AUTUMN SHOW

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 199, 20 May 1944, Page 9

AUTUMN SHOW

New Zealand Academy Of Fine Arts Though the weather was cold and wretched, there was a large attendance at the private view find opening, of the autumn exhibition of the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts in the temporary gallery 'in tile Wellington D.I.C. building last night. In declaring the exhibition often., the president of the Academy, Mr. G. G. • ■Watson, said that those present, when viewing the paintings hanging on il'.e walls, would agree that they were ot good average quality, and the sincere work ot professional and amateur artists. That the hanging committee had a difficult disk would be' recognized when he said that three times as many pictures were submitted as could be hung. The members of that committee had done their duty ay selecting works of reasonably high quality, and. at the same time, had given encouragement to the younger artists when that was justified. Of the works on show the committee had already pur chased three for the National Gallery. One was a striking portrait on the main wall by that most promising artist, IV. A. Dutton, Christchurch; another was .1 brilliant water colour by Cedric Savage, ■Wellington; and the third was a drawing by Archibald Nicoll, Christchurch. In commenting on the last-mentioned purchase, Mr. Watson said that there were still on the committee members sufficiently old-fashioned to believe that sound drawing was the basis of all true art.

Another important though small section was that of the crafts, well worthy of attention, and. in that connexion, Mr Watson recalled the recent exhibition of painting and craftsmanship in Wellington by soldiers stationed on the Pacific Islands, who had ■ found some measure of relief from mental strain anil physical discomfort, and. without tools or material of any kind save what junk they could find, had turned out some rather wonderful specimens. He regretted that rhe committee had been unable to house that exhibition in their gallery, but due io existing arrangements, which hud to be made mouths ahead, that was found to be impossible.