Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell 1883-1937

'Iona's two most famous painters were also both from Edinburgh, F. C. B. Cadell and S. J. Peploe, two of the four 'Scottish Colourists'. Their work has continued to this day to dominate artists' perceptions of Iona... Iona presented Cadell and Peploe with the challenge of bringing this knowledge and experience to bear on a landscape of gentler, cooler and more subtler light.' (Jessica Christian and Charles Stiller, Iona Portrayed; The Island Through Artist's Eyes, 1760-1960, 2000, p. 59)

It was probably Cadell's friends John Duncan or William Crawford who first suggested that he visit the Island of Iona off the rugged west coast of Scotland. Cadell's first trip was made in late summer 1912 and he returned annually, often spending three or four months on the island. Cadell often used a uniform board size of 15 by 18 inches for his views of Iona and often painted on an absorbent white ground, adopting the technique employed by Duncan. The present view depicts the view across the Sound of Mull from Iona with the towering Ben More beyond. This secluded beach was a favourite beauty spot and several artists painted here. There are several paintings of this view by Cadell, executed under different weather conditions and lighting and the same view was also painted by Peploe ( examples in private collections and at the Hunterian Art Gallery).

The views painted on Iona were immediately popular with patrons and have retained their great popularity as records of one of the most beautiful and remote wildernesses in the British Isles. They also perfectly express the spirit of the Colourist philosophy of painting, rendering the forms of the rocks and shadows in a dramatic language of colour and form. As historically significant as the still lifes and interiors painted in Edinburgh, the Iona views also offer the added attraction of escapism, onto the expanses of white sands and the swathes of azure and malachite sea where no human presence disturbs our contemplation of natural beauty.