on Mr. Woodward, and ask him for an interview. He is just now even more
than usually busy, having on hand a guide to the art collection ; but,
very kindly, he spared time for a walk and a talk in the galleries where
the arts and crafts exhibits are at present.

Mr. Woodard referred to an interview with Mr. Linton that appeared some
time ago, and said that the committee have for some time past been getting
typical representative examples of the arts and crafts of the world, in
order that the public may see the great advance that has been made in
domestic art, namely, the improvement in the design of home fittings,
furniture, and utensils. These will prove of the greatest use to the
students in the old Technical Schools. Since 1880 there has been a great
revival amongst the arts and crafts. William Morris, Madox Brown, the
Rosetti brothers, and others founded the new school, and the seeds they
planted have been nurtured and fostered by people in high positions. The
Royal Family has taken a deep interest in the Royal Art Schools at South
Kensington, and from those centres other schools have branched out in many
directions. “In a new and rapidly growing country like Western Australia,
it is necessary to keep practical ends in view,” said Mr. Woodward, “even
while we educate the taste of the public. One or two potteries in this
State are turning out very good work in tiles, and some of the commoner
kinds of terra-cotta, and will shortly be doing work of a higher class.
Let us then commence with the pottery exhibits.

Pottery.

“This is the oldest of the crafts. The making of pottery dates back to a
very early period, far beyond the reach of historical records.  In the
Mosaic writings, the potter and his work are honourably mentioned, and at
an early period the Egyptians made their beautiful ware. Glazed bricks
have been found in the ruins of Babylon. The potter’s wheel, of which an
example will be on exhibition very shortly, is the oldest machine in the
world, and the photograph we have on view shows one almost identical in
form and shape with those represented on the Assyrian and Egyptian
monuments. The old wheels were turned by the hand ; the modern ones are
worked by a treadle, or by a fly-wheel, rotated either by human agency or
by power. These samples of raw materials have just been received by Mr.
Horace B. Woodward, F.R.S., Assistant Director of Geological Survey of
Great Britain. They show clays in the rough, and as prepared for the
making of stoneware, earthenware, and china. Any quantity of china clay is
waiting in Western Australia, and there will be plenty of openings here
for the students who go in for this work. A pottery class will shortly be
established in the Technical Schools on St. George’s Terrace. We have
already in the Museum example of pottery from the earliest times to the
present day. I may mention that the designs in English china have improved
very much of late, and some of the specimens we have here are not
surpassed, if equalled, by Dresden china wares. You may have noticed this
china on the lower shelf of a glass case by the entrance, while on the
upper shelves are some very beautiful designs, both as to colour and form,
from the Della Robbia Works, and on the cups and plates presented by
Messrs. Brown, Westhead, Moore, and Co., of the Royal Cauldon Potters,
Staffordshire.”

Messrs. Doulton's well-known contributions to the Museum then received
attention ; but as these have already been described at considerable
length in the “West Australian,” Mr. Woodward passed on to a large series
of exhibits showing different kinds of English, Continental, and Eastern
potteries. “We desire to show the public all possible shapes and colours,”
continued Mr. Woodward, “so that they may learn what to select and what to
avoid ; and the labels in many cases point out the good and the bad points
in the design. Some of the simplest pottery shows the best art. Look at
these pots from Ceylon, for instance. Some are 2,000 years old, others
modern, but they are perfectly adapted to the ends their designers and
makers had in view. Our collection is not very large, but it includes many
types. In addition to those already mentioned, we have ancient Egyptian
pottery from Thebes, ancient Greek and Graeco-Roman ware, as well as
examples of the crudest Central African. Specimens of modern Italian,
Spanish, German, Bohemian, and Flanders pottery are all represented in our
collection. From China there is but a single specimen, but we have a whole
series of Japanese from the Imperial Museum at Tokio.”

Wood-Carving.

While walking to the gallery where wood-carving is exhibited, Mr. Woodward
said that often 800 people visit the Museum on a Sunday afternoon, and
that the average was more than one-third of the attendance at the British
Museum. Nearly all the visitors belong to the labouring classes. “I do not
fear a Labour Government,” he remarked, “as I know it will recognise the
educational importance of the Museum and the Art Gallery. In the older
centres of civilisation,” he continued, “all classes are now trying to
make their homes beautiful ; and we desire to show our visitors how the
same thing may be done in Western Australia. That is why we are trying to
gather together from all parts of the world specimens of the arts and
crafts, both ancient and modern. If we show students the best models, they
will learn how to become good designers. Several ladies here have taken up
wood-carving very successfully, as is shown by the screens in St. George’s
Cathedral ; and others are doing equally well in repousee [sic] work, in
brass and also in leather. Hundreds of thousands of little blows are
required in this work, for heavy blows would crack the metal. It needs an
immense amount of patience, as well as skill, which is, doubtless, the
reason that so many ladies have taken it up and been so successful. But
the ladies must have a knowledge of design first. Amateurs often want to
put in too much detail. See how restful, and yet how highly ornamented …
[missing original text] … worn on the person ; enamels on pictures, or
simple colour harmonies, in a particular kind of glass that can be fused
on to the surface of certain metals, such as gold, silver, iron, copper,
and bronze. To other metals the glass will not adhere. The metal usually
use is copper. The ancient Egyptian method is known as Champleve. In this
the design is gouged out or engraved, leaving fine bands standing up to
confine the different colours into their own compartments. The colours are
then carefully laid into their appointed places, and the article is placed
in a muffle furnace, raised to sufficient heat to fuse the colours on and
into the surface of the metal. According to the depth of the engraving, so
does the intensity of the colour vary, the colours used being transparent.
Thus the process had to be repeated many times, the surfaces being
polished, and more colour added when required between each firing. In the
Cloisonne form of enamelling, little raised metal compartments are made by
soldering flattened wire on to the copper or other background. The colour
is then filled in and fired as previously described. It was this form of
enamelling that found favour with the Byzantine school for adorning
reliquaries, etc., for the early Christian Church. The crucifix in this
style which we exhibit is by Mrs. Edith Dawson, and it shows to what
perfection ladies can attain in this work. I know two ladies at the top of
the profession in England who are being offered more work of this
description than they can execute. The most fashionable brooches,
necklaces, and bracelets nowadays are enamels. We have but few specimens
as yet. However, as soon as funds permit, we hope to get some examples of
Alexander Fisher’s work. The Japanese have practiced the Cloisonne form
for many centuries, and the perfection to which they have brought it can
be seen in the many specimens we have in the Museum. One of these latter
is very ancient. It was once formerly in the possession of the late Hon.
J. G. H. Amherst. Limoge enamels have no compartments of any kind, but the
metal, in the first place, is covered with an opaque enamel, usually
either white or black, and then the design or portrait is painted on in
the same way as a miniature, though not with the same pigments, and it is
fired and touched up and refined as many times as is necessary to get the
desired result. Good specimens of Limoges enamels were presented to us by
the late Captain Roe. These are of the later Limoges, and date back to
about 1550. Fourthly, we come to the Basteille enamel. Its groundwork may
be described as a basso-relievo, on a sunken ground, filled in with
enamel, the different thicknesses of which give variations in the colour.
Of his work Mr. Linton is preparing an example to present to this
institution.”

