ART
Masters of British Watercolour. (Burlington House.)
LOAN exhibitions and books on English watercolour painting fre- quently show examples provided by J. Leslie Wright, and now, for the first time, his collection as a whole is on view to the public at Burlington House until November 6th. Out of 371 exhibits, between thirty and forty are really first-class works. But there is, of course, much else of interest • not least interesting is the total composition of the collection, with the following artists represented by ten or more works: Rowlandson (39), Gainsborough (33), Sandby (25), Girtin (19), Turner and de Wint (T5 each), Cox 14, Chinnery (it), Wheatley (to). There is, admittedly, no quality in numbers, and some of the best paintings are by artists represented by fewer works ; but the numerical assessment does give a good idea of the collector's disposition, as also does the fact that, while Blake is not represented at all and Constable has only two unworthy notes, there is nothing later than the nineteenth century, with works by such artists as Bickel Foster and Callow included yet nothing by
Rossetti, Millais or Lear. .
i It is rather as if Mr. Wright, who started collecting twenty years Ago when he was in his sixties, had set out to illustrate, lavishly, one of the more conservative histories of the English watercolour. if such was in fact his aim, the job has been excellently done—but perhaps it is a job more appropriate to a museum. (It may also be noted in parenthesis that, as Mr. Wright does not purchase twentieth-century works, the considerable sum of money here represented, while doubtless not without its benefit to dealers, has been of none to living artists. However, this is perhaps to carp too much ; it is the Royal Academy which is exhibiting the collection.) Among the best known and also tl.e finest paintings are Ccnman's Clip persby Church, Norfolk, J. R. Cozens's Between Chamouni and Mart igny and Turner's Mont Cenis, Snowstorm. As well as other good paintings by these artists, Gainsborough, Girtin, Cox and de Wint have several fine works, there is a good Alexander Cozens, rid paintings by Anthony Devis and John Varley are worth seeing.
S. John Woons.
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