Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell R.S.A., R.S.W.

The Society of Eight Exhibition, Edinburgh, 1930, where acquired by Murray Reid, Director of Whytock & Reid, for £25
Bequeathed to Isobel Hope Reid in 1939 and thence by descent to the present owners

Edinburgh, The Society of Eight Exhibition, 1930 (details untraced).

The panel is sound and is very slightly bowed. The surface is in generally excellent original condition with areas of strong impasto. There are one or two minor lines or craquelure, including beneath the red flower along the right edge and to the background near the flowers upper left, which are only visible upon close inspection. Ultraviolet light reveals a small spot of retouching to the yellow fruit on the left and a small fleck along the left half of the upper edge. Other pigments fluoresce which are apparently the hand of the artist. Held under glass in a gilt and painted plaster frame; unexamined out of frame. Please telephone the department on 020 7293 6424 if you have any questions regarding the present work.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Scabia and Marigolds is a markedly striking picture with cool tones of purple and blue brilliantly juxtaposed with the vibrancy of the marigolds, lemon and gilt framed miniature. The mastery of complex colour, the quality and distinction of texture, be it glass, silk or petal, combined with the deft, boldly outlined form shows Cadell at the very peak of his powers. The work was executed in the late 1920s, a decade during which the artist lived at 6, Ainslie Place, Edinburgh, a fashionable address that reflected his recent successes.  By the end of the Second World War, in which Cadell served initially as a soldier in the Royal Scots Guards and latterly as a commissioned officer in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, eminent dealers such as Alexander Reid & Doig and Wilson & Wheatley were enjoying high demand for his works.  His experiences on the front line in France left a mark personally, but also on his art; the gentle, pastel palette gave way to the more impactful colours and angular composition evident in Scabia and Marigolds. 

It is interesting to note that at this time, even though the Fauvist movement was more than a decade old, such powerful use of paint, with colour dictating form, was still not without its detractors.  Following the Society of Eight Exhibition in 1920, Lady Constance Emmett referred to Cadell's work as,' ...screaming farces in scarlet, bismuth pink, Reckitt's blue, orange with perhaps spaces in yellow, intended to indicate daffodils or tulips, placed in jugs, the 'drawing' of which any board school child would be ashamed of...'  The debate that ensued, which included contributions from John Duncan, became known as 'Bolshevism in colour'.  Undeterred, Cadell responded with typical brevity and wit, 'Mr Cadell presents his compliments to Lady Constance Emmott and begs to thank her for the free advertisement she has so generously given him' (quoted in Tom Hewlett, Cadell, A Scottish Colourist, Portland Gallery, 1988, p.51).

Many of the furnishings in the Ainslie Place apartment came from Whytock & Reid, the fashionable interior design company, whose pieces regularly appear in Cadell's interiors from this period.  Scabia and Marigolds was acquired by Murray Reid, of Whytock & Reid, from a Society of Eight exhibition in 1930.  This was a particularly successful period for the company with its works at Belford Mews employing over sixty cabinet makers.  The company had also enjoyed the patronage of the eminent restoration architect Sir Robert Lorimer who employed them for the majority of his carpentry and joinery. Reid became a friend and patron to Cadell as well as fellow colourist, Samuel John Peploe.  Following his death in October 1939, Scabia and Marigolds, passed to Isobel Hope Reid, also an artist, and a close friend of Wilhelmina Barns-Graham whom she met while studying at the Edinburgh College of Art; they went on numerous painting holidays together along with fellow graduate Denis Peploe.  The present work has remained in the family ever since and is still held in the stylish Whytock & Reid frame in which it was placed following its purchase in 1930.