The Triptych.

Mr. Woodward then led the way into his office, and there I saw one of the
most important additions as yet made to the art collection. It arrived
only a few days ago and will be placed on view to the public as soon as a
case is provided. It was designed by Mr. Nelson Dawson, the well-known
craftsman and water-colour painter, and the enamels, seven in all were
executed by his wife, Mrs. Edith Dawson. They illustrate the lines—

“Rest after toil, port after stormy seas.
Peace after war death after life, doth greatly please.”

There is a man resting after ploughing a field a ship going into port, an
old warrior sitting outside a castle, and the winged head of a woman
representing “Upnos’s” sleep. The design is in harmony, red poppies
representing sleep on the closing doors, and tall poppies standing in
repousee [sic] steel inside. The frame is supported by wrought-iron legs,
and the whole is surmounted by a silver olive wreath, entwined with
wrought-iron scrolls. The mellow yet brilliant scheme of colour must be
seen to be appreciated. This triptych shows amongst other things, the
great difference there is between Japanese and European enamelling for,
although the enamels are of the Limoges class, they differ from the usual
run, in that [they] are almost entirely worked in transparent enamel, by
which means the great brilliancy of colour has been achieved. This latest
addition to the art collection, of which but a feeble idea can be given by
pen and ink, should prove an immense attraction, for the work is excellent
throughout both in design and execution, for the blacksmith and the
silversmith, as well as the enamels, are superb.

The arts and crafts shown in the Museum are far from exhausted, but the
glass and many more things must be left for another visit. The special
Japanese collection from the Imperial Museum at Tokio requires an article
to itself.

without delay, provide a gallery worthy of the paintings. It is nearly two
years since H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, then Duke of Cornwall and York,
laid the foundation-stone, and three years since Parliament voted money
for the building, of which the plans were approved by the trustees and the
director. Since 1896 the plan adopted, on the recommendation of the
director, has been to request distinguished English painters and
connoisseurs to select works, and, accordingly, 1897, “A Summer Morning,”
by H. H. La Thangue, “The End of a Long Day,” by George Clausen, A.R.A.,
and five other paintings were acquired upon the advice of the last-named
painter. In 1898 “The Great Southern Ocean,” by J. Ford Paterson, the most
distinguished of the Australian school, was purchased on the advice of the
director. In 1899 and 1900 “The Tambour Frame,” by S. Melton Fisher, and
“Bunny,” by Ralph Peacock, and the “Green Punt,” by Alfred Parsons, were
chosen by Sir Edward Poynter, P.R.A. In 1901 and 1902 Messrs. Wallis and
Son recommended the purchase of paintings by Karl Heffner Scherrewitz, and
Tos. Creswick, R.A., and a masterpiece, entitled “A View in Kent,” by John
Linnell, and, lastly, a magnificent painting of “The High Altar, Milan
Cathedral,” dated 1838, by David Roberts, R.A.

This year the director advised the acceptance of a kind offer made to him
by Sir James D. Linton, for many years the president of the Royal
Institute of Painters, to assist in the selection of paintings. This was
gladly accepted, for Sir James is one of the men—and in the whole world
they do not number a score—whose word is accepted as final on the merits
of any paintings, ancient or modern.

Mr. Woodward, a couple of days ago, received seven paintings, and will get
the eighth next week, which will complete the number Sir James Linton has
been able to obtain for the amount placed at his disposal. They are all
works of such merit and high educational value as would entitle them to a
place in any national gallery in the world, and they will be invaluable to
the students of our Technical School. They have been already viewed by the
Inspector-General of Schools (Mr. Andrews), the headmaster of the Art
Schools (Mr. J. W. R. Linton) and the principal of the High School for
Girls (Miss Best), who were all extremely pleased.

The largest canvas—not that size is any criterion of the merit or value of
a work of art—is a full-sized “Portrait of a Lady”—Elizabeth Cabeljau,
vrouw (wife) of Jan Van der Hoeven—which is signed “1 W.B., Ae 1670.” It
presents the portrait of a lady belonging to one of the most distinguished
Dutch families of the seventeenth century. As a painting it is in the
manner of Van der Helst, and quite as fine as a work of art, beautifully
modelled and drawn, showing great breadth of treatment without loss of
detail, and the colour is in the silvery key of which many of the Dutch
school were so fond. From an educational point of view it is everything
that a student could desire.

“The Nativity,” by Carlo Maratti (1625-1713), who was for nearly half a
century the most eminent painter in Rome, is evidently a study for a
larger picture. The brush work is extremely vigorous and dexterous, and
the whole is spontaneous in its execution and beautiful in colour. The
National Gallery of Great Britain only possesses one example of Miratti’s
work.

“At the Death,” a small hunting subject by … [missing original text] …
about 1806, is charming for its simplicity and purity of colour.

“A Landscape with Figures,” by F. J. F. Van Bloemen (called Orizonti), who
was born at Antwerp in 1662, but went to Italy when very young, and
remained there until his death at Rome, in 1740. The landscape has the
conventional treatment of the old school ; it is warm in colour, solidly
and well painted, without any of the trickiness of some modern schools.

