Anne Redpath 1895-1965

This early Redpath landscape depicts a rocky valley, with a tree in the foreground and farm buildings scattered across the hillside in the distance. With such a topography and a strong light - indeed an outstanding bright palette for Redpath - the setting may be somewhere in southern Europe, though the Artist did paint much of her work in a similar light during the early 1940s e.g. 'Houses and Trees', 1938 (National Galleries of Scotland). Following a visit to the Canary Islands in the 1950s a similar tint reappeared in her paintings, for example the Fleming Collection's 'Houses on a Hill', 1958 (c). The floral subject matter in this landscape painting is close to that of her still lifes, which depict a variety of potted and cut flowers in vases or jugs. The surface echoes the site in its impasto, applied to the support with a palette knife to give a lively texture. This energetic, loose brushwork also adds an air of fragility to the image, as if capturing a brief moment in time. The painting was originally gifted to the Edinburgh owners for their hospitality to Redpath.

Provenance

gifted by the Artist to Mr and Mrs Robb 1944-7 (c);
Bourne Fine Art, Edinburgh, from where acquired by the previous owner