There are, currently, a number of serious art collectors in Bermuda, but as to how many there may be; that is difficult to answer. Presently I know of four, but like other kinds of collecting, such as stamp or coin collecting, it is often a fairly private affair. Close friends may know about an individual's collecting "bug", nevertheless, it is not a highly advertised activity.

So what are the hallmarks of a serious art collector? Many occasionally buy art for decorative purposes, but that is not what I would consider a serious collector. These individuals may, over time buy and own some very good art, but that is about as far as their acquisitive urges takes them. For those bitten with the collecting bug, however, it is a passion, that is usually focused on a particular period or style or possibly place and even when their walls are full, they still continue buying, especially if they find an object that will make their collection more complete.

David L. White fulfils all these requirements and more. He is obviously passionate about Bermuda and his painting collection, which focuses largely on Bermuda, is only one manifestation of that passion. Consider his record of service to Bermuda. For many years, he was Editor of the Royal Gazette, but at the same time was president of the Bermuda National Trust and chairman of the board of trustees of the Bermuda National Gallery.

Since collecting art is such a private affair, it is not often that the general public gets to see these treasured possessions. The current exhibition at the Bermuda National Gallery, which showcases 55 paintings by 36 artists from the David L. White Collection, therefore provides us a rare opportunity to see a selection from this magnificent collection. In conversation, Mr. White remarked that it was especially gratifying for him to see the collection in such a good light. He then added that on his walls, the light was not always so consistent. Additionally, Mr. White has gone to great lengths, to have his collection appropriately framed. Altogether, this makes for a rich viewing experience.

The David L. White collection not only focuses on Bermuda, it is limited to a period of about a hundred years, from about the 1860s to somewhere in the 1960s. This was during the golden age of tourism in Bermuda, when a number of visitors, being artists, used their time here to paint Bermuda landscapes. Most were of the school of American impressionism, especially the Old Lyme School. Old Lyme is a small community in Connecticut, where, during the first quarter of the 20th century, it became one of the most influential art colonies in American art history. Many of the artists, who flocked there from around the United States, stayed in the boarding house of Miss Florence Griswold, but during the winter months when painting outdoors was impractical, some travelled on to Bermuda, so as to continue their "plein-air painting". The exhibition is organised chronologically, in a stylistic sequence, beginning with Impressionism, followed by hints of post-Impressionism, Art! Nouveau, Expressionism, Fauvism and Cubism.

Given the size of the exhibition and because of this newspaper's space constraints, I will choose for commentary, a small selection from the show that I especially favour. Other viewers will, I am sure, find other or additional works that impress them. We approach works of art from our own particular perspectives, memories and interpretations. This exhibition will be no different, but, hopefully, my viewpoints will also be useful to the viewing public.

Upon entering the exhibition and giving the show an initial survey, the overall impression is one of great civility and gentility. It portrays a time when Bermuda was, indeed, genteel. It was a safe and quiet place, where the typical sounds were the clip-clop of horses hooves on rock pavement, the whistle of wind in the trees, the song of birds in the garden, not to mention the ringing of bicycle bells. Typically, in this exhibition, the sun is always shining and the wind reduced to a light breeze. In that sense, this exhibition is one of nostalgia.

The exhibition begins with a Norman I. Black oil painting of chimneys at Taylor House on Pilot Darrell Square in St. George's, c. 1910. Norman Black was such a regular visitor to Bermuda, I was of the opinion that he actually was a resident. He first visited Bermuda in 1910 and continued to winter here on a regular basis and seems to have been a participant in many local art exhibitions, up until the 1940s. His paintings, typically, are best described as a soft Impressionism. They depict Bermuda in a gentle atmospheric light.

Ross Sterling Turner's "Hamilton Cathedral, Bermuda", from 1908 is, I understand, David White's first acquisition in this collection. It is a view of Church Street, looking east with the cathedral dominating. Although it is a watercolour, the street appears to have been painted with white gouache. Since the painting was created in 1908, the streets and roads of Bermuda where then made with Bermuda limestone, thus giving them a white appearance. This strip of white is a prominent element in the composition. Note the black carriage against the white street.

