»■ .^ .•^ (Monographs) I- '^■ ICMH Collection de microfiches (monographies) > . ■ t '*.'. CaiMdton Institut* for Historical IMicroroproductioiit / Iratitut cimodlfh do microroproductioiw historiquos iquM tiM liMtituiii hM ammplMl tovMiin tiM bm orifiiMr am aMilabk for fHniint. fmUmm of «M> Mfty wliidi wy bf bIhli u p i gtihiNy im^iw. wfHiii iwy ihic >wy of tiM iMap« in ilM rapradHCtioii. or wliWi May itgiiiftoinly rtMWfi tiM HMMl nMlhod of flMint, mo fhartraif htlow .«' □ CokNifMleowin/ ^ CoMMtWro dt coi^lMir COMVMIHM □ CowMtraltoiodMMl/orlMninatid/ CouMTtwo )MtMif«a ot/ov ptlliciil*> L 1 U tHrodicowMrtur* MMiqiM 4* CmMs Ifotripliiqim Ml □ Colooraidl Ink (i.«. othM.thMi Mu* or btaek)/ EiMni dt coulMir (i.t. Mitrt qut Wmm ou noirt) jr~n CdioMMd plalM Mid/or iHwtratiom/ I I PlanchM •t/ott ilhntratiom «i MNitour IhNind with othM manmial/ R«M am d'a TifKt binditifl may cauM shadows or distortion akmg intarior margin/ La raliMa sarrte paut causM da I'ombraou da li| dntorsibn la long da la anarfi kitAriaura flUank iaavM addad durint rMtoratkm may . within tha taxt. WhanavM possiMa, umm hava . baan omitMd f ram f iknkig/ II sa paut qua cartakMS IMPS ManchM aio«t^ iors d^una rMtMiratkm nwMaisMnt dans la taxta, mais; iorsquacfria itait possiMa. CM pafMfi'ont pMMfihntat."^ L'hwlhiit a mJcrofilma la maMiaiif Ma ittk MuaHiib da m ntociirar aiMMplaira ^oi sont paut-Mia qu'il dHaMsdaeat faprodufM. on qui pauvant aiiipM dans la mathoda normaw da f HMaia CrdMSOIii. ,■■;': i , una modification □ Colourad pafM/ hi|N da eoutaur t □ PaflH rastbrad and/br laminatad/ PafM rastaurfes at/ou pil l i c u U si SPaaM diiMiloMrad ttainad ar foxad/ ULJPfttMtfAtachtes 0SlM|MVtlMFOU|h/ Transparanca □ Quality of prkit variM/ Oualit* i n i g ala da rimprMsion ■ V □ Continuous pagination/ PaginatkNi eontinua □ IndudM indax(M)/ Comprand un (dM) indaa . Titlaonliaadar takanfrom:/ La titra da I'an-tlta proviant; Titia paga of issua/ Paga da titralda la livraison Captkm of issua/ Titra da\liipart da la livraison MMthaad/ Ginirkiua IptrkidiquM) da la livraison D □ AdditkHMl commants;/ '^""^ - CowmantairM suppli m antairM: - •:.■ •■. • ..■ ■ , ",^^; ■■■,".;_ This itam is fihnad at tha raductioA ratio chaekad bahiw/ Cadoaumant ast fibni.au taux da reduction indiqiift ei-dassous -IIX- -2$3t -3W- ~ ■ * V .: . 12X lix aox 24X 28X 32X TiM eo0y fNtnad hmtm has b««n r«prDdiic«■ * ■■■ ' "' ■■ ^ " \ '''■■^..■' ■ '.■.'■ , ■-■■.. UiMlaa aymbolaa iuhranta apparaftra sur ia - - daml*i« Imaga da chaqua mftroflcha. aalon la ^ cas: la symbols —► signifia "A SUlVRE"« la ayfnbola V signifia "FIN". i Laa cartaa, plinchas. tablaaux. atc^V^paiivant Atra filmte A das taux da rMuction diff Artnti- Lorsqua la documant i^t trqp grand pour itra raproduit an un saul dlcK*^ 11 aat filmi « partir da I'angia sup«riaurg»ucha. da gnucha * droit*, at da haut an baw. an pranant'^la hombra d'imagaa nAcaaaaIra, Las diagiammas sulvants IHustrant la m#thoda. ; ' ' #■. N^ 6 )- '-f'^- imt xtum (AMI ond no TEST OMITr No. 3) 1.0 li I IM 123 ut |£. lit u IM IM !^ I U 1 1.6 ^ /IPftLED JM/GE Inc 16U Cotl Main S«rM« ^^"^^ ^ nodwator, Nm Ydcfc I4<0g USA (716) 4U - OJOO - PhoM (7I«) 288 - -r«i ... • . . t ' ■■■■■■ . ' ■ \ '' - . ■ ' < ' . • ^ ... EXTRACT FROM PAR r.lAMENTARY REPORT Flf^E ARTS bEPARTMENt "— OF THE— ' . ■'■■■."; "V ■. ■ *"' * ■-' Ccrtonial and Indian Exhibition • ■ At SOUTH KENSINGTON — f <.v/-«» 1886. if*^ ' REPORT — OF MR. HODGSON, R.A. — ON THE EXHIBIT OF — CANADIAN PICTURES. # « TORONTO: PI^INTKD BV BINGHAM * WEBBER, 19 ADELAIDE STREET, EAST.'' ^^0 . ■vs |V, ':/%- . ..■■-,-■ • ( A , *^ '^, • 1 1 ^, . ; . •' f ■ ^ 4 ■ > .. ■■ . ^' ■■■■ • ■ ." ' . ■'..'. ■ ■. < ' - ■ ■*. ; . fv . , \ ■■■■•■'.:.■ '•■;..' . .. ■ ■ ' ' . . ' y?' . ' ■ .'T7 ■-■ -.--..^A-. ■ "'■} i ' ' ■'' i ' ^ ' ' . ' • ■•■"■- / ■ V- - ^ : ■ ' . ■ . '*' . . ■ ' ■ ■ : ■ ' : '. ■ ' ■'■ _ ■- ■ . .- fit* i., • ■'■. '■■ ■ "V' — ' : - ■ - •". ■ » !• -■..,_,. ;- ■t . ■ M ;' t^^-. ■■-.(.' • The following is that portion of the report of Sir Charles Tupper, G.C.M.G.tCB,, Executive Commissioner of the Canadian section of the Exhibition of the Colonies :. and India, which refers to the Collection of Pictures exhibited dy Canadian artists : m ■■..,/.■ ■■ - ., . y '"X \ : \ P ■;-■■;, FINE ARTS. t*.