The Sun.
London, England, 1859-03-08 00:00:00

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THE PORTLAND GALLERY OF FINE

ARTS.

The preliminary business for opening this gallery
for the exhibition of pictures by living artists has
commenced, and it is understood that the public
; will be admitted to view the various works of art
intended for exhibition in it towards the end of the
present month. We have had the opportunity of
inspecting several of the pictures designed to form
part of the forthcoming exhibition, and can bear
testimony to the talent displayed in their works
by several deservedly-rising artists who will be
contributors. Among these may be named Mr.
James Meadows, whose mirthful representations of
Water and Cloud have obtained for him no ordinary
reputation. Mr. Bell Smith's picture, " The Infant
Samuel," is treated with originality ; and the paint-
ing, pure and masterly, evidences high promise.
Mr. J. F. Herring and Mr. A. F. Rolfe will con-
tribute a picture entitled " The Farmer's Pet
Team," displaying the former artist's peculiar
genius. The background has been carefully and
ably arranged, in harmony with the subject, by
Mr. Rolfe. Mr. I. Adams, as a new contributor,
will, we understand, forward some landscapes,
singularly original in character. His large work,
" The Otter Hunt," on the river Conway, is a truth-
ful representation of nature, and furnishes a striking
contrast to the conventional mode of handling such
subjects. Mr. J. Adams, jun., will furnish two
cabinet pictures of Fruit, marked by genuine ex-
pression, and a thorough avoidance of the artificial
style so commonly adopted in works of this class.
This youthful artist is rapidly climbing the ladder
after Lance. Mr. George Williams's charming re-
iiresentations of river scenery will ever commacd
admiration ; and Mr. H. J. Rolfe's Finny Tribes are
equally faithful, brilliant, and attractive. We fur-
ther learn that Mr. Bell will furnish some of his de-
lightful views taken during his recent continental
tour. Mr. Godet's works will, we trust, find suit-
able positions on the walls of the institution, that
their merits may be clearly seen. Mr. A. F. Rolfe's
picture of " A Welsh River Scene" will, doubtless,
claim no ordinary attention. The work depicts a
party of anglers, who have been engaged in salmon
fishing, weighing up the returns of the sport. To
the lovers of the gentle craft this picture will have
especial interest, reminding
Piscator of joyous
rambles by rivers, and

" Golden sands, and crystal brooks,
With silver lines and silver hooks."
We are glad to find that the following artists
will also contribute to the exhibition :—Messrs.
Percy, Gilbert, Moore, the two Pettitts, Meadows,
jun., Walter Williams, &c.

Whilst referring to the Portland Gallery, it will
not be out of place to direct the attention of the
committee to the hanging of the pictures. This
has been an unpleasant subject in more than one
institution of this kind, and complaints have been
made as to the mode heretofore adopted at the
Portland Gallery. A long continuous line of pic-
t4res from the easel of a single artist is not only
monotonous and unattractive, but partial and unfair
in arrangement. Artists, if not a sensitive, arc
naturally an anxious race, and perhaps in some
instances they may look upon their works with
overweening fondness; but when the picture of an
artist is admitted into the exhibition, he is entitled,
as a matter of business—having paid his money for
displaying his productions to the visitors of the
institution—to the kindest consideration and to
impartial treatment. We throw out these remarks
at an opportune period, as the pictures for the
Portland Gallery are to be hung up within the
present or next week ; and we trust it will be our
pleasing duty to report, after the "opening day,"
that justice has been dealt out to all classes of
artists, and that the show of pictures is worthy in
every respect of a metropolitan exhibition.