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A SOUTH AUSTRALIAN ARTIST.
MR. HAYLEY LEVER.
_____
EXHIBITION OF PICTURES.
At the Central Art Studio, Widows'
Fund Building, on Monday afternoon the
Premier (Hon. J. G. Jenkins) opened a
fine exhibition of pictures by the young
South Australian artist, Mr. Hayley Lever.
Coming so soon on the top of the success
of Mr. Hans Heysen, it is pleasing to
chronicle that achieved by his contempo-
rary. Both these young men have had the
immense advantage of an English and
Continental training, and they have been
real friends through their several years of
studio life. They admire and criticise each
other's work in a true way, without any
of the vulgar scratch-back business. Mr.
Lever went to the old country
about five years ago, determined
to make a name for himself. He worked
with restless energy, and was known among
the students as the greatest grafter in St.
Ives. In Paris he lived in a single room
and cooked all his meals himself. He
came across the Channel up against the
engine, so that he could have money to put
into frames for his pictures. Mr. Lever
has succecded. He is a rising artist, and
everything going well he will make a great
name for himself. When on the other
side of tbe world Mr. Lever had tbe honour
of a visit to his studio of Mr. H. B. Davis,
Royal Academician, who purchased two of
his sketches. Alfred East, A.R.A., Arnesby
Brown, A.R.A., aud M. Fritz Thaulow also
visited his studio, and expressed great ap-
preciation of his efforts. His work was ac
cepted three years by the Royal Academy,
and his picture "Eventide" was hung in
1904. He has exhibited for a like period
at the New Salon (National des Beaux
Arts), Paris. His work was accepted
three years by the Royal Institute, Lon-
don, and hung twice, once on tbe
line. Among the other galleries where
he has exhibited may be mentioned
New Art Gallery, Antwerp; Whitechapel
Art Gallery, London, four times, specially
invited; Victoria Art Gallery, Worcester,
Royal Academy picture, specially invited;
Hull Corporation Gallery, specially in-
vited for three years; American Art As-
sociation, Paris, of which he is a mem-
bcr; Philadeplhia, U.S.A., Whitstable,
Exeter, Falmouth, Plymouth, Newlyn, and
St. Ives.
—The Pictures.—
Altogether nearly 100 pictures and
sketches are shown. The work throughout
is strong, real, and full of merit. An
artisi, looking with admiring eyes on one
of the canvases, remarked:— "Lever,
you've got colour, light, and movement,
and what more do you want?" "Well,"
remarked the young painter, "I suppose
I must try and improve on those three
things." Mr. Lever's work impresses one
with the fact that he has gone and lived
with Nature. He has the faculty for see-
ing the beautiful in everything. He has
risen in the morning, and painted
sketches from his bedroom window. He
has gone down to the sea at St. lves, and
wandered among the fishermen and their
boats. He has shivered in the cold sketch-
ing a snow scene in Paris. See Lever's
pictures and one cannot help remarking —
"He has seen these things." The young
painter has hundreds upon hundreds of
rough sketches. Not one of the works
in the present exhibition was painted for
sale. Every picture is the result of an in-
spiration, and possesses a personal inte-
rest for the artist. "Do you like that?"
he says in reply to some one he is show-
ing around. 'Well, that quaint little
place is an hotel in St. Ives. The walls
of one of the rooms arc covered with ar-
tists' sketches." Then to another he ob-
served—"Oh, that little building on the
hill is an historic landmark at St. Ives.
I loved to love to watch the fisherman in
their jumpers climb up there, and, placing
the spy glass in position, look over the
water for the boats. One would look
through the telescope, and wisely say to the
other— 'E be going down channel, Bill.'
Those who know Mr. Lever's temperament
can readily understand his work possessing
movement and sparkle. The American
artist he met fell in love with his can-
vases and invited him to go to the land
of Stars and Stripes, where they promised
him a warm welcome. They not inaptly
called Mr. Lever "The sparkling artist."
