The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1874-01-31 00:00:00

COMMITTEX'd REP.IIIT, 1874.

Toe Committee, in again presenting their Report,
have mach pt ,asura in enngratulating the friends and
sappardds at tit., schall Up ia the cootinued steady
progress of th stit menta.
TI,, candle)" of the Ilst;:ntion has never been more
favaurab!e thin at Vie preseitt tune, as rngerds tbe redid,
of its teaching all its go .enti usefulness, as an advanced
art centre in th neighb mrhood.
A large number of tinvAminent awards have been
male to the stu lents on this occasion, and it is very
gratifying to the Committee to observe that there is an
,verinesa and reg ilar tendency in the students' progrea,
that tuty lie regaided as a favourable symptom. In
proof of which mly be quoted the observations male by
the Examinees of the Departin .nt of Science and Art,
at their lute inspeelinn of the students' works sent from
their school.
The Examiners award a large number of distinctions
to the school this year, and report an advance and
greater activity on the part of the rem tents.
The Committee hope that the students will still pursue
taeir studies wdh industry, that the feture n.salts may
be even m are favourable than the past.
The Stontbridge School of Art sttads Trail in cam-
pariscri with any aclin3l in the country of the same
clam. With respect to the financial state of the school,
the Conmaittee are glad to find that there is a small bal-
ance in Lamar of the school, but they are most anxious
that this should be increased by a greater number of
subcriptinns and students' fees that the developing use-
fulness of the school should not suffer for want of
funds.

The great object of these schools being to afford foci.
Ries for improving ths natural talent oi those whose
cirenmstsnces debar them from pursuing their studies by
any other method, and to be n means of encouraging the
improvement of taste and style in those who have to in-
troduce a t into their daily employment, which in the
manufactures of this immediate neighbourhood is of
great importance. The Coanni'ltce desire to impress
upon employers of workmen the necessity of their en-
denvouring to induce them to talce advantage of this
school, and the numerous benefits offered by it.
There is an excellent Art Library, containing most
useful works for references, which is always receiving
additions of works sent by the Govetnment. end is free
to all students.

Mr. Bowen (the Head-master) wishes to expires his
satisfaction with the general progress made by the stu-
dents, but he would like to see still more works in the
stages of figure drawing. studies of plants from nature,
and historic styles of ornament. He trusts that more
will be done in these branches of study in the ensuing
year.

The Committee may mention that'iMiss Harriet Skid-
more, formerly one of the moat successful students at
the school, is now pursuing her studies in London, at the
Art Schenlien( the Department.
Another student Mr. Ralph Bowen, Ilea been admitted
to the atelier of M. Gerome, the eminent French painter,
at the F.cole des Beaux Arts at Paris, where he will re-
ceive the best instruction obtainable.
The ansistaut master, Mr. J. A. Service, attends
several of the public FCIIOOIB in the neighbourhood,
which avail themselves of the Elementarf Art teaching
of the central reboot.

The bys of Old.winford Hospital are examisei in the
Second Grade with the students of the 84°31 of Art,
and bave been very ineeesaful.

The Committee have mush pleasure in being able to
present such a favourable report, and desire also t 3 ex-
press their entire satisfaction with the manner in which
the school has been conducted by Mr. Bowen.

