The Express.
London, England, 1867-02-05 00:00:00

Sine Atifi.

THE CESERAL EN HI 111 rIoN OF WATIgt.COLOVR

ItItAWINI;st,
The Dudley Gallery is open for the thira seamin,
with a large collectio n of tlrtwings contributed by those
artists only who dot mt heleeg to either of the water•
colour sta:ieties. The general excellence of these works,
as
well us their uundoer, is a sufficient proof that such an
exhibition was a want of the day amongst the water-
colour paititers, and we are glad to find that, so far from
any kind of falling Wt. there in a decided advance in the
character of the works. In paying this, however, it is
with some reserve, for we cannot disguise front ourselves
that th:oe is a certain eloseowe of howling talent amongst
the exhibitors. more espeeially as regards the higher daps
of subject which the water•eolour painters base shown
themselves so well able to teat. There is no work of the
higlie,t :din, at least molts: we except Mr. Melon Brawn's
" I,:tr," which is a little too high in its pretensions --
nothing that denotes deep feeling for expression with full
artistic power -while the superaltuntlauee of tech-
nical accomplishment and works of the small senti-
mental order is rat her tiresome and deprenning.
The society, if such the Initlley gallery committee may be
called, must obtain a wore marked superiority before they
can take tank amongst the best of their order; but in
saying this it is nut with the least disposition to di--
courege a young and observing enterprise, which has un-
questionably done well hitherto, and claims our best
wishes for its prosperity.
Landscape is, generally speaking, the strong point ito a
water-colour exhibition : the freshness and purity of
colouring, which lie so comparatively easy to the hind of
the watercolour painter, enable him to surpass the worker
in the heavier and less manageable material of the oil
painter. In this exhibition there are many admirable
studies of natural landscape, of which we should especially
point nut Mr. (i. atTor Dartonnoe
($), with a tine dark and wild-looking sky ; and, by the
same artist, " Permit Sands, Cornwall," where the
sea and the winds have swept the sand over
church and burial-place, leaving nothing but the
ancient stone cross of the early Christian settlers
to mark the deserted spot. Mr. Arthur Severn's "Tomb
of a Marabout at Algiers," and another picture of a lay y-
ing-plaoe at Algiers, with a gleam of evening sunlight
striking the shadows of the palms on the walls, are good
in effect, though with something too much of grey, cloudy
aky, and a sort of indefinite stumble, such ow is observable
still more in the artist's drawing, " Moonlight on the
Seine, Paris" (21S). la Mr. Field Talfourffis drawings,
" Twilight " (7S), and " Coast Scene" (215), with others,
there is to be noticed the atone clever dash and foiling for
. .

