Studio: international art (46.1909)

The Royal Scottish Academy s Exhibition

The royal Scottish aca-
demy’s ANNUAL EXHIBITION.

In welcoming the Corporation of Edin-
burgh on their official visit to the Royal Scottish
Academy Exhibition, previous to its being opened
to the public, the President, Sir James Guthrie,
said the Academy had been a good deal ham-
pered by the fact that they had no space to
do the duties which by their charter they
were bound to fulfil. They had cut down
the privileges of the members to the lowest
point, and had tried to bring the Academy into
as close touch as possible with the members of
their fraternity who were outside it. There cer-
tainly was a time when the Academy monopolised
its own wall-space, even to the disadvantage of
the associates, but it may now be said that the
Academy is generous to the outsider. Indeed,
with the limited space at disposal it would be to
the advantage of the exhibition were the Academy
a little less generous and a trifle more discriminat-
ing than it has been this year, when a considerable
number of pictures have been included in the
collection that might well have been omitted. Sir
James Guthrie made an effort a year or two ago to

“motherhood” (bronze)

BY MRS. BESSIE POTTER VONNOH
(See previous article)

raise the standard by lessen-
ing the number of works,
but so much opposition
arose that it had to be
abandoned, and now the
outsider, even though his at-
tainment scarcely warrants
it, finds a kindly if not
always discriminating wel-
come. Two years hence,
when the Academy will
enter into possession of the
Royal Institution building,
members and associates
will have more elbow-room,
but it is to be hoped that
the augmentation of wall-
space will not result in more
consideration than now ob-
tains for second-rate work.

The loan work is small
in quantity, but of greater
importance than probably
any exhibition since what
was sarcastically called the
Whistler year. The Keiller

“herrenhaus” (etching) (See previous article)
T34

BY OTTO FISCHER