The Chairman said he thought it was usual for
the chairman at a meeting like the present to open
i the proceedings with a few remarks of a general
nature, but as it had been his lot to. preside over
' meetings of that kind in the town of Stourbndge
so,ohne
thheop;dresehnet shococasiuldonb.e.
Here-
cwfoumrsedsaolmfzesoymysearsdaforianPa
when speaking in Stourbridge
of saying what he had said before. He though,
that might be taken as a sufficient reason why he
should be excused from making any lengthy re-
marks. He was informed that that school was
opened in the year 1852, and that was the year
following what might be called the birth of all
such institutions in England. It arose from the
Great Exhibition of the year Dia. The person
to whom the establishing of all such schools was
due was a foreigner—the illustrious Prince Con-
sort, who saw how necessary it was for the com-
merce of England that something should be done
in the way of developing a knowledge. of art
amongst the people. It was owing to Prince Al-
bert, who started the Great Exhibition of 1851,
by means of which the fact of their great defi-
ciency in matters of art was brought home to all
Englishmen. Since that time the rapid growth of
art had been remarkable. He (the speaker) had
the pleasure of meeting Mr. Henry Cole, who had
been so long connected with the South Kensing-
ton Museum, and from a pamphlet that he had
given him he had gathered a few facts in which
he thought they would be interested. He found
that in 1852 there were only 20 schools of design
in this country, and there were now 100. He
then gave several statistics showing the immense
strides made in art education amongst the poorer
classes, and said that in several places examina-
tions had been set up, which were found to be
very valuable things because people could under-
stand the value of art better, when they had in-
spected the works of the students. He referred
to the fact that although the students at schools
of design could not travel on the continent to see
the works of the great masters, such institutions
as that provided them with what were nearly as
good—viz., copies and casts of the great originals.
An immense number of objects of art had been
gathered together from all parts at the South
Kensington Museum, which was the principal in-
stitution of the kind in the country, and some of
these were lent at various times to schools of art.
It could hardly be expected that the possessors of
valuable pictures and other works of art should
be willing to throw open their galleries so that
every one might enjoy them, and one object of
Mr. Cole in collecting together so many pictuns
and works of art was that they might be thrown
open to every one. Ile the speaker) asked Mr.
Colo whether art was supported by the manufac-
turers of glass, and he said not so much as in the
potteries. The speaker thonght art was quite as
necessary in the glass trade as in the potteries,
and lie h,,pod all the manufacturers connected
with that trade in the district would be ai willing
to support that in.ititutiou as the manufacturers
of pottery ware were williug to support ones of a
similar iles2riptinn. One of the things which Mr.
Carlyle spire of was that a knowledge of art was
one of the many shafts from tle bottom of society
to the top, by whi3ll those who were in the lower
strata should be able to climb up to the tap. They
could not make genius; it was a great gift of God,
but he thought these schools were very useful in
bringing out the men of genius in the lowest
classes of society. He believed that many of the
students of those schools were very studious and
attentive, and that those who belonged to that
school were so was sufficiently evidenced by the
large number of prizes that had been gained by
them. He was told that statistics were like chlo-
roform, because they made those who were listen-
ing to them go to sleep, and if he were to go into
a long list of statistics he should expect to see a
similar effect produced upon his audience. He
would, therefore refrain from doing so; but would
instead take the liberty of reading a letter which
had been written by the great author, Mr. Carlyle,
and a copy of which Mr. Cole had been kind
enough to give him. Mr. Carlyle was a very re-
markable man, who held some very strong views
on the manners of society at the present day, and
the letter expressed in rather strong and passion
ate language his disapprobation of them. The
letter was addressed to Sir Joseph Whitworth,
and it was written on the occasion of Lis promis-
ing to double the percentage on his workmen's
savings, so as to stimulate thrift. It was as
follows—

