British Sculpture.—A Visit To The Studios.

( both are m marble ) presides at a fountain , intended for erection in Kew Gardens ; the latter is raising a shell to his lips as drinking "Tour good health . " "The Octoroon , " a statue in marble , is well advanced . It is still , we believe , an open question whether Mr . Bell's statue of Cromwell ib to be executed for the Houses of Parliament . His statue , " Honour , " has been placed at Woolwich , not as

ori g inally proposed , but yet in an excellent site . In the studio of Mr . J . Edwards ( whose bas-reliefs have for years , by the way , attracted great attention in the Royal Academy ) are some most careful models of recently executed monumental figures , which yet , with a reference to the antique , are conceived in the most touching Spirit . of our school of reliious artthey are"Self-knowled "

g ; , ge , a suggestion from the saying of Thales ; " Hope , " from the verse of Campbell ; "Philosophy , " a statuette , the future great minister and interpreter of nature , & c , intended for a large statue ; " Consolation ; or , the Weary are reassured ; " and " Religion , " a principal figure from a commemorative composion . By Mr . T . Butler there is all but finished a marble bust

of the late Mr . Jacob Bell , for a public institution ; and the same artist has commenced , for the staff college at Farnborough , a memorial of the late Professor Narrien . The additions which the City is about to make to the series of statues in the Egyptian Hall are well worthy of those already placed there . From patronage of the lowest class of art—the decoi-ations of the area of tbe Exchange

—the City has at length vindicated its dignity in a manner which becomes a surprise to those who have been accustomed to estimate the civic standard of taste by Mr . Sang ' s frescoes . Tho City commibtee have been more forbunate bhan other committees wesb of Temple Bar . They have done well and wisely , though we were not quibe certain that all the models they selected were the best that were offered to them ; there are , therefore , as in all sets of art specimens , various shades of felicity in tbe subjects and in the manner of dealing with them .

Considering the whole from the beginning , some of the artists have travelled far in search of heroes , while figuring conspicuously in our most jDopular literature , are characters that have never yet been seen in sculpture . So successful , however , is the City in ibs embellishmenbs of the Mansion House , that it were much to be desired its essays should be carried beyond the Egyptian Hall . It has

been suggested more than once in these columns that the most suitable decorations for the area of the Royal Exchange would be bas-reliefs and statues , not necessarily in marble , but in some durable material . The statues which will soon be placed in the Mansion House are—Miss Durant ' s "Faithful Shepherdess , " from Beaumonb and Fletcher ; Durham ' s " Alastor , " from Shelley ;

Stephens ' s "Alfred ; " Hancock ' s "II Penseroso ; " and a subject , by Mr . S . Wesfcmacott , from Alexander ' s Feast . Among tbe works which Mr . Kirk , of Dublin , has recently completed , or is now engaged on , are four colossal statues for tbe campanile of Trinity College , Dublin , representing Divinity , Law , Medicine , and Science ; a colossal statue of the late Marquis of Downshirefor the

, column at Hillsborough ; a statue of Justice on tbe Cour } House at Belfast ; a colossal statue of Captain Crozier , R . N ., the Arctic commander ; a bust of Sir Leopold McCiintock , R . N ., for the Royal Dublin Society ; and and busts of the late Sir Philip Crompton , Sir H . Marsh , and Drs . Bellingham , Porter , Cusack , and Williams , for tbe Royal College of Surgeons ; a bronze bas-relief for

tbe Wellington testimonial in Phoenix Park , representing tbe Siege of Seringapatam , and containing sixteen lifesized figures , & c . ' Thus we name a catalogue of public statues actually advanced—monuments that are paid for by subscription or from public sources ; and these are by no means the most considerable portion of the business of the artists named , for in cases where public commissions are few , private engagements are many . But a few years ago there were but few memorial statues being executed ; but

British Sculpture.—A Visit To The Studios.

now , after a brief interval , they are more numerous than they have ever been ; and the identical coiniidence of feeling in those which do not necessitate poetic treatment , or require particular costume , pronounces the classic a style of the past . But this may be rather a concession to public preference than a proof of the dereliction of what is called pureartonthepart ofthe sculptors . Inasmuch as not fewer

than one hundred of tbe best sculptural productions of the English school have been engraved in this journal , perhaps to ourselves will not be denied some share of the credit of having inculcated a taste for good art : be that as it may , it is a fact that the profession of sculpture is with us generally more prosperous than it has ever been before . The works we mention , we have seen ; but there

are many others recently finished , and yet incomplete , that we have not had an opportunity of examining ; and these , in different parts of the country and in Scotland and Ireland , may approach in number those here mentioned . There is , however , one artist whose name barely s in the above listyetas a sculptorbe may take

appear ; , , rank by the side of the very best of those who are " full of commissions "—we refer to Mr . W . F . Woodington j it is strange , indeed , that he should have been passed over whose designs manifest the highest genius , and whose finished works may be adduced as proofs of the rarest capabilities in execution . We may well ask , " how is this ?"

Furniture.

FURNITURE .

Taste in furnishing a house is the first quality a young bride thinks she is bound to exhibit ; ancl she would deem it a cruel infringement of her newly-acquired rights , a rude encroachment upon her own particular province , for any one , not excepting " that dear creature , " to attempt to guide her choice in fitting up her future home . Tho utmost concession she will make is the arrangement of the study ; that he may do as he likes with , provided lie will submit to have -worked dusters suspended

open over the back of his easy chair and . -wherever occasion permits . Yet , how rarely is any thought given by parents to the education of that taste which is to preside over the creation of a home , ancl which will either make or mar its comforts aud attractions ! It will not be conceded at first , perhaps , that the forms and colours which pervade a home can in any way affect the

happiness of its inmates ; yet we think reflection will show it is not at all unreasonable to assume that man cannot be insensible to that to which brutes are sensible . AVe have no proof that animals are affected by formative beauty , although we believe they are ; but we do know for certain that they are irritated by certain colours ancl pleased by others , even down to lizards ancl insects . -Now , there are houses of all classes in which it is difficult for a man to enter ancl preserve his equanimity of temper .

and which , if they do not convert the women who inhabit them into very shrews , only serve to show the strong-mindedness , or insensitiveness of the female character . In many houses of the upper middle classes , and even in the mansions of the nobility , where it would be supposed the rules of good taste would have been consulted , the first aspect of the entrance-hall is disagreeable . It is either crowded with hat-stands , tables , consoles , chairsand benchesso as to convert the into a

lab-, , passage y rinth which one has to thread with care to avoid being hurt , or it is so bare , from an affectation of simplicity , as to chill the visitor . Sometimes it is filled with works of art , but , as it is a place in which visitors are never kept waiting or allowed to linger , their effect is lost , while the mind is provoked ancl curiosity disappointed by the consciousness , obtained from hasty glances , of being in the presence of works whose merits are

worthy of examination , but for which there is no time . We feel tantalized , ill at ease , and wishful , for we hardly know what . There is a house , tolerably well known , wherein the walls and staircase are covered with paintings and engravings . Not one of them can be observed , though we know they are all of value ; and by the time we reach the first lloor , we have perhaps , a wry neck and sprained ankle , confused vision , and a sense of unsatisfied desires , that ill dispose us to exhibit and enjoy the amenities of social life . In the decoration of a hall the aspect should be genial and inviting . It should offer a wel-