“The Coming Storm,” by Thomas Barker (called Barker of Bath), 1769-1847,
is a distinctive work of the old school, somewhat conventional, low in
tone, but rich in colour.

“Ruins at Tivoli,” by Richard Wilson, R.A., 1714-1782, who was the first
English landscape painter of note, one of the teachers of Turner, and one
of the original members of the Royal Academy (founded in 1768). He was
much neglected by his contemporaries, and suffered severely from poverty.
Peter Pindar prophesied that a century would bring him to fame, in the
following words :—

“Till then old red-nosed Wilson’s art
Will hold its empire o’er my heart,
By Britain left in poverty to pine.
But honest Wilson, never mind ;
Immortal praises thou shalt find,
And for a dinner have no cause to fear.
Thou start’st at my prophetic rhymes ;
Don’t be impatient for those times ;
Wait till thou hast been dead a hundred years.”

This painting, executed for Mr. Charles Price, M.P. for Radnorshire,
depicts the ruins of Maecena’s Villa at Tivoli, near Rome. It is a typical
work. The colour is really beautiful, with its pearly sky and warm
foreground, the composition of which is perfect. It is a picture which any
gallery should be proud to possess.

“The Armenian,” a full-length figure of a man, by W. Muller, 1812-1845,
vigorously drawn and painted. It was formerly in the possession of W. E.
Dighton.

The remaining purchase is the “Head of J. Ogier,” by Thomas Gainsborough,
R.A., 1727-1788. The public have to thank Sir James Linton for having
secured an example of this great painter’s work, and also to thank Messrs.
Colnagie and Co. for parting with it for a price within the limited means
of the trustees. It is worthy of remark that painters are always, and
dealers usually, willing to abate their prices very considerably for the
benefit of national collections. Gainsborough was one of the most
distinguished painters England has ever produced. He was the rival of
Reynolds in portraiture, and of Wilson in landscape. It is believed that
when this work arrives in the R.M.S. Rome, it will be the first
Gainsborough to arrive in Australia.

It is now a pleasant task to refer to one of the most gratifying events in
the history of the National Gallery of this State, namely, the generous
gift that has been made by Mr. James Orrock of two paintings. Mr. Orrock's
gift is, indeed, more than generous ; it is munificent, the united value
of the two pictures being over a thousand guineas. Mr. Orrock appears to
have been moved to this generous act out of regard for his friend and
former pupil Mr. James W. R. Linton, now the head of our Art Schools. The
hope has been expressed that some of those who have made fortunes on the
West Australian goldfields may eventually be induced to follow such a good
example. The only previous donations of high intrinsic and art value was
that of the Right Rev. Bishop Gibney, who presented the engravings after
Raphael.

One of paintings is a water-colour, entitled “In Lincolnshire—Showery
Weather,” painted by James Orrock himself, in 1888. Students will note the
great purity of its colour, the transparency of its shadows, the entire
absence of black, the feeling of movement in wind and rain.

The other “The abdication of Mary Queen of Scots,” by Sir James D. Linton,
P.R.I., painted in 1889, and purchased by Mr. Orrock at that time, is an
historical painting in both senses of the term, owing to its merit and its
subject. Like the previous painting, it shows the strength of water
colours. There are seven figures, of which the armour and dress, as,
indeed, do all accessories, show thorough knowledge of the details of the
time and period. The figure and pose of the unfortunate Queen are
marvellous in their drawing and colouring. Some of the other figures, at
first glance, appear rather broad and short, but that is due to the effect
of the armour. The colouring is pure water-colour, remarkably strong and
effective, proving that there is no need to use any meretricious body
colour, as is done by less skilled men, whose work will naturally
disappear with time, while honest painting like Sir James Linton’s will
prove permanent.

Those interested in the Art Gallery will be glad to hear that this
valuable donation has already had the effect of inducing the Minister fro
Education to promise he will bring forward the question of building the
long-promised Art Gallery. It is claimed that in this the Minister ought
to receive the support of the Labour members of Parliament, as it is the
workers who throng the Museum, especially on Sunday afternoons, when the
capacity of the present overcrowded rooms is tested to the utmost. The
safety of the contents is endangered when the number of the visitors
exceeds 450 at one time, and it often approaches 700.

Before leaving the Gallery, the attention of our representative was called
to two proof etchings by Joseph Pennell, entitled the “Devil of Notre
Dame” and “The Most Picturesque Place in the World,” an original design by
Walter Crane, two etchings by Bauer, and a most wonderful “black and
white” drawing of London by W. Minehead Bone.

Amongst the photographic collections in the Gallery are a number of views
of the recently-discovered Yanchep caves, which are well worthy [of]
inspection.

addition to the national collection, for they are all works of the highest
artistic merit, of great educational value, from a technical point of
view, as well as being pictures that are sure to please the general public.

“Crossing the Ford” (size 73in. x 94in),Thomas Creswick, R.A., 1811-
1869—This is a characteristic English scene, and thoroughly typical of
Creswick’s style. It is brilliant in tone. Creswick was born at Sheffield,
but settled in London. He was so fortunate as to have two landscapes hung
in the Royal Academy, in 1828, he being then only seventeen years of age.
His success was attributed to his diligence in sketching out of doors, a
practice not much in vogue in those days. Mr. Ruskin held a high opinion
of his work, describing him as “a typical modern painter who earnestly
sought the truth, faithfully studying Nature.”

“Flooded Meadows, Norfolk Broads” (size 66in. x 47in.), Karl Heffner,
1849.—A delicate, light, silvery work, with marvelous atmospheric effect
and distance. Professor Karl Heffner, of Dresden, was born a Nurnberg, in
Bavaria. After completing his college course, he intended to study music,
but fortunately changed his mind in favour of painting. In 1870 he visited
London, and spent much time in studying the English schools of painting.
For some years he was in close companionship with Lier and Stademann ;
then he was attracted by the Barbizon school, and probably greatly
influenced by Rousseau. Later he worked for some time in the Roman
Campagna. The brilliancy of his atmospheric effects has seldom been
equalled. His work is highly appreciated both in England and on the
Continent and also in Australia, where he is represented in the State
national galleries.

