International studio (54.1914/1915)

Gerald Festus Kelly

gift of the portrait-painter, and then his pictures
are dull ; but more often, instinctively, perhaps, he
paints with a true emotion; and then his portraits
take a very high place as studies of character. He
is not an idealist. He puts down what he sees,
and when he sees with sympathy he gives you the
very soul of the man, his strength and weakness, his
very idiosyncrasies. It would not require a fertile
imagination to give a true account of Captain
Reeves, R.N., or of Lady Stanley Clarke. They are
placed on the canvas for the world to see them.
Though knowing neither I fancy that I could write
an accurate history of each.
Mr. Kelly is young still, and life has still lessons
for him. When he fails it is through lack of
sympathy, and when he learns a more complete
sympathy, when he is able to see the point of view
of those he paints, discovering how each one of us
is right from his own stand¬
point, he will produce a
series of works which will
be a true and personal
record of the generation in
which he lived. Is that a
poor thing to do from the
peculiar outlook of the
painter ? I am not a painter
and do not know. It is
what the great Holbein
did.

M. RODIN’S GIFT
TO THE BRITISH
NATION
Mons. Auguste Rodin,
the great French sculptor,
has presented to the British
nation, as a token of his
admiration for the British
soldiers who have been
fighting side by side with
his compatriots, the magnifi-
cent collection of his works
which formed part of the
exhibition of French art at
Grosvenor House, and was
subsequently transferred to
the Victoria and Albert
Museum. This inestimable
gift, which has been grate-
fully accepted by the
Minister of Education on

behalf of the nation, comprises some twenty master-
pieces representing all stages of the great artist’s
evolution, and includes such notable works as
L’Age dlairain (replica), La Muse and L'Enfant
prodigue, all three life size, DAnge dechu or
DAnge tombe as it is also called, the monumental
Cybele, a study of Balzac, several portrait-busts,
including one of the late Mr. George Wyndham,
the marble group Amour et Psyche and a small
terra-cotta head of Dante. Except these last two,
all the works presented by M. Rodin are bronzes.
In communicating to the donor, who was then
on a visit to London, the thanks of the nation for
this priceless addition to its art treasures, Mr. Pease
said, “Your generosity has forged a new bond
between the two nations. It will be a further
opportunity for our artists to draw inspiration from
the inexhaustible wealth of the French genius.”

“CAPTAIN REEVES, R.N.”

OIL PAINTING BY GERALD FESTUS KELLY

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