PICTURES AND ARTISTS. PAINTINGS IN WATER COLOURS.
THE first exhibition of the new Society of Painters in Water Colours opened to the public on Monday, at their gallery, 16, Old Bond Street. The number of exhibitors, and the great variety of talent displayed, afford very convincing proofs of the need of an exhibition where the productions of every candidate for success in this popular and delightful branch of art may be placed before the public. As the first effort of a newly-formed society, the display is a very gratifying one, and evinces, on the part of numerous artists, hitherto scarcely known as exhibitors, promise of a flattering description. Many who only send one or two pictures this year, will probably send several the next; while those who have only essayed the medium of water colours in sketches, may be in- duced to make pictures. The present exhibition also brings out talent that has been occupied rather in teaching others than in multiplying its own works ; and though, for this reason, there may be more that is solid and useful than brilliant or ornamental, the advantages of judg- ing of the effect of their works in comparison with those of others will not be thrown away upon these artists.
The most prominent among this class of exhibitors are the follow- ing. SIDNEY SHEPHERD; who has a great variety of powerful draw- ings of landscapes with rich effects of light; of figures, in which he is not equally successful; and of game, fruit, &c., wherein he competes with HUNT in the force and truth of his delineations. J. POWELL ; whose style is elaborate, but heavy, and somewhat too mechanical, but -whose landscapes are true representations of the different places. T. MAISEY; whose architectural views display great accuracy and under- • standing of the forms. W. COWEN ; who exhibits some remarkably fresh and faithful transcripts of natural scenes, rather too uniform in texture and green in colour, but evincing the true feeling of the painter, though mannered in the touch. T. M. RICHARDSON ; whose coast scenes in particular are admirable for truth to nature, and good as well as Original in style. G. F. PHILLIPS ; whose drawings, though slight and sketchy, present some beautiful sunset and twilight effects. J. FUGE; who delineates the picturesque old buildings in foreign cities with great skill and force, though somewhat harsh and cold in style and colour.
There are also some pretty little Rural scenes by E. WARD; some boldly-drawn and forcibly-painted Interiors of churches by LINES junior; some coast scenes, &c., with rich effects, by BENTLEY; two or three chaStely-coloured foreign views, by J. BRIDGES ; and landscapes of merit, by Messrs. STOW, BACK;DUNCAN, WATE, &c., most of whom .are names new to the visitors of exhibitions. Some shells, by BUR- BANK; as like as they can be painted, and flowers, by Miss BOWLEY, equal to any in water colours (13annioLomsw's excepted), also intro- duce two new names.
Among those who are better known as exhibitors, many appear for the first time in public as painters in water colours. Of this class, STANLEY is the most prominent : his landscapes are eminently beauti- ful, and, we think, better than his oil paintings; they not only transcend, in artist-like skill and the look of nature, all others in the room, but they rival those of any other water colour painter. His style is quite his own—free, broad, and powerful ; his colour- ing is bright, fresh, and natural; his pictures have the look and breathe the air of the country. We have also landscapes by VICKERS, ALLEN, A. CLINT, and HARRY WILSON, who are all known as painters in oil : the water-colour drawings of the last-mentioned artast we prefer to his oil paintings ; they have greater force and breadth of style, and evince more originality and feeling for nature. There are also some good specimens of the talent of many artists cele- brated as painters of landscape in water colours : among them, are H. W. BURGESS, HOLLAND, BOYS, INCE, &C.; we wish we could have added those of TURNER, STANFIELD, &C.
In designs of the figure, we observe the names of HOLLINS, HART, KNIGHT, UWINS, PARRIS, DRUMMOND, Buss, CLATER, FARRIER, &C. .Thascoce and T. LANDSEER have both several pictures of animals ; and there are some beautiful miniatures by PATTEN, ROCHARD, DERBY, M..MooRE • several theatrical portraits by WAGEMAN; and some bigrwrought'pictures by Miss F. CORBEAUX and W. COWEN.
- e have given this merely general account of the exhibition with- -out enumeratingindividualpictures, because the number of works (330) is so small, and, as will have been seen by the list of names which we have enumerated, the display of talent is so various, that to do indivi- dual justice to all would exceed our limits; besides, among so small a number of pictures, there is little danger that any will be overlooked by the visitor. .
We ought not to omit noticing with approbation, the plan of exhibit- ing sketches and studies in portfolios, as at conversaziones. It adds greatly.. to the interest of the exhibition, without occupying any space that might be better filled. Too many sketches crowd the walls of all . the galleries, which would be more properly confined to the portfolio. We trust the public will not give the artists reason to regret the experi- ment, by leaving thumb and finger notes of admiration.
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