Possibly the oldest painting in the exhibition; Abbott Fuller Graves' Impressionist "Old Slave House, Bermuda" is an oil painting from around 1900. The white bungalow appears to be aglow in full sunlight. The dark background of a cedar grove, helps create this sense of luminescence.

A particularly striking composition is Prosper Senat's watercolour, which is simply called, "Bermuda." It depicts a Bermuda road, with mature cedar trees flanking. The road is mottled from sunlight and shade. The location where this painting might have been created is difficult to determine, although Store Hill has been suggested.

Clark Greenwood Vorhees' "Donkey and Cart" does depict a cart and donkey but the most conspicuous element in the painting is a Bermuda cottage. Clark Voorhees was a prominent member of the Old Lyme school of Impressionism, but like Norman Black, by 1919, he was wintering in Bermuda, eventually buying "Tranquility" in Somerset, which then became his Bermuda home. In the 1950s, 60s and 70s his daughter, Florence Fish was a well known local artist and her daughter, Janet Fish, now a renowned New York painter, grew up in Bermuda and attended the Bermuda High School.

Other "Old Lyme" artists represented in this show are Edmund W. Greacen, William Chadwick, William Howe Foote and Harry Hoffman. William Howe Foote's "Old Bermuda House" is of special note in that the glow of late afternoon sun, which bathes the upper walls of this white, two-storey dwelling, is magical, but subtle and for artists, a challenge, in determining just how he was able to create such luminescence. It is for me, a particular favourite.

Two small but albeit vigorously painted oils from 1938 by Paul Jean Martel are notable gems. The manner in which this artist facets his brushwork, recalls aspects of Cubism, but at the same time, is reminiscent of both Expressionism and Impressionism. It seems that little is known of this artist.

E. Ambrose Webster's two 1920 oil paintings are brilliantly colourful and bold in brushwork. As a student at the Académie Julian in Paris, he had been influenced by Les Fauves, that aspect of the School of Paris, which, under the leadership of Henri Matisse, was characteristically bold and wildly colourful. His "Bermuda Garden" and a smaller untitled painting are masterpieces in this genre.

A more modernist approach to landscape is found in the oil painting by Daniel Putnam Brinley. This composition, simply entitled, "St. George's", was painted around 1920. It is a mix of traditional elements, such as linear perspective, along with more modernist approaches; for example, a flattening of various planes, relating it to Cubism.

A favourite of the collector's is the Reynolds Beal, oil on board, entitled, "Ferry Dock, Saint George's". The artist, in this painting, made use of broken colour in a manner not unlike that of Van Gogh. Although he studied in New York at the Art Students League with the American Impressionist, John Twachtman and then later at the Shinnecock School with another American Impressionist, William Merritt Chase, he eventually developed his unique method of painting with mosaic-like strokes of paint. Of great interest in this exhibition, is a coloured pencil study for the finished painting. They are exhibited side by side.

The most modernist painting in the entire show is Joe Jones' oil painting of Flatts Village. Jones came from Mid-Western America and back in the 1930s he was a regionalist in the style of Thomas Hart Benton, but during the Second World War, when he was an official war artist, his style underwent a radical change, as did his politics. His new way of painting was more modernist, lighter, linear and airy. In his new way of working, he reduced his artistic elements to the point where lines dominated the composition. His later paintings are reminiscent of the Bauhaus master, Lyonel Feininger or perhaps, the French artist, Raoul Dufy. For us in Bermuda, he is remarkable, in that, during the 1950s Jones wintered here, met Bermudian artist, Alfred Birdsey, thus inspiring him to to adopt this linear approach to painting. The influence on Birdsey is important and I recall Mr. Birdsey also talking about his admiration of Lyonel Feininger. It would not be surprising that he was introduced to Feininger's methods by Joe Jones.

The David L White Collection will be on exhibit at the Bermuda National Gallery through June 3, 2010.