•• My dear Sir—Last night I heard through the [Aiwa-
paper. of your offer on behalf of the thrifty workpe spin
of Darley, and of the thankful acceptance of it by the
district authorities of the place. I cannot resist the
highly unwonted desire that has risen in the to any that
1. highly approve and applaud the ideas you have on that
aubject, and to declare in words that in any opiaion no.
thing wiser, more beneficent, or worthy of your distin-
guished place as a master of workers has come before me
for mauy years. Would to heaves all or many of the
eaptains of iodustry inEngland had a soul in them such
as yours, and could dons you have dose, or could still
further co-operate with you in work, and plans with the
like effect ! The look of England is t o me at this
moment abundantly ominous; the question of capital and
Labour growing ever mere anarchie—insolutle altogether
by the notions hitherto applied to it, pretty certain to
sssue in petroleurn—ohe day, unless seine other gospel
than that of the ' dismal seienca ' come to illuminate it.
Iwo things are pretty sure to me; the first is that ' capi-
tal and labour' Lever can or will agree together till they
both first of all decide on doing their work faithfully
throughout, and like men of cooseience and honour.
whose highest aim is to believe, like faithful citizens if
this universe, to obey the Eternal commandment of
Almighty lied who made them. The accent thing is a
sad-ler obj :et than even that of the • coal strike,' or any
other conceivable strike, is the fact that, loosely speak-
ing, we tu4y say th it all England has, dee'sled that the
profitablest way is to do its wark ill, slimly, swiftly, and
sueuslashously. Whit a cootraat baween now and, any,
isily a hundre.l ye ird ago! At that latter date, or, still
more conspicuously, for ag -a b:fere that, all Englan I
swain to its work with an iuvoratiou to the eternal Msk Sr
isu hen limn in sh sir sla)ta Mohr and help tit: a (ode
it well. Now, all Eraglanal—ohookeep T., workmen, al;
almoner of coin, sting labourers—awaken as if with an
aaspoken but heartiest prayer to Beelzebub. help
aa, thou great Lord of shoddy adulteration and inslfea•
OLICtI, to tO or work wit i the mealtime] of slimness,
swathes., profit, ant men lacity, for the Devil's sake,

He (the Chairman) was afraid there was too much
truth in that letter, though probably the matter
was somewhat strongly eJloured. He believed
that our work was done less thoroughly of late,
because we lived so fast that time was not allowed
for the proper performance of it. The practical
lesson that we ought tc learn from this was to do
our work more carefully, and the best way to ac-
quire a habit of doing this would be by gaining a
mere artistic knowledge or and love for our work.
This would give them a greater pleasure in doing
it, and it would not only enable them to do their
work better, but give them a more thorough artis-
tic appreciation of it, He was sure there were
few institutions that would do greater good for the
working classes in England, than Schools of Art.
The instruction given at them would enable them
nut only to appreciate their work better, but to
enjoy their leisure hears by teaching them a right
love for the works of God, which, after all, was
the highest aim of art. The Chairman then pro-
ceeded to distribute the certificates and prizes to
the successful students.

Government Certificates and Second Grade prizes
awarded to students during the years 1872 and
1873.—The following received certificates : Frank
Allsop, freehand drawing; Harry Bayley, do.;
Daniel Beech, freehand and model; Thomas Cox,
freehand; Thomas Dickenson, geometrical; Percy
Hadley, model; Samuel Hawkins, freehand; Alfred
Hennessy, do.; Alfred Hingley, model; James D.
Marshall, freehand; William G. Maybury, do.;
Thomas Morris, do.; William Northwood, model;
Thomas H. Parker, freehand and model; Benja-
min Round, freehand and geometrical; William
Sheriff, freehand; Francis J. Short, model; George
F. Simms, geometrical; Edward Smith, do.; Wil-
liam J, Thomas, model; Herbert Turner, free-
hand ; William H. Walters, do.; William H. Cas-
well, do. ; Thomas H. Chetwynd, freehand and
model; Thomas Cox, model; Walter Crockett,
freehand and model; George Crudgington, free-
hand; Alexander Dalrymple, geometrical; Henry
Dunn. do.; Benjamin Fenn, freehand; William
Gething, geometrical; George Hipwood, do.;
Herbert Turner, geometrical and perspective;
Thomas Campbell Bennett, freehand and model;
Elesnor R. James, do,; James D. Marshall, model;
Thomas, geometry._

Prizes given. 'by thi; Committee : Miss Agnes
Sproat, flower painting in water colours; Miss i
Amy Jones, painting n monachrome ; Miss Ada
Blakeway, outline of ornament from cast; Alex-
ander Dalrymple, shading oenament ; William
Henry Walters, shading ornament; William
Joseph Thomas, painting in oil; William Gethiug,
drawing from the cast; James Hill, design for
glass; Thomas Campbell Bennett, drawing from
nature; Ralph Bowen, drawing and painting the
figure; William Hingley, shading ornament;
James D. Marshall, outline of ornament; Charles
Clarkson, shading ornament from the cast; George
Hipwood, shading the human figure in chalk;
Frank Allsop, architectural drawing; Herbert
Turner, outline of. ornament from the cast.

