Samuel John Peploe RSA

(British, 1871-1935)

Still life with roses and an open book 55.9 x 50.8 cm. (22 x 20 in.)

Footnotes

Provenance
With Alex Reid & Lefevre, Glasgow
Sale; Christie's, London, 26 June 2015, Lot 205
With Richard Green, London
Private Collection, UK

150 years after Peploe's birth, it is widely considered that his contribution to the still life genre is one that is unequalled in the history of twentieth century British art.

The quest for the perfect still life preoccupied Peploe for most of his life, almost to the point of obsession, as his brother-in-law, Frederick Porter recounted: 'All his still life[s] were carefully arranged and considered before he put them on canvas. When this was done - it often took several days to accomplish - he seemed to have absorbed everything necessary for transmitting them to canvas. The result was a canvas covered without any apparent effort. If a certain touch was wrong it was soon obliterated by the palette knife. The whole canvas had to be finished in one painting so as to preserve complete continuity. If, in his judgement, it was not right then the whole painting was scraped out and painted again' (F.P. Porter, The Art of S.J. Peploe, New Alliance, VI, no. 6, 1945-1946, p. 7).

Still Life with Roses and an Open Book was painted circa 1929-1931. The composition is amongst the most dynamic and beautiful of Peploe's later studies of roses, the flower with which he is most associated. The rich colouring of the roses and drapes seek your attention amongst the low tones used on most of the canvas. The flexible stems of the taller roses and open pages of the book combine to create a sense of movement; a fleeting moment in time that has been captured. The overall effect is one of rhythmic harmony of colour and form which is typical of his best work of this period.