£135,000
Scottish Paintings & Sculpture | 466
Auction: 9 June 2016 at 19:00 BST
Signed, oil on canvas
Provenance: Alex Reid & Lefevre, Glasgow; The Wood Collection
Note:
Although Peploe produced many stunning portraits, landscapes and figurative subjects, the still-life afforded him a lifetime of possibilities and today he is recognised as perhaps the most important still-life painter in Britain in the twentieth century. Two distinct phases of his still-lifes are shown here: Roses in a Green Vase, it's angular, faceted brushwork dating it to c.1924, and the slightly later Tulips in a Vase which demonstrates a looser, more textural technique.
By the mid-1920s Peploe was painting with total virtuosity. Though his work was pushed through several evolutionary stages, very little of his output exhibits anything other than a sense of total surety. It is a rare work which features elements that struggle to work within his compositions, Roses in a Green Vase being no exception. Peploe would meticulously envisage his approach to each canvas before he picked up a paintbrush. When writing about his friend's technique, fellow Colourist J. D. Fergusson confirmed that this preparatory process engendered a confidence which Peploe hoped could be tangible to the viewer.