George Wishart : Art Notes

Photo by] La)u/ier, L01, A FAMOUS PAVEMENT ARTIST. As a pavement artist at the Westminster Hospital Bazaar, Mr. W.L. Wyllie, A.R.A., proved aun- precedented succ ss. His brothers of the brush, or rather chalk, who adorn our pavements with all sorts of coloured fantasies, would have been con sutned with envy could they ave seen the shower of silver and copper coins that greeted Mr. Wyllie's _ ,brilliantahstiees The passengers who were on the Loma with Captain J. D. Joy during the recent disturbanee "Mu" have preseated that gentleman with a beautifully illuminated address, in recognition of the courage and ability he displayed during is that perilous time. The address is really 'f; artistic. Above the insoription is a beautiful little painting by Mr. G. Wishart. representing i the L tira in the fiercest of the atom:. In eater , corner, surrounded by a lifebnoy, is repret, stinted a little incident of the sterting and ts ending of that eventful voyage, by the same S, I artist. One little scene represents .the Leura leaving Townsville ; another, steaming out of seppel Bay; the third represents the Loom f; giving provisions to a distressed vessel off Double Island Point ; and the lust, where she receives coal from the Derwent at. he Pile Light. The ineerisAion is as follows:-" We, the undersigned passengers, beg to express our heartfelt gratitude for safe preservation from the dangers of the deep during the recent Mu' cyclone. We desire to place upon record that everything was done that was possible for the safety of your passengers; and that, during the fifty-three hours the vessel lay hove -t , your oflicers behaved heroically, nosstenly doing ,Adir 'duff, but doing what duty lrienly and' well.' As an expression of our gratitude, wo beg that yon will accept this illuminated address as a souvenir f the occurrence, and wear thenclosed watch as n token of our sesteem and regard. Yours faithfully." The 'address is signed by all the paseengers. The -etaptain was made the recipient of a gold mite's as was Mi.J. Corby, 'the chief engineer; the chief officer resolving ag d trinket. Ur. Keith Wilson, who Was one of the passengers, has been Ilium mover in the affair. ART : AND AN ARTIST'S BIOGRAPHY. ' Dear Boekpian, Jun. I have before called your att. iti, tow to a , feature of the world of books to -day which sese,sS yea mot I ahould welcome-the..nurrvellous . Increase. in the literature of vAels Nat -710 works of fiction, should.. imagine that . books dealing with art are snore numerous thins any kind of publications: For some time our best Magazines have been, Mon - Utilising the great audiences to which they speak. with something of the history, the principles, and resulte of art, and have been- enabled by the, modern and often excellent ptocesetes now' in use to repro- duce Onists results. And so an education has been going on, preparing reading people. to take a deeper interest in the work of the painter, and sserehance 'to spend more than the price, a a. magazine in the Purchase of the Works f their faiteurite. artists in one or another of the styles of reproduction. The great advance made during recent years in the art of colour 'printing has led.. to the production of some delightful works. Yesterday I was 1 .. 74iftite * . g a short %hire ago` Igs: ' M OS' ATUR t . Barneefones, 1 have been anticipating time cola' 'Bel 's little book Or; -.Sir EdWard publication of the " Life" of the grest painter.. This has now been - isswid ("Memorials , of Edward Burne-Jonee"), and In thee course Of two or three weeks should be procurable at the libraries. Not long -since one of the critics-Mr. Edmund Gome, I think-was deprecating the ar- rangement by which the widow of it not- able Man becomes his'biographer. Alm Creighton's "Life of her Husband," fol- lowed now by the success of Lady Burns - Jeeps in ,the fame tield, 'ten& to show that the widow is not always disqualified as a Writer of biographys. . ' ''. -'''''s - . . These "Memorials" are the life -story of a Celt who youth went to Oxford with a view of entering the Church. At Oxford he fell in with -that magnetic .peronulity, William Morris. and betWeen them there sprung up a friendship that might almost be described as historic. Morris, too, was intended for the Church, but he and This friend were alike conscious that other voices were calling them.' The artist tem- perament was strong in both. How could one b other thaasan art* who could write as Burns -Jones did in 1854 i- " I have just come in from my terminal pilgrimage to Goistowe ruins and the burial place of Fair Rosamond. The day has gone down magnificently ; all by the river's side I came back in a delirium of joy, the land was so enchanted, with bright