Welsh Journals

Sept., 1880. BYE-GONES. 109 tors has been precluded by the large sale which has taken place of ' untransferable' season tickets, issued at a charge of five shillings each for the whole period of the Exhibition. In order to afford the most ample facilities for people of every class to visit the Exhibition, the Com¬ mittee decided to keep it open from ten o'clock in the morning till ten at night, except upon the first day, when it was opened at half past twelve and closed at seven o'clock. The Committee were fortunate in having placed at their disposal a building so suitable for a pur¬ pose of this kind, as the New Town Hall, of Whit¬ church. The Assembly Room, in which the greater part of the collection was arranged, is an apartment of hand¬ some and convenient proportions, and, what is of the first importance in an exhibition of pictures, is well lighted. The Hanging Committee have done their work so well that but very few of the pictures suffer from being seen in a bad light, and upon entering the room the visitor is at once struck with the effective manner in which the whole collection is arranged. Besides the many noble and beautiful pictures which adorn the walls, the room con¬ tains a display of art treasures, antiquities, and curiosi¬ ties of an exceedingly varied and interesting character. Conspicuous among them are the contributions which have been made upon very liberal terms by the authori¬ ties of the South Kensington Museum, and which add a good deal to the attractions of the Exhibition. Of oil paintings there are 184 entries in the catalogue. Of these, as might be expected, by far the greater number (138) are productions of the English School of painters. The rest are divided into two sections, one Italian, Spanish, and French, and the other German, Flemish, and Dutch. In a brief reference to the principal pictures we will take the works of the English school first. Of Sir Joshua Reynolds, whom Mr. Ruskin declares to be not only the greatest of English painters, but " than whom there is, indeed, no greater among those of any nation or any time," there are several examples. A portrait of Mrs. Massey of Rosthern, contributed by Mr. C. H. Poole, is ascribed to Sir Joshua apparently upon uncertain grounds. The other pictures by Reynolds are a portrait of Dr. Myddleton Massey, belonging to Mr. T. H. Sandford, a portrait of Joseph Baretti (seated, reading a book, which he holds close to his fane), the painter's well known portrait of himself from Sir Watkin's collection, "A Child and Lamb," also from j Wynnstay, and a portrait of Sir John Larpent, contributed by the Rev. W. E. Belson. Sir Peter Lely is re- presented by three portraits, one of William Farmor, j Baron Lempster, sent by Admiral Cotton, another a graceful " Portrait of a Lady," sent by Mr. J. F. Lowe, and the third, a large portrait, with a face and figure expressive of calm dignity, of Admiral Sheffield, who commanded the fleet sent out against the Spanish Armada, and was raised by Queen Elizabeth to the peerage under the title of Earl Mulgrave. Two portraits by Sir Godfrey Kneller are exhibited by Lord Combermere, a third by Mr. T. H. Sandford, and a fourth by Dr. Groom. A small portrait of Dr. Johnson in his old age by John Opie has been sent by the Hon. and Rev. W. T. Kenyon, one of the rectors of Malpas. A portrait of Admiral Byng, ascribed to Gainsborough, is contributed by Mrs. Atkinson. Of the works of another great English portrait painter, George Romney, there are several noteworthy examples. A portrait of Lady Hamilton, which seems to do but scant justice to the charms of that famous beauty, is ascribed to Romney, but is probably not by that painter. The picture belongs to Sir E. A. Hamilton. A pair of Romneys sent by Admiral Cotton are portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Henry CalveleyCotton; there are also portraits by Romney of Lady Margaret Han- mer, and Mary, Lady Kenyon, and a very fine portrait of Lord Chief Justice Kenyon in his judicial robes, exhibited by Lord Kenyon's trustees, who have also sent a painting by Sir Thomas Lawrence of this distinguished lawyer and his wife,and another portrait by Hoppner of Lady Kenyon. The only other portraits in the coll ection by Hoppner (who,in his day, was one of a trio of fashionable portrait painters, Lawrence and Opie being the other two) are from Wynn¬ stay. One is a portrait of Lady Williams Wynn, daughter of the Right Honourable SirGeorgeGrenville.and second wife of Sir Watkin Williams Wynn, fourth Baronet. This lady, who was a sister of the Marquess of Bucking¬ ham, died in 1832. She was described as a " beautiful and accomplished woman, twice painted by Sir Joshua.'' The other is a striking portrait of the Right Honourable Charles Williams Wynn, the distinguished father of the late member for Montgomeryshire and present Recorder of Oswestry. Mr. R. Gill exhibits a portrait by Lawrence of Lady Elizabeth Whitbread. There is but one Hogarth in the exhibition, and that is from Wynnstay, "A Musical Party." Mr. P. W. Godsal contributes three pictures by Francis Wheatley, Mr. J. J. Beckett fourteen pictures by modern English artists, Mr. T. Betton Gwynn, nine pictures (three of Highland scenery) by Mclnnis, and Mr. James Joyce, five pictures by different painters. Viscount Hill sends a picture by the late President of the Royal Academy, Sir Francis Grant, and a hunting group, of which the late Lord Hill is the most conspicuous figure ; and Sir E. A. Hamilton a portrait by a former president, Benjamin West, of Mrs. Macna- mara. Among Sir W. M. Honyman's contributions are a portrait of Lord Braefield by Sir H. Raeburn (1786— 1823), and a portrait of an ancestor, Andrew Honyman. Bishop of Orkney, and of Archbishop Sharpe, by unknown artists. The Rev. H. B. Finch exhibits amongst other pictures, Mr. J. Bridge's portrait of the late Dr. Selwyn. In the collection are to be found five animal pictures by a local artist, Mr. E. Lloyd, of Ellesmere, Two of these, "Terriers and Rabbit," and "Pony and Spaniel," are exhibited by Mr. J. Bateman, and the other three, "Welsh ponies and Scotch terrier," "Cat and rabbit," and "Brood mare and foals" by Lord Hanmer. The works of a well-known artist, Mr. R. Caldecott, whose "John Gilpin," "The House that Jack Built," Goldsmith's "Mad Dog," and other picture books have afforded so much delight to children of all ages, and who, until recently, lived at Whitchurch, are also represented. The humorous picture of "Three Ravens on a Tree,"— three ancient birds seated in solemn deliberation upon some affair of State, which was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1876, is contributed by Mr. Pope, Q.C. An engraving of this picture has been chosen to adorn the cover of the catalogue. Three works of the same artist are exhibited by Mr. H. Beck, another by Mr. C. H. Mitchell, and another by Mr. H. H. Etches. A beautiful picture by Clarkson Stanfield, of " The Church of Santa Maria at Venice," with the Dogana in the foreground, ig contributed by Mr. S. H. Sandbach. Mr. A. P. Heywood Lonsdale sends portraits in chalks of two of his children by Mr. J. Sant, R. A. It would have been rather strange if Sir Edwin Landseer had been left out of such a collec¬ tion of pictures by English artists, and he is represented by three pictures. One of these, "A Terrier and Cat," sent by Sir P. de M. G. Egerton, derives its chief interest from the fact that it was painted when> the artist was only sixteen years of age. The other two are among the fruits of his fully matured genius. One of them is the charming "Titania," from the "Mid¬ summer's Night Dream," and is from Earl Brownlow'a. 16