VALUES THAT LAST

Wairarapa Times-Age, 27 May 1940, Page 6

VALUES THAT LAST

WHY NOT AN ART GALLERY FOR MASTERTON.

(By S. B. Maclennan, A.R.C.A., N.R.D.) It is a comforting thought in these days of war that there are some things of eternal value. Art has gone on through many wars, gaining inspiration from some but thriving in periods of peace. The last war was responsible for the discovery of the Nash brothers, Nevinson, Lamb, Meninsky, Roberts and others, and it is significant that one of the first precautions against a national emergency in all countries was the removal of art treasures to a place of safety. Even Nazi German/ takes care to confiscate the art masterpieces of the countries she plunders. And so we may spare a moment, to think of art and dream of the future. We have no art gallery in Masterton and in this we suffer a great disadvantage, but it has its blessings too. New Zealand is just one hundred years old, and a century ago, art was at a

very low ebb in Britain. The glory of the water colour school was fading and the spirit of revival which inspired the pre-Raphaelites was just being born. Consequently, the early acquisitions to the existing galleries were more notable for their area than for their artistic merit. We have been spared this. Following pre-Raphaelitism, there have been many movements jn art from Cubism, impressionism, Pointillism, Vorticism, post-impressionism and various other isms up to Surrealism. We have had little opportunity of studying these at first hand and apt though we are to reject many of them out of hand, they have had profound influence on the art of today. The inclusion of samples of the various schools in a colonial gallery would be stimulating to the “research” aspect which is so lacking in much of our work — and this is surprising in a land of pioneers. Old Masters wo cannot have. These are already housed in the older centres of culture and there we must go to see them. There are, however, excellent reproductions as substitutes.

There should be space too for our local artists, but only the very best and works that will compare with those from abroad. The idea of a protective or preferential wall around our own art is, I think, degrading and bound to lower the standard. Works by contemporary painters and sculptors abroad could be selected from such an exhibition as that collected by Mrs Murray Fuller for the Centennial Exhibition in Wellington and here let me pay tribute to the excellent services to art in New Zealand by Mrs Fuller and the late Mr Murray Fuller in enabling us to keep in touch with the best in art from overseas, an undertaking calling for a combination of discernment and business ability which is rare. Then there are prints. A good collection could be secured for quite a modest outlay. It is surprising that

the print has been rather sadly neglected in New Zealand. A good painting requires much time and is worth quite a lot of money. With our small population no artist could hope to exist on sales. An edition can be taken from a plate or block and the prints sold for a guinea or two. Samples of the revived wood engraving, line engraving, etching, lithography and the colour print should stimulate artists to use these fascinating mediums and there is no reason why we should not be able to turn out work comparable with the admirable prints which have been done in such countries as Denmark, Sweden, Norway

and Hungary. Art is a universal means of expression. and passing, as it does, all barriers of nationality, creed and language it must take its place in the Democracy of the Future. So let us bear in mind the possibility of establishing a gallery that will be not'only a cultural recreation for our leisure hours, an evidence of our artistic appreciation and an inspiration to our students, but also a link in the chain that will make fast peace, when it comes.