Studio: international art (74.1918)

Studio- Talk

Mr. A. F. Smith of Keighley, a versatile artist- From our own point of view this last recom-

craftsman of sound judgment in matters of mendation is vitally important, and to give

ecclesiastical decoration. effect to it the essential desideratum is that the

- ■ executive committee or other body to .which is

The general question of War Memorials was to be assigned the function of passing judgment
discussed at a conference held at the Royal on proposed memorials should be constituted on
Academy on June 26, and reported in the daily the broadest lines. With regard to the character
Press nearly a fortnight later. The conference, of the monuments as collective or personal,
convened by the President and Council of the there is of course much to be said in support of
Academy and presided over by the President, the argument for collective commemoration as
was attended by many distinguished representa- preferable to a multitude of individual memorials,
fives of the Church, the Government, and of the but to exclude entirely the personal memorial
leading art societies. The spokesmen at the would, we think, be unwise. It is true that in
conference were practically unanimous in sup- our churches throughout the land, and also
porting the action of the Academy in appointing unfortunately in our cathedrals, there are far
a Committee on War Memorials, and in en- too many of these personal monuments, which
dorsing the series of recommendations formu- detract from, instead of adding to, the dignity of
lated by this Committee and made public a few the edifice, but on the other hand there are,
weeks previously, and with a view to carrying as we all know, not a few which are of extra-
out the chief objects aimed at—to secure ordinary interest both on general grounds and
combined instead of isolated effort in erecting as unique records of local history. We have no
memorials and to protect churches and public great faith in committees where questions of
buildings from unsuitable treatment in setting artistic judgment are in issue, but if the proposed
up onuments of the war—the conference body succeeds in preventing the erection of
resolved itself into a general committee to trivial and commonplace monuments of what-
appoint an executive committee for giving effect ever kind, it will have done something to justify
to the suggestions agreed upon. its creation.

Lord Crawford, who among the members of The exhibition of military photographs in
the Government present at

the conference had the <lv\*V'V\l'l
strongest claim to speak for ,^0^ -/-*Oi

art, said the great problem
was to impress on the public
mind the collective capacity
of large joint memorials. Too
often, he remarked, the dig-
nity of a public building had
been spoilt by the small per-
sonal memorials placed in it,
but as our successes in this
war had been due to collec-
tive effort, he considered that
the function of a committee
of advice should be to induce
collective effort also in the
permanent records of those
achievements. He urged, how-
ever, that the artist, the
creator of the work which
formed the memorial, should
have as free a hand as

MURAL TABLET RECENTLY ERECTED IN LOTHERSDALE PARISH CHURCH,
pOSSlble. YORKSHIRE. DESIGNED BY ALEX. F. SMITH

92