-,- 'Mn thi% department, also, Canada has asserted her supremacy among theCdonies. An English critic, writing in the Magazine of Art, says: — "While walking among the Canadian pictures you can imagine yourself in a good European gallery, much more easily than you can if, you are in the fine art collection of any other Colony." Another critic siaid : — "A school- of clever fandscape painters, inspiried by grand mountain and river scenery, appears to l^ve been formed in Canada. The names of Forbes, Fraser ( and L. R. O'Brien may be mentioned in this connection. Two views of Quebec lent by Her Majesty the Queen, are good examples of Mr. O'Brien's art. Some of his water-color paintings are also deserving of special com- mendation. One of the best works in the gallery is the ' Meeting of School Trust^' by R. Harris. . * * * Regarded as a itfAokM^ eontributioni from Canada are tittt, of interest and promise.*' : ^'^^ 1 4ring my absence in Canada, Mr. Cross approached Hiii Excellency the Governor-General, who was t^en in England, with the view of obtain- ing a report from soipe English artist of standing upon the works of our painters. His Excellency Wks pleased to approve of the suggestion, and, with his unfailing interest' in all matters affecting the credit of the Dominion, ' exerted himself to obtain such a report. Lord Lansdowne succeeded in securing the kind offices of Mr. J. E. Hodgson, R. A., Professor of Paint- ing and Librarian to the Royal 4cademy, whose criticisms and suggestions a>e full of most valuable instruction to our artists, and are made in a spirit of thorough good will, while they are, at the same time, accompanied by words of praise and encouragement very welcome from an artist of Mr. Hodgson's standing. I introduce his report here. To Sir Charles TuppER, G. G. M. G,, C. B., . , ■ .iStc., '. ■ : &c«» ■ &c. :;■■ ■ -y-,- •^■ Peak Sir, — ^^Lord Lansdowne has requested me to convey to you, in writing, my opinion of the pictures contributed by Canadian artists to the Colonial and Indian Exhibition. His Lordship seems to be of opinion that the verdict of a painter, who, from his years and position, must neces- sarily have had a great deal of e^qperience in the matter of art education, is likely to be useful to the young and rising school of Canada. It gives me great ptouure to do this, apart from the general principal conveyed in thg A 't-i ■**•. i; \ adage (ff '*kavtta de veitlis marr^C solely on pe ground of the varied erest atUi ched to the Exhibition itself. I am not aa]uainted with any of the Canadian artists, so that I trust that the remarks I am going to make, whatgrer other value they may have, may at all events claim the merit of being perfe|:tly genuine and disinterested. . My firit impression on making a careful survey of the pictures,' was, that Canadi already possessed in Mr. L. R, O'Brien a very considerable and accomjilished artist, and in Messrs. John A. Fnwer, F. M. Bell Smith, Paul Peel, Homer Watson, P. C. Wickson, W. Bryfiiner, and R. Harris, others who promised, if well directed, to attain to ^till higher distinction. 'Good direction is, J think, the one thing needful; a country which has already produced so much talent and energy, has no doubt plenty more in reserve; the.dictorial re.sourccfs of nature appear to be boundless, whilst the life of the people, so much less removed from primitive simplicity than is the case in iur old world, supplies that clement of picturesqueness for vrhich we are compelled to search far and wide and^ often in vain; in a word, everythihg seems to me to favor the production of a noble and orig- inal school of painting: Put as it is foolish to forget Qur gratitude for the good things wfe enjoy, by dwelling uiwn others which we hope to possess some day, I shall take in review the present Exhibition before I venture on general remsu[ks. ; The fifteen contributions of Mr. L. R. O'Brien, P.R.C.A.»areall admir- . able. In /his oil pictures, possibly from want of familiarity with that stubborn material, he is jess ambitious than in his water-colors. I especi- ally misf the figure element which he introduces with great skill into the •latter. ; Wis view of Quebec by sunset, however, shows no want of skill in miinipulation— it is w6ll drawn and executed with a spirited touch. The " SyX-awrence from the fort of Quebec " is also a very impressive picture ; the/aspect of that mighty river which seems to dwindle ocean-going ships to the proportion of fishing boats, sends the imagination travelling back- wards through thousands of miles of great lakes and rivers, and I try to conjecture where the first drops of that great mass of water began their long pilgrimage'to the sea. But, as J said before,.it is in his water-colon that Mr. O'Brien is most impressive, and most at his ease ; the merit of these drawings is great enough to bear comparison with the works of the. chosen professors of the art who have for so many years had their local habitation in Pall Mall East. " Portage at Chute de Diable,'! " September on theSaguenay":!and "Mount Eboulement" are beautiful landscapes; but the two