_
Government Prizes for Advanced Drawing and
Design : James Hill, design for glass decoration;
ditto, ditto; Daniel Beech, outline ornament;
William J. Thomas, shaded ornament; Alfred
Hennessey, outline ornament; Edward Smith,
ornamental drawing from casts.

After distributing the prizes, the Chairman ex-
ressed his gratification that there was such a

r large number of them, end said it showed conclu-
sively
progress, but that the students
I work thoroughly and carefully, aud not with that
not only that the school was
slim swiftness so bitterly denounced by Mr.
Carlyle. The rev, gentleman then concluded by
giving some more statistics from Mr.
number
of
haurkindongestVeicy
pamphlet, showing the increase in the
who
students at varions schools in the district, w
were receiving art instruction, and the different
grants made by Government for that purpose.
Mr. Scott said he was sure they must
L 3
•t all
te_
feel
foexntr)efmorelcymingratgeffulbere that
to ttlibeeharrma evening, had,
of times he had before been paesent on similar
occasions, but he was sure they did not consider he
had been present at all too often. That evening
he had added to their gratification and instruction
by reading a very remarkabls letter from a very
remarkable man. He referred to the letter writ-
't
lis
the course of the evening, alluded to the number
-
ten by Mr. Carlyle. He (the speaker) certainly
felt that it was a great pity so much money should
be expended upon what Mr. Carlyle had termed
the "dismal science" whilst thousands of our fel-
low-creatures were starving in the British Presi-
dency of Bengal. They owed their best thanks to
Mr. Lyttelton for his kindness in coming there,
and he, therefore, proposed that he had them—
(applause). When they looked around the room
they could not help feeling that Mr. Bowen's
pupils were getting on very well ; but it struck '
him that there was an abscence of the sense of
colour which Mr. Ruskin refers to. One of the
principal features of the school formerly had been
what was called its landscape class, which de-
partment of art was affected especially by ladies,
in the morning class. That, however, had seemed
to have fallen off. When he looked around the I
room and saw so many ladies present, most of I
whom looked very artistic, he could not help hop-
ing that they would take up with landscape
paintine• again, as he was sure they would find it
very beneficial, as it was a very important part of
their instruction. Mr. Lyttelton had expressed
himself as sorry that there was not snore done for
glass manufacture by art, and he stated that
schools of design ministered more to pottery ware
than to glass. He (Mr. Scott) thought that was
the case because in the glass trade they had not
yet succeeded in uniting beauty with usefulness.
He thought the lines were of far more importance
than the filigree work which commonly prevailed
in the ornamentation of glass. He concluded by
proposing that a vote of thanks be given to Mr.
Lyttelton, for his kindness in coming there that
evening.
liThe Rev. H. Sherrard rose to second the vote
of thanks, and in doing so said they ought not to :
forget that the success of this school of art was
due in a great measure to the very excellent
monster, and also ti one who was the s icretary, and
who has watched over this school of art and
brought it to that stage of mccess. He was sure
they wecc all very sorry that ill Imalth caused
Mr. King to resign his post as secretary. At the
8311111! tine he cong.utalated the institution on the
possion of a new secretary in Mr. Collis, and hoped
it would make as great strides under his secretary-
ship as it had under Mr. King's. With reference
to what had been sail by Mr. Carlyle in the letter
that had been read to them that evening, it struck
him that the writer was one of that class of per-
sona who always imagined that the times that
were 7past were better than the present. With
regard to the wholesale charge made in the letter
against the workers of the present day doing
their work slimly and mendaciously, he (the
speaker) wondered whether the writer included
the clergy in it; or, perhaps, he did not think the
clergy worked at all. As far as worts of art were
concerned they required paitence and care, and
could not be done slimly and mendaciously. The
students who thus acquired a habit of doing any
work of art with care and patience, would carry
the habit into their daily avocations. Such an
one would do his work with care, with patience,
and with taste. Works of art and design were
tested by such exhibitions as these, because any-
thing that would stand the test of exhibition and
examination must have some sound qualities be-
longing to it. He heartily seconded the vote of
thanks to Mr. Lyttelton.
The proposition was then put to the meeting,
and carried unanimously. On the proposition o'
the Hon. C. G. Lyttelton, a cordial vote of thanks
was accorded to Mr. Bowen, the head-master, and
the meeting terminated.
The principal works of the students were exhi-
bited in the room in which the meeting was held,
and were much admired. Some original designs
for glass decorations by Mr. James Hill, are very
clever, and he has been rewarded for them in all
three grades by the Science and Art Department.
He has also been reinstated in a free studentship,
a position which he has held in the school for some
years past. The flower painting, in wats colours,
by Miss A. Sproat, of Brierley Hill, was also very
good. A beautiful painting in oil of an Infant
John the Baptist, after the style of Louis Roux,
by Mr. Ralph Bowen, is a very meritorious work
of art. This young artist has been admitted to
the studio of Mons. Gerome, the celebrated French
painter, at the Eerie des Beauxerts, at Paris, and
we should not be surprised if under such tuition
he attained considerable eminence in his profes-
sion. There were several other works well worthy
of mention, but our limited space precludes us
from referring to them.

