Lot 28
  • 28

Samuel John Peploe, R.S.A.

Estimate
250,000 - 350,000 GBP
bidding is closed

Description

  • Samuel John Peploe, R.S.A.
  • Still Life with Tulips and Oranges
  • inscribed on the reverse: to Jo and Yvonne Davidson from S J Peploe/ in Friendship
  • oil on canvas laid on board
  • 40.5 by 33cm., 16 by 13in.

Provenance

Gifted by the artist to Jo and Yvonne Davidson;
Duncan R. Miller Fine Arts, London, where purchased by the present owner

Exhibited

London, Duncan R. Miller Fine Arts, S.J. Peploe - Paintings and Drawings, 1993, no.16

Condition

The board is very slightly bowed but appears sound. There is a small minor area of craquelure in the thicker pigment above the oranges in the upper right corner; otherwise the work appears in very good overall condition. Ultraviolet light reveals some small areas of retouching located mainly to the very edges. These include in the upper left and right corners, some minor flecks near the centre of left edge and some small areas of flecked retouchings along the lower edge. Also a few flecks in the base of the fruit bowl and in the white area of pigment left of it. Held under glass in a dark stained and gilt composite frame.
"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."

Catalogue Note

'A new surface structure is realised by the use of dark-coloured outlines, containing the furrowed areas of paint. Tulips were for the first time his favourite subject, the flower-heads tight or expanded, creating different shapes of brilliant colour against a schematic backdrop of blue, green and yellow.' (Guy Peploe, S.J. Peploe 1871-1935, 2000, p.47)

Still-Life of Tulips and Oranges is a dynamic example of Peploe’s experimental style from the period when he lived in Paris between 1910 and 1912. It demonstrates the avant-garde innovations of the French capital in the early twentieth century and Peploe’s embrace of a new approach to painting which enlivened his work and led to the creation of a small but remarkable series of still-lifes. Peploe’s move to France was inspired by his desire to change direction in his art, feeling that he had fully explored the potential of his earlier work. Although he was pleased with his earlier, more Impressionistic pictures painted whilst in Scotland, he now sought a different way to interpret still-life and landscape subjects. In a strikingly modern series of still-lifes he transformed his approach to painting in a more abstract way with brighter contrasting colour and tone. Roger Billcliffe described this new style; ‘The perspective is deliberately flattened, objects are encircled by lines of dark paint, and there is an emphasis on pattern and decorative line, as in the stems of the drooping tulips. The long repetitive brushstrokes recall some of Van Gogh's brushwork and even the colour seems hotter and more emotive, like that in several of Van Gogh's later paintings.' (Roger Billcliffe, The Scottish Colourists, 1989, p.16) There would be no looking back for Peploe as his painting entered a new phase and he was energised with a desire to look at the world with a different view. It has been observed that the still-lifes painted in Paris; ‘… created the antithesis of still-life, more like a religious vision than a flower arrangement. Peploe was in a period of intense experimentation…’ (ibid Peploe, p.90) The present picture is comparable with another Peploe still-life from the same period depicting a similar subject, Tulips (sold in these rooms, 22 April 2010, lot 67).

Peploe’s move to Paris was suggested by his friend John Duncan Fergusson and the two artists were a great influence upon one another at this time. The two artists lived close-by in the artistic heart of Paris in the neighbourhood of Montparnasse; Ferguson on boulevard Edgar Quinet and Peploe and his wife Margaret and their infant son Willie at 278 Boulevard Raspail. This was a sociable time for the artists with the famous café-restaurants Closerie des Lilas, Café d’Harcourt within a short walk and it was there that a lively artistic coterie formed in which ideas were created and disseminated. Of their time together in Paris Fergusson wrote; 'By this time I was settled in the movement. I had become a societaire of the salon d'automne and felt at home. Peploe and I went everywhere together. I took him to see Picasso and he was very much impressed. We went to the Salon d'automne dinner where we met Bourdelle, Friez, Pascin and others... He was working hard and changed from blacks and greys to colour and design. We were together again, seeing things together instead of writing about them.' (ibid Peploe, p.37)

Among their social circle at this time were the American painter Anne Estelle Rice, the poet Roffy, the mathematician La Torrie and Jo Davidson. Jo Davidson (1883-1952) was a well-known American sculptor who had moved to Paris to seek commissions for his portraits made in clay and bronze. Peploe gave Still Life with Tulips and Oranges to Davidson and his wife Yvonne as a sign of his affection for them and their time together in Paris. The sculptural forms in the painting no doubt appealed to Davidson and his wife who was a dress-designer known for her bold fabrics.