ENG-1958 — Page 335

THE ARTS

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continued to be very popular, and the lending library in Victoria had a record year. A programme of lectures on selected subjects was arranged to cater for the needs of specialists in various fields, including the arts, The Council also continued to offer facilities for exhibitions of paintings and other forms of graphic art.

St. John's Cathedral Hall remained in very frequent use for local art exhibitions. The University's Loke Yew Hall became increas- ingly popular as a setting for musical and dramatic events. Towards the end of the year, the Government announced that work was expected to start early in 1959 on the new City Hall, which will contain a theatre and concert hall, as well as a public library, art gallery and museum.

Reference is made under Internal Revenue in Chapter 4 to exemption from, or reduction in, Entertainment Tax for certain types of cultural and artistic performances.

GOVERNMENT COLLECTIONS

During 1958 the Government continued to add to its collection of pictures and photographs illustrating life in Hong Kong, Macau and the China coast area during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Ten oil paintings were acquired by gift or purchase, including some early views of Hong Kong, and attractive portraits of a Chinese lady and of a merchant said to be the Co-Hong merchant, Gowqua. A number of prints and water colours, all having a close connexion with the Colony's first years, were also purchased.

The Ho Tung Collection of eighty four paintings, mainly in oils, arrived in the Colony at the beginning of December. This collec- tion, which was presented by the late Sir Robert Ho Tung to the Government for eventual display in the new City Hall Art Gallery, will be exhibited for ten days in January 1959 in St. John's Cathedral Hall.

As part of its policy to build up a representative picture collec- tion for the City Hall Art Gallery, the Government established in February 1958 a committee to advise on the purchase of modern paintings by local artists. The Committee made its first recom- mendations in the early summer, and by the end of the year eight pictures in oils and other media had been purchased. The