“Adjusting the Plough (size 80in. x 55in.), J. Scherrewitz.—This is an
excellent example of the Dutch school, of which Mr. Scherrewitz is one of
the most talented of the rising painters.

These paintings were selected for the committee by Messrs. Wallis and Son,
of the French Gallery, Pall Mall. The Curator has had considerable
difficulty in finding space for their display, owing to the over-crowded
state of the room now used as an art gallery. He is happy, however, to be
able to report that he has an appointment for to-morrow with Mr. Dillon
Bell, to view the completed working plans of the new gallery, tenders for
the erection of which are to be called immediately, and so within a very
few months the paintings will be worthily housed in good light, where
their merit will be clearly visible, and able to be fully appreciated.

a collection of paintings and works of art, Mr. L. Bernard Hall, the
Director of the Melbourne National Gallery, was communicated with, with
the object of eliciting his opinion as to how the committee should
proceed. In the kindest way Mr. Hall his given his views at length in the
letters following. Fully agreeing in the recommendations of the Melbourne
Director, the committee of our National Gallery desire to publish the
advice given as an indication of the lines upon which they desire to
proceed. These lectures are consequently given below. The Perth committee,
in accordance with the advice of Mr. Hall, have resolved to place in the
hands of Mr. Geo. Clausen, A.R.A., a sum of £1,000 to be expended on
orders to be given to British artists, and a further £300 in the hands of
Mr. Joseph Pennell for the purchase of etchings and pen and ink drawings.
The letters are as follow :—

“National Gallery, Melbourne,
“January 6th, 1896.

“In reply to your letter of December 23rd regarding the formation of a
national collection of a works of art in Perth, it will give me great
pleasure to formulate my idea of what the aim of such a national
collection should be, together with the only practical scheme I can think
of for making purchases in Europe.

“My idea, then, of a national collection, as opposed to a private one, is
simply to set up a definite standard of the best, and to let people
educate themselves up to the appreciation of it. A private collection is
formed with the idea of giving pleasure to the individual purchaser, who
has his own particular idiosyncrasy to serve, while no one has a right to
question how he spends his money in the indulgence of his own taste. But a
collection created by public funds has an educational purpose to fulfil.
It is permanent in character—it cannot be capitalised at will, or the
quality of it be varied by exchange—therefore it must be representative of
the best phases of art, and contain only those works that time will not
depreciate either in interest or value. I will advise you only as to
contemporary art, because good specimens of the older schools are too rare
and too expensive to be considered. But the present is so rich in schools
and art generally, so active, that it should be comparatively easy to form
a strong nucleus, to which, as the rare opportunity occurred, the well-
established masterpieces might be added. I should say, moreover, that it
was better not to create an artificial zest by constantly adding new
pictures to spur a flagging interest, but rather to pick and choose them
so judiciously in the first instance that even the few shall be revisited
again and again in order to extract a fuller meaning by a better
acquaintance. If works of art are bought to captivate the casual
visitor—the man in the street—at first sight, your public taste will
remain non-progressive, your funds will be wasted, and your gallery
encumbered to-day with what it will disclaim to-morrow.

“I understand that your walls at present are perfectly bare, and I take
the liberty of congratulating you on the fact, and express the hope that
they may be covered very slowly and very carefully. The intrusion of a
questionable work of art at any time I would consider as a disaster, for
once the precedent were established the general standard would be
lowered—the evil would have come to stay, and would inevitably draw other
undesirable work unto itself. I would say, in that case, better to
quarantine the infectious thing for ever than to let it hang on your
walls, bringing all else into bad odour and confusion of taste.

“Now, as to the purchase of works in Europe, I would advise that a sum of
money be placed with your Agent in London, to be drawn against—say up to
£1,000—by two gentlemen, one in Paris, the other in London, of whose
judgment, discretion, and honesty you are well-advised. These two, or
more, should be competent artists, and I would recommend, as a wise and
graceful act, that a commission for one of their own works, limited to a
certain amount, be included in the sum to be placed at their disposal. I
would make them artistically responsible, in your catalogues and the
tablets on your pictures, for their selection, and make it a point of
pride with them, as well as one of honour, to do the best they can for
your trustees and the Gallery.

“A public Gallery should command the pick of an artists’ work, and would
do so if properly approached. The commission to purchase might be renewed,
if satisfactorily performed, or put into other hands if not, when the
original sum was exhausted.

“You have asked me to be as explicit as possible, so I have not stinted to
enlarge upon the difficulties that a public body has to deal with in
making such a collection. I hope I have partly shown how these
difficulties can be avoided or minimised. The principal difficulty lies in
getting good men to act for you at home, although this can be overcome, I
think, by approaching them with a well-considered demand for a good
collection, as from those you know. If you allow them to see that the
ordinary popular picture is what you want, they will be inclined to send
you rubbish. This is but human nature, dealing in horses, picture, or
anything else, with those who do not understand these things ; but if you
ask them, through an artist, to take a professional interest in the
matter, you should be well served.

“If I can help you on these lines in any further way, I assure you I shall
only be too pleased to do so ; for though I believe in corporations or the
State fostering a love for beauty and knowledge through the agency of
public, libraries, galleries of art, and architectural monuments, yet none
can help seeing that, with perhaps the best motives in the world, in the
carrying out of this idea the danger of its usefulness being impaired by
the zeal of inexperience of the pressure of influence. However, it is more
a matter of good guidance than of expense, and with the experience of the
older galleries behind you, there is no reason why this should obtain. My
wish will always be that you may have a particular success in this present
undertaking.
“Believe me,
 “Yours very truly,
“(Sgd.) L. BERNARD HALL”
“Melbourne, January 10, 1896.

“You ask me in yours of the 9th inst. to go still further into the details
of a scheme for purchasing pictures by your trustees. So I continue to
advise you as I would the trustees of our own Gallery here. First of all,
I would remind you that the best art work of ‘to-day’ is done in oil
painting, etching, pen and ink work, and, in sculpture, works in bronze. I
should say, that masterpieces in water colour, pastel, and marble were too
rare to need consideration. Also, there are no schools to speak of at
present, except the French, English, and perhaps the Dutch. I should say,
too, that the best landscapes come from the figure and cattle painters as
a rule.