character, giving us only one itupresaion of natures nieny-
sided face. " lien Nevis from the North" (24), with the I
snow still lying in the crevices of the mountain's granite
flanks, and a bright piece of green foreground, telling of
spring time, is a very purely coloured and carefully drawn
picture, by Mr. Edward Hargitt. In the drawings of Mr.
Albert Goodwin there is too much of the desire to make
common Ohio look romantic and lovely, not without
considerable feeling for rich colour, but still a certain
forced effect, which is very obvious, as in the drawing
No. 22, near Arundel—a late evening effect, with deep
purples and blues. A similar aim at sensational effects I
may be noticed in Mr. Charles Earle'svery cleverly touched
Last (Oval!' of the Setting Sur, —Whitby " (50), in which
the brilliant red sena Olt spread over the brick houses of
the town on the hill+ide is contrasted strongly with the
grey sky and the pale full moon just rising. Whitby,
with its quaint red brick fishermen's houses, has been a
favourite study with the artists. On the screens are seve-
ral exceedingly picturesque views of the town and harbour,
of which those by Mr. Elides are particularly truthful and
natural in the tone of colour.
Mr. J. C. Moore contributes some large drawings of
Italian scenery, all excellent for conscientious study.
" Olive Trees near Tivoli" (97), and a view of " Florence
from the road to San Mini-eto " (226), are, perhaps, the
most interesting. A fine bold sketch by another painter
of the name —Mr. Henry Moore—called " Mid-day on
Strensall Moor, Yorkshire" (126), is one of the most re.
mailable in the gallery for clear and powerful colour,
with thorough understanding of how to paint when the
impression in strong in the mind. Mr. Moore has more
highly finished drawings than this, but none that better
asserts his ability.
Mr. Viatt Cole indulge+ his feeling for realistic study in
water-colour with better effect than in many of his works
in oil. In his " Holmberg Hill" (.74) we have the rich
contrasts of colour in the broken gravelly bank and the
purple heath. The sky, however, does not strike us as so
true, either in the colour or the forms of the clouds; and it
is precisely here that the realistic painter is so apt to fail.
Mr. Arthur Ditchfield has attempted something in the
romantic vein of Denby, in a golden tinted grove with blue
mist rising from the valley, and nymphs and fauna come
out to dance to the pipe of a young Apollo seated in the
foreground. We cannot say that he deals with poetic
landscape quite in the master's style, but there is much
beaaty in his work, and all that he does is 'narked by s
nice feeling for the charm of evening light. 342, ' Forest
Glade," shows s tendency to mere prettiness, which would
be fatal to anything like success in the poetic line of land-
scape.
Mr. H. Fillcan has made the most decided advance from
his carefully painted views in the East, in several very
spirited and boldly painted pictures, especially in that of
two elephants hurrying with their riders through the fear-
ful dustatorm in India. Mr. Frank " After Glow
at Assure, in Upper Egypt," far surpasses in brilliancy
anything he has painted in oil, and would lead us to say
that this was more his forte.
There are many other drawings amongst the land-
scapes which we can only draw attention to by
naming them—as Mr. Soper'sa " Chestnut A
(216), Mr. F. Walton's " Evelyn Woods, Wotton',
(172), Mr. Basil Bradley's " Fording Cattle across
Coven Ferry, Loeheil" (2401, Mr. J. Needham's " Sunrise
in Winter" (4t4), Mr. W. H. Paton's " Inland of Graves,
Skye" (291), Mr. Harry Johnson's " Ruins of Sardis," Mr.
J. Richardson's " Grey Morning," with his capital group
of cattle, and another with " Old Dumples, the shooting
pony ;" Mr. T. It. Macquoid's " Patio Caw, at
Zaragossa ;" Mr. S. Beavis' " Northumberland coast,"
and Mr. George Mawley's " Early Spring."
Mr. Raymond Tricker distinguishes himself amongst the
figure painters, in his capitally drawn and richly colonred
fishermen and boys of the Devon and Cornish coast. Mr. J,
D. Linton takes the higher ground in picturesque histori-
cal style, in his fine largo drawing (166) of an Dalian musi-
cian in 16th century costume, leaning over his companion,
a lady, who seems a little weary of his music, to touch
the keys of the organ before which she is seated. There is
much beauty in the figure of the man and the general
colour and composition of the work, marred somewhat by
the rather sickly and common sentiment of the l►dy.
Mr. E. Tayler has painted a very beautiful head of the
Jewish type, in his " %ills " (182); and Mr. S. Solomon, in
the head of a lady between two sprigs of myrtle, called
acc ?is:tingly " Myrtle Blossoms" (177), apparently suggests
tbe•style of Tintoretto, but without any of the rich tones
of the great Venetian. Mr. Poynter does more for the
claims of the new school in his picture of the " Snake
Chirmer" (W), in which with all the clever management of
the colouring we find it difficult to admire the figure of the
girl dancing amongst the snakes. Some very cleverly
drain figures of Arabs, by Mr. J. Huron, whose name is
new to our galleries, will be noticed for their great spirit
anti- truthful character. On the whole the exhibition
is one that abounds with drawings that all possess some
merit, and there are few that can be pronounced inferior.

Miriam.

DRURY-LANE.

Mr. Phelps is now playing a round of his fa-
vourite characters at this house, and last night he appeared,
for the first time this season, as Sir Pertinax Macsyco-
phant, in Macklin's comedy of The Man of the World.
This is one of Mr. Phelps's most finished and effective
personation', and those who miss seeing it lose one of the
most intellectual treats the stage has now to offer. Juba
Bull will be played again next week, The Jealous Wife the
week after, *allowed at equal distances by The Men-heat Of
T i sire and The Selo°, for Scandal. The pantomime still
triumphantly keeps its place in the bill.

SCHULZ.—We are glad to learn that this
clever artiste, who gave a private soiree in the Dudley
Gallery • few weeks ago, has secured the large room at
the Egyptian-hall, Piccadilly, for the purpose of giving •
series of his extraordinary and novel representationaduring
the mason. Hie seances are quite original, humorous,
and.artistic studies of character. Herr Schulz has • great
repetition in Germany.