On comparing the major and some of the smaller exhibitions held in London during the winter and spring, the striking factors were the vividly contrasting choice of subjects and the widely differing styles of expression: to name three examples, The Indian Art, Marc Chagall, and Vincent van Gogh. At the outset it seemed impossible to imagine that a common note could be found. Upon greater reflection, however, it appeared that perhaps their unity lay in the variance that previously seemed to ridicule any notion of coherence—briefly, that the completion of a work of art is, either consciously or unconsciously, an act of worship, and a record of the artist’s experience of God. Broadly speaking the common purpose exists in this context.

From a Christian standpoint a notable feature was the almost entire absence of ostensibly religious paintings—as distinct from those which could be religious in their implications—completed in the course of the last fifty years.

This was especially obvious in the exhibition recently held by the Institute of Contemporary Arts entitled ‘Forty Years of Modern Art’. The exhibits were drawn solely from British private collections, which may account for the inadequacy of some of them, for instance the Matisse ‘Head of a Girl’ which was the only example of his work. Also, on recalling the selection of Georges Rouault’s paintings, none of his religious works were included, although from the aesthetic point of view the water-colour ‘Odalisque’ was a superb choice, displaying the characteristic simplicity of his draughtsmanship and the resonance of his colours.