“In my former letter I recommended you to place £1,000 each with two well-
known artists—one in London, the other in Paris (since everything of
distinction can be obtained in Paris and London)—with a free hand to
purchase at their own time, and if possible direct from the artist,
whatever satisfies them, within that limit, as the best and most
representative of contemporary art.

“I will give you the names of certain men of sufficiently Catholic taste
to entrust with such a commission. In this instance they happen to be all
personal friends of mine. In London, I would place £1,000 with Mr. George
Clausen, A.R.A., for the purpose of buying characteristic English work,
with a commission out of this sum for one of his own paintings of rustic
life, of £400. In Paris I would place the same amount with Mr. Walter
McEwan to purchase pieces characteristically French and Dutch, with a
commission out if it for one of his own works at £200.

“If you propose to buy sculpture I would put £800 into the hands of Mr.
Onslow Ford, R.A., getting with this a piece of his at £200. I would
strongly advise you to make a collection of etchings and pen and ink
drawings, and would suggest that Mr. Joseph Pennell be asked to spend £300
for you to start with. He is the best living authority on this subject,
and he should be asked to include one of his own brilliant pen and ink
drawings amongst those he sends out.

“Mr. Louis Fagan, late head of the Print Department, British Museum,
would, I am sure, collect old engravings for you if you intend making them
a feature of your gallery. Ask for single and good examples of the best
masters, to illustrate those arts historically, rather than aim at having
complete sets of any one man’s work. There are special men whose work will
have to be obtained if you desire to make a representative collection. The
works of such men as Millais, Orchardson, Sargeant, Whistler, Bastien Le
Page. etc., are already too high-priced to be purchased out of the sums
named. A special arrangement would be required for an artist at home to
watch his opportunity for securing good examples, or for giving
commissions direct for the same.

“I would caution you about the donations and 1oans that are certain to be
offered to you. Be very strong about requiring these to be up to the level
of the best in your collection. The more select that is made, the higher
the standard you may expect from gifts and loans. You will be obliged to
draw the line somewhere. You are sure to give offence to somebody, but
this will not be increased by drawing the line high from the first,
whereas to unbend, with the object of covering the bare walls or placating
influential people, will result in pictures being literally “warehoused”
with you while their owners are abroad, or left with the idea of a private
sale resulting from such an opportunity and distinction as their
exhibition under the national roof by the sanction of your trustees implies.

“A pictorial museum, as it were, for pictures of local or historical
interest, both of portraits and places, will be of very great interest,
and doubtless you will make such a collection. But works of art pure and
simple must be kept separate from these if they are to serve any
educational purpose.

“I would strongly urge you to discuss very fully and to definitely
determine the policy to be pursued by your trustees with regard to all
these matters. Let the lines to be followed and the tests to be applied be
thrashed out and settled beforehand, and not left open to be decided by
the chance attendance at a meeting of your council, on the merits of each
case.

“Eventually your resolutions will have to be made concrete. Better to have
this done at once and for or all than to collect on the basis of a method
that will shift and change from meeting to meeting. You will arrive at one
in any case, but, only after long experiment and dearly-bought experience,
and your galleries saddled with the heritage of confusion—the necessary
result of buying without any definite aim in doing so.

“A final word of advice, if I may add to these many without offence. Do
not be anxious, as a controlling body, to engage in selecting works for
your Gallery.

“There should be no contumely in the term ‘amateur ;’ far from it. It is
one applied to those who are not trained as artists, yet are lovers of
art. In this capacity each amateur may exercise his own taste privately.
But if you can get professional artists to act for you in this all-
important matter of selection, leave it entirely to them. At the very
worst they can hardly do your Gallery more harm than the amateur at large,
with public funds in his pocket, and equipped for his office with the
innocent formula that ‘he knows nothing about art, but knows what he
likes.’ In this I give you my opinion quite frankly, as an artist. It is
open to anyone to criticise it as frankly, from their standpoint, and as
publicly as they care to.

“Accept again my assurance of interest in the start you make with your
Gallery. As that is, so will the rest be.
“Believe me,
“Yours very truly,
“(Sgd.) L. BERNARD HALL.

“P.S.—To save future trouble you should see that you acquire the copyright
of all pictures bought for you ; also that they are certified by the
artist as originals, and, unless so stated, not merely replicas or
finished sketches.”

furnishing the few particulars required by the visitor to such a place.
Indeed, in the desire to give the book a greater attractiveness, twenty-
five excellent plates of some of the chief art treasures are inserted. Mr.
Bernard Woodward, the director of the Museum, defines the intention of the
guide to be “to give a brief sketch of the history of the fine arts, with
especial reference to the examples in the Gallery, in the hope of inducing
my readers to take a deeper interest in the subject, and thus enable them
to derive greater pleasure from the contemplation of the sculpture and
paintings.” To this laudable work Mr. Woodward has brought the knowledge,
the cultured taste and the steady enthusiasm for which he is noted. In
many respects the whole result is satisfactory. Even the most superficial
reader can scarcely fail to get some information from a glance through the
sixty-eight pages, while the student must approve of the whole intention
of the work. This, too, in spite of the necessary difficulty which beset
Mr. Woodward in attempting to reconcile two such discordant things as a
guide to a gallery and a review of the fine arts. Indeed it may be thought
by some that he would have been wiser to dissociate the two by reducing
the list of numbers, titles, artists, dates, to the mere minimum of
description, and throwing the rest of the material into the form of one
consecutive article such as that with which he starts his description of
art. In future editions there may be considerable rearrangement, and some
errors which have crept into the guide may be rectified. Baron von
Mueller, for instance, was not director of the Melbourne Botanical Gardens
until his death in 1896, but ceased connection with them some score of
years earlier. By a somewhat extraordinary confusion of the older Disraeli
with his greater son, Lord Beaconsfield, the life of the latter is given
as extending from 1767 to 1846. There are several minor, but annoying,
misprints, such as “Giralamo” instead of Girolamo Savonarola, which should
not disfigure such a publication. The typographical display regarding the
drawings from the royal collection at Windsor seems out of keeping of the
rest of the guide.

