Welsh Journals

strong and resulted in an extraordinary manifesta- tion of artistic activity, an activity which was only the natural expression of this overflowing vitality. Viewed in this way art must be considered, primarily as an effect, in that it is a manifestation of a rich and abounding life, and secondarily, it may be regarded as a cause in that it raises the standard and quality of life by bringing new riches and higher pleasures to the society in which it flourishes. It is needless to deplore that we are living in an epoch which cannot compare with the golden age of Greece or the Italian Renaissance. But we cannot without concern note the whole temper and spirit of a time when the current values of life are essen- tially material and not spiritual values. We believe that it is in the prevailing estimate of the meaning and purpose of existence that we may find the real cause of the divorce between art and life and the main reason why the vast masses of men and women carry on a long and weary struggle for the bare necessities, uncheered by the joy and untouched by the beauty which it is the artist's privilege to bring and to reveal. But even amongst those more fortunately placed, whose lives are richer in oppor- tunity and more full of gladness, nobler ideals do not hold sway to get on at all costs, to gain rather than to grow, to possess and not to express are the motives which rule the conduct and spur the activi- ties of men and women in the world around us, and it is not surprising that, in the hurry and bustle and straining after material advancement, the things which deepen and enrich the experience of life are left out of account altogether. Every sensitive artist must feel that the atmosphere in which he lives is not friendly to his best develop- ment, and he must know that at heart the world does not care and indeed has little room for him. It cannot understand the man who only wishes to be allowed to give the best that is in him, by creating things of beauty which are the outcome of his deepest thought and the expression of his truest love. It cannot be made too clear that, in the world of artistic achievement, that work alone counts which has been done from the purest motives, and we be- believe that it is in his very incongruity with the leading axioms of a materialistic age, that the sincere artist, however humble, has a special significance. Avowedly to live with this high thought before him, that, come what may, he must exercise his faculties in the production of the noblest work of which he is capable, is to breathe a new ideal to which all may aspire. If all over Wales more young men and women were to devote themselves to this high calling, they would perform an incalculable service to their country, not only by educating the tastes and stimulating the imaginations of their fellows, but by establishing a truer estimate of the value and meaning of the work of life. It is this spirit of consecration to an ideal, the mainspring of the artist's being, which constitutes him such a valuable asset to society. It has often been said, and there is a germ of truth in the saying, that art cannot be encouraged that, if it comes at all, it comes necessarily and inevitable as the natural manifestation of conditions and forces over which we have no control. To endow art too lavishly, to make the path too smooth and the con- ditions too easy is, very often, to produce an un- healthy growth of little real vitality. But, on the other hand, a growing art may die for lack of en- couragement or be stifled in an unfriendly atmos- phere, and by merely changing his attitude from one of apathy to one of interest and pride, by ceasing to regard every youth who wishes to be an artist as a ne'er-do-well, the ordinary layman may render real service to the art of his country. The obstacle which bars so many young men and women from the artist's career is the extreme diffi- culty of finding the necessities of existence during the early years of training. This difficulty might be overcome by the founding of maintenance grants to be awarded as the result of competition to the most serious and promising students and if this move- ment were widely and generously supported we might have good reason to hope that a sturdy Welsh art might result, an art which would truly reflect the national spirit and voice the national aspirations. Such an art, if it is to gain a real hold on the nation's life, must deal with the simple facts around us rather than search for inspirations in the pages of a romantic past. Peter de Hooch, in his pictures of humble Dutch people in kitchens and backyards, spoke more vitally and eloquently than if he had given us Madonnas or the heroes of history. And Millet, by portraying the peasant in his simple grandeur, voiced the spirit of France more nobly than if he had painted whole lines of kings. True art never preaches. Its duty is to represent and to reveal, not to moralise. The artist must state facts simply and vividly, and the measure of his insight and the intensity of his love will determine the quality and depth of his revelation. He must not fear to deal with the things which seem ugly and even vile, but to his truer vision they must appear in their right relations, explained and understood. And he must ever seek to reveal the beauty which lurks in the least expected places and among the unlike-