Studio: international art (72.1918)

Studio-Talk

The exhibition comprised a small collection of
portraits by the President, Mr. J. J. Shannon,
R.A., which though not all apparently of recent
date, nor we think in all cases fully characteristic
of his work at its best, helped materially to
give tone to what was on the whole a rather
mediocre display. Portraits of officers in
“ khaki" were more numerous than at any
exhibition we remember, but while implying a
flourishing state of affairs from the point of view
of the artists, this plethora of paintings, all
very much alike in general aspect, imparted an
air of monotony to the exhibition. This
monotony was pleasantly relieved by Mr. John
Collier’s radiant study of Miss Frances Torrens
in “ Chu Chin Chow,” and a few other “ cos-
tume ” studies and portraits, such as Mr. Fiddes
Watt’s Sir Robert Inches, late Lord Provost of
Edinburgh, Mr. Skipworth’s Costume Study, and
Mr. Maurice Greiffenhagen’s Sir John Sutton
seated in his judicial robes of scarlet and ermine
—a work remarkable for its uncompromising
characterization, albeit disappointing in the
huddled-up arrangement of the robes. Among
the other members whose work was prominent
on this occasion were Mr. John Lavery, A.R.A.,
Mr. Hugh Riviere, Mr. Glazebrook, Mr.
Frank Salisbury, Mr. Frederic Whiting
(whose exhibits included a Self-Portrait in
khaki), Mr. Howard Somerville, Mr. Oswald
Birley, Mr. St. Helier Lander, Mr. R. G. Eves,
and Mr. James Quinn. In the exhibition of the
Royal, Society of Miniature Painters, held
simultaneously in the same galleries, the chief
items of interest were the groups
of portrait miniatures shown by
Miss Hepburn-Edmunds and Mrs.

Emslie, a cleverly handled genre
subject by Mr. Spencelayh entitled
Greenwich Time, illuminations by
Miss May Partridge and Miss Kim-
ber, and a triptych in stained wood
and gesso by Miss Hilda Joyce
Pocock.

At the Leicester Galleries Messrs.
Brown and Phillips inaugurated
their winter season by an interest-
ing exhibition of water-colours and
drawings by a group of artists now
serving with His Majesty’s Forces—
Sergeants John Wheatley, W. P.
Robins, Montague Smyth, Maresco

Pearce, Gerald Ackerman, Lieut. A. E. Cooper,
Second Lieut. Edgar L. Pattison, Lieut. W. Lee
Hankey, and Lance-Cpl. Norman Wilkinson
(of Four Oaks). With the exception of the
first and two last, who contributed figure
subjects, these soldier-artists were here repre-
sented mostly by landscapes reminiscent of those
placid days of peace which the long continuance
of war seems almost to have effaced from
memory. With these drawings was shown some
recent sculpture by Private Jacob Epstein,
comprising five heads in bronze supplementing
the remarkable series shown by the artist at
these galleries a few months ago—notable
among these more recent examples being the
studies of Miss Doris Keane and Josef Holbrooke.

OTTINGHAM.—The memorial tablet
illustrated on this page was designed
by a distinguished Belgian architect,
M. Valentin Vaerwyck, now domi-
ciled in this city, and it is said to be the first
Belgian war memorial that has been erected in
England. It has been placed in the Guildhall
of the City, where it was unveiled on
July 21, the day consecrated to Belgian
Independence. The back slab of this memorial
and the Belgian arms are of black marble,
with gilt added to the figure of the lion.
The main slab is yellow lamartine marble,
while red marble with gilding is used for the
Nottingham arms. Thus the colour-scheme of
the memorial corresponds to the black, yellow,
and red forming the Belgian national colours'

MEMORIAL TABLET. DESIGNED BY VALENTIN VAERWYCK
EXECUTED BY T. LONG AND SONS

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