Studio: international art (5.1895)

Home Arts and Industries at the Albert Hall

of objects lining the huge gallery that circles
around the Albert Hall. Still more difficult is it
to compare and evolve a fairly consistent summary

mirror frame. designed by mrs. waterhouse.
executed by john maher. Ydttcildon

of the results ; so that these notes must be more
or less disjointed.

This year the Pimlico branch, under the very able
directorship of the Hon. Mabel de Grey, is not
quite so conspicuously to the fore in the show,
partly because it is numerically less important,
and partly because, on the same lines as before,
with duplicates of certain designs seen last year, it
does not come with the same air of novelty. A
medicine cupboard, designed by Miss de Grey and
cleverly inlaid in coloured woods by John Reason,
brings to memory the Toadstools box illustrated in
a former Studio, but this is much the more
pleasing of the two. The other objects are not
peculiarly striking.

The Yattendon stall also keeps its place, and by
a fine show of repousse copper, excellent in design
and thoroughly characteristic of the metal. The
reticence of the ornament, its simple originality, and
naive restraint may be a little archaic; but, if so,
the affectation is so charming that it adds grace to
the whole. Indeed, superlatives may be not mis-
placed in praising certain items in this collection.
170

The large collection of objects contributed by
the Sandringham branch, shows some really ex-
cellent work by royal amateurs. Notably a heart-
shaped table, in polished poker-work, decorated by
H.R.H. the Duchess of York, which on its own
merits, and quite apart from the personality of its
worker, deserves a special word of praise. So, too,
a wrought-iron stand for logs, designed by H.R.H.
the Princess of Wales, and a really fine iron basket,
are among the notable objects, which include an
armchair in carved wood, with cushions covered
in old Russian embroidery. This recalls, curiously
enough, Mr. Walter Crane's superb design of wings
which was shown in an early " Arts and Crafts " at
the New Gallery.

With these two in mind, you turn to the em-
broidery throughout the show, to be somewhat dis-
appointed, not by the execution, for some replicas
of ancient work are really excellent, but by the
poverty of idea which characterises most of the
new designs. It seems as if they had been first
drawn in pencil or pen-and-ink, and then coloured.
Now, for decorative work, a pen imposes quite
needless restriction, and unconsciously tends to
make the design thin and spidery, trusting more to
its lines than its masses. The grace of a pen-line,
if good, cannot be caught by the constantly
arrested succession of stitches which follow it in
a sense, but at the same time lose the dash and

Hf.C

mirror frame by a. heady. Latimer Road