; exhibition l ;shonld ; be. opened: with. a. private/view .'day. There _ would /then bo; no' crowding by■: 'a' "surgihgj jostling iconoclastic, mass of;picture-viewers.'-. -; '■:■■ -'.-: / : .s : ,'. ;'.- Mr. E.. A.' Singer, said; that. there were a largo . number ..of,.new,' members of '■; the society, with/no axes tp.grind. If these new/members, could -not "galvanise"; "or, "thunderbolt" ■'■ the present committee intb life, it would "thunderbolt" it, out : of life. .'.., /-.'. '• '.'■.„■". : /: : >.;;:; ,;•/: 1 ' Mr. 'T; W./Leys ;said that'the- success :of the society depended upon .the amount, of co-operation amongst members, and-the lack of 'jealousy/and rivalry.-'. He' agreed ; that the rules required revision, .but he moved, as an amendment, that the matter I be referred, to ; :the .incoming.General Committee. ' ,i! - , - . Mr;. E.: ;W. . : r Payton. (a .member ; of, the. retiring. committee) said :that the sup-" porters/of-the. motion .'would: have .met with.a groat deal more sympathy if,.they had hot been so bitter in their hostility, to the -present, committee.',. (Hear,, hear.) ;Mr./Leys's amendment, was' carried•'• on ■ a show of hands by 23 to 18.. At the election of. the committee; only .two members of : the '.retiring Committee secured re-election.' . .