Mr. Woodward has exercised the right of private judgment in his comments,
and this adds agreeable spice to what might otherwise be too conventional
descriptions. But there seems some lack of consistency. Sir J. D. Linton's
picture of the abdication of Mary Queen of Scots is illustrated and given
a whole page of sympathetic description. “The Tambour Frame,” by S. Melton
Fisher, is illustrated, but has no accompanying description. Several
pictures have half a page of description and are not illustrated, and one,
“The Little Fruit Girl,” by J. H. S. Mann, is condemned contemptuously in
the words “A picture of the ‘pretty, pretty’ amateur type, instructive to
students as showing what to avoid.” On such a description it might well be
claimed that the picture should excluded from a gallery one of whose
functions is the cultivation of the public taste. Perhaps the most novel
part of guide are the descriptions of the statues and panels, as these
convey less meaning to the average visitor than do the paintings. Here
again, however, it is not clear why Perseus and Pericles should be
described and Theseus allowed to remain a mere name. Mr. Woodward, no
doubt, has reason for saying that the backward-glancing Perseus is looking
back towards the pursuing Gorgons, though the opinion is often expressed
that he is simply averting his face from the deadly head of Medusa with
its petrifying power. While Mr. Woodward may have laid himself open to
criticism at such points, there is no doubt that the guide was much
required, and that the director has given it a character and an interest
seldom associated with such productions.

[article continues] … of the public. One or two potteries in this State
are turning out very good works in tiles, and some of the commoner kinds
of terra-cotta, and will shortly be doing work of a higher class. Let us
then commence with the pottery exhibits.

Pottery.

“This is the oldest of the crafts. The making of pottery dates back to a
very early period, far beyond the reach of historical records. In the
Mosaic writings, the potter and his work are honourably mentioned and at
an early period the Egyptians made their beautiful ware. Glazed bricks
have been found in the ruins of Babylon. The potter’s wheel, of which an
example will be on exhibition very shortly, is the oldest machine in the
world, and the photograph we have on view shows one almost identical in
form and shape with those represented on the Assyrian and Egyptian
monuments. The old wheels were turned by the hand ; the modern ones are
worked by a treadle, or by a fly-wheel, rotated either by human agency or
by power. These samples of raw materials have just been received from my
brother, Mr. Horace B. Woodward, F.R.S., Assistant Director of the
Geological Survey of Great Britain. They show clays in the rough, and as
prepared for the making of stoneware, earthenware, and china. Any quantity
of china clay is waiting in Western Australia, and there will be plenty of
openings here for the students who go in for this work. A pottery class
will shortly be established in the Technical Schools on St. George’s
Terrace. We have already in the Museum examples of pottery from the
earliest times to the present day. I may mention that the designs in
English china have improved very much of late, and some of the specimens
we have here are not surpassed, if equalled, by Dresden china ware. You
may have noticed this china on the lower shelf of a glass case by the
entrance, while on the upper shelves are some very beautiful designs, both
as to colour and form, from the Della Robbia Works, and on the cups and
plates presented by Messrs. Brown, Westhead, Moore, and Co., of the Royal
Cauldon Potters, Staffordshire.”

Messrs. Doulton’s well-known contributions to the Museum then received
attention ; but as these have already been described at considerable
length in the “West Australian,” Mr. Woodward passed on to a large series
of exhibits showing different kinds of English, Continental, and Eastern
potteries. “We desire to show the public all possible shapes and colours,”
continued Mr. Woodward, “so that they may learn what to select and what to
avoid ; and the labels in many cases point out the good and the bad points
in the designs. Some of the simplest pottery shows the best art. Look at
these pots from Ceylon, for instance. Some are 2,000 years old, others
modern, but they are perfectly adapted to the ends their designers and
makers had in view. Our collection is not very large, but it includes many
types. In addition to those already mentioned, we have ancient Egyptian
pottery from Thebes, ancient Greek and Graeco-Roman ware, as well as
examples of the crudest Central African. Specimens of modern Italian,
Spanish, German, Bohemian, and Flanders pottery are all represented in our
collection. From China there is but a single specimen, but we have a whole
series of Japanese from the Imperial Museum at Tokio.”

Mrs. Stevens and Miss K, Owtram (Cl.) beat Mrs. Berry and Miss Haynes
(K.P.), 6—1, 6—4, and lost to Miss Black and Miss Marshall (K.P.), 5—6, 2—6.

Mrs. King and Miss R. Moore (Cl.) lost to Miss Black and Miss Marshall,
1—6, 2—6, and beat Mrs. Berry and Miss Haynes, 6—5, 6—3.

Singles.

Miss Owtram lost to Miss Black, 2—6.
Mrs. King beat Miss Marshall, 6—3.
Miss R. Moore beat Mrs. Berry, 6—4.
Mrs. Stevens beat Miss Haynes, 6—3.

Grand Totals.

Claremont.—7 sets 54 games.
King's Park.—5 sets 53 games.

HOSPITAL SATURDAY FUND.

MEETING OF THE COMMITTEE.

SOME INTERESTING FACTS.

A meeting of the ladies Hospital Saturday committee was held at the Town-
hall yesterday afternoon, when Mrs. Brown (the Mayoress of Perth) occupied
the chair. Mrs. Brown thanked the ladies for the hearty way that they
entered into their work, and for the result they had achieved by their
efforts.

Miss Withers (the secretary) read the report, and also thanked the ladies
who had assisted in making the movement such a success.

Votes of thanks were accorded to Messrs. Castieau and Company far the loan
of a horse and trap, and Mr. Abrahams for driving the turnout during the
day.

The Federal Band were congratulated on the success of their Queen's
Gardens concert, and the ladies expressed regret that they had not
attended to take up collections, but promised to assist the band if they
would be good enough to perform on some future occasion.

The following additions to the fund were announced : —
Claremont Congregational Church, £7 5s. 3d. ;
Trinity Congregational Church, £15 ;
Midland Junction Anglican Church, 15s. 6d. ;
West Perth Presbyterian Church, £1 1s.
These were the only amounts received from the churches,
although 40 circulars were sent to the various clergymen, It was decided
to request these gentlemen to kindly send in their lists as soon as
possible.

