Art in the Belfast Museum. 37 



that we cannot return to the primitive ways of semi-civilised 

 nations ; but the fact remains that we cannot have art like 

 theirs, which we all admire, without adopting something of 

 their ways. Beautiful things can only be produced in a natural 

 way by persons living in the midst of beauty and open to the 

 inspirations of nature. The circumstances of our artisans un- 

 happily exhibit the very reverse of these conditions : — our 

 manufacturing towns for the most part are dirty, ugly, and 

 uninteresting- Such inspiration as our designers get has to be 

 found in other ways, chiefly by studying, and more or less 

 laboriously copying, the works of former artists. In the words 

 of William Morris, who has done more than most to renovate 

 industrial art in our day, '* art which is to be made by the 

 people and for the people is a happiness to the maker and the 

 user," Not much of our modern art (I am speaking of objects 

 of everyday use) is a joy to the user, and still less, I fear, brings 

 happiness to the producer. The art that we want is that, to 

 quote the words of Mr. Morris again, which " will make our 

 streets as beautiful as the woods, as elevating as the mountain 

 sides, so that it will be a pleasure and a rest, and not a weight 

 upon the spirits, to come from the open country into the town ; 

 every man's house will be fair and decent, soothing to his mind 

 and helpful to his work ; all the works of man that we live 

 amongst and handle will be in harmony with nature, will be 

 reasonable and beautiful." We are a long way from realising 

 this desirable condition of life at present, but we are making 

 some feeble steps towards it An increasing number of persons 

 take a sincere delight in things of beauty, and there is a feeling 

 abroad that what is good for the educated and appreciative 

 minority is good also for the less favoured masses. Our Kyrle 

 Societies, art schools, associations, &c., are all in some degree 

 paving the way for a wider and healthier appreciation of art. I 

 may add that there is an extensive and unoccupied field for our 

 operations in our own city, which, whatever it may be in respect 

 to learning, is not an Athens in its patronage and appreciation 

 of art. 



