Daniel Thomas : Newspaper writings

T "TELEGRAPH" Sydney, N.S.W. The Week in Art by Daniel Thomas MORE enjoyable than any of the week's new exhibitions was the reappearance in the Art Gallery of New South Wales of those Australian "old masters" which had been away at the Adelaide Festival and at London's Tate Gallery for nearly eighteen months. Tom Roberts' "Balled Up" (transformed by cleaning), his "Coogee Bay," his portraits of 'Arthur Streeton and of Florence Turner Blake are all back. So are Con- de?. "t4.5. Orient at Cir- cular Quay," and Stree- ton's "Redfern Station." These pictures, together with the many others in the Gallery by the same artists which were illust- rated in the Bulletin a week ago, add up to the best collection anywhere, 01 this so-called 'Impres- sionist" period In Austra- lian painting, that is the 1880$ and 1890a. 't Is, apart from the pre- sent day, the moat excit- ing period in the whole of Australian art. All the artists were young. There was the excitement of being part of the first coherent group of Australian painters, the first who could exchange ideas, drink, and go to parties together. Before them, during Australia's that hundred years, there were only iso- lated individuals. There was the excite- ment of national self-dis- covery (the colonies would soon federate into t he Commonwealth), a reali- sation, for the first time, that all around them was a new world of experience which had its own unique qualities, and which had scarcely been touched by art. They now discovered heroic national subjects like Roberts' shearing shed pictures, or Street- on's picture of the country being opened up with a new railway tunnel; or in- formal, relaxed subjectslike the streets of Syd- ey, or the harbor and the beaches. The freshness, the sense of making somethling new, extended even to the port- raiture nuttily there was t h e excitement of the new kind of painting which Roberts had brought back from a study trip to Europe. They called their sket- ches titnprmsions," as the French Impressionists had done in the 70a. It la problem whether had any direct know le French impressionism 0. (m o r e likely) of Whistler's Eng- lish impressionism. In either case one can only speculate. At any rate, absolute ac- curacy of observation and spontaneity of vision and execution were their great qualities. There were to be no formulas. Minor impressionist Roberts and Streeton spent more time in Syd- ney nineties.Melboeurnehail followers and colleagues here whose work la often overlooked. The Art Gallery for a short period has placed on view not only all the early Roberts it owns, but also examples of these other men's work. 0. P. Berl!, for instance. whose delicate glazes have something in common with Conder, Prank Mahony, Emily Meston, A. H. Full - wood, Arthur Collingridge, G. W. Lambert in his ear- liest days, and Harry Gar- lick. Garlick especially is re- vealed as a sensitive artist who should not be forgot- ten. All of them share a rather long brush stroke, and surprisingly thin paint. The few examples from Melbourne at the same period-Withers. Davies. Fox. Grace Joel-show a quite different technique of short, vibrant broken touches, of rich crumbly textures. This la in fact the fully developed French Impres- sionist technique, and must hove been introduced to Melbourne by Phillips Fox. This extremely interest - toe display, mostly of "little gems," will be on view for a fortnight only. Tom Roberts book A book on Toni Roberts by Robert Campbell has just been OM. published (Rigby, It has a biographical in troduction and 12 good - sired color plates, four of which can be compared with the originals In the Art Gallery of New Soulh Wales. Where the similar book on S. T. Gill last year warmed up the color only from white to cream. here the plates, though attrac- tive, have become hot and red Instead of clear and airy, and much of the deli- cate green, blue, or pale gold has disappeared. Do we now expec, our landscapes to look as if Drysdale painted them? However, the plate-. are excellently chosen to show the full variety of Roberts' work. All are familiar ex- cept the little-known street scene in the Manly Art FLORENCE TURNER BLAKE (1897), by TOM ROBERTS. Gallery, and two late works owned by members of the artist's family. The introduction breaks none of the new ground that Miss Spate's masterly thesis will, it It is pub- lished. but It is most sym- pathetically written. It is chiefly a picture book, and since there is no other book avalleble on our best early artist, it is great- ly to be welcomed. One interesting point: How long have we regarded Tom Roberta as our best early artist? It cannot be much more than 10 or 16 years. Before that his col- league Arthur Streeton Was regarded as top. There is no question that Roberts created the Aus- tralian Impressionist school, but there has been only one previous book on him. a biography commissioned by his family. Streeton has had two. Although the Sydney gallery bought many of his paintings during the best years, nothing was bought in Melbourne, his home town, till 1920. New exhibitions Earle Blacken at the Macquarie, as well as his widely admired etchings (perhaps the best in Aus- tralia). shows paintings for the first time. They have pleasant. rather Parisian color, pink and ochres. Their subjects are not unlike the etchings, ab- stract geometric forme suspended in apace where they become surreal ob- jects. There is an attempt to indicate physical land- scape experience In the Mediterranean at (ingot* Beach, or in a storm. But there is labored appearance to the hand- ling of his aurfaees and the etchings are still beat. Joao Brannon at Barry Stern's works in the theatre. She shows pretty terrace houses, cunningly handled in all manner of gouache, ink, watercolor or thinly knifed oils. Some of the houses get rather above themselves and begin to surge slonistically. The restrataire- pleasant nothinm, a little cheaper than Cedric Flower's brilliant versions of the mine subjects. At the Dominion is old- fashioned shinny "art mt- tery" by Rlytle Pate. Like the arts and crafts ladle of 40 yearn ago, she cans more for decorating the forms than creating them Some are carved, some gilded, some pierced to the condition of bird cages. On the walls Per Gar- man -VW shows watercolors of Sydney genre scenes, and oils where the same people swell into gslumph- Ina succubi. blue, green or red. Hardly art, but If you like that beat -selling print. Of the colored :BSI with the blue face why not try an original oil painting? WHAT'S ON TODAY AND NEAT Wren APT GALLERY 0,' N.S.W.; Sprnal rn erodnial Dhibillan or ar.utpDtroo by IA. lat. 0 F. Lorrra LAST DAY. From the ormonant coDoe tiat Miner AultrI40n imentolon10t et the n.001 10e. ALL NEXT WICK m.o., John enters, pa.rdincla nd drOwinIR. Tarry Clan.: APihke Soy/. 1101^1,111 Prid otCh,nnt Rod, Kowtow John Mal., and the Brisbane khoel. toorarl. Earl Seth., paint.nos and etching. Itayry Stern. J.. arm's., LLLLL t htnea, O 00.0,110. Klyti. Poo, "dhoti, Par GannonVik, Repo Art Sorlsay North Sydnay. R A S. Toon. 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