The largest amounts were collected by the following :—
Mrs. Edgcumbe, stand, Moir’s-chambers, £50.
Mrs. Walker, stand, railway station, £42.
Mrs. Cummings, stand, Melbourne Hotel, £40.
The first-named had Mrs. Watson, McDougall, and Miss E.  Holford Edgcumbe
as assistants, and the former collected 1,000 cigars which Mr. Glowrey
bought for £10.

It was decided to have a photo group taken of all those who took part, and
ladies were asked to be at Government Gardens, opposite the Post-office,
at 2.30 this afternoon. The children who assisted will be taken at the
same place at noon on Saturday.

The committee reported that the leading firms and their employees
contributed very liberally to the fund, but the lists had not all been
collected yet. As soon as these were in the names and amounts would be
published. This would probably be early next week. Some of the firms would
take up collections at the end of this week.

The final result the committee hope will be fairly good. The meeting
agreed, how- [ever] … [missing original text] … decorative work, but there
is a depth of richness and a wealth of colour about it that brings to mind
the magnificent colouring of the stained windows in the English minsters
and superb tints of the pottery ware to be found in the Continental art
galleries. A variety of ornamental plates are also noteworthy, some
PAINTED BY RABY, [sic] the finest rose and poppy painter in England, and
two in orchid designs, the work of Dewsbury, whose profession takes him to
the best orchid houses in the world. There are also some remarkable
specimens of the new Holbein ware, representing figures and landscapes,
which are painted on the green clay and then burnt and glazed.

some specimens from the famous Lambeth factory of Messrs. Doulton and Co.,
who were most generous in their terms, sending samples of clay in the raw,
as prepared, and in various stages of modelling on the potter's wheel, up
to the finished article, ready for the furnace, as well as various
finished specimens, some showing the wonderful technical skill of the
skilled artisan and others that of the artists retained by that eminent
firm. Yesterday the committee received, in exchange for some Kileys, a
number of examples of the pottery in daily use by the Cingalese. These are
made of common clay that bakes red like ordinary flower-pots, and are of
archaic forms, that have been in use from time immemorial for the potter’s
wheel is the most ancient of machines. A few are ornamented with a glaze,
coloured with red ochre, either in lines or over the entire surface, and
others by lines incised by a pointed stick. Specimens of porcelain are
expected to arrive shortly from the famous factories of Bohemia ; while
the proprietors, Messrs. Brown, Westhead, and Moore, of the great China
works at Cauldron, near Stoke-upon-Trent, in the potteries district of
England, have made a handsome donation of their beautiful ware, which is
now on the way to Western Australia.

Wrought Iron.

Specimens of wrought iron have been ordered from two of the most
distinguished craftsmen of the age, Messrs. J. Starkie Gardiner and Nelson
Dawson, to show to craftsmen in the State what is being done in the great
centres of civilisation, and stimulate them to strive to excel their
fellow workers in the old country.

tenders are being called, have now been completed. The buildings will
occupy the site of the Old Gaol at the corner of Beaufort and James
streets, and will have a frontage of 250ft. to Beaufort-street, and 331ft.
to James-street The main facade will stand back some 66ft. from James-
street. The building will be approached from both James and Beaufort
streets by gracefully curved carriage drives, which lead up to an imposing
flight of steps, and so to the main centre entrance through a wide-
spanning arch 30ft. high and 28ft. wide. Beyond this is the first striking
feature of the interior, the vestibule, which is characterised by
indications of the most recent school of architecture with ladies’ and
gentlemen’s lavatories, cloak rooms and attendance rooms. The museum
proper will be entered from right and left of vestibule, and on the ground
floor will comprise two rooms 130ft. by 38ft. wide, and 20ft. high. These
rooms have apsidal ends and sides sub-divided into commodious well-lighted
alcoves. In the half basement rooms under left wing provision will be made
for taxidermist, entomologist, carpenters’ and joiners’ shop, painters’
room, spirit room, and storage room. The half basement under right wing
will have spaces allotted for geological, mineralogical, timber and other
exhibits. The portion of basement under main entrance will be fitted up
for caretaker’s quarters. None of these latter features, though an
important integer in the structure, afford features for special
descriptions.

The first-floor rooms will be approached from a vestibule on a landing of
a broad flight of stairs leading to the upper vestibule and curator’s
rooms. Rooms with excellent adaptation for display of exhibits are
provided for specimens end open from right and left of vestibule. These
rooms have ornamental, open, timbered roof, and carved and panelled
ceilings. Facing the main entrance on the ground floor is a wide and
richly ornamented archway, giving entrance to a series of vestibules, each
38 x 38 x 24 ft. high, which afford an excellent internal vista, provided
with artistically disposed niches for statuary and lighted with domical
skylight. The library is a spacious, well-lighted, and well-equipped
apartment, 130 x 103 x 40 ft., and is entered from vestibules on the left,
and lighted from Limbo-street in the front, and from areas 25ft. wide on
the north and south side of room. The library has a wide, ornamental,
timbered roof with large skylight. Accommodation is provided for news-
room, magazine room, reference library, ladies’ reading rooms, and
librarian’s rooms ; an enclosed apartment with desk and visitors’ book is
placed at entrance for assistant-librarian. Access will be gained by four
staircases to the gallery and spaces allotted for readers of special
subjects. All the fitting will be modelled on the latest and most-approved
principles.

On the right and left of the statuary vestibules are the art galleries,
which are entered through wide, swinging doors. Each gallery affords wide
hanging space, being 139 x 28 x 24 ft. high, well-lighted with the top
lights from the south and north, as also from areas 25ft. wide on same side.

Communicating lobbies, with niches for statuary, occur between each
gallery and statuary vestibule, and are provided so as to give free access
from room to room, and are well lighted from areas.

Ventilation is a feature to which special attention has been given. Fresh
air will be admitted to all rooms and galleries by vertical flues
discharging inside at a height of 6ft. above each floor level, and the
foul air is withdrawn by suction shafts through ceiling and so out from
louvered dormers in roof. All the rooms will be fitted with hot-air pipes
and coils.