drawings which appeal most to my imagination are the Voya- geui^ on the St. Maurice, and the lovely sketch of "Sunrise on Lake St. John;" this may be partly owing to reminiscences of Washington Irving. The Canadian voyageur paddling his canoe amongst those vast inland waters, " IT t> " *< » ' t . , . ■ . ■ • , • js to me like a creature j&rh«ir mythical romance, I long to hear of his exploits, and am delighted when he is vinibly presented to my eyes.; Mr. John A. Fraser, R.C. A., is the next largest contributor to the Exhi- bition. He is an artist with^hom I venture to express very hearty sym- pathy. In several respects he may appropriately be called the piotteer of a new School of Art He seems to have gone forth into the oute;r wilder- ness in search of the picturescjue, and on the evidence of the scenes h« represents, in the solitudes of the far West, he must often have startled the eagle and the "grizzly" by the urjwonted apparition of an easel and sketch- ing umbrella ; hfc shows the same daring spirit in the subjects he chooses and the natural effects he tries to represent. I feel too much genuine admiration for his eflbrts to indulge in promiscuous commendation ; I do not think that he has been completely successful ; but his failures, as far as they go, are worth a great deal more than successes achieved on the beaten paths, along which less original painters are content to plod. With Mr. Eraser I may conveniently mention J. G.Forbes, R.C.A., whose new oil pictures— "Mount of the Holy Cross," "Rocky Mountain Canon," and " Mount Stephen," — evince the same pioneering spirit. In the latter there is a palpable want of mastery over the material, which is apt to prejudice the professional eye. There is an unpleasant redness in the coloring for insUnce, but the resolute and careful drawing, the earnestness and fidelity to nature are in every way admirable. With a little more practice and experience we inay expec|^||^r results. Mr. Fraser's drawings, notably the " Perc^," "Mount Stefhdfti," " Mgunt Hermit," and " Summit Lake," have, to my mind, more of the new world in them than anything in the Exhibition, at least as I imagine the new worid which I have never seen. My impression of it derived from books, if such may be called imprfessidns, represent a country which, to borrow a metaphor from the studio, the Great Artificer has established before laying on those glazings and scumblings with which artists are in the habit of completing their work; there is less mellowing of tints than in our hemisphere, and a more rigid insistence upon outline, and I thoroughly applaqd Mr. Eraser, painting in his own country and to the manner born, in his efforts to grapple with the artistic difficulties of such an atmosphere ; if he is not thoroughly successful, ^nd if a certain rawness is observable in his pictures, time and practice will, i feel certain, bring ultimateNtriumph. A.more serious indictment to- be brought against him, is carelessness in the! matter of form. The same- atinoisphi^re which iwould enhance the vividness of coloring, would also bring the accidents of outline into more prominent relief; and it is a fact based upon subtle art- istic laws, on the effect produced on the minds by synthesis of effect, that were the outlines more clearly defmed, as for instance in the pines on lit 'V -H t . * V -^ ra?» I'M- h •f "Mount Hermit," more clearly defined And more Individuatized, the color- ing would appear leas harsh and exaggerated Thii seeins an appropriate place to mention the charming drawing of Niagara contiifouted by H. K. H. the Princeu Louise, which indicates the same courageous attempt to grapple with Canadian coloring. As I imagine it, the burning intensity of that wall of liquid emerald which hangs over the ledge of Niagara, is strictly inimiuble by art, but the mimic presentment given by this drawing enables us to form a vivid idea of what the reality must be. If royal birth has hitherto been ah obstacle to the production of ^ood art, it may fairly be said that H. R. H: has been, the first to prove |that that obstacle is not insuperable. Mr. Paul Peel, A.R.C.A., is, I understand, a young man, and is evi- Idently acquainted with French ateliers, and he has imbibed mafiy of the IprecepU which are current in such places. His hand and eye have been trained and he has leamt the orderly management of a pallette and brtishes. His picture entitled "Admiration," representing a boy blowing soap bubbles. Is painted in a firm and masterly way, all the resources by means of which relief is obtained have been employed with knowledge and judg- : ment. The picture is complete so far as it goes, and leaves very little