There is a beautiful scheme of colour in
all his pictures, while he understands tone
perfectly. His distances and his lights
are admirably managed. A striking fea-
ture of the exhibition is the evidence it
affords of Mr. Lever's versatility. There
is no sameness of style or conventionality
about the pictures. There are a boldness,
a breadth, a freshness, and an impression-
ism that cannot fail to appeal to the artist
mind. Every canvas in tbe catalogue is
worthy of mention, but space will not per-
mit of that. "Mid Ocean—French Crab-
ber," the largest painting, is a fine sea-
scape. There are a life and movement in
the immense sweep of water. One can
almost feel that the boat is really sailing
out of the picture, and the anxiety of the
man at the rudder in the open boat to
escape the big waves can easily be realised.
"Fishing Boats Leaving St. Ives Har-
bour" is a charming study. The sun is
going down in the west, and the great
puffy cloud is flooded with a rose-coloured
light. The boats are slowly moving out,
and the tan and white sails are here and
there tipped with sunlight. There are ten
thousand reflections in the water, and the
pier and hill lie peacefully in the back-
ground. "Herring Boats, St. Ives," makes
a fine companion picture. The sky is
lathed in a delicate morning light. The
fleet of boats is hanging around, and
the men attending to their nets and getting
the fish ready for the auctioneers. In
"Summer Afternoon" and "St. Ives Har-
bour in Sunlight," the boats are treated by
a man who loved to watch them. ''A Fresh
Breeze in St. Ives Harbour" is a difficult
subject, boats at anchor in a choppy sea,
most realistically treated. The snow scenes
in Paris are full of quality. There is no
doubt about the snow on the ground, and
the atmosphere is cold and shivering. The
moonlight scenes, the glimpses of Truro
Cathedral, the "Bathers, St. Ives," reveal
nature and Mr. Lever in different moods.
"Looking for Bait at Sunset" is a sweet,
poetic sketch. It has an atmosphere that
reminds one of "The Gleaners," by the
great French painter Millet. The sketch
for the Royal Academy picture ''Eventide"
shows a boat lying at anchor in a flood of
wondrous light. And so one could go on
enumerating the pictures of every canvas.
All lovers of art should visit the exhibi-
tion, which will remain open during the
week.
—The Premier's Speech.—
On Monday afternoon the Premier,
having apologized for the absence of
His Excellency the Governor, who was at
Marble Hill, said those who had had the
opportunity to look around the room would
agree with him that Mr. Lever was a rising
artist of whom Australia should be proud.
(Applause.) The pictures gave evidence of
originality, and if an artist was not origi-
nal and did not strike out for himself he
would not make a great name. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. Lever had the proper artistic mind,
which enabled him to stamp his own indi-
viduality upon the canvas. He could speak
with considerable authority on the real-
ness of the snow scenes, because in his
younger days he had made the acquaintance
of snow. but when he went to sea he was
only an authority for about half an hour.
(Laughter.) Those who had studied the
beauties of the deep would agree with him,
however, that Mr. Lever was a marine
painter of great promise. (Cheers.) Ta-
ken all through, the pictures fully bore
out all the good opinions they had heard
concerning Mr. Lever's work since he left
to study in England and Paris. Mr. Lever
had exhibited in England, France, and
America. That spoke volumes for the
young artist. (Hear, hear.) Mr. Lever
had that day received a request to exhibit
in Hull for the fourth time. (Cheers.)
He was pleased that the governors of the
galleries in the Australian states were re-
cognising the merits of their own artists.
Whiie not professing to be a judge alto-
gether of the pictures of other artists in
otber parts of the world, he thought the
directors of the Art Gallery here and in
the other States would be doing good work
if they purchased a few more pictures by
Australian artists. (Applause.) He
hoped some of our wealthy colonists would
purchase some of Mr. Lever's work for tbe
National Gallery. (Hear, hear.) He ad-
vised those who wished to encourage Aus-
tralian art and to adorn their own homes
to purchase some of the pictures. He
hoped the success Mr. Lever had already
achieved was only the commencement of a
great future success, which he so richly de-
served. (Cheers.)
On tbe motion of Mr. Coneybeer, M.P.,
seconded by Mr. Young, M.P., who went
to college with Mr. Lever, a hearty vote
of thanks was accorded to the Premier.
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