.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Still life with tulips and Iona was painted in the mid to late 1920's in Cadell's studio at 6 Ainslie Place and the fluidity of brushstroke and heightened colour he had developed were adapted to great effect in his Edinburgh interiors. Cadell's still life's from this period are perhaps his most sophisticated and accomplished paintings, capturing an elegant intelligence in the placing of objects and a striking juxtaposition of swathes of bright colour as revealed in this beautiful painting. The painting of Iona in the background, possible a view from Iona to the Treshnish Isles, adds another interesting dimension to the composition and was a place close to the artists heart. In the summer of 1912 Cadell first visited Iona and he began a lifelong love affair with the island, where he developed a highly individual style of painting which was continued in his still life's and interiors. 'There was no mistaking the house in Ainslie Place in which Bunty lived. He painted the front door in vivid ultramarine ... The main rooms, on the ground floor, were large and well proportioned. He used the drawing room as his studio, and painted the walls in a rich mauve colour in sharp contrast to the brilliant white-painted woodwork of the paneled, inter-connecting doors. The highly polished dark wooden floor reflected the bright colours of the carefully placed Whytock and Reid furniture and provided the theme for many of his dramatic interiors' (T. Hewlett, Cadell, London, 1988, pp. 53-54).
The vibrant colours and expressive brushstrokes of Still Life with tulips and Iona exemplify the bold new style Cadell developed after the first world war. The overall effect is quite different from the earlier impressionistic paintings and after seeing Cadell's first London exhibition at the Leicester Galleries in 1923, the art critic for the Daily Mail noted that 'he has solidified his style. All forms are stated with an assurance that carves conviction.' Cadell's movement to a stronger, brighter colour scheme demonstrates the influence of his good friend Samuel John Peploe. It was indirectly through Peploe, who had spent more time in France, that Cadell became acquainted with the French avant-garde tendencies such as the hatched strokes typical of Cézanne's late works and the bright palette of the Fauves. Still Life with tulips and Iona belongs to a group of paintings that are amongst Cadell's finest still life's and this painting has remained in the same family since the 1930's.
Blanche Dugdale, (1890-1948), a niece of Arthur Balfour, was employed in the British Naval Intelligence Department and became a member of the League of Nations Union and the British government's delegation to the League of Nations Assembly (1932). She was a British Zionist who constantly tried to influence cabinet ministers and high commissioners by personal contact and in writing, stressing the justice of the Jewish cause in Palestine. She also addressed public meetings, Zionist conferences, and even World Zionist Congresses. From 1940 until a few months before her death she worked daily in the political department of the Jewish Agency. During World War II she served on various committees to aid Jewish refugees. Her diary is preserved in the Weizmann archives in Rehovot. Before she died, on May 15, 1948, relatives and friends told her that the State of Israel had been established.
The vibrant colours and expressive brushstrokes of Still Life with tulips and Iona exemplify the bold new style Cadell developed after the first world war. The overall effect is quite different from the earlier impressionistic paintings and after seeing Cadell's first London exhibition at the Leicester Galleries in 1923, the art critic for the Daily Mail noted that 'he has solidified his style. All forms are stated with an assurance that carves conviction.' Cadell's movement to a stronger, brighter colour scheme demonstrates the influence of his good friend Samuel John Peploe. It was indirectly through Peploe, who had spent more time in France, that Cadell became acquainted with the French avant-garde tendencies such as the hatched strokes typical of Cézanne's late works and the bright palette of the Fauves. Still Life with tulips and Iona belongs to a group of paintings that are amongst Cadell's finest still life's and this painting has remained in the same family since the 1930's.
Blanche Dugdale, (1890-1948), a niece of Arthur Balfour, was employed in the British Naval Intelligence Department and became a member of the League of Nations Union and the British government's delegation to the League of Nations Assembly (1932). She was a British Zionist who constantly tried to influence cabinet ministers and high commissioners by personal contact and in writing, stressing the justice of the Jewish cause in Palestine. She also addressed public meetings, Zionist conferences, and even World Zionist Congresses. From 1940 until a few months before her death she worked daily in the political department of the Jewish Agency. During World War II she served on various committees to aid Jewish refugees. Her diary is preserved in the Weizmann archives in Rehovot. Before she died, on May 15, 1948, relatives and friends told her that the State of Israel had been established.