to be diEsired. " Return of the Harvesters," the^ most important of his cdntribu- ■ tions, and the largest picture in the collection, bears, evidence of the same ^^ training and acquirementiB. I imagine the scene to be laid in Brittany, but a doubt arises in my mind, which in. my ignorance I am unable to solve, as to whether the peasants in French Canada may not possibly have retained or adopted the c(«tume which we are familiar with in the north-west of France. The conception of this picture is poetical, but in the carrying out as I shall endeavor to point out when I come togeheral remarks, youth and- inexperience have had to wage a sohiewhat unequal battle with the special - difficulties inherent in a large scale. The same resources which are ade- quate in a small picture, fail when applied to a large one. The effect pro- duced on the eye is not one of relative, but absolute proportions, and a blank space may represent the same area in a large as in a small picture, but the eye judges of the absolute size of that blank space, and pleased or offended accordingly. *«Covent Garden Market, London, Ontario," is another of Mr. Peel's thoroughly successful works. It is well drawn and the execution is firm and scholarly. His other works I will mention inci- dentally later on. R. Harris, R. C. A., another young aspirant in figure painting, is rep- , resented by four pictures. These are full of promise and in the "Meeting of Trustees," &&, there is evident achievement also. The character of the backwoods trustees, big with brief authority, is admirably given— it is a sober, earnest, conscientious work ; all I will venture to say, and Mt at all * V ^ (n the WtT o^diiptngement, is, that in that far off adumbration, which we call the representation of nature, of which glone Art is capable, large sacri- fices have to be made. The scale of nature is so many octisves more exten' sive than that of art, that though we endeaVor to imitate her harmony we are compelled to reduce its compass. I.ighthess and darkness in nature melt into each other by infinite gradations ; and if we follow her accurately atone end of the scale we shall find ouhelves without resources wh^n we- come to the other. We must take an average of nature, and do the best we can, or the thing most generally suggestive of truth, with that. It Memii^ me that Mr. Harris has followed nature a little too closely and conscilffiii- ously at the dark end of her scale and has failed to render her brilliancy in » way at all proportionate to her gloom. Homer Watson, R. C. A., another young artist, seems to me to be quite on the right road. Saving and excepting certain objections which I need not apply to him personally, but to the school in general, his work is thor- oughly satisfactory, It supplies the primary requisite of a yfmk. of art, namely, individuality. Without going into metaphysics and the abysses of Fichteism, we may safely assert that the variety and versatility of external' nature are only made apparent to us by their appeal to peculiar mental con« stitutions, and what Charles I^mb called the " corregioiity of Corregio" was in reality a revelation of something existing in nature which had hitherto passed unnoticed^ ^We associate certain effects with individuals, such at sunset glow with Cypt and cavernous gloom with Rembrandt, as they were really the discoverers of the one and the other ; and I should consider that any professor or teacher of art who objected to any peculiar rendering he might observe in one of his pupils, was venturing into regions where lie had no business, t think that Mr. Homer Watson sees nature in his own way ; perhaps in a somewhat weird, unhospitable and cheerless way, but it is his own, and* if any word of mine can carry encouragement to-him I would bid him persevere and express the thing that is in him. All I would venture to suggest applies strictly to the language, not to the motive impulse, of his art All he has got to say is compatable with careful draw- ing of parts, such as leaves and bushes, and the impressiveness i^d terror which he wishes to 4;onvey in hit fine picture of the "Saw Mill" caii;i4)e rendered without an unpleass^t inky^ hue in sky and water. •. Mr. F. M. Bell Smith, A R. C. A.", is no novice, to judge by his firm teiuch, and what t may call the judicious reticeiu:e he is able to command idfen speech is unnecessary. His picture of " Last Rays, Bay of Fundy," tempts me to forget Canada and to generalize. It seems to me aa gbod as most landscapes which are being painted in these days ; but then Mr. Bell Smith must remember that very great landscapes are not being painted, and there are still new worlds for