Studio: international art (7.1896)

Studio- Talk

to full membership of the Royal Scottish Academy.
Then there was the opening of the 70th exhibi-
tion of the Academy, and later the election of
four new associates, these being Messrs. J. Thor-
burn Ross, R. Paton Reid, James Paterson, and
Wellwood Rattray, all painters. The election of
these artists has given, generally speaking, the
greatest satisfaction both in the East and West of
Scotland.

Regarding the exhibition at the Academy's
Galleries, it can safely be said without fear of con-
tradiction that it is by far the best that has been held
for years, not only as to the high average quality of
the collection, but also in respect to the hanging and
arrangementof the exhibits. Someof the portraiture
work touches a very high level of artistic excellence,
and especially noteworthy among these are Sir
George Rdd's Professor Mitchell, strong in realisation
of character and treatment, Alexander Roche's
Mrs. Roberts, a charming study of a lady in black
seated at a table, John Lavery's distinguished
portrait of Mrs. Park Lyle, E. A. Walton's Miss
Muriel Wylie Hill, James Guthrie's full length of
a young lady in grey and black costume against a
red background, C. Martin Hardie's clever open-

air portrait of a boy playing cricket; the group of
a lady and two children by L. Alma Tadema, and
a sweet presentment of an elderly lady, Mrs.
Anderson. In landscape and genre subjects there
are many delightful pictures in the exhibition
which call for detailed criticism, but in the present
instance space only allows of a brief resume of the
more important, and in two cases we are able by
the kindness of the painters to give reproductions.
One of the best pictures in the exhibition is Float-
ing by Robert McGregor. It is painted in a light
silvery scheme of colour depicting a trio of Dutch
peasants in a boat laden with produce. Another
work of distinctive merit is A Border River by
G. W. Johnstone, which shows a broad sketch of
an inland river with wooded banks, the foliage
being bright with early summer tints. A similar
subject, though entirely different in effect from the
last mentioned, is Robert Noble's large landscape
called November Evening, low in tone and very
effective. There is commendable work in When
the Sun is Low, a large landscape of pasture land
and trees, by J. Coutts Michie, and the Autumn
Storm by W. Mouncey also shows a fine landscape
theme strongly painted. Along with these pictures
might be grouped An Autumn Moonlight by
Joseph Milne, On a Moor, a study of cattle, by

FROM A PAINTING BY ROBERT MCGREGOR, R.S.A.

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