. John Pettie, , ; . ant power still in him to add to the goodwork and kind deeds of the past, which makesmore vivid the eternal mystery of death. CHAPTER VII PORTRAITS So far, little has been said of Pettie as a por-trait-painter, yet in sheer power and interest ofcolour and technique his portraits are equal tothe best of his subject-paintings. During theartists lifetime they did not in general win theapplause which they deserved, for in annualexhibitions their interest was outbalanced by themore potent and immediate appeal of his workin genre. Since his death, they remain scatter
. John Pettie, , ; . ant power still in him to add to the goodwork and kind deeds of the past, which makesmore vivid the eternal mystery of death. CHAPTER VII PORTRAITS So far, little has been said of Pettie as a por-trait-painter, yet in sheer power and interest ofcolour and technique his portraits are equal tothe best of his subject-paintings. During theartists lifetime they did not in general win theapplause which they deserved, for in annualexhibitions their interest was outbalanced by themore potent and immediate appeal of his workin genre. Since his death, they remain scatteredabout the country in private collections withless chance still of general recognition, for exhibi-tion committees nearly always prefer to gratifypublic taste by searching for a subject-picturein preference to a portrait. The portrait, however,of J. Campbell Noble, , has been a con-stant wanderer, evoking a chorus of admirationwherever it has hung; and in the Portrait 140 BONNIE PRINCE CHARLIE (Size oforUiiiial, 02 x 45.). PORTRAITS 141 Painters Exhibition at the New Gallery^ in 1907,the brilliant sketch of Hamish MacCunn boretestimony to the painters impressionist power. It was only in the latter part of his career thatportrait-painting for its own sake became anintegral part of Petties work. To some extenthe was led into it by necessity. The years pre-ceding 1890 marked the climax of the prejudiceagainst the literary idea in paint. It was aprejudice somewhat unjust, but yet natural; areaction after the banalities of the mid-Victorianpainters of genre on the one hand, and the over-done intensity and preciousness of Pre-Raphaelitismon the other. For art has its seasons of ebband flow, and it is curious to-day that underthe influence of another reaction the newest ofthe new School are harking back to Victoriandomesticity and revelling in the crinolines andcaps that our grandmothers used to wear. Inthose lean years for the painter of genre Pettieset to work upon portraits,
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