PROPERTY FORMERLY IN THE COLLECTION OF MAJOR ION HARRISON Major Ion Harrison was a highly important patron of Samuel John Peploe, Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell and George Leslie Hunter, three of the four Scottish Colourists. Taking advice from his great friend Dr Tom Honeyman, Director of Glasgow Art Gallery, Harrison assembled an extraordinary range of pictures and became close friends with the artists. His first encounter with the Scottish Colourists was in 1921/22 at Alex Reid & Lefevre’s exhibition of Peploe’s works. Here he was struck by the modernism of the works and the brilliance of colour. Harrison recalled, ‘I had never seen anything in art similar to these pictures, and I did not understand them. They really startled me for, to my eyes, they were so 'ultra-modern' ... and their brilliant colour against equally strong draperies, were at that time beyond my comprehension' (I.R. Harrison commenting in T.J. Honeyman, Three Scottish Colourists, London, 1950, p. 119). Harrison recounts the thrill of his early purchases, citing Peploe’s Pink Rose and a seascape of North Iona as the first of his collection. Peploe is believed to have been his preferred of the three, however when quizzed further on the subject, Harrison would always reply that he thought them equally great and each distinguished in their own special way, although he named Cadell as the most versatile of the group. Harrison equates their differences and incomparable strengths to the colours they painted, stating, 'As a generalisation I call Peploe the Blue Painter, Cadell the Green Painter and Hunter the Red Painter, for there are very few pictures by any of these artists which do not show a distinct trace of their fondness for their own particular colour' (I.R. Harrison in T.J. Honeyman, op. cit., p. 123). Although the three artists had their own individualistic style, when hung side by side, he admired their unity of harmony, through their saturated vivid colours, often flattened perspectives and patterned aesthetics. Harrison became close friends with all three artists, who would regularly visit his home. Of the three, Peploe’s friendship was the hardest to attain, but the one he seems to have treasured enormously. He never saw Peploe paint but described the painting technique of Hunter and Cadell, whom he often saw at work. He noted that although they both painted quickly and easily, the contrast of their palettes was indicative of their different characters. Hunter’s he recalled was inevitably caked with huge lumps of paint, onto which he spilled turpentine that liberally splashed all over his suit, ‘one wondered how he ever obtained any distinct colour out of such a conglomerate mess’ (I.R. Harrison in T.J. Honeyman, op. cit., p. 124). Cadell, on the other hand, was meticulous and would wash his palette so thoroughly that one could almost use it as a mirror. His appreciation of their work was echoed in their admiration for each other and the close bond of friendship they all formed. This, however, as Harrison points out, was not free of competition with each believing that they were the strongest artist. This was made intrinsically clear by Peploe who expressed to Harrison, ‘A living artist can never really genuinely appreciate the work of another living artist, for he always thinks that he paints better than the other man.’ (S.J.Peploe, ibid.). Ion Harrison was fundamental to the promotion of Peploe, Hunter and Cadell and the Scottish Colourists work within the canon of Modern British art.

Samuel John Peploe, R.S.A. (1871-1935)

The Mouth of the Harbour

Details

Samuel John Peploe, R.S.A. (1871-1935)
The Mouth of the Harbour
signed 'Peploe' (lower left), signed again 'Peploe' (on the reverse)
oil on board
10½ x 13¾ in. (26.2 x 35 cm.)

Provenance

with Alex Reid & Lefevre, Glasgow.
with Fine Art Society, London and Glasgow, December 1980.

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Anne Haasjes

ahaasjes@christies.com +44 (0)20 7389 2681

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