Art
THE ROYAL ACADEMY.
Wukr strikes one most on visiting the Royal Academy for the second time is the mediocrity of the exhibition as a whole. On the other hand one cannot fail to notice how consistently good are the works by Sir William Orpen and Mr. Oliver Hall. After careful consideration one cannot differentiate between the excellence of Sir William's Dame Madge Kendal and his Mr. Gordon Selfridge. Mr. Hall's big picture Vale of Pestiniog will, I expect, attract more attention than his other works, but his Spring (247) is just as good in a smaller way. Mrs. Knight's two pictures with nude figures are ugly, but the way they stand out in relief will catch the eye of even the most casual observer. The clash of colours in her Daughters of the Sea (674)—the unrelieved ugly nakedness of her The Toilet (476) is patent, but I am inclined to think that Mrs. Knight is one of the few of our modern painters who will, sooner or later, give us a picture which will make us sit up.
The Royal portraits are most disappointing, but among others which should not be missed are Rear-Admiral Lumsden (652) by Mr. Richard Sickert, The Lady Armstrong (123) by Mr. Harcourt, Patricia (179) by Mr. Dugdale, all black and pearls, and The Rev. Dr. Samuel Bickersteth (280) by Mr. Maurice Greiffenhagen. Mr. I. M. Cohen's Mrs. Austen Hall (252) deserves a better position than the corner to which the hanging committee have consigned it. Those who like portraits of theatrical celebrities can see Miss Edythe Baker (606) by Miss Zinkeisen, and Miss Eli-9.9a Landi (625) by Mr. Somerville, the former being the stronger painting. While on the subject of portraits let us congratulate Mr. Oswald Birley on his strength of mind in painting The Rt. Hon. Stanley Baldwin (434) without a pipe. From his appearance, however, there is no doubt that Mr. Baldwin is worried about it. Mr. A. J. Munnings's horses and hounds are, as usual, all in the pink of condition, and of his six contributions the best is The Bramham Moor Hounds (198), where the hunt forms a foreground of a pleasant landscape.
Mr. Algernon Newton's large picture A Dorset Landscape (333) will be considered by many to be the best picture in that category in the exhibition, but whether its classical treatment will meet with popular approval remains to be seen. I prefer Sir H. Hughes-Stanton's small Woods at Cagnei, France (108) to his larger pictures, though his brush is used with enthusiasm whatever he paints. November Morning (9) is the best of Sir George Clausen's pictures, and Mr. Robin Wallace's South Westmorland (289) would get more attention were it not hung in a dark corner. Mr. Richter's A Room at No. 5 Redcliffe Square (132) is a delightful interior, well painted, and there is just enough of it. It compares well with Mr. Jack's The Library, Chesterfield House (126), and Mr. Elwell's The Gallery, Thorpe (128). In the last named Mr. Elwell has not only painted a very over- furnished room, but has got in all the family as well.
Mr. Campbell Taylor's The Nurse (63), with its strong contrast in light and shade, is painted delicately, and the more one looks at Mr. Alan Beeton's Marguerite (264) and her old- fashioned room, the more one likes it. Work (281), by 1Vliss M. Brooks, is well designed, the work girls in their attic, and the white dresses they are making, all being worked into an harmonious whole. The White Lady (588), by Mr. Campbell Taylor, deserves mention if only for the little view seen out of the window. Mr. Barnes's Head of a Boy (35), Miss Codrington's The Lumber Room (219), Mr. Charles Shannon's The Capture (143), and Mr. Muncaster's River Traffic (414) should all be noted. Mr. Muncaster paints ships with a loving hand.
I suppose it is difficult in the space at the disposal of the committee to arrange sculpture, but I feel sure something could have been done to avoid the Madame-Tussaud-like arrangement of the lecture room. Cassandra (1408) with her crystal and her cat, by Mr. Paulin, is pleasant from any angle. Eve (1418), a statuette by "Mr. Harold Parker, is attractively modelled. Mr. Reid Dick's marble statue Silence (1448) is simple and dignified in its treatment. Study of a Head (1465) in teak, by Miss Mary Morton, and Mr. Reid Dick's Nonna (1500) are both full of character. The marble relief of the Duchess of York and Princess Elizabeth (1485), treated in a Madonna-like way, even to a halo for the Duchess, will appeal to many.
There is no getting away from the fact that the Academy is not what it used to be. Can the reason be that artists prefer the one-man show, or are the moderns, striving after the kingdom of heaven of artistic treatment, standing aloof ? It seems a pity that differences of opinion cannot be sunk, and that every artist, whatever his creed, should not feel that a position " on the line " is his highest ambition. This may sound like Utopia, but what a pleasant Utopia it would
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