DOI Heft:
Nr. 168 (March 1907)
DOI Artikel:Baldry, Alfred Lys: The recent work of Mr. J. Walter West, R.W.S.
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.20774#0110
J. IValter IVest, R. IV.S.
activity was but a passing one, it lasted a com-
paratively short time, and it led to no very consider-
able amount of production. It died out almost
entirely some years ago, because the artist found
that there was another kind of work which he was
called upon to do, and that to satisfy this new
demand he had to abandon many of his earlier
aims. That he has not given them up altogether
is proved by his recent completion of such a sub-
ject as The Timber IVagon, a picture that shows
well that he has kept fully alive his love of pic-
turesque rusticity and that he has not allowed his
perception of the pictorial possibilities of incidents
in rural life to become dulled. The Timber Wagon,
indeed, is one of the best things he has ever done
in what may be called his earlier manner; it
expresses a sentiment instead of telling a story, and
is symbolical rather than
anecdotal, but its sentiment
is quiet and unforced, and
its symbolism is legitimately
appropriate. Technically it
has high merit; the man-
agement of subtleties of
colour and tone, the treat-
ment of a difficult problem
of illumination, the avoid-
ance of what are commonly
considered to be effective
devices of presentation, all
combine to make it very
well worth studying as an
example of the methods of
an artist who has something
fresh to say about matters
which give scope for the
exercise of individual taste
and personal preference.
A picture of this cha-
racter is, however, only an
occasional digression from
the regular course of Mr.
West’s present - day prac-
tice, and comes as some-
thing of a surprise to
people who do not know,
or have forgotten, the
initial stages of his career.
The art to which of late
he has accustomed us is
lighter, more dainty, and
more fanciful, less serious
in the sense that it involves
less study of dramatic
88
exigencies, but more complete decoratively. The
origin of it is not at all difficult to trace • in bygone
years Mr. West was a busy illustrator, a prolific
producer of black-and-white drawings for reproduc-
tion, and he had a very happy knack of seizing
upon whatever there might be of graceful sugges-
tion in the subjects with which he had to deal.
He drew, too, a large number of designs for book
covers, title pages, and chapter headings, which
allowed him ample opportunities for the exercise of
his inventive powers, and gave him a most useful
training in purely decorative work. They taught
him the value of elegance in the combination of
lines, and the importance of balance and order in
the arrangement of the various parts of his com-
positions ; and, above all, they showed him the
necessity for the preparation of a well-ordered
“SHUTTLECOCK AND BATTLEDORE” BY J. WALTER WEST
activity was but a passing one, it lasted a com-
paratively short time, and it led to no very consider-
able amount of production. It died out almost
entirely some years ago, because the artist found
that there was another kind of work which he was
called upon to do, and that to satisfy this new
demand he had to abandon many of his earlier
aims. That he has not given them up altogether
is proved by his recent completion of such a sub-
ject as The Timber IVagon, a picture that shows
well that he has kept fully alive his love of pic-
turesque rusticity and that he has not allowed his
perception of the pictorial possibilities of incidents
in rural life to become dulled. The Timber Wagon,
indeed, is one of the best things he has ever done
in what may be called his earlier manner; it
expresses a sentiment instead of telling a story, and
is symbolical rather than
anecdotal, but its sentiment
is quiet and unforced, and
its symbolism is legitimately
appropriate. Technically it
has high merit; the man-
agement of subtleties of
colour and tone, the treat-
ment of a difficult problem
of illumination, the avoid-
ance of what are commonly
considered to be effective
devices of presentation, all
combine to make it very
well worth studying as an
example of the methods of
an artist who has something
fresh to say about matters
which give scope for the
exercise of individual taste
and personal preference.
A picture of this cha-
racter is, however, only an
occasional digression from
the regular course of Mr.
West’s present - day prac-
tice, and comes as some-
thing of a surprise to
people who do not know,
or have forgotten, the
initial stages of his career.
The art to which of late
he has accustomed us is
lighter, more dainty, and
more fanciful, less serious
in the sense that it involves
less study of dramatic
88
exigencies, but more complete decoratively. The
origin of it is not at all difficult to trace • in bygone
years Mr. West was a busy illustrator, a prolific
producer of black-and-white drawings for reproduc-
tion, and he had a very happy knack of seizing
upon whatever there might be of graceful sugges-
tion in the subjects with which he had to deal.
He drew, too, a large number of designs for book
covers, title pages, and chapter headings, which
allowed him ample opportunities for the exercise of
his inventive powers, and gave him a most useful
training in purely decorative work. They taught
him the value of elegance in the combination of
lines, and the importance of balance and order in
the arrangement of the various parts of his com-
positions ; and, above all, they showed him the
necessity for the preparation of a well-ordered
“SHUTTLECOCK AND BATTLEDORE” BY J. WALTER WEST