Studio-Talk

STUDIO-TALK cumstance and one that reftects credit on those

responsible for the selection. It is gratifying

{From our own Correspondents.) to know that the Admiralty is following a

O N D 0 N.—In this year's Royal Aca- similar course in regard to the heroes of our

demy, military portraiture is not a naval forces, of whose glorious deeds the world

conspicuous feature, and the most has as yet heard little, and has appointed an

notable display of that kind is to be artist of note to act in the capacity of " limner."

found at the galleries of Messrs. Thomas Agnew ---

and Sons in Old Bond Street, where the collec- Sir John Lavery's particular function as an
tion of work executed by Mr. William Orpen, Official Artist has been to record scenes and
A.R.A., in his capacity as one of the Official incidents pertaining to our maritime forces,
British Artists on the Western Front, is being and the paintings he has executed form a very
shown. This exhibition, comprising as it does interesting series, to which the painting of
not only portraits of many distinguished officers, The Forth Bridge, here reproduced in colour,
including Viscount French and his successor in belongs. Though to exhibition visitors he is
the chief command, Sir Douglas Haig, but also known almost exclusively as a portrait painter,
a remarkable series of landscape paintings and Sir John Lavery has painted many admirable
drawings, is of extra-
ordinary interest as a
revelation of the ar-
tist's rare and versa-
tile genius, and mainly
on this account, but
partly also, of course,
because the subject-
matter is one in which
we are all deeply con-
cerned, it is without
doubt the most . im-
portant artistic event
of the day. Of the
portraits two were re-
produced in our last
number — they were
those of officers who
have earned fame by
their feats of daring in
aerial warfare ; and we
now reproduce another
of the series, the sub-
ject in this case being
an officer who has won
renown as a commander
of His Majesty's " Land
Ships." That the func-
tion of portraying the
heroic fighters whose
valour commands the
admiration of the na-
tion should fall to a
painter of such distinc-
tion as Mr. Orpen is "captain f. e. hotblack, d.s.o." from the painting by william orpen,
indeed a fortunate cir- a.r.a., one of the official British artists

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