G. F. GREEN,
pIANOFORTE TII
260, Castle-street, mid 168, H

NE

ligk-street,

HAS GREAT PLE•tURK IN PUBLISHING TAIR
TESTIMONI&LB.
From Mr. C. Potter, Professor of Music,
Institution for the Blind, St. John's Wood, 3
"1 can confidently recommend Mr. °teen ;
forte Tuner. Ile tunes by equal teropersine
tains an exact scale. (Signed) C. Purrun."
From Mr. J. F. Patterson, Organast, St. Pstri,k,
Church, Huddersfield :—..1 have much pleasure atea
laying to the abilities of Mr. Green as a yi,umon.
Tuner. He lays the hearings with exactness led pert,.
lion. (Signed) JAMES F. PATTERSON."
From Mrs. Sanderson, Solo lianiste, of thq Londe
sod Liverpool Concerts —"Mr. Green as one of (betel
who can Tune my Piano to the nicety I requare prerio
K. K. Stant':
StooNg.i:v,ing my Public Recitals. (Signed)

, from th
Loodoc,
a pif.

teimptrament,

I

From Mr. Butterworth, Organist, Dobcross, bey
Manchester :—"Mr. Green's equal as a Pianoforte Tui),
can rare/y be met with. (Signed) DAVID BUTTNI,Totiv
Terms for Yearly Tuning, ncluding minor re.

pairs—
Cottage., per annum ............ • I I
Grand. 40 _ . 1 a

-
Single Tunings (in Town).
s. d. e. d s. d
Cottages.... 3 6it 5 0 Full Griindii..6 6&
Semi-thands 5 0A: 6 S Concert Iron

Trichord o- tirsuds ......7 6
Obligue. . 4 6& 5 6 /
Pianofortes Tuned to the Preach Pitch (now wailer
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•a• A large stock of Clasaical and hlodern Musk, at
lialf-prico.
Please &Nerve the Address-260, Caulk &tett, ski
168, High Street, Dudley.
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Exchanged any time within all mouths for any other, if
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ther,after a trial of three years, su) Pianoforte or Hu.
monium would be taken back, at its original Cost, 1M
the money returned, deducting the usual charge for hire
thus offering greater advantages than the London or BM
miughiim Holism—Apply U. F. LiBEEIc, Pianoforte
Teachorand Tuner, Music Warehoooe,26o,Castkidteet,
and 168, High4treet, lludb,y.

PIANOFOR'rES k HARMON'.
MIS have boeu TUNED by G. F. GEEEN
PrO e Tuner, 260, CASTIE•STEEI T, sad 168, Ilion
1S r snoluttes Re-silted, Re-strung,
852 OrTi,9lllo.
y.
the Hommel he-tov•ri 4 a oiab reit t it,., u 44-41 by
the n.t ornibuut liy..

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