flu 363.
BRITISH INSTITUTION.
SECOND NOTICE.
POVERTY in choice of subject, and a tendency to follow in the foot- steps of others, are the chief characteristics of most of the figure pieces not yet reviewed. After all the fun that has been made about the stock subjects of painters, there is still a gentleman hardy enough to paint "Alfred the Great suffering the Cakes to burn,' and exhibit it in Pall Mall, in 1862! Instances of too closely copying the style of popular artists will be found in kir. G. Smith's "Leisure Hour," in which the disposition of the figures is based a little too evidently- on Mr. Mulready's "Sonnet." Another of Mr. Mulready's pictures has found an imitator in the person of Mr. J. Hardy, Jun., who, in "Bob Cherry," has represented a boy shooting cherries into his father's mouth, in the same way that the young butcher is doing with his companion in the famous "Butt." Mr. M. Claxton, who is surely old enough to know better, contributes a vulgar reproduction of Mr. Frith's "Sherry," or "Did you ring, Sir ? " which he entitles "The Chamber Maid—Hot Water for No. 1." We have already had more than enough of such subjects, but when, as in the present case, they have neither piquancy nor good workmanship to recommend them, they become insufferable. Lastly, we have a parody of Mr. Holman Hunt's "Awakened Conscience," by Mr. A. Weig,all, "How an Heiress was Lost." There is the young lady, the large-whiskered "swell," and the piano, and a similar arrangement of furniture. The gentleman has fallen asleep over the young lady's performance, instead of being " awakened " thereby to a superior sense of her accomplishments : hence the title. It is needless to say that the execution of this work is not quite up to that of the brilliant original. It is pleasant to turn from these feeblenesses and note the marked improvement visible in the works of Mr. Nicol, a painter who has the power to think for himself. His humour is as genuine as of yore, but it is more refined, and less forced. He can be pathetic, too, now and then, as all true humorists can—witness "The Empty Frock," where a young Irishwoman is mourning over a little garment, a relic of her lost infant ; though the story might have been told more plainly by the introduction of a cradle. " Whisper?" represents a loutish shepherd, sulking at some sharp th. as his coquettish sweetheart has been uttering ; he stands pulling some leaves to pieces while she is coyly calling him back again to her side. The expressions in both faces are admirably portrayed, and the colour in both pictures is clearer and better than in previous works. Another pair of rustic lovers will be found in "The Tiff," by Mr. T. P. Hall, but the treatment is as hopelessly vulgar as it is refined in Mr. Nicol's work. A stable-boy is cleaning a pair of boots, and, whistling with assumed indifference, turns his back on his inamorata, a very repulsive-looking girl, in a flaming orange-coloured dress. In this and in "The Connoisseur," a repe- tition of the idea of Mr. Hall's picture in the Winter Exhibition, there is not a particle of genuine humour nor of satisfactory paint- ing. "Caught," by Mr. G. A. Holmes, has some fun of a rude and boisterous kind. A lad, wedged between the palings of an orchard he has been robbing, and from which he tries in vain to escape, being attacked in front by a savage dog, while the despoiled farmer is seen harrying along, cudgel in hand, to inflict summary justice on the offender. Mr. Rossiter contributes three pictures, the best of which, "Beauty and the Beast," a mother and her six-months-old firstborn playing with a rough terrier, though hung in an obscure corner, will not fail to secure admirers, as it is not only one of the most forcible of the artist's works, but the action of the dog as he shyly turns away his head has been well caught. "Baby," by Mr. Houghton, is another incident from middle-class domestic life, painted with deli- cate playfulness, and showing a good feeling for colour. The furni- ture and accessories are all rendered with truth and finish, without obtruding themselves too forcibly on the spectator's attention. In the glass-doors of the cabinet behind the young lady and her baby we can see the reflesion of the painter at work on this pretty group. Babies and children must be difficult creatures to paint. The two works just mentioned are more successful in this respect than most, but there are plenty of instances of failure at this as fit every other exhibition, and if a more than ordinarily conspicuous in- stance of arrogant incompetency were needed, it might be found in Mr. J. Lucas's "Children of the Heath." ' The large scale on which the figures are painted, and the place the canvas occupies on the line, serve but to render the short-comings of drawing and painting frightfully apparent. The directors of 1 he British Institution delight to hide away some of their choicest treasures in odd nooks and corners with a true magpie secretiveness and ignorance of their value ; the placing of Mr. J. D. Watson's "Pictures in the Fire" in so low a position that it cannot be studied without