The Sun.
London, England, 1852-04-27 00:00:00

FINE ARTS.
THE NATIONAL INSTITUTION.
A private view of the pictures collected together
in the Portland Gallery (316, Regent-street) enabled
artthe displayed Nai'n
ceint
the walls onf.
; us, on Satuniay, to observe the progress made by the
;:rijreivi era eiPl oa l f contriworksbutors
o f to
iahlloynion thet depart-
ment upon the
ifi:irjeg
ipi,r. inch
sei7olo 1 a se, afrtpme
ieenttise g
,recfle
peeeet
,
in which our artists as a body have long proved
themselves unrivalled—that of landscapes. Produc-
tions of various merit—some as admirable as, it must
be admitted, others are execrable—to the number
' altogether of 381, serve at once to demonstrate that
our cultivators of art are industrious at least, if not
all peculiarly gifted, and that the patrons of art are
• munificent, if not in every instance discriminating.
Foreign scenery is in the present exhibition as fre-
quently pourtrayed as usual, from the Pyne-like view
of Tbun in Switesrlend (20), b-,' J. A. Harninersley,
to the Venetian Sketch, by W. 'Oliver (119), show-
log the Canal St. Fronero. Happily there are others
of a more bony -!!rawn character, such as H. le.
Willis's (67) " Sueuy Scene on the Severn in Glou-
c-,.ster,bire"—an Exquisi:e English landscape, painted
)$: iql poetical truthfuint,s to eerie, feel with a sense
of the c`.-.arnctcristics of rural U, in this island,
indicative of a easseulies. :..nfi yet subtle
apprci.,tion. Another painting from the same
h;And, set '•I th:,u4la it, i,;, and consequently
restricted in vigor., is nevertheless expressive
of the s,4nr-, admirable capseiiiss, revealieg (76) " A
Sketch from Nature of a Little Nook near the Lover's
Sea', Susses —e came appropriate to so sylvan and
loveable a spot for acher tryst or contemplation. Yet
a third composition from the easle of H. B. Willis
(302), " The Pleasant Time of Harvest," demands
from U 3 a no less earnest expression of our admiration.
His partiality for those two horses we cannot regret,
seeing how marvellously well he depicts them always,
how exquisitely the whole scene harmonizes, and
how charmingly the artist, in developing his own
original powers, can emulate simultaneously the
very opposite excellences of Collins and of
Herring. One of the Landers—J. Eckford
to wit—has a singularly clever and ingenious
representation of (23) "Master Walter Scott and his
friend Sandy Ormistoun." Child though the future
romancist is—in every feature, in the serious, earnest
expression, in the lofty forehead, and quaint mixture
of severity and good humour (traceable possibly to that
long upper lip—a sign of wisdom according to some
phyaiognomists), a striking resemblance is traceable to
the aeknowledged portrait of the Great Unknown, from
the
ee
Lbunsutdbeyrs,Cthhaienttirmeye
itto.the
Scott, Sic
e 1
contributese
of considerable dimension, of sublime purport, of
b ast At nwoet hweer r ofks
enormous pretension. Yet both are, to our thinking,
not merely signal but absolutely ure painful failures—
(72)(72) .1 s--
" The Crucifixion," a subjecttoo awful
to be lightly treated in the style of mere pictorial
melodrama, and (168) " Christ teaching Humility"
—(pity Mr. Lauder could not take a lesson in that
same virtue of humility)—in which the faces are
weird and unearthly as corpses galvanized into a
semblance of life, and in which the very raiments also
partake of the unnatural in their piebald variegation.
Not less raw in colouring is the little river-side
study, near Battersea, of F. W. Hulme (34), called
" High and Dry." A triple picture, somewhat in the
rigid style of Millais, eulogizedby Ruskin, represents
the skill of J. Zephania Bell and (24) the story of
" Ellen of Kirconnel." Incomparably the most gifted
contributor to the walls of the Portland
Gallery, and to the catalogue of the National
Institution, is Sidney R. Percy. Several of his paint-
ings this season are perfect masterpieces—especially
that exquisite composition (39) " An Osier Bed on
the Thames," which should henceforth be always dis-
tinguished by the bird with the metallic blue plumage
on the gnarled limb of the fallen timber—as the
kingfisher. Another work by Percy Sidney (101)
the " Eagle's Nest, Killarney," a third (294) entitled
" Willows," and a fourth (149) delineating the " Llyn
Mymbyr, N. W." reveal his extraordinary and ver-
satile powers as an artist, capable ofyepresenting with
equal truthfulness the scenery of England, Wales,
and Ireland. Edward Armitage has a droll
picture (60) called " Sunday Trading—a hard case,"
which, with its phantom policeman and timid little
orange girl, we would earnestly commend to the Saba
batarians. The Williamses as usual are in remark-
able force—" Carnarvon Castle, Moon Rising," by
E. Williams, sena being a wonderful revelation of
darkness visible, the same artist's (74) " Heath Scene
—storm clearing off," being as lurid as Alfred W.
Williams's (69) " Pass of Nant Francon," is sunny
and exhilarating. R. Burchitt has an admirable
portrait in his likeness of (88) the Right Rev. Dr.
Ullathorne. There is, of course, another " Burning
of the Amazon" (139), this time for the benefit of
Miss Smith, and from the hand of Captain
Inglefield. "An Attractive Tune" (204), by
Daniel Passmore, represents an old fiend
of a fiddler ecraping diabolical discord from
the fi catgut, with an eldtiteh lock, enough in its
ugliness to frighten any sensible infant into fits.
"The Highlands" (245), by Mrs. M`lan, would b©
excellent but for the water, that looks like a conglo-
merate of mud, gravel, and shavings—in fact, as un-
like water as anything we ever saw depicted. A
really extraordinary effect in the way of perspective
is produced by J. W. Glass in his (255) " Free
Companions." Saoh a " London Sunrise" as that
pointed
&by H. Dawson (296), no mortal ever wit-
nessed from Battersea Reach to the Isle of Dogs—
. with its raw o•aniboge glare, and its lacework clouds
similarly tinted, giving one the best idea imaginable
of the aspect of the golden fleece. During the prin-
cipal portion of Saturday the rooms were sufficiently
crowded to indicate the popularity of the National
Institution.