Studio: international art (86.1923)

REVIEWS

Some contemporary Painters, (London :
Leonard Parsons, Ltd.). 6s.net. Mr. Frank
Rutter, in most congenial society, plays the
part of host delightfully. What else could
be expected when the guests are Lucien
Pissarro,Walter Sickert, James Pride,Sir C.
J. Holmes, William Rothenstein, Sir William
Orpen, Augustus John, Gilman and Gore,
Charles Ginner, J. W. Fergusson, Henry
Lamb, Wyndham Lewis, C. R. W.
Nevinson,and Paul and John Nash;' It may
be (though this is mere surmise) that in
some other art company Mr. Rutter would
have been less enthusiastic, though doubt-
less he would be courteous, and just, and
restrainedly kind. The artist is not so
free from dogmatism himself (Mr. Rutter
reminds us of a picture entitled, “ Thou
shalt not put a Blue Line round thy
Mother ") that he can deny to the critic
a right to preferences : Mr. Rutter is freer
from obsessions than the majority of
critics, and he even has a sly dig at some
of his beloved guests, as he passes round
the wine of his appreciation. We now
await “ Some Contemporary Critics ”—a
return of hospitality, to be done in paint,
and hung—where i The artist who does
it must decide. 0000

Drawn at a Venture. By Fougasse.
(London : Methuen & Co., Ltd.). 10s. 6d.
net. Mr. A. A. Milne who, with inevitable
propriety, "introduces the fellow”—who is
Fougasse—who is not really Fougasse, but
has to be because his name is Kenneth Bird
and there is another man, not named Bird,
who signs himself " Bird ” in Punch—
Mr. Milne—as one was saying, is jealous,
as writer, of Fougasse as artist. He would
like to be able to represent “ Contempt ”
or " Surprise ” or “ Mr. Asquith ” in a few
dots. We sympathise. It would be great
to be the drawer of The Dog Fight, A Biog-
raphy, The Bashful V.C.’s Welcome Home,
1914-1918, System, The Price of Efficiency,
the Cricket pictures or the superb Man
who Sneezed. We should really salute the
Turkish bullet which caused Fougasse to
take to drawing, as Mr. Milne suggests.
Our artists of humour are among our
greatest—they keep so sane, and at the
best, so artistic. Could line be more ex-
pressive than in the gentleman who intro-
duces billiards into golf, or the other two

242

golfers who are having a disagreement i
Fougasse may draw at a venture—he hits
the mark, however venturesome. 0 0

Sixty-six Etchings by Members of the
Print Society. Selected and edited by
E. Hesketh Hubbard ; with introduction
by Kineton Parkes. (Breamore, Hants :
The Print Society). 21s. net. The Print
Society, in addition to the good work it
performs in bringing together makers and
collectors of prints, bids fair to win a
secure place among the producers of fine
editions, for the high standard set by its
first publication is well upheld by this
second. Another result towards which
these volumes should contribute is the
further popularisation of etching, which
has a distinctive charm of its own and is
adapted to a wide variety of subjects. One
need but glance through these pages to
realise the powerful appeal that must be
exerted by a medium which can render so
finely so many moods and motives. Miss
C. Armington’s L’Eglise Notre Dame,
Caudebec-en-Caux, conveys the ornate
splendour of Gothic architecture ; Mr. J.
T. Arms’s The Butterfly achieves delightful
effects of light and shade, with masterly
rendering of reflection and distant snow;
Miss M. Rudge's Ariel translates some-
thing of Shakespeare's magic into lines ;
and Miss Doris Stacey’s Head of an Old
Woman penetrates into the grief, anxiety
and fortitude of a humble life. These are
but a few of the many striking reproduc-
tions, which include, as well as etchings,
drypoints, aquatints and mezzotints, a
few wood engravings and lithographs. The
brightly written introduction by Mr.
Parkes contains sound exposition of general
principles and much useful practical advice
to collectors. 00000
Flower and Vase Studies, By Baptiste
Monnoyer. Reprint. (London: John
Tiranti & Co.). Those who love flower
pictures will greet these reprints of
Baptiste's engravings with delight. They
are large enough to frame. Many readers
of The Studio should hand-colour them.

The etching by Miss Winifred Austen,
R.E., which appeared on page 154 of The
Studio for September, was reproduced by
courtesy of the publisher, Arthur Greatorex,
Ltd., 14 Grafton Street, W.i. 0 0