The Sun.
London, England, 1849-04-25 00:00:00

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EXHIBITION OF THE IVEW-4W.PIETY
PAINTLR.S IN WATER COLOURS': -
Having attended on the eceasiue the private
view of the collection of paintings now hanging in
the gallery of this very rising society (.53, Pall-
mall), we may briefly endeavour to express the
impression made upon us by the first inadequate
inspection of the four hundred and two pictures pro-
duced by the different conteibUtors. Our recollection
of last year's exhibition is so vivid,' and our ad-
miration continues to be so sincere fur some of
the works of art there submitted to public
scrutiny, that we cannot but regard the pre-
sent exhibition (the fifteenth in the career of the
association) as affording us considerable cause for
disappointment. When contrasted with its immediate
predecessor, it appears to us of a decidedly inferior
character; though when viewed simply in regard to
its own merits, and altogether irrespective of our
recollections, it is in several instances not by any
means disentitled to commendation.
Several of the most prominent contributors have
either retired from competition this spring, or have
shown themselves to have been remarkably indolent.
Mr. H. 'Warren, the President, has in only one instance
evinced anything like the ability which has already
gained him his very eminent reputation. In this
one instance, however, he has proved more than
meritorious ; he has produced a daring and ambitious
painting in that simple purity of style which Mr.
Herbert, the Royal Academician; has borrowed from
the early Italians. The work is No. 276, "Joseph's
Coat brought to Jacob ;" and the statuesque figure of
the patriarch with the kneeling forms of the brethren
who have made away with the youngest and the
best beloved, are singularly bold and beautiful. The
story is told in one glance, with all its force, its su-
denness, its pathos, and its solemnity. Mr. L.
Haghe, the Vice-President, has in like manner one
picture (No. 102), not unworthy of his pencil—
," Vespers in the Church of _St.__Anne, Bruges"—
rich in architectural beauties, in depth and transpa-
rency of shadow, and even in such minor excellences
as the vivid delineation of the marble masonry. Mr.
Corbould is scarcely so felicitous in 1849
as he was in 1848. His " Happy as a Queen,"
though charming, is in no degree compa-
rable to his exquisite " Water Lily" of
last season. No. 160. "The Murderers of Thomas
Chase, of Amersham, drawing up the Letter to the
Clergy," is, we take it, more of an experiment than a
labour of love on his part. As an experiment is is,
nevertheless, marvellously clever and effective, the
gleaming armour of the knights and the gorgeous
episcopal robes of the bishop standing boldly out
from the sombre darkness of the apartment. Mrs.
Margetts has several agreeable fruit
_pieces in
the manner of Lance, such as No. 2211,
" Quinces, Pomegranates, and Grapes." H.
Maplestone contributes one inimitably ingenious
sketch (No. 223) of " The Express Train—
Twilight," with the distant lights of the town
twinkling under the arches of the viaduct. C. H.
Weigall's " Pere de Famille" (No. 243) is a
scrap from Nature. So also is the pic-
ture of " Elizabeth et Fefine" (No. 360)
by William Lee. " The Servant of all Work" by
Harrison Weir (No. 281) is worthy of even Herring
or Landseer--small and unpretending as it is. One
of the most charming landscapes in the
whole exhibition is that of the " Windings
of the Wye," by George Campion. Admirable
also is that of " Spearing Salmon in North Wales,"
by J. H. Mole. Among the works of W. Rehnert,
the most conspicuous, and in all respects the most
meritorious, is that of the "Precincts of a, Large
City—Evening" (No. 36). A number of other
clever productions are unavoidably overlooked from
the brevity of the space which we have allotted our-
selves for the present notice.