Studio: international art (63.1914/15)

Studio-Talk

supporters of the sculptor's art, and the scene given to tedious pictures by members of that august

generally is meant to typify an Italian garden. In corporation. _

Architecture the supporting figures are those ot

Geometry and Proporiion, and in Painting the The best defence of the exhibition is that it is
winged youthful figure symbolising the Sphere of generously catholic in its recognition of all kinds of
Imagination is prominently placed, while on the art, except, perhaps, the most eccentric. It shows
other side of the central figure is a young female none of the narrowness of outlook laid to the charge
holding the mirror of nature. The old man here of Burlington House. Local talent, too, by no
represents Tradition, and near him the discovery means negligible at Liverpool, is generously treated;
of new truth is symbolised by the withdrawal of as regards the quasi-amateur element, rather too
drapery from the sleeping female. Truth herself, generously. This last is most apparent in the
holding a mirror, is seated at the fountain, which water-colour section, which, in spite of the admix-
with the orange trees and other vegetation of course ture, is strong and interesting, including as it does
stands for the perennial vitality of art. In Crafts- excellent drawings by such artitts as A. YV. Rich,
manship the artist's idea was "to suggest the funda- D. Y. Cameron, Laura Knight, Edgar Bundy,
mental importance of the handicrafts, and that art Mary L. Gow, Edwin Alexander, R. W. Allan, Kate
with life is dependent upon productive labour, and Cameron, F. E. James, the late Joseph Crawhall,
that the finer arts depend upon the useful arts, or A. K. Brown, S. J. Lamorna Birch, W. Russell
Arts and Crafts as we now term them," and in the Flint, and Julia B. Matthews. Local talent shows
light of this explanation the com-
position will be readily understood.
The artist has symbolised Peace and
War, though the helmet is that of
Pallas Athene the Goddess of the
Arts, and the smiths are beating
"swords into pruning hooks." The
ship at anchor in the background is
particularly appropriate to Bristol.

LIVERPOOL. — With conserva-
tism characteristic of this
city the Autumn Exhibition
—^ at the Walker Art Gallery
clings to the Royal Academy tra-
dition, while other cities have
abandoned the great labour involved
in such an enterprise in favour of
smaller collections of invited pic-
tures, which are easy to prepare and
easy to make more completely artistic
than these large open exhibitions,
with their ponderous hanging com-
mittees and bewildering abundance
of uninvited work, much of which
cannot be rejected, even when of
doubtful merit, because of various
interests involved. We know how
this sort of thing affects the big
exhibitions in London, and we can
recognise the adverse effect of similar
considerations at Liverpool. There,
too, the customary reverent attitude
towards the Royal Academy dies CASE 0F JEWELLERY BY MISS FLORENCE STERN

hard, and we see important places (Autumn Exhibition, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool)

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