incurring considerable personal discomfort, is a case in point. There is no more delicate piece of painting than this in the whole gallery ; the colour is pare yet quiet, and every texture, from the rough-cast wall behind the watchful, sengitive head of the girl to the silky coat of the cat which sleeps at her feet, has been wrought with most patient and loving care ; yet great as are its technical merits, the painter has not forgotten to imbue this little figure with the higher elements of sentiment and expression. Close to this is a work of different character, a „,oern by Mr. E. Hopley, which escaped observation on my first visit, but may be briefly alluded to now. In "The Approach of the Muse" we are introduced to Shaksp e re un- easily reclining by the sea-shore and pointing with his forefinger to his massive brow, after the manner of the effigy at Madame Tussaud's. The bard's ideas do not appear to flow freely, nor would he be able to note them down if they did, for though he has a handsonte goose- quill and some quires of paper, the painter has neglected to supply the "divine Williams" .with "writing fluid." It is to be hoped that the vacant-looking Muse will be able to supply an ink-bottle as well as inspiration. Mr. Hayllar's "Hard Bargaining" is one of the best pictures he has exhibited for many a day. The scene is a corn- market ; a burly farmer in velveteen and cords refuses to listen to the voice of the charmer in the shape of a quaker-like factor. The character in each figure has been well studied, and the execution of this little specimen is an agreeable relief to the false and mannered handling to which the painter is usually so prone. "Osier Sorting," by Mr. G. Hicks, is natural in action and expression. The mother stealing a moment from her toil to rock her sleeping infant, the stalwart labourer quaffing a glass of ale to the health of the master's pretty daughter who has brought out a can of that beverage for the men, and the old man with a sack on his knees and pipe in mouth, are all good. Mr. I). W. Deane attempts to rival the boldness and vigour of Mr. Phillip's painting, but with unsatisfactory results. "Andalusian Peasants departing from a Yenta," is not without occasional good passages of colour, but the shadows are black and heavy, the handling is coarse, and the drawing frequently defective. If painters Will imitate their more skilful brethren, they cannot complain if the comparison does not ran in their favour, and Mr. Deane may rest assured that he has a great deal of hard work to go through before he can hope to vie with "Philip of Spain." The only other Spanish subject is one by Mr. E. Long. "Dialogos Divirsos" shows a group of figures on a terrace. A stout elderly priest and a slim young one are conversing on some point of doctrine ; behind them are lovers and melon-sellers. The picture is firmly and honestly painted, but there is no con- nexion between the groups, no centre of interest, no unity, and con- sequently no repose. Mr. Gale's head of "Evangeline" is the most successful study he has hitherto exhibited. it is sweet in feeling and beautiful in expression. Praise must also be awarded to Mr. Bur- gess for his roguish little fisher boy in "Carrying Nets ;" to Mr. C. J. Lewis for a very clever "Interior of a Blacksmith's ;" to Mr. Yeamcs for a forcible "Study of a Head,"—a hard-featured halber- dier ; to Mr. Fitz-Gerald's brightly-coloured " Conversazione ;" and to Mr. Lidderdale's carefully painted "Nut-Gatherer." In the zoological department there is a more than usually good display. Mr. J. W. Bottomley's "Brewer's Pride," in which a most jolly-looking brewer is removing the harness from a grey Flemish horse as round and comfortable-looking as himself, is a genuine bit of truth simply but effectively set down. Thou,gh some- what dryly .painted, Mr. Earl has never done- anything half so real as his "Blind Pups." The helpless little creatures are tumbling over each other, and waddling about in the maundering way that puppies do, or opening their toothless mouths to utter plaintive cries, while their mother is as proud of her offspring as any human mother could be, for all that she pretends to be very careless of them. A study, seemingly of the same litter, and very nearly as good, is by Mr. H. Physick. It is but right "to throw Physick to the dogs" when he paints them so well. Mr. Herring, senior, comes out in great force with "Ducks and Ducklings" and a "Horse Fair" which is not an imitation of a more celebrated "Horse Fair," and that is no small praise in these imitative times. Mr. Keyrs "Overgrown Nurslings,"—a Brittany ewe and lamb, Mr. B. Willis's "Sheep," and Messrs. Aster and Alfred Cor- bould's "Farm-yard," all contain some good types of animal cha- racter. In game, fruit, and still-life, Messrs. lance and Duffield occupy the most prominent positions. Mr. Lance has set the fashion, which promises to be an undying one, of representing overgrown fruit in company with damask table-covers, marble slabs, and Jewelled plate ; and more than a score of imitations of his style will be found scattered on the walls.
