Studio: international art (84.1922)

THE PAINTINGS OF MR. W. E. WEBSTER

" SARAH." OIL PAINTING BY
W. E. WEBSTER, R.I., R.O.I.

THE PAINTINGS OF MR. W. E.
WEBSTER, R.I., R.O.I. 00a

THERE was not so long ago a generally
accepted belief that one of the chief
purposes of art was to please. The artist
was expected to produce things which the
public could enjoy and to do work which
would appeal to the popular sense of
beauty—he had to record the more
attractive aspects of nature and to present
them in form which could be intelligible
by the average mind. That in his effort
to satisfy this demand he was led at times
into the pursuit of mere prettiness can be
admitted, but when his conception of beauty

was sufficiently serious he could—and
did—achieve results which were admirably
significant and distinguished by artistic
qualities of permanent importance. a
In more recent times a considerable
section of the workers in art has elected
to abandon the search for beauty and to
attempt, instead, the solution of all sorts
of strange problems in technical procedure.
Many of the younger artists of to-day have
deliberately thrown aside beauty of motive,
beauty of colour, beauty of drawing and
design, and the charm that comes from
sensitive and graceful handling of their
materials ; their aim is to shock and sur-
prise the public and to secure a certain

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