Privileged to make ecquaintance with three eolouns :line' and .purple Ile sky, elicit or four lovely bdoks published by Messrs. ever:with a dust of golden showers -and. its A. and C. Black, who stand in the. front, the water a mirror'd counterpart, ruffled rank among publishers who have essayed by a light west wind-Jand in my mind pie - this kind of work. They were exquisitely done, and only those poseeSsing full tech- nical kneeled which you arri 'I do not, ,nose, copes and eroaers gay knights and tures of the old days, the abbey, and Idng processions of the faithful, banners of the profess-would he conscious of the short. ladies by the riSter bank; hawking parties., comings as compared with the originals. and all the pageantry of the golden age- When Cassell's were issuing their excel- it made ,me feel so wild and mad I had. to ' lent series--," The Nation's Pictures"-and throw stones into the water to break the I posted a few of the single parts to you, dream. I never remember having such an t I remember the delight they seem to have unutterable ecstasy." engendered, judging from your exuberant In this passage .there are present the ' acknowledgments, Itseems to me 'that qualities which made . his work distinc- Mr. George people living as you da in the "never- ti'-e-love of Nathre and a joy in her tinguished E1 never country. should especially strive' to beauties amounting to ecstasy , an eye for, feting from get possession of such works as these, lest the glories and subtleties of Nature Col - amid the unkindly and unlovely conditions oaring ; and the feeling for a kind of t yesterday, in sometimes prevailing. the sdnse of beauty mediaeval golden age. It might easily have should die out altogether. Even iu Brits been inferred, however, that the writer (,, Who's W' bane we are lamentably off in the matter of great works of art, our gallery stand- ing rather as a rebuke then as a monu- ment of the spirit of artistic appreciation among us. lieu cf something more ade- quate, I have covered the walls of my "den" with all kinds of prints, some in black and white, others iu colours, with here aril there an etching., To turn from the duet of the city and the attrition of life te look for a few minutes on these thims 'has often been as refreshing as a drtfught 'of cold spring water would has" been. during the early 'part of las, seek, when for four days our shade ieuperature averaged 110degs Personally, 'ntend to economise, if necessary, in order tc posses' myself of some or the 'desirable things that may be attainable at she cost of a little self-denial. In this way I may 'become independent, of our national (I) collection, which our public nuthorit ties seem to find. more of a nuisance, to be abated, than a treasure to be fittingly housed and continually enriched. of this passage would not tamely follow the convictions of the eureent art of ids time. Borne -Jones became a pupil and fast friend of Dante Rossetti, and under !ItC)112tilt was widely close of the Jones turned which he hail passage will of having a v " Wo are , of things as t things as the than they are work to help of our abilii and cannot e llifYkiNejtit it, feirward,. damned, It that 'hiMe of judgment. strike you ?' tin egg, but blessedness ingly being course01 yet religious dans Buddhist, Mal you faith,' I thing. Faith. --which, at small-that it To me, this Is of men and wt: Lady of the 8, me and all to Lady of the t. Will she ? your toil and thousand ass '1 as can make With this conclude,-Ye DISTINGIII ing in 1817. Fir his influence developed along an individual Aendemv i linewhich scandalised the art 'world of his peeSsessd to / day. Criticism assailed him violently. His of his life won pictures we like nothing at all ; there Collection " ii was no truth 'to Nature in 'his glowing, colours. The artist, however. did not atm British i Art, , at realism, having adopted as one of the portraits of ti canons of his art the principle laid down time, many 0 by Sir E. J. Poynter, who. has . said :- "Remember that the time object of art r is to create a world, not, to imitate whald is constantly before our eyes." Burner1 'louse himself once wrote to a friend is " I Mean by a picture a beautiful, roman-! tic dream oft something that never was, now realise' r never will be-in a light better than anyl. sir Henry Tat light that ever shone-in aland no mans Art with the can define or remember, only desire-and the forms divinely, beautiful-and then . !! the action of wake up with the waking of Brynhild." united roe" Judging his work by his aim, as her. in everyday 111 memorial wnl!, , gate, record' ',I teive lost thei Pave life, Ht of taw Order of the King.) National Pot ,jest, formed dertnkon " pa pictures migii National Gall,