Euan Uglow

(British, 1932-2000)

Camellia Bud 34.5 x 28.8 cm. (13 1/2 x 11 3/8 in.)

Footnotes

Provenance
With Browse & Darby, London
William Desmond, 1980
Jan Uglow, 1981, from whom acquired by the father of the present owner
Private Collection, U.K.

Exhibited
London, Browse & Darby, Euan Uglow Paintings and Drawings, 18 May-25 June 1983, cat.no.17

Literature
Catherine Lampert, Euan Uglow: The Complete Paintings, Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 2007, p.139, cat.no.291 (col.ill.)
Andrew Lambirth, The Uglow Papers, Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 2025, cat.no.91 (col.ill.)

Executed in 1979, Camellia Bud exemplifies Euan Uglow's meticulous approach to still life in the late 1970s, a period during which he concentrated on the quiet geometry and subtle tonal harmonies of flora, fruit and singular objects. The work depicts a solitary camellia bud presented in a vase that had been a Christmas gift from Craigie Aitchison. The bud and its sculptural leaves are rendered with characteristic clarity and restraint, poised against a muted background that allows the form to assert itself with serene authority. The painting conveys a quiet intensity where the subject, though modest, becomes a study in proportion, surface, and spatial tension. As the critic and Uglow scholar David Carpanini has observed, 'Even the smallest object, in Uglow's hands, acquires a weight, a presence that demands contemplation'. Here, the camellia bud is elevated from botanical specimen to a sculptural form, its volume and subtle chromatic shifts articulated with unwavering control.

Uglow's method was grounded in observation, measurement and patient layering of pigment. In Camellia Bud, the delicate modelling of the bud and its subtle gradations of colour reflect his enduring commitment to capturing both physical presence and perceptual nuance. The precision of the contours, the careful attention to light and shadow and the taut arrangement within the pictorial plane demonstrate his rigorous compositional discipline — a hallmark of his work throughout the 1970s. 'I'm painting an idea, not an ideal', he explained, 'basically, I'm trying to paint a structured painting full of controlled, and therefore potent, emotion. I won't let chance be there unless it's challenged. I don't make a brush mark and think, 'oh that looks nice'. I'm not interested in that. Painting's too serious to take flippantly. I think one should behave morally with paint, though that doesn't stop one taking risks' (the artist quoted in 'Snatches of Conversation', Euan Uglow, Whitechapel Gallery, London, 1989, p.59).

Camellias featured regularly in Uglow's work (see also Lampert, cat.no's 128, 310, 322 and 341) and the artist referred to this love affair saying 'I used to try and paint a camellia every year – the season is just gone past, they are almost finished now. They just always seemed so lovely. William (Darby) lived at Hans Place (Knightsbridge) and has hundreds of them, my mother had camellias as well' (Op.Cit., p.150).

Previously recorded as 'location unknown', Camellia Bud exemplifies Uglow's lifelong pursuit of measured, deliberate observation and is a compelling testament to his distinctive vision – rigorous yet sensitive, analytical yet profoundly human.

Please note that there is a partial painting of apples verso.

We are grateful to Catherine Lampert for her assistance in cataloguing this lot.