EXHIBITION OF PICTURES AT THE ATHENAEUM. 77 



the insufficient support afforded by the public to defray 

 the expence of such an accumulation of works of Art 

 as was formerly brought together, we understand it to 

 be intended to confine the next display to pictures ac- 

 cessible in the vicinity, and more particularly to those 

 recently painted, with a view to enable the Public to 

 mark the present state and progress of the fine Arts in 

 and about Ply mouth. As Editors we heartily rejoice 

 at a prospect which bids fair again to produce a source 

 of refined enjoyment, and we felicitate oar fellow towns- 

 men upon a measure, whatever may be thought by some 

 to the contrary, which must have a beneficial effect upon 

 the pencils of Professors and Students, as well as upon 

 the taste of Society at large. We rely therefore upon 

 the public spirit of Artists and Amateurs, trusting that 

 they will come forward with the productions of their 

 pencil and jointly co-operate to render the display 

 worthy of their own fame and of public patronage. 

 We have heard already of several pictures by professed 

 artists, and we know that amateurs are actively en- 

 gaged in preparing their contributions in water colors. 

 It is hoped that, in this department of art, the fail- 

 contributors who were so eminently distinguished by 

 talent in former exhibitions will again lend their assist- 

 ance and furnish a splendid example of the progress of 

 taste and of the intellectual refinement of their sex. 

 Finally, w 7 e believe it proper to observe that the con- 

 tracted scale and unassuming form of the next opening 

 of the Gallery will demand the best exertions of every 

 one who has a proper feeling for the fine arts. The 

 call we trust will not be made in vain : we rely upon 

 seeing the coming exhibition furnished with an unpre- 

 cedented number of productions of resident artists, of 

 a quality such as to prove that the arts of design in 

 the West of England are rapidly advancing to a station 

 deserving the encouragement of connoisseurs and the 

 applause of the public. 



