154 
SOCIETY OF BRITISH ARTISTS, SUFFOLK STREET. 
[Nature and Art, May 1, 1867. 
thought. The collection in Suffolk Street is not an ex- 
ception to this rule. Every shade of thought is repre- 
sented. Suppose that we notice the pictures with some 
relation to the various sets of ideas and modes of thinking 
which are prevalent. 
The Allegorical has long been, and always will be, a welcome 
style. The countrymen of John Bunyan cannot object to 
that mode of art ; and in the present exhibition there is a 
very clever water-colour — not much more than a sketch — of 
“A Wayfaring Man” (1029), )by Miss F. Claxton ; the 
wayfaring man suggesting the universal man, who is a 
wayfarer here below on this earth. Of the Ideal there are 
some examples ; may witches be included under this head P 
If so, Mr. M’Culloch’s “Tam O’Shanter” (116) might be 
noticed ; the whirl and motion of that exciting moment 
when Meg passed the “ Key-stone o’ the Brig,” is well 
conceived and effectively rendered. Historical subjects are 
plentiful and various. Mr. Heaphy’s picture of General 
Fairfax and his Daughter (238) shows some good work ; the 
principal figures are very good, and the foreground incident 
of the hen and her chicks, one of which is passing over the 
edge of the general’s sword, suggests the position of danger 
which the principal figure is placed in at the moment. It is 
not easy to repeat the story of a picture by the subordinate ac- 
cessories. A very little more finish and power in this picture 
would give it a title to high place. “ The Beau’s Strata- 
gem,” by E. C. Barnes (115), from its treatment belongs 
rather to the historical class than to what the French call 
“ Sujets de genre.” It is well painted and well done in 
every way, its fault being that it is a little too theatrical; 
Though much more satisfactory is his small picture to the 
lines from Tennyson (382), 
“ Break, break, break, 
On thy cold grey stones, 0 Sea ! ” 
This is really quite an original picture, all painted in 
greys with the exception of the shawl, which might be called 
only a deeper grey. The solitary figure standing- by that 
simple beach raises an interest which is never felt in the 
larger pictures ; one does not even see the lady’s face, but 
the desire to see it is produced, and he would be a dull spec- 
tator who would only desire to see the face. A walk along 
a beach like that must be by one who has something to 
engage her thoughts, and to see the heart and to know its 
utterance- is the sum of the interest produced by this 
strangely fascinating picture. The painting is simple and 
broad ; the brush has left the colour thick and pulpy. To 
the right of this picture is a very fine one, in which grey is 
again the predominating tone (383), by Haynes King. So 
far as painting goes it might be said to equal the other, but 
the single figure excites little or no interest. Miss Beales 
gives a picture of this same class in water-colour (918), but 
if it had been a little less pre-Raphaelite in its treatment 
it would have been more effective. “ Giorgione ” (948), by 
J. D. Linton, is allied to this type of subject. One feels an 
objection to this picture because it does not belong to the 
English school of water-colours ; the juicy quality of a free 
wash of colours is absent, — one has to look close, to see if 
it is not done with crayons ; still, one must not overlook the 
fact that it is a very fine work, carefully and very beautifully 
done : the faces are masterpieces of delicate touching. There 
is no very distinct line between this class of picture and 
that of ordinary life subjects ; the historical, sentimental, 
and everyday scenes, or rustic pictures, melt into one 
another, no line can be drawn ; so the latter class may 
be considered as following to those just noticed. Mr. 
Hemsley’s “ Village Postman” (86) tells its story particu- 
larly well. Although rather a hackneyed subject, the pic- 
ture is not so in the slightest degree. The action and expres- 
sion of the young lady tells what she is expecting. Papa 
has got his letters, and is already deep into them ; the 
relationship is indicated by the dog, who runs back to see 
what detains his mistress. The postman is a very good 
figure, and has an expressive face ; a little more flesh-colour 
in the face, and a little more careful painting here and there, 
— painting which Mr. Hemsloy evidently could do, — and 
this would be a first-class work. The critic is hard to 
please ; one picture wants flesh-colour and careful painting, 
and the next has a little too much again of both these 
qualities : the middle course of perfection, particularly in 
art, is hard to attain. These remarks indicate the criti- 
cism Mr. Roberts’s “Tedious Sermon” (33) is liable to. 