Among the landscapes, Mr. H. Dawson's " Evening" holds a con- spicuous position by reason of its truth of colour and tone, and the care so equally bestowed on everypart. The painter has evidently worked with hearty goodwill at his subject, and produced in con: sequence a fine picture. The mottled and richly coloured sky, the hay-field, bathed in the mysterious twilight, and the foliage, whether near or distant, are wrought with discriminating care and judgment. Mr. H. Johnson's "Temple of Minerva," and Mr. Frank Dillon's " E t," form capital pendants on each side of Mr. Gilbert's " o sey and Buckingham." Mr. Johnson's Grecian ruin is illumi- nated by the cold rays of the moon; the owl peeps from his hiding.
place, and the whole scene conveys a powerful impression of solitude and departed grandeur. The sky is particularly good, and the truth of delineation in the foreground foliage should not be overlooked. Mr. Dillon's picture is painted in a warmer key ; the glowing rays of the setting sun glance on two gigantic Memnon figures, in the shadow of which a musical party are amusing themselves, while other figures are engaged in the act of ploughing; the painter proves that he has the capacity also of investing mere common-place materials with the charm of poetry in a "November Morning on the Thames," a London scene, which, dull as it may appear to ordinary eyes, becomes full of interest when interpreted by a hand and mind susceptible of unseen influences. Mr. J. Danby's "House of Lords from Mill- bank" is not so successful. There is a want of solidity about the building, and few persons will recognize in the orange- coloured mass to the left the aspect of Thames mud at low water, even under the most favourable circumstances. Placed underneath this view is "The Old Mill at Abergele," by Mr. W. J. Roffe, a name new to Exhibition catalogues, but which will not long remain so if the promise shown in the present case be held forth in future perform- ances. There is a grave solemnity of feeling about this old mill rearing up its Corky and withered arms against the deepening twilight sky, impressive from its truth and deeply glowing colour. Mr. Oakes is rather disappointing in "The Valley Mill, Newlands," which, though conscientious in general treatment, appears of too universal a green; but he makes amends in "Camber," in which, with no other materials than an expanse of flat downs, a crumbled castle, and one or two marten° towers, he contrives to make an interesting and effective picture. The presence of clear, open daylight is as plainly felt in this as it is missed in Mr. G. Stanfield's works, which, though always well drawn and well chosen as far as subject goes, appear always as if seen by the murky light of a winter afternoon. "The Castle of Dietz" (97) will furnish a proof of this assertion. Very successful is Mr. H. Moore's "Threatening Weather," a Devonshire pastoral, in which the farm-labourers are hurriedly carrying the last load of hay lest they be overtaken by the storm which lowers in the distance. The moon is rising, and the lights in the cottages begin to show in the twilight. Want of space precludes more than the mention of Mr. H. Davis's "Noon—Pas-de-Calais," Mr. Collinson's remarkably truthful study of docks and other plants, entitled "A Quiet Dell," Mr. Lee Bridell's richly coloured Italian scenes, or of Mr. Mogford's views in Wales. The sea-pieces call for no particular remark, as they all bear a remarkable resemblance to each other; an exception must, however, be made in favour of Mr. J. G. Naish's "Ant Ashore," the only one which appears to have been distinctly remembered from nature, instead of being quietly concocted in the
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