Studio: international art (21.1901)

Studio- Talk

be prejudiced against Irish work. I fear, too, it
must be admitted that, with a few honourable
exceptions, the work of tho^e Irish artists who have
stayed at home is tinged with provincialism—that
provincialism which has nothing whatever to do
with nationality, or indeed with the expression of
any distinctive feeling or characteristic. It is to
be hoped that Sir Thomas Drew may be able to do
something during his term of office to bring more
life and energy into contemporary Irish art.

The Sketching Club must not be forgotten.
The Exhibition is unquestionably a great improve-
ment on that of last year, or indeed on those
of several years past. There is an effort at
greater strength, the general level is higher, and
some of the new contributors are promising. The
chief cause of the improvement is, however, to be
found in the fact that amongst the exhibitors are
Mr. Alfred Grey, R.H.A., and Mr. J. Johnston
Inglis, R.H.A. Mr. Grey's work is well known
here and in London. His exhibits are all studies
of trees, and have a marked " open-air" effect
that is less apparent in his larger pictures. Mr.
Inglis is fond of vivid colour, and his landscapes
are cleverly painted; but why can he not be
induced to frame them in more sober fashion?
Mr. VV. P. French's little sketch of The Queen's
Entry into Dublin is a bright bit of colour; and
Mr. A. Williams exhibits one picture—a stretch of
bog land without any "incident"—which makes one
inclined to wonder why he does not finally abandon
the painting of glorified Christmas cards. As
usual, the women exhibitors hold their own well,
Mrs. Walter'"Fox, Miss Adie, and Miss Chambers
being amongst the most noteworthy. Another Irish
artist, Miss Josephine Webb, has been showing in
her studio a number of really charming water-
colour sketches of French and Irish scenery. They
include some clever line and wash drawings, some-
thing after the manner of Caldecott's work, and
three interesting studies in charcoal, with a wash of
colour suggestive of the work of the early water
colourists. Miss Webb's method is very rapid and
direct, and in her French sketches she has
managed to convey the emphatic effect of brilliant
sunshine very cleverly. E. D,

BIRMINGHAM.—A loan exhibition ot
unusual interest and beauty is now
being held in the Corporation Art
Gallery, consisting of selected examples
of portrait-painting by English artists of the
eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, and

one or two of the seventeenth; more particularly
the works of Reynolds, Gainsborough, and Romney,
which constitute two-thirds of the pictures in the
collection. Several very famous works have been
included, but one of the chief features of the
exhibition is the number of canvases that have
never been seen before by the public.

A small exhibition of exceptional interest has
just been held in the Municipal School of Art of
work done by the members of the Sketch Club of
the Birmingham School of Art Union. The show
included a collection of the work of the so-called
Birmingham School of Book-Illustration, consisting
of examples of Mr. A. J. Gaskin's illustrations to
Hans Christian Andersen, Mrs. Gaskin's " Alpha-
bet for Children," Miss Gertrude Bradley's
entertaining picture-books, Mr. E. H. New's book-
plates, Mr. Fred Mason's illustrations to Huon of
Bordeaux, and some very delicate silver-points by
Mr. C. M. Gere; while among the better-known
exhibitors may be mentioned Mrs. Winifred Green,
Miss Newill, Miss Celia Levetus, Miss Kate Bunce,
Miss Violet Holden, and Messrs. Bernard Sleigh,
Frank Richards, H. A. Payne, Sidney Meteyard,
G. B. Benton, E. Treglown, R. J. Williams, and
Oscar Pollock, the honorary secretary The latter
exhibited some very clever posters, and his work in
this direction promises well for the future.

BRUGES.—There is a charming little
exhibition going on in Bruges just now
of water-colour drawings by Felix Con-
stant and Arthur G. Bell, the popularity
of which is proved by the numbers who daily flock
to see them. The Salle de l'Orgue has long been
celebrated for the art-displays in it, for the Brugeois
are true lovers of the beautiful, returning again and
again to look at their favourite pictures. Felix
Constant, who has the rare gift of catching the
salient characteristics of every scene he depicts, has
chosen his subjects at Dordrecht, Brussels, La
Panne and elsewhere. Arthur Bell has devoted
his attention entirely to Bruges, interpreting with
wonderful felicity the subtle charm of the quaint
old city with its picturesque quays and gabled
houses, its quiet streets and crowded markets, its
peaceful waterways, and slow-moving barges.

BERLIN.—Continuing my remarks with
reference to the foreign art displayed at
the recent " Secession " Exhibition,
Segantini's various works call for atten-
tion. They display the qualities for which he was

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