him to conquer. His picturesare a trifle ^r-" 'if. French, perhaps ; there is just a little of that panule of art which is «q offensive in the landscapes which hail from Paris ; just a suspicion of selt assertion. The good people of Canada live farther /rom France than we do ; they have hot been bored to death as we have; they have not been fdaily told by P'renchmen : "See how clever we are,V "h^w well we knqw how to dp things," "in that place in your picture you must put a flat tint with a piifletteknive if possible," "that must all bedark,""it is the law,"a^dso on ; and Mr. Bell^mith, with his artistic training and fine eye, might well affordto set such things at defiance.. As he walks on the sea-beach and drinks in the pure Atlantic breeze, and watches the green waves rolling on the sand and splitting themsdves in spray upon the rocks, he would do well to let love of nature and beauty be his only guide, and J don't think it will lead him far astray. W. Brymner, R. C. A., is a talented artist who shows in a more marked degree the influence of French teaching. His best picture, in my opinion, entitIed"Crazy Patchwork," has all the characteristic excellencies, or let ^me eall them truths, for which modern French art is remarkable, giving k scene in which a number of objects of diflerent colors are grouped together • that art is mainly preHxicupied with rendering the exact value in point of lightness or darkness which those objects have respectively to each other and this one truth has been rendered with an accuracy which may b^ reckoned as a new achievement in art. Mr. Brymner has accomplished this in his ." Crazy Patchwork " and in " A Wreath of Flowers." The for- mer picture is, moreover, carefully and skilfully drawn^ind painted. It has also an agreeable, silvery tone of color. " This artist has naturally a good eye and delicate appreciation of tone-^in itself a rare gift— and he is capable of producing beautiful work. All that appears to me to be^iecessary is a more extended sphere of effort, as, for instance, an endeavor to unite giiice ^nd beauty of form aniWeatiire with the charm of tone and iiJrial perspec- ' tive, which he already excels in. *^ *^ Of Albert Bierstadt, who is not a Canadian I need say nothing He has often exhibited in.Europe and the value of his work has been fixed bv very competent critics. ' Allan^Edson. R. C. A.,, deserves a ^ord of hearty commendation, especially for his landscape in water-colors. ^ It is a beautiful harmony in grey and gold, with a clear limpid sky.. There is nothing better in point of color in the collection. The grey trunk on the right with the autumn leaves clustering round it, very subtle and full of fine artistic feeling William GiU. The three drawings by this artist are in a very pure st^le of water-color, neatly and deftly executed in single washes. I should like to see Mr. GiU's work on a larger scale and with a more ambitious theme. I may make a remark here which applies also to Mr. Edson and. •i: :■^■ ^ 'TV^^^'' 9l ^^ indeed b all the Canadian landscape painters. There seems to me to be a want of character and individualization in their drawing of trees. I a»\i myself which of these is the maple, the sumach or the hemlock,, of which 1 have so often read, and I cannot answer the question. These trees might be growing in Sussex or Kent. Grand Pr^, the country Mn Gill paints in, at once recalls I^ngfellow's " Evangdine," and I think of the opening lines : — This is the fonst primeval ; the mnrmuriingpinei and the hemlocka Bearded with most in garmrntg grey, inclistinct in the twilight, ^ . Stand, There is more loCal coloring iii|tjhese lines than in sct^res of Canadian pictures. This is a defect which f^irtists should certainly correct. F. A. Verner must pmctice assiduously, to overcome a certain clumsi- ness of handling which mars his good intentions.' His subjects are Very interesting to us who live on this side 6f the great salt lake, they record t^ings-which j suppose are doomed to pass away. The buflalo may already Irbe classei^ with the Great" ^Uk and the Dddo, and the aboriginal Red Indian, in flannel shirt and trousers, no longer reminds one of the noble savage in his warpaint who stalks so itiajestically through the narratives of Fennimore: Coopen : \ ' , D. Fowler, K.C.A. This artist's drawings of dead game and flowefcs are spirited in execution and particularly rich and brilliant in colouring. His partridges seem to me the most successful iil point of execution. There are several other exhibitors whose subjects place them in the same category with Mr. Fowler to all of whom I will give a passing word of com- mendation, and aisp another of