DOI issue:
No. 297 (December 1917)
DOI article:McAllister, Isabel G.: Some water-colour paintings by Sir Edward Poynter, P.R.A.
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.21264#0112
tVater-Colour Paintings by Sir Edward Poynter, P.R.A.
shown his skill, and the lines of the composition
are very restful and pleasing.
Duart Castle, Isle of Mull, with its low-lying
shore and faintly expressed hills, so distant
that they almost merge into the sky in tone,
is a subject so difficult to render that it would
baffle most people who attempted it. A boat
in the foreground and the small figures engaged
in pulling it on to the little pier are the sole
reminder of any sign of life in this unbeaten
track of Scotland, yet those who know the
spot with an intimate knowledge wish that
they could have seen it with the insight now
revealed.
Exhibited in the Academy last year, A
Kensington Garden is a beautiful presentment
of Sir Edward’s garden, showing the effect of
the morning sun between eight and nine o’clock.
Gardens are proverbially difficult to render, but
Sir Edward has given us an example of what
can be done with sunlight scintil-
lating upon many different trees and
shrubs.
Another charming spot is the Pre-
sident’s Rock Garden, of which an
illustration is shown. He has painted
it with the shimmer of sunlight on
the young trees above, relieving the
dark-toned rocks and water which
lies in shadow. When the daffodils
and spiraea are in bloom it is trans-
formed into a fairylike bower, which
would make a fitting background for
one of Sir Edward's mermaid pic-
tures.
The President’s garden might well
be in the heart of the country, instead
of Kensington. Enclosed by fine old
trees, long stretches of lawn lead to
winding paths and leafy walks. Roses
growing in rich profusion on pergolas
and beds of old-fashioned fragrant
flowers flourish gaily, so that his gar-
den is one mass of blossom throughout
the summer. Flowers are so much a
hobby with Sir Edward Poynter that
perhaps if he had never specialized
in art he might have been an eminent
botanist and horticulturist. His house,
too, reflects the tastes of its owner,
and includes the many rare and beau-
tiful objects of art attractive to the
scholar and artist mind.
96
As Director of the National Gallery Sir
Edward has done much for art in purchasing
such examples of the Italian School as Man-
tegna’s Agony in the Garden, the Vision of
St. Eustace by Pisarro, the sublime St. Gerome
in his Studio by Messina, and Perugino’s superb
Baptism of Our Lord. The Legend of St. Giles
is a valuable Flemish addition to the Gallery,
with such Dutch Masters as Jan Steen, Van der
Meulen, and Birck Hyde, besides our first
example of Goya and the English Cotman.
Special reference must be made to Albert
Diirer’s portrait of his father, as until then
this master was unrepresented in the National
Gallery. Sir Edward’s knowledge of the Old
Masters is profound, and his opinion was
sought in the recent exciting case of the
reputed Romney picture. Amongst a variety
of theories and opinions, his judgment proved
to be correct, and the result of the trial showed
' ROCK GARDEN ”
BY SIR E. J. POYNTER, BT., P.R.A.
shown his skill, and the lines of the composition
are very restful and pleasing.
Duart Castle, Isle of Mull, with its low-lying
shore and faintly expressed hills, so distant
that they almost merge into the sky in tone,
is a subject so difficult to render that it would
baffle most people who attempted it. A boat
in the foreground and the small figures engaged
in pulling it on to the little pier are the sole
reminder of any sign of life in this unbeaten
track of Scotland, yet those who know the
spot with an intimate knowledge wish that
they could have seen it with the insight now
revealed.
Exhibited in the Academy last year, A
Kensington Garden is a beautiful presentment
of Sir Edward’s garden, showing the effect of
the morning sun between eight and nine o’clock.
Gardens are proverbially difficult to render, but
Sir Edward has given us an example of what
can be done with sunlight scintil-
lating upon many different trees and
shrubs.
Another charming spot is the Pre-
sident’s Rock Garden, of which an
illustration is shown. He has painted
it with the shimmer of sunlight on
the young trees above, relieving the
dark-toned rocks and water which
lies in shadow. When the daffodils
and spiraea are in bloom it is trans-
formed into a fairylike bower, which
would make a fitting background for
one of Sir Edward's mermaid pic-
tures.
The President’s garden might well
be in the heart of the country, instead
of Kensington. Enclosed by fine old
trees, long stretches of lawn lead to
winding paths and leafy walks. Roses
growing in rich profusion on pergolas
and beds of old-fashioned fragrant
flowers flourish gaily, so that his gar-
den is one mass of blossom throughout
the summer. Flowers are so much a
hobby with Sir Edward Poynter that
perhaps if he had never specialized
in art he might have been an eminent
botanist and horticulturist. His house,
too, reflects the tastes of its owner,
and includes the many rare and beau-
tiful objects of art attractive to the
scholar and artist mind.
96
As Director of the National Gallery Sir
Edward has done much for art in purchasing
such examples of the Italian School as Man-
tegna’s Agony in the Garden, the Vision of
St. Eustace by Pisarro, the sublime St. Gerome
in his Studio by Messina, and Perugino’s superb
Baptism of Our Lord. The Legend of St. Giles
is a valuable Flemish addition to the Gallery,
with such Dutch Masters as Jan Steen, Van der
Meulen, and Birck Hyde, besides our first
example of Goya and the English Cotman.
Special reference must be made to Albert
Diirer’s portrait of his father, as until then
this master was unrepresented in the National
Gallery. Sir Edward’s knowledge of the Old
Masters is profound, and his opinion was
sought in the recent exciting case of the
reputed Romney picture. Amongst a variety
of theories and opinions, his judgment proved
to be correct, and the result of the trial showed
' ROCK GARDEN ”
BY SIR E. J. POYNTER, BT., P.R.A.