ART EDUCATION IN AUSTRALIA. 547 



privileges to those engaged in tlie work of art-education. The 

 reason for this is to be found in tlie fact that much of the pre- 

 liminary work is of an unreuiunerative character. As the work 

 advances, as a popular art taste is formed, and the artist finds the 

 creations of his pencil commanding a market, the assistance of 

 the State becomes less necessary, and, in course of time, may be 

 dispensed with altogether. The English Royal Academy was for 

 many years largely dependent upon State aid ; but it became the 

 parent of the numerous art associations which now exist in the 

 United Kingdom. In Australia, the State has yet to properly 

 recognise the claims of art. It is only within the last few years 

 that New South Wales has possessed a National Gallery ; and the 

 Art Society of New South Wales is of even more recent date. 

 But the oldest of the Australian colonies is certainly the least 

 generous, so far as the State recognition of art is concerned. It's 

 assistance is grudgingly rendered, and may at any moment, under 

 the pressure of political influence, become withdrawn. Australian 

 artists, if they are to aid in the work of popularising art taste, 

 must be independent of the art fashions of the hour. They must 

 be enabled to battle with the whims of an imperfectly developed 

 appreciation of true art, and in this task they should receive the 

 cordial co-operation of the State. There are many ways of doing 

 tliis, one of the simplest and most effective being to vote a sum of 

 money annually for the purchase of Australian pictures by Aus- 

 tralian artists. 



At each exhibitiom of the Art Society of New South Wales 

 there are at least a dozen works which, with all their actual or 

 supposed demerits, would materially aid in forming the nucleus 

 of a real Australian Art Gallery. Why should not these be 

 purchased for that purpose 1 The fact that the painter of a 

 really good picture would have a chance of disposing of it at a 

 remunerative price, would naturally encourage him to exert his 

 skill to the uttermost, thus exciting the emulation of his brethren, 

 and awakening the true spirit of rivalry, the burning desire to 

 excel, which is so indispensable to national art progress. More 

 than this, it would stimulate the work of art-education. As there 

 can be no success without excellence, the art student speedily learns 

 the importance of persevering attention and industry. To some 

 extent, this stimulus is afforded by means of art unions, in which 

 the prizes are selected from the pictures exhibited. But there are 

 many objections to this, which is, after all, a most precarious 

 system. Moreover, the purchase of selected pictures by the State 

 would achieve a double result ; it would both encourage the 

 Australian artist, and aid in the work of developing popular art 

 taste. The great difficulty in the latter direction consists in the 

 paucity of art surroundings in Australia. The multitude have 

 little or nothing to aid them in forming a taste for art. In the 

 g.ieat cities of Europe and America there are Art Galleries and 



