Samuel John Peploe RSA

(British, 1871-1935)

Roses in a Green Jug

Footnotes

Provenance
With Alex Reid & Lefevre, Glasgow.
Mrs Harrison, Edinburgh.
Ion Harrison, Helensburgh.
Ronald Harrison, Edinburgh.
With The Lefevre Gallery (Alex Reid and Lefevre Ltd.), London.
Private collection, UK (purchased from above March 1998.)

Exhibited
Glasgow, Palais of Art, The Fine Art Section of the Empire Exhibition, April-October 1938.
Glasgow, McLellan Galleries, Thistle Foundation, Pictures from a Private Collection, March 1951, cat.no.27.
Edinburgh, The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, S.J. Peploe 1871-1935, 1985, cat.no.104 (illustrated).
London, The Lefevre Gallery (Alex Reid & Lefevre Ltd.), Early 20th century British Art, November-December 1989, cat.no.15.
London, Alex Reid and Lefevre Ltd., Modern British Artists 1900-1945, 27 November-20 December 1995.

It is widely considered that Peploe's 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 career, almost to the point of obsession. The present work, an archetypal example, painted circa 1925, features the motifs for which Peploe became most celebrated: roses, fruit and drapery.

Roses in a Green Jug is a masterclass in how composition can create a dialogue between object and space, colour and tone. The orange and pear in the lower right are clearly a nod to Cézanne. They hold the composition in balance and draw the viewer's eye into the centre. This use of intense colour is an important element in Peploe's work. It provides an emotional state, as well as being aesthetically pleasing, however it is always countered by a cooling white light. The brilliantly bold colours of the fruit and dish are juxtaposed with the delicately depicted floral arrangement in the upper canvas.

Major Ion R. Harrison was one of the most important patrons and supporters of the Scottish Colourist artists. The Harrison family home was the stylish Croft House in Helensburgh, and the present work was clearly treasured as one of their favourite paintings, as it took pride of place in the main Drawing Room, which can be seen in a black and white photo dating from the mid-1920's. (Please refer to the Department for further information).

The Harrisons not only owned many of Peploe's most important paintings, but they also developed a close friendship with the notoriously private artist. Ion Harrison explained: 'It was through Cadell that I first met Peploe and it was when Cadell was starting to paint a portrait of my wife that Peploe joined us at Croft House for a weekend. This was a very great privilege for us, for Peploe did not care for visiting people unless he knew them very well. It was a very happy weekend indeed and Peploe was pleased to see his pictures hanging together in their surroundings...I held him in great esteem and regard him as a very great artist.' (Ion R. Harrison, 'As I Remember Them' in T. J. Honeyman, Three Scottish Colourists: Peploe, Cadell, Hunter, London 1950, p. 119, p.123). The resulting portrait of Mrs Harrison by Cadell is a striking image, which depicts her sitting in the Drawing Room, in front of, presumably, one of her most-loved paintings; Peploe's Roses in a Green Jug.

In 1951 the present work, along with 178 pictures by the Colourists, was shown when the Harrison collection was exhibited in its entirety at the McLellan Galleries in Glasgow. The exhibition stood as a testimony to the Harrison's, as great collectors, patrons and perhaps most importantly friends to a very special group of artists.

Peploe's rose pieces from the 1920s are sublime images and for many the most enduring and successful of all his oeuvre. The perfection and sumptuousness of the roses still captivate us today, just as they did the Harrison's a hundred years ago.