Gallery and Studio “ONE OF OUR BRIGHTEST.”

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 103, 22 July 1927, Page 12

Gallery and Studio

“ONE OF OUR BRIGHTEST.”

LIONEL LINDSAY’S RECORD AUCKLAND ARCHITECTS PRAISED (Written for THE SUN.) WHEN the news came through reVV cently that Lionel Lindsay had made, about £2,500 in London and £2,000 in the provinces out of his exhibitions of etchings, I suppose tlieie were a number who thought he was a lucky artist. These good people took no account of the long years of drudgery before this triumph. Good work always tells, but an artist has often to wait an unconscionable time before it is recognised. Lionel’s mediums are etchings an dother engraving processes and he never show'ed much distinction as a pen and ink draughtsman: yet curiouslv enough it was the drawings he made lor “The Bulletin” and the “Evening News," Sydney, which kept the pot boiling. His prints attracted the atention of connoisseurs when he was thirty-five, but there was no great demand for some years. At the age of fifty he held his first one-man show in Sydney, and the tide turned at last. The sales of his etchings and w'ood cuts totalled £1,700, and he was free to relinquish his journalistic work and go abroad. Now was it influence which gave him an opening in London? No. A representative of the firm of Colnaghi and Co., the Bond Street dealers, happened to see some of his prints at the Wembley Exhibition, and eventually arranged to hold an exhibition. It was the work which told. International Architecture In the Exhibition of International Architecture at the Education Department’s Gallery, the designs by Sir John Burnet, Sir Herbert Baker, Sir Edwin Lutyens are worthy examples of the great tradition established in Great Britain. What may be regarded as a novelty is the red roof of the new London County Hall designed by Mr. Ralph Knott. It is said that this was regarded as a startling innovation in grey London. In the German section the most striking exhibit is the group of designs for the war memorial for the Island of the Dead on the Rhine. The whole work has been concerned in a spacious way and has an effect of extraordinary solemnity. Much of the modern architecture in Czecho-Slovakia is due to the influence of Professor Jan Koteria, who is represented in this exhibition. Some of the designs are decidedly original. The Avork of F. L. Sodersteen, whose tall city buildings have something imposing beside their height, and L. C. McCredie, are most prominent in the New South Wales section. For a boys’ high school the latter has introduced effectively the old colonial style of architecture.

The work of the New Zealand architects has a definite place in the exhibition, and along with that of the New South Wales group, claims most attention after the European sections. All the designs of Gummer and Ford; the Auckland War Memorial, by Grierson, Aimer and Draffin; the Technical College, Wellington, by John Swan and W. Grey Young; the Public Trust Office, Christchurch, and the Dining Hail and Administrative Block, Christ’s College, Christchurch, by Cecil Wood, are all up to a high standard. Talented Families Percy Lindsay, who is holding an exhibition of his landscapes in Sydney, belongs to a family which has included seven artists. One of the younger sons, Reginald was killed at the war, while Ruby (Mrs. Will Dyson) died in London some years ago. Daryl Lindsay, who lives in Melbourne, is a painter in water colours. Bert is a designer of dresses in New York, while the work of Norman and Lionel is known on both sides of the globe. The new editor of “The Triad,” Hugh McCrae, belongs to a family with literary and artistic accomplishments. His father, George Gordon McCrae, who celebrated his 94th birthday recently, is the author of several vol-

umes, and Hugh’s grandmother, who was a pupil of John Varley, was a clever amateur artist. Hugh’s sister, Dorothy Francis McCrae (Mrs. C. E. Perry, of Christchurch) has published several books of verse, and her children and Hugh’s three daughters inherit the family talent. Alfred Clint, a leading member of the Society of Artists, Sydney, is a great-grandson of George Clint, the famous painter of players, who made portraits of Kean, Macready, Mrs. Siddons, Madame \ estris and other celebrated actors and actresses of his time. Travelling Scholarships The first interstate travelling scholarship has been established in Sydney, and the money has been raised by art students. The amount is not large, but it will enable the winner to visit Melbourne and see the .works purchased for the local gallery, under the conditions of the Felton Bequest. There he will see a painting by Van Eyck, by Titian, by Van Eycy, by Ruysdael, by Jan Steen and others, and etchings by Rembrandt and Albrecht Durer. He will find the British School represented by a portrait by Reynolds, by Romney, by Raeburn and by Hoppner, and landscapes by Turner and members of the old Water Colour Society. In the French group, he will attracted to “The Bent Tree,” by Corot, a decorative painting by Puvis de Chavannes, and works by the leading figures of the Impressionist School. Among the modern prints he will single out the etchings of Meryon and Whistler. He will pause before the sculpture of Rodin, not to mention that of Alfred Gilbert, the greatest living sculptor in England. The New Zealand painter, who has not the opportunity of going to Europe, but who yet desires to see the work of artists whose names are famous throughout the world, might be well advised to make a trip to Melbourne when the new additions to the gallery are completed and the whole collection will be on view. A Great Colourist We are to have shortly an exhibition of the works of Charles Conder, who was associated with Streeton and Roberts in introducing impressionism into Australia. When they held the first exhibition of impressions in Melbourne in 1889, their work was so different from the literal landscapes painted at the time that many people were shocked by it: others were simply amused. Of all the Australian artists, Conder gained the most distinction abroad. He painted a number of fairly large pictures, but his best work is often seen in his designs for plans. His wonderful sense of colour gives a charm even to his less successful composition. One of the most romantic artists of his time, he yet confessed on one occasion that he found little romance even in the most romantic surroundings. Sydney. WILLIAM MOORE.

POETS’ CORNER, LABUNTUR ANNI. I Written for The Sun.J He slept—a hundred years ago The wailing of the tangi died . . . Upon the mountain, and beside The little lonely pa below, The forest branches wooed the breeze With murmur as of summer seas— A hundred years ago. The lurking lizard made his home Beside the chief who would not wake; The crystal ripples of the lake Broke on the shore in rainbow foam ; High up above the melting snow The wide-eyed harrier circled alow Across an azure dome. The memories and legends passed; The last few Maoris quit the spot; The old chief slept—and men forgot, As men are wont to, at the last. Time dried the last few lingering tears; Only, across the passing years, Sang still the Nor*-West blast. But, scarce the other day, some chance — Was it the murmur of the creek, A stag that belled, a night-bird’s shriek, The rustle of the leaves that dance ?— Some casual bushland sound at most Startled a dusky veteran ghost Out of its age-long trance.

Out of the moss where he had lain He rose to greet the bush—but oh! The £re passed through it long ago And left charred stumps . ... he sought in vain. Only the snow-fed water still Tumbled in laughter down the hill, Singing its old refrain. Gone was the world he knew before; Gone / And the old chief’s heart was sore As he sought his grave again . . . E. S. GERARD MEAN THINGS (Written for THE SUN.J 1 could never abide a mean gift Of a cheap or shoddy thing Such as prude’s heart or pander's praise Or fat man’s diamond ring; But simple gifts from poor men Cause my heart to sing. I could never abide a mean house Of luxury soft and deep Where vanity lies with idleness And simple virtues weep; Better no home but the clean cold walls Of mountains stern and steep. 1 could never abide a mean deed To bring me weatlh and fame Better to dwell outside the walls Than assume a pride that is shame; Better a hungry death in a ditch And a clean-f or gotten name. 1 could never abide a mean sin , Furtive and hidden away; Better to stand erect and sin, If one must, in the light of day — For even a sin may brighten the world If strong and gallant and gay. —Margaret Macpherson. Kaita ia

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