The construction generally will be of fire-proof materials, walls of
brick, floors of concrete carried upon steel girders throughout, with
concrete foundations. All external walls have cavities to prevent wet from
penetrating to inner walls, a consideration of the utmost importance in
such a building.

The style of architecture adopted is the Romanesque, which lends itself to
a fine blending of the picturesque and utilitarian. The sky lines of front
and sides are well broken with gables and domes, the whole being well
grouped together and having a bold appearance.

The central entrance arcade is 63ft. wide and 65ft. high, and surmounted
with a dome, the ball of which is 100ft. above ground level. The entrance
arch, which is approached by bold bluestone stops, with stone pedestal and
balustrades, is deeply recessed and moulded, the Royal Arms and other
carved enrichments being prominently displayed upon the front. Over this
entrance is the inscription “Art Gallery,” in bold ornate lettering, on
carved panels.

The gables to each wing, right and left, are similarly treated, and have
octagonal turrets at angles, and in the centre of each gable is a screen
with ornamented openings in front of the centre windows, which latter are
fitted with leadlights. The carved frieze over the entrance doorway bears
the word “Museum.” The first floors will be lighted with a row of lead-
lighted windows, continued round the apsidal ends, with bold, overhanging
eaves and brackets.

A piazza 12ft. wide runs round the principal facades on the ground-floor,
the floor being covered with mosaic tiling, and the whole piazza is
enclosed by bold arcading.

The materials for the front and basement are of square dressed random-
coursed rock-faced colonial stone. Round the three principal facades the
superstructure is picked out in red brick, with dressings of clean-
chiselled Rottnest stone, the roof being covered with galvanised iron
specially adapted.

The portion of the Museum buildings at present to be erected is the wing
facing James-street and next Beaufort-street, which will be used as the
library until further extension.

The whole of these designs for Observatory and Museum have, of course,
been carried out under the direct supervision of Mr. Geo. T. Poole,
Assistant Engineer-in-Chief.

has supplied a most interesting work, giving in the main, and in order the
principal contents of a most interesting museum.

The book is an instructive one, well arranged on a scientific, though
simple basis, and should, undoubtedly be in the hands of the Public School
Teachers, for the information it contains cover a particularly wide area ;
the manner in which Mr. Woodward explains everything is so clear, lucid
and concise, that the book, in itself, is a most interesting study, and we
leave it, satisfied that Western Australia should be proud of the
production.

It is virtually a complete synopsis of science and art up to date, and
gives the result of years of deep study. The book costs one shilling only.

The paintings selected are six in number, and the price paid for them was in the aggregate £804. The pictures have not yet been hung, and therefore cannot be inspected to the best advantage. Those who inspect them will, however, not all agree that the value of the amount named has been obtained, or that the paintings will have a very high educational value to the artist or to the lay connoisseur.

The most eminent name which appears as the signature of any of the paintings is that of Mr. W. P. Frith, R.A., who is represented in “The Match Sellers.” The painting represents a city street scene—a woman with two children, one a babe in arms, offering matches for sale. The picture is criticised on account of the wax-doll appearance of the children and the fact that the figures present a well- nourished and comfortable appearance not usually associated with those who earn their living tinder the circumstances depicted. The picture was purchased at £100. This, however, seems to the observer who next turns to “Lancing Mill,” to have been moderate. This canvas depicts a Sussex rural scene—a windmill in a hay field with stacked sheaves, and the figures of rustics engaged in harvesting operations, and in the distance a valley. The picture possesses an effective sky. The artist is James Aumonier, and the price £300, and on noting the latter fact the suggestion may arise that some portion of the worth of the picture must have been deemed to lie in its size.

“In Sight At Last,” a depiction of a scene outside a cottage in a fishing village on the sighting of an expected vessel possesses some elements of effectiveness, and compared with the last-named picture the price of £160 does not seem high. The figures, however, lack life, and the colouring is thin. The artist is W. Perth Watson, R.B.A. “Morning Light “ is not one of the strong points of the collection, the scene depicted being a sea-girt cliff, the reflection of the morning sun on the sea being emphasised. The artist is S. Morrish, and the price £100.

The last two paintings strengthen the collection. One of these is a scene from the much- painted Burnham Beeches, by Miss Florence Fitzgerald. The technique is good, and the autumn tints, which form the characteristic feature of the colouring of the picture, are effectively brought out. Life is given to the picture by the figures of children gathering fallen leaves. Effective portions of the painting are the representation of the water lying under an old beech tree, the ruts of the rough track running through the wood, and the background of wood and undergrowth, the artist having avoided the device of dismissing this portion of the background in the manner of a photograph. The painting, as compared with the others, is indeed cheap at £84, though the figures are far from satisfactory. The sixth painting is “The Rugged North,” by G. E. Hargeil, R.I., a Scotch mountain in the background, with characteristic clouds and a drove of Highland cattle in the foreground. This is one of the cheap pictures, as regards the amount paid, £60, but it will be more than some of the others an ornament to the collection.

In addition to the paintings, the art collection has lately been added to by a number of plaster copies of examples of classical statuary, from the establishment of Messrs. Brucciani and Co., of London. The originals are for the most part in the British Museum, the Louvre, or the Vatican. They include a copy of the Venus of Milo, from the famous original in the Louvre, which is accepted as the classical model of the female form ; a figure of Iris, from the British Museum, the feature of which is the draping, an equestrian frieze from the Parthenon, Assyrian friezes, and several minor examples, such as the head of Sophocles, etc.

Neither the models of statuary nor the paintings are yet on public view, but the authorities of the Museum, where they are located, hope to have them open for inspection almost immediately.

“BUNNY.”

Mr. Ralph Peacock was born at Woodgreen, London, in 1868, and has exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy since 1893. “Bunny,” exhibited in 1899, represents a little country girl, seated in a beechwood. Her dress is purple-grey, and she has purple flowers in her hair. The background is dotted with patches of moss, and is a scheme of autumn-looking tones, very warm and quite harmonious. It is an attractive picture, good in colour, and tenderly quaint in sentiment, and very well painted. It was selected by the President of the Royal Academy, Sir Edward Poynter, for the West Australian Museum and Art Gallery.