admonition. They must bear in mind that the limited range of their, art compels them to employ the utmost delicacy and fidelity of drawing andrendeting of texture, and that it is only by technical perfection that they can raiise their art to the level of an intel- lectual enjoyment. / " , " . T. Mower Martin, R,C. A., in addition to the pictutes of the above class, exhibits a landscape in oil, "Fii/ Trees," which is broad and effective, and some water colour drawings, almOngst which I noticed " Old House at Ancaster," as particularly successful. Geo. Harvy, A.R,C.A., is only represented by One picture, " In the ' Annapolis Valley ;"^ but that picture is one of' the veiy, best in the Exhibi- tion. There is a sense of repose ih its solemn twilight tones, which reminds one of Venetiai]i art. This picture is on th^: range of high art Suppose it to be the background tosome touching human incident, and as disappointed ambition mightf be the'cause of, and we at once find ourselves on the confines of a high oixler of things. The ultimate height of refine- ment to which poet and artist have hitherto reached, is to point out the ■■)«.«.>yi% sympathy between the aspect of external nature and the mind of man, «| in Coleridge and Wordsworth, Michel Angelo and Titian. Mr. Geo. Harvey's work only wants to be a little more firm ; one thing seems to melt into another. To be really impressive, each object should aissert it- self boldly. This is a snake fence and this is 'a roafd ; there should be no mistake about it. * P. G. Wickson is also represented by a snig^e picture : " The Young Artist," represents an incident which may have been borrowed firom the life of Giotta tliis picture i^ i^hope, the wwk of a young man» lud as such indicates promise. It wants careful ireatracnt throu^wu^ especially in the modelling of flesh, and is deficient in the blending of warm and cool tints. The young man who begins Iqr tryiog to pamt all he sces» wiO eventually learn what is most essential ; but he who bcgiiM by only teUing half a story, wiU Xe^xn perhaps, when it is too late, that he. mitatd the points- :' '■ . ■ - P. F. Woodcock, R. C. A. *' Returning from the Well'^ is* the best of the two (Nctures exhibited by this artist. The composition is very skil- ful and agreeable, the proportion of the figure to the background and the canvas genendly is admirably adjusted; the sunny glow on the farm JMnld- ings is also very beautiful He tells us a good dea^ but he also suppresses nuny things we should like to, know; facts about faces, the ^uticulations of fingers and the-folds of drapery, for instance:. When Mr. Woodcock is older and sees this picture again, he will perhaps be sui^sed to observe how nearl]rhe ran to missing his point Besides the pictures ihentioned above I noticed a very well pdnted picture by F. C. Gordon entitled " Washing day," and another by W. Raphael, R. C. A., called " The Amateur," also a splendid drawing of " Shooting the Rapids," by Washington Friend. But all of those hang rather too high lo be well seen in a gallery so badly lighted as the AlbertHalL ' So far I have confined my remarks to what appear to me to be the merits or demerits of the individual artists who contribute to this Exhibition^ I ti^t that I shall not be trespassing too much upon the space yot| are pleased to allot to this report, or on the patience of those to n^hom it is addressed, if I conclude with a short essay on the general principle which govern art, which principles in the case of a young and isolated school like that of Canada it is important to insist upoii. 7 pi. Robertson, in his History of America, remvks that amongst the inhabitants of the newly discovered continent, who had had no intercourse with the rest of the world, there were found the same passions and pro^ pensities, the same virtues, vices and fdables which had been illustrated by centuries of history and which had been the theme of philosphers and I I !■!"■* '■O : iaitirfots since the days of Homer. In art we observe the same uniformity; We, in our tinie, may be said to have discovered a 'new art, that of JafMm, which hta grown to its present perfection without any extraneous influence. In that art we find identically the same principles of contrast, harmony and variety which r^ulated the art of the Athenians and of medueval and renaissance Italians; but the uniformity of principle admits of all the dissimilarity which is observable between a Greek sarcophagus, a Florentme cassone and a decorated Japanese screen. That which is imiform c^sti- tutes the fundamental laws which govern t^rt and which are founded on nature ; that which is various illustrates man^s individuality and