The Express.
London, England, 1862-08-12 00:00:00

FINE ARTS.

*E ART-UNION EXHIBITION OF PRIZES.

1 pictures selected by the prizeholders of the
Art, ion of London are now exhibited at the Benny of
the Misty of British Artiste in Suffolkeiree• The prin-
cipal mom bee the sight-line entirely tilled with the oil
pictures chum from the Royal Academy, the British Usti•
tutioN and the Suffolk-street GisUery ; and the smaller
roomcontains the water-colour drawings which have at-
tracted the notice of the prisehokims in the water-colour
societies.
The exhibition does not contain more than half-a-closen
pictures which could be said to evince the eleratedgor im-
proved taste in the general public which it is one great
object of the society to cultivate. The pictures are most of
them' of the very common order, pleasing to the generality
of ireephs, and not offensive to the critical eye. Price bee
rieuresrffy regulated the order of merit very nue, as there
are only three prizes—one of 2001., and two of 1001.
each—which couhl command the best works of artists
of repute, the rest being confined I. four of 301.,
and prises under that sum, but not lower than 101.
Thus, there is a sort of iatesmsdiab nue of priors from
1001.10 501., which is not represented ; there is, we we-
stern*, some reason for this, but at first sight it would ap-
pear that a scale of prizes regularly diminishing would en-
.eihke ths society to purchase works of • higher order,
though of eoune fewer of them, and evidently with 5
generally diffused benefit to the artist community. We
observe in this selection that the prixeholders have in no
iastanoe been ioduced to go far beyond the amount of their
lock, iihroings in extending their little bit of patronage.
There IN some few instances in which the prizeholder has
added 31., or even 101., out of his own pocket, and in one
cur 204 ; bat none, as we have sew in former years, in
which any considerable amount has been added for the
sake of obtaining a picture. At the seats time there are
several Instance; to be noticed ia which the amount of the
prize naiads the sum asked by the artist, from which we
conclude that the exuasgrrinass are offered u • bonus to

the painter. On the whole, it nitsit be owned that
t►e society does fulfil one of its expreessi Intentions
by encouraging professors with the male of their works;
notably in the cue of Lady Chantrey, who was a holder of
the 1001, prize, selecting the picture of "Rotterdam," by
Mr. G. Jones, R. A., from the Academy Exhibition. The
council of the society have • difficult pert to play; they
could not very well assume the position of a committee of
taste an select for their prizebolders—though this has, we
believe, been talked of as one of the plans for improving the
public taste—but they do exercise considerable influence ie
another direction, by giving commissions to artists for the
engravings, oath:me, medallions, statuettes, tic., given
regularly every year to subscribers. The competition of last
year for • prize of 100 k, awarded to the best set of outlines
illustrating Tennyson's "Idylls," was aa excellent thought,
and it drew out several good examples of outline drawing
from artists almost wholly unknown, and the price was
gaieed by Signor Prieto, an Italian artist, long resident in
Edinburgh. These outlines, the originals of which us
exhibited with the pictures, are now printed and ready to
be given to each subscriber. They ham bees axoeediogly
well lithographed by the artist's own hand, and cannot fail
to be acceptable to the subscribers.
We noticed also in the room • very clever medallion
chased in metal by Mr. B. Jefferson, the subject being
from Milton's " Paradise Lost," " The fall of the rebel
sagely." A certain number of copies of this are to be given as
prizes in the next distribution. A statuette in breeze of Mr.
Foley. fine figure " Caractacus" in the International Exhi-
bition is also exhibited as another of the future prises.
But the first great prize of the current year is
to be " The Dancing Girl Reposing," • life size
marble statue by Mr. W. C. Marshall, ILA.,
which is at present in the International Exhibition.
&aides these there are included in the prizes tuxes, in com-
memoration of the late EnnoeConsort, designed by J. Leigh-
ton, F.S. A. ; statuettes in porcelain from the pretty group,
"Go to Sleep," by Mr. Durham, in the Royal Academy this
year ; tarreliefe, is fields ivory, of eubjeoki from Milton, bj
Wyon and R. Jefferson ; and books of etchhigsby E Rad-
cliffe, after David Cox, all expressly produced for the Art
Union. Therefore we are disposed to regard the efforta of
the society in promoting the cultivation of the arts in
various directions as of mom real importance to the interests
of art than the distribution of a certain sum per annum in
the purchase of so many indifferent pictures.
The following are some of the principal prizes : "Bedtime,"
by A. Hughes, 2001. prize, selected from the Royal Academy
by Mr. J. Summers. "Rotterdam," by G. Jones, R.A.,
lOW. prize, selected by Lady Chantrey from the Royal Aca-
demy. " Salvator Rosa in the Abruzzi," by C. Vacher,
1001, prize, selected by Mr. J. Woodman from the New Water
Colour Society Exhibition. " A Stitch in Time," by J.
Mayne'," 504 prise, selected by Mr. J. C. Smith, from
the British Artists' Exhibition. " Morning on the Usk," by
H. J. Boddingtoo, 501. prise, selected by Mr. W. Boos from
the British Artists' Exhibition. Sixty-nine prime were
chosen from the Exhibition of Oil Pictures, twenty-nine
from the Water Colour Exhibitions, and two boats in
marble.

DRAMA.

ADELPIII.

The drama of The Dead heart, which had proved
very attractive, baviog been withdrawn, last night Miss
Avonia Jones made her first appearance at this theatre in
her character of Medea. Into the merits of Min Jones's
performance we entered fully on the occasion of her debrt
at Drury-lane last winter, and we 600 DO rearon to depart
from our then expressed opinion.
Another novelty at this theatre was the perforates°, of
Mr. Tom Taylor's capital little comedy, Our Clerks, ia
which the part originally so well played by Mr. Keeley was
last night excellently sustained by Mr. Toole; while Mies
Louise Keeley played her mother's character with genuine
humour and spirit.