liEPUltT ON FINE ARTS. 37 



FINE ARTS. 



[From the Report of the Committee of the "Worcester North Society.] 



Your Committee, in the absence of any implicit instruo* 

 tions, deemed their duties to begin on the day appointed by 

 the printed reguhitions for the presentation, at the hall, of 

 specimens for exhibition. Accordingly they repaired to their 

 room on Monday, Sept. 27, 1880, received and arranged 

 all specimens of the fine arts presented on that day or the 

 next, and as early as possible on Tuesday, after deciding 

 upon the comparative merits of the exhibited work, affixed 

 the cards indicating the premiums and gratuities. In the 

 task of awarding premiums, the members of the Committee 

 who reside in this county were much aided by the judgment 

 of Mr. Rominer Lovewell, a marine painter of Chelsea, who 

 kindly consented to serve upon the Committee. 



The exhibit of this year in our department had the impor- 

 tant merit of being, without exception, so far as is known to 

 your Committee, the genuine work of the exhibiters. In 

 consequence, it was not so large as on some former years. 

 Subtract, however, from those former exhibits, that portion 

 of the specimens not executed by the exhibiters, and the 

 exhibit of this yeav will compare favorably with its predeces- 

 sors. If the main purpose of the fine-art exhibition is to 

 indicate the state of art-work in this locality, the exhibition 

 of 1880, it would seem, was equally successful with its prede- 

 cessors. But, as a means of renderiiig the fair more attrac- 

 tive to its patrons by presenting objects of beauty for their 

 contemplation, it lacked something of complete success. 

 Certainly there would have been an added feature of great 

 interest, if those of our citizens who possess meritorious 

 works of art had loaned them for the occasion. It seems 

 probable that they Avill not do this without previous earnest 

 solicitation on the part of the Committee, and possibly, also, 

 the expenditure of small amounts for cartage, boxing, and 

 similar expenses. Your Committee would therefore recom- 