the endless -^onibinations of which human faculties are capable. The nniforinity rMs upon laws which may not be violated ; the variety has always been governed , by the dreumstances which surround the artist, by the age and counti7 in iHiich he lived, and by the conditions of his intellecti]aLrequii^i|ient& It is the main souree of interettttin art ; it helps' to explain history and i| con- stitutes the claim upon which reputations are built In a young country^ like Canada we must expect the first ventures in the direction of art to be timid. The artists who found that school, and whose example Will ef^entu- ally buikl up the traditions' on which it rests, are in duty boundf to be careful that their practice is grounded on priujciples which are enjiduring and'inviolable ; but they must beware of mistaking fashion for, pr^j^iple, and thewhimS and fancies of individuals for organic laws. Tb^ must study, as Reynoljcls said, the full body of the best general practicf?. No school, to be worthy of the^name, can be founded upon « few examples. The whole range of art must be traversed, and, its laws once ascertained, the individual genius of the artists and the. influence of the nature which surrounds them ; the circumstances which call works of art into existence, all extraneous influences, in fact, must be allowed their natjiiral and untrammelled sway; It is thus that E^ptian, Greek, Italiuia^ Dutch art were produced. All of these w^re admirable and of momentoiis impor* tance to the world, and all of them sprang directly ^m the requirements of their time and the circumstances which surrounded the artists. What is demanded of the artist, and what he must supply or pay the penalty of n«^lect and oblivion, i^ a foithfiil record of himself, a truthful testimony to the things which he knows aiid has seen and which he loves. A striking instance will prove |he truth of this assertion. Benjamin West, the first artist of note who caiiie from the nevf world, was unquesdonably a man of genius ; but we should have b«en ignorant of the fiact, Imd allowed his reputation to sink in his grave jrithout the tribute of a regretful epitaph, but for two pictures. On two txxiasions and only two duHng his long life he escaped from the slavery of conventional ideas and dared fo be true to himself. He piroduced the " Death of Genial Wolfe " and the "Treaty pi^' ■5, -V." v**» '-'^ t» X \ of Penn with the Indians^" two pictures which the world will not willingly let die. All tllj^e rest that he did deserves only to be forgotten ; it was a lieeble effort to rerive an art with which hi had no real sympathy and rhich he himself did not thoroughly understand, < ^ Jn applying these remarks to the young school of Canadian, art, 1 trust that due allowance will be made for the emphasis which I have thought necessary to use to make my meaning clear. I have put the case in an extreme light, not because it is appropriate to the occasion, but in order that I may not be misunderstood. On the evidence of this Exhibition, I jtic^e that the artists of Canada are sufficiently grounded in general, principles, but I observe a tendency to adopt the external fornn the pecu* Juu-ities which belong to individuals, which I regret^ and which, in the exercise of what may be dilled an official duty, I feel bound to object Jo. i will not repeat any of thd numerous common places about JKgbnd and her coloniey, which have been spoken and written since the opening of the Inhibition. I quite share in the genera] enthusiasm, I go the whole~^ length, in fact, I think it the noblest ta^k ever proposed to itself by a . ^\ nation. Hut of spreading the blessings of civilization over the barbarous v^ons of^he earth, And of gathering the benighted nations into the fold of Oifist ; and I make if part ahd parcel of that glorious dream that art shall be pfactise^ wherever Britain holds dominion ; an art which shall be^no slavish imitation (^ foreign examples, but which shall be an indigenous product, which .shall b»ye. grown up at the source of nature, out of the circumstances, .