Art
As a sculptor Mr. Herbert Haseltine is always interesting. In his treatment of animal forms, his work bears close analogies to early Chinese sculpture. There is not, indeed, any conscious attempt at a pastiche, but the resemblance arises from a similar attitude. One may have doubts as to the scope of his powers, but so long as he exercises his talents on those animals which in themselves possess all the essentials of simple massive sculpture, there is no question of his gift. In the present exhibition of his work at Messrs. Knoedler-s, 15. Old Bond Street, it will be seen that he is most successful With the heavier animals. Nothing could be more satisfying than the noble proportions of Suffolk Punch Stallion : Sad- iourne Premier and Perrheron Stallion : Rh um, in Burgundy stone, or Hereford : TsiuJord Fairy Boy, in bronze, partly gilded. When, however, Mr. Haseltine tackles less massive animal subjects, such as Polo Pony : Perfection, the result leaves a good deal to be desired. The gilded bronze equestrian figure of Jam Thum! ji--a model of the sixteenth- century warrior which is to be finished on a gigantic scale for the Maharajah Janisallib of Nawanagar—is not entirely satisfactory. The horse is line but the rider unsatisfactory.
Messrs. Heal and Son, Tottenham Court Road, are holding two shows of considerable interest. The smaller, which is to be seen at the Mansard Annexe, consists of an exhibition of animal drawings and paintings by a number of young artists. Nearly all the pictures show that the subjects have been observed, in the naturalist's sense, as well as drawn. Miss Silvia Baker contributes ten of those animal studies with which readers of the Manchester Guardian are so familiar. Miss Baker's drawings have a quality about them that is curiously reminiscent of the Japanese master Korin. Cameo!, Caracol feeding, flashback and Golden Cat of Sumatra are possibly the best, though choice in this case is rather a matter of individual preference for the animals concerned. Mr. David Jones, whose landscape Mantes et Omaha has recently been acquired by the Whitworth Art Gallery, has a number of excellent drawings and water- colours, of which Antlered Animals, Sleeping Cat and horned Animal on Bed with Sparrows are noteworthy. Why the horned animal, which' is by way of being a deer, should be on a bed with sparrows, even if it is a garden bed though it might be anything, is a problem which others must decide, but the picture is delightful. Mr. Frank Medworth's Zebra Foal, Bull Bison and Bucking Calf and The War Dance of the Genets, all coloured drawings, are also charming. Besides the animal studies, there arc a number of amusing nursery paintings on tiles by Miss Pearl Binder.
The second and larger exhibition, in the Mansard Gallery, consists of a mixed show of old pewter, English and Conti- nental, and old maps. The best English county maps, naturally come from Speed's great book which was published in the early seventeenth century. There are a number of contemporary hand-coloured specimens, which incidentally may be recognized by the presence of the colour showing through on the back of the map, but the majority have been coloured at a much later date. These make pleasant decorations, but one cannot help feeling that a Speed map coloured at a comparatively recent date, is a Speed map spoiled. After all, the number of topographical books which were coloured at the time of publication or shortly after- wards, is very small. The same is true of heraldic printed books, and yet since the craze for coloured maps and coloured plates of armorial bearings became fashionable, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find plates from books that have been broken up, in their natural state. There are, however, a number of uncoloured Speed maps, some of which have been rather drastically trimmed. Other maps by Blaeu, Norden and Kipp and Sexton and Hole are of interest. Besides these, there are maps by Mercator Ortelius, De Witt, Goos and Schenk. The collection of pewter is large and varied. Most types of interest are represented.
DAVID FINCIIA111.
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