ART
The Exhibition of Greek Art. Paintings by P. Wilson Steer. At Bur- lington House.—Winter. Exhibition. At the Leicester Gallery.
GREEK art, philosophy, poetry and the idea of Greek civilisation have, as everyone knows, exercised an immense influence on the minds of men during several thousand years. Why the visual expression of the ancient Greeks has done so is pretty well indicated by the exhibits now on view at the RA., but such is the great volume of literature on the subject by students far better informed than I am that I can only express my personal enjoyment, and say no one should miss this exhibition which has only a few more days to run. I would, however, like to draw particular attention to the El Greco "Despoiling of Christ," which seems to me a far better picture than the familiar "Agony in the Garden" from the National Gallery. The long tradition which led up to El Greco, revolutionary though he was, is for once clearly shown by the presence of his pictures and drawing, in a room containing the marvellously powerful sar- cophagus portraits of the first two centuries A.D., whose elongated features are so like El Greco's own portraits, and also an extensive collection of Byzantine easel pictures. These, together, show El Greco as the final flower of Byzantine art and not, as is so often supposed, absolutely unique in his vision. Every visitor will find his or her favourite piece of sculpture, for the range, both in period and kind, is large, even in this comparatively small exhibition. To me the bronzes are more exciting than the marbles, though there are some charming little marbles from Paros and the Cycladic Isles, which snake it clear that Henry Moore is a very old-fashioned sculptor.
Within a few yards of the glory that was Greece is the gloom which is the New English Art Club, but for once the "New English" recalls its vanished charms with a distinguished group of early oils by Wilson Steer. "Beach Scene with Three Children Shrimping" is delicious and " Aminta " is a noble portrait. There are also two very pleasant Steers in the Leicester Galleries Winter Exhibition, which is otherwise rather dull. One of the best paintings there is a highly accomplished group of green apples by Lawrence Gowing.
I am rather at a loss to understand why this able artist persists in the archaic groove of "English Impressionism," but if green apples must be exactly portrayed in this manner, Gowing is the man to do it. He is rapidly becoming "The Master of the Potential Stomach Ache." In the same exhibition are some pleasant decora- tions by Denton Welch and Denis Mathews, a lively if rather inexpert "Bird Table" by Babette Dyall, and a good recent Leslie Hurry, "Café Bar" which has a greater solidity than much of his earlier
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