> the wants and occupations of the people who practice it. With such idois ; it has been rather k^hock to me to observe in the Canadian pictures such" evident traces of French influence ; not the influence Of the great French painters, Gerome, Meissohi^r,- Ingris and Flandrin, &&, but of the rank and file of mediocrity, the influeritei to speak plainly, of a school which is daily / becpnutng more debased, whichVsubstituting pedantic rules for the* free-i / dom of nature,— which is shutting oOt from us the clear bright air of heaven, ' / and stifling us mtii the smoke ahd dust of studios. This is strong language, I \ and I must prove mf c^. The chief of ^torical difficulties is to pre- / serve unity with detail, to subordinate parts to ii whole j no'bne will venture' to de^y that he who accomplishes this is f&ssed nutster. But in the name of comnipn sense, and taking the full body of the best gi^neral practice as authoritative, who but a modern Frenchman has ever ventured to\ assert that the right way to do that is to leave out all detail,' and to lanrpid parts altogether. Yet this is the principle at this moment in vogue in Paris. According to these self-complacent theorists, the World has been toiling an4 striiggling all these centuries, wasting its genius and its eneigies in a foolish/^ pursuit, that now in the fulness of time has come the last revelation, which has made art easy, and turned the efforts of ageis into foolishness. To fee ..X X \ X- ■' V ;■ '". ■■UK-'/,- ;■• K, ' / e* e / « r t s .-■■."■■.■■■:..'••■■■ v-;-- ,..\ . is;.-:- \j:[ ;■■■■■■,■;.-■/"■ ;■■•-;.■':' preciie, the new French theory is this, [ietaiis and minutiae arc; unneces- sary and irrelevant ; what is important is to render the general eflect the relief (ie salient) of nature, the broad impression produced by her. If you represent a man standing in a field, you must render the exact tone of his head and his clothes as compared with the tones of grass, of' the jsky and the trees. When you have adjusted these tones they cannot be laid on too flatly or simply, and then ybii will have given a perfect rendering of nature, and produced the highest art. Now, in answer to this, I beg hiimbty to subtnit, th&t more than four centuries ago, at the court of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, when Europe was plunged in that state of anarchy and bat-barism which we find so graphically described in Wialter Scott's "Quentih Durward," there was an artist of the name of Johii Van Eyck, who painted a picture still to be seen in perfect preservation in the Church of St. Bavoii; in Ghent. It represents the mystic scene of the adoration of the Paschal Lamb. It is full of figures kneeling before the enthroned Lamb and it hi| a rich landscape for its background. It is quite evident to the practised eye, that in the whole of that pictt|re. Van Eyck used his newly discovered French principle (perhaps I ought to say he anticipated it) but only as the basis and starting point, just as the mason lays the solid stones of pillar, capital and architrave before he begins to carve them. Over that ground* work of adjusted tones he patiently and laboriously, but with untiring tenderness, piled Pelion uponOssa of complicated and bdiutifUl detail. He'represehted aU the folds and wrinkles of skin and the hairs on the heads; he covered the draperies with complicated folds, intricate embroidery, and he, spangled the green grass with hundreds of varied flowers ; and he was not alone, hundreds did the same. Rubens, pf the mighty brush, who covered acres of canvas, did hot disdain it ; witness a landscape in our British National Gallery, with its foreground covered with brambles, where there are partridges with little black shining eyes, red legs and barred plu- mage, and a man six inches high who carries a musket with flint and steel lock, you can see the flint l^t us take the questicm into court before com. petent judges, and weigh it on evidence, authority against authority, the practice offour centuries against the dictum of a small number of French- men. Or let us appeal to a stillhigher tribunalj that which sits in our own hearts and feeling. Does this wholesale excision of all little trifles really bring delight ? Can we imagine the joys of an early morning ifi June, where there shall only be flat tones, no daisies, orlilies of the valley, no butterflys or robin, red-breasts?^ I, myself, cannot. And, morover, Ido at this present, though an old hand and dubbed Professor, who have labo* iouslyr^dmanyaduU book on art in pursuit of knowledge, solemnly abjure all theories knd rules, as of authority in the sam^ other than that of giving pleasure. The i^auty of this universe bewildeisand intoxicate me ; i 4 I / - ... ■ H ■,•-•■ ■■- / ■ ■•..•■■■■ ' science informs me that no instrument yet invented can probe the minute- hen of its details or the vastness of its expanse. I anv happy in the thought and grateful to its Almighty Creator ; and when a work of art gives an echo tatfaii sentiment, I.tafcaK«d pleasure in it ; when it does not, why then I treat it as mature age has taught me to treat many other things; I riirug^y shoulders and take no notice. But I have been led into arg-. -J.i.', A . ■ -5 ■ . ■ j • , . /" 7? *f^.*w ^" — '^**^ r^ % ja «*iH*1|#v., y ^': JL