It might be a little less distinct, and the faces not so much 
cut out as they appear ; still, this is a good performance, 
full of good honest work and study. The pictures by the 
Brothers Burr are so very much alike, in almost every quality, 
that what applies to one applies to both. They all indicate 
a masterly power and vigour ; the touch is put on with that 
ease, indicating an experience of hand and correctness of 
eye, which is always so delightful to the lover of art. “ The 
Rehearsal ” (114), by J. C. Monro, although rough in its 
execution, contains many good points. “ Never had no 
Laming” (430), by Mr. Hayllar, is an out-of-the-way sub- 
ject to pick up, and a very good one it is ; it is not every 
man that can catch a new idea to paint. The picture is 
very well rendered. A word of notice is due to Mr. Dowling, 
who is, so to speak, a stranger come among us, and gives 
“An Incident in the Siege of Gloucester” (566). “The 
Holiday ” (558), by Miss Walker, is a pleasant subject, and 
the work upon it will stand a careful looking into.' Over 
the fireplace in the large room there are a number of very 
beautiful little bits of painting ; they are too numerous to 
particularize. 
Suffolk Street has always been strong in landscape, and 
Mr. Pyne is what might be termed the Turner of the place. 
This eminent artist has generally been ranked next to 
Turner among British landscape painters, and some very 
generous marks of appeciation by the great master are 
recorded as having been given to his all-but rival. Land- 
scape art has the two very opposite modes of treatment — 
the realistic and the ideal. Turner and Pyne have practised 
both. The one is the foundation of the other. In both 
Turner has been the greatest man ; but in the production of 
light, and of light grey aerial effects, Pyne has always 
ranked next to the great master of English landscape 
painting. This power is still visible in the pictures which 
Mr. Pyne exhibits, but he is not what he used to be. 
Perhaps this is the result of accident ; if so, all lovers of 
our own school of landscape will be glad. “Florence from 
a Villa on the Arno” (17) comes the nearest to the old 
style of this artist : there is light, delicacy, and power. 
Detail in the distance is not lost by atmospherical effect — 
it is a picture in which you can mentally walk from the 
foreground into the middle distance, and on to the hills 
beyond. Of the realistic school, — which almost all our 
landscape men are now, more or less — Mr. E. Pettitt’s 
Avalanche (417) is a good example, full of careful study 
from nature : much of the detail is lost by being hung so high ; 
but high as it is, one can see the minute finish of the middle 
distance and foreground, and we may take it for granted 
that the distance is equally so. A Steam Tug towing a 
vessel into Howtli Harbour (424), by E. Hayes, is a very 
fine picture, the effect in the sky is glowing and expressive 
of atmosphere. On the Lledr (193), by J. Syer ; the stream 
of light on the hill-side is finely felt and rendered ; this 
artist has a fine, free touch, which is seen to great advantage 
in the rocks and water. Lime Burning (574), by G. Cole, 
is very effective, the blaze of light bursting out on the 
darkness, and its play upon the figures is most cleverly 
managed, and the result is a good picture, which has the 
additional merit of being out of the common. In the water 
colours, Mr. Soper has a masterly view of Brighton from 
the Dyke Road (984). The greys in this picture form its 
great charm, but the drawing and composition is of high 
merit. A Highland Raid (934), by A. C. Gow, has good 
action and clever painting. The Nosegay (973), by A. H. 
Marsh, indicates the true feeling of an artist, the holly- 
hocks and flowers are finely touched. Coming Clouds 
(1012), by IV. F. Stocks, is a bit of poetic treatment. 
Our space comes to an end sooner than our interest in 
the Exhibition, and we regret, therefore, that many an 
honest work, perhaps no less worthy than those we have 
mentioned, must perforce pass unnoticed. 
