PAINTED UNDER FIRE

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 285, 21 August 1918, Page 9

PAINTED UNDER FIRE

BRITISH FIFTH ARMY IN BATTLE. Mr. H. A. L. Fisher, Minister of Education, in opening recently a collection of war pictures by Mr. W. Rothenstein at tho Goupil Gallery, said that, actuated by one of those obscure caprices sometimes affecting the clearest minds, his friend had decided that Hie collection required baptism, and had insisted that lie should perforin the rite. Do need hardly enlarge on the special characteristics of Mr. Rothcnstein's versatile genius; visitors were in a position to form individual judgments. Ho remembered Rodin, the great artist, saying that their friend ''est un artist au bout des ongles." He would leave it at that. Apart fro ii their artistic beauty, tho pictures had an historic interest. Mr. Rothenstein was painting the doeds of the Fifth Army right up to the eve of tho great attack of March 21; in fact, ho believed the artist actually came under German shell fire. They had, therefore, a pictorial record of a period of English history which would bo memorable as long as people eared to eludy or think of deeds of tho past. Such records of the Fifth Army and of the scenes amid which the Fifth Army worked and fought were remarkable' for qualities which all who valued history nnd art would at once recognise. Ho had seen a good many war pictures from time to time, many by artists of great talent", some vividly realistic, some distinguished by sentiment and romance, but ho felt that hero there was the effort to give a sincere and faithful record of scenes in tho great' war. He was the more delighted with I lie exhibition because it confirmed oiie of his own special heresies, that though Mr. Rothenstcin was distinguished as a portrait painter and draughtsman, his real gift lay in landscape—though Mr. Rothenstcin might not agree ivith him. We could not be sufficiently grateful to India for her magnificent assistance in the war, and he was delighted lo lind that Mr. liothenstein had delineated the features of some of the prominent Indian soldiers, one of whom had won the Victoria Cross. There was every reason to expect that at least; lour of Mr. Rothenslein's pictures would be purchased for the nation. The enterprise of the Government in sanctioning these artistic commissions in Franco had been moro than justified. The collection included (it drawings and paintings, most .of them water-colour sketches of scenes and ruins in placftf on the f'eronne front within the '/.one of operations of the. Fifth Army.