Bath in its relation to Art. 107 



times, love of art is still worthily cultivated. The attractive 

 force of London is now so great that no provincial town 

 can hope to compete with it as Bath long did. Even the 

 exhibitions of the local Graphic Society which, within the 

 last half century, were very useful and popular, could not 

 be sustainefl, in consequence partly of the ease with which 

 metropolitan exhibitions could be seen. Still, there are 

 valuable aids to art culture of various kinds. Especially 

 useful is the School of Science and Art, connected with the 

 Science and Art Department of the Government. Begin- 

 ning as simply the School of Art in 1854, it took the larger 

 title in 1876, and is well fulfilling both purposes. In the 

 year commencing May, 1887, the number of day students was 

 76, of evening students 120. EfiScient aid is given by the 

 Government on the usual conditions, towards a building fund 

 and for the purchase of objects of study. Prizes and Scholar- 

 ships, local and metropolitan, are also awarded to superior 

 students. With this assistance, the Bath school has done good 

 service in the artistic and technical training of all classes — 

 amateurs, professional artists, handicraftsmen, and others ; all 

 have received a fair share of the honours and rewards given by 

 " the Department." Within the last few years the National 

 Silver Medal has been awarded to a Bath artisan student. 

 A suitable building is now the chief thing needed to develop 

 more fully this extremely useful institution. An effort was 

 made in connection with Her Majesty's Jubilee to originate 

 a Gallery of Art. It was considered that the scheme would 

 be practicable, because a home was required for a bequest 

 of a valuable collection by a lady of Bath, Miss Holburne. 

 At first the proposal was warmly welcomed, but soon another 

 came for an institution for Convalescent Patients, which 

 appealed to the sympathies of a larger number. Funds for 



