ART TREASURES EXHIBITION.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIV, Issue 297, 27 December 1879, Page 2

ART TREASURES EXHIBITION.

There was a fair sprinkling of visitors at the Provincial Hall yesterday, although not so many as we should bave expected, or as the merits of the exhibition deserve, for the works of art that are there collected together are both in variety and excellence a real credit to the place. We have already called attention to some of the pictures, and would now mention a few others that appear to be worthy of special notice. To begin with, No. 5, an oil painting exhibited by Captain Garsia representing a soup kitchen, will repay a little close examination on account of its variety of incident, and the character displayed in the figures. No. 8, " The lost rat," also exhibited by Captain Garsia, is an exquisite painting all through, the expression of the dogs' countenances being almost worthy of Landseer. No. 16, " Landscape Swaledale," exhibited by Mr N. Edwards is an exceedingly go.d picture, but requires varnish to bring out it. tones. No. 20, «' The return to port," exhibited by Mr Shallcrass, is a very spirited scene, the water bsing especially good. No. 2, a portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds, has been a fine picture, but bas evidently been injured by retouching. No. 29, exbinited by the Bishop of Nelson, is a life -like representation of a couple of tuis engaged in enjoying a luscious meal from the flax houey, the stalks and flowers of the plant also being exceedingly well painted. No. 35, exhibited hy Mr J. Oldham, consists of an old man's head, and nothing more, and yet it is, perhaps, one of the finest paintings in the room, being full of life and character. Nos. 59 and 60, being views of Constantinople, are exceedingly good, having a quiet delicate style peculiarly their own. No. 65, exhibited by Mr Spencer, and painted by Samuel Bough, an artist who died quite lately, represents a ' stormy sunset as seen :from the Solway Sands. No. 64, " Cape Farewell," painted by Mr Gully and exhibited by Mr N. Edwards, is a wild stormy scene, the rush of water especially being remarkably good. No. 58, a co'lection of flowers, and No. 79, blackberries, painted by Mrs Garsia and Miss Harris respectively, ara exceedingly pretty. No. 88, an illustrated border, by Mr A. M'Kellar Wix is an exquisite piece of workmanship. No. 97, a laudscape, painted by Bennett and exhibited by Mr Gilbert, is quite a little poem, and will bear a good deal of looking at. There are numerous other articles besides pictures to which we will call attention on a future day, nor must it be thought that of the pictures we have mentioned all that are worthy of note, as each visit discloses some that had escaped our notice previously, and yet are ouite aa beautiful and attractive as those to w'hich we have already referred. The Exhibition will be open until New Year's Eve, aud we strongly recommend all who have not yet visited it to do so before it closes.