House has • had a large place in May Meeting
week, and always with the intensest interest and pleasure. But this year it was with mixed feelings.
In my, humble judgement this year's Exhibition, in many directions, is well up to the usual high „level of excellence. For superb craftsmanship and amazingly resplendent colour- fill floral displays, also wonderful light effects in "interiors,- a few of the pictures are miracles of essential beauty.
But to my mind there is " a fly in the ointment." I was surprised and shocked at the numerous nude *games : stark realism,- unedifying and offensive, I am sure, to a large portion of the fashionable fastidious spectators. It seemed reminiscent of the wicked old slave market-where the points of beautiful girl-slaves were being discussed.
But I am afraid it is only symptomatic of certain modern tendencies—sex obsession—much to 'be deplored, the revolt from Victorian Conventionism to the opposite extreme of erotic licence, •. a pandering to physical earthly instincts. If it is Art for Art's sake," then so much the worse-for Art.
I sincerely hope that for the future the R.A. Council and Selecting Committee. will exercise a more rigorous censor- ship in this respect.. Surely with all the artistic creativeness abroad and nature's apocalypses of beauty, terrestrial and celestial, with human situations of interest everywhere, there should not be such paucity of subjects as to require these dubious pictures to be " hung." It depraves the moral taste and manners of the community.—I am, Sir, &e.,
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