FRANCIS CAMPBELL BOILEAU CADELL R.S.A., R.S.W. (SCOTTISH 1883-1937) LOOKING TOWARDS MULL FROM SANDEELS BAY, IONA Signed, oil on canvasboard 36cm x 45cm (14.5in x 17.75in) The Fine Art Society Ltd, London, June 1968, no.3299 (as ‘Atlantic Coast’)Private Collection, ScotlandBonhams Edinburgh, The Scottish Sale, 17 August 2010, lot 80 (as ‘On the West Coast’)Duncan R. Miller Fine Arts, London This painting has been dated to c.1913.
FRANCIS CAMPBELL BOILEAU CADELL R.S.A., R.S.W. (SCOTTISH 1883-1937) INTERIOR: THE LADY IN BLACK Signed, oil on canvas 62.2 x 75cm (24.5in x 29.5in) FROM A DISTINGUISHED PRIVATE AMERICAN COLLECTIONChristie's London, 18th March 1966, lot 41 (incorrectly titled ‘Portrait of Miss Don Wauchope’), sold to Des Roches for £21Acquired by the present owner in New York in 1966 Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell is one of the four artists now known as the Scottish Colourists, along with John Duncan Fergusson, George Leslie Hunter and Samuel John Peploe. They shared an early immersion in the developments of progressive French art in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a love of a brilliant palette and the use of expressive brushwork. The quartet exhibited together in London and Paris in the 1920s and 1930s and are recognised as not only the most important and revered Scottish artists of the modern period, but ones who also played an important role within British and European art history of the time. Cadell can be considered the most Scottish of the group. He was born in Edinburgh, trained there, in Paris and in Munich and lived for most of his life in the Scottish capital. He was proud to be a Scot and often wore a kilt. Moreover, he and his work are inextricably connected with Edinburgh, whose light, architecture and society provided inspiration for much of his practice. The sculptor Pittendrigh Macgillivray summed up Cadell’s artistic achievements thus: ‘It seems to me … that your forte lies in a gift of colour and light – these seen in a joyous mood.’ (Letter from Macgillivray to Cadell of 23 February 1915, National Library of Scotland, Acc.11224)Interior: The Lady in Black dates from the most important and successful period in Cadell’s career. After making a name for himself with solo exhibitions in London and Edinburgh before the First World War, he was demobilised from the army in 1919. The following year he purchased 6 Ainslie Place, in Edinburgh’s Georgian New Town, across the road from his childhood home at number 22. Cadell’s new quarters were magnificent and extended over six floors. He painted his front door bright blue to annoy his neighbours and lived there until 1931.Interior: The Lady in Black depicts the artist’s north-facing studio on the first floor, with a view over to Fife. It encapsulates Cadell’s stylish decoration of his home, which became the subject matter of a remarkable series of works created in the 1920s. His signature lilac walls and highly-polished black floor set the scene which he dressed with mirrors as seen at the upper left, furniture like the Louis XV-style armchair and pole screen glimpsed within it and props such as the blue and white coffee set and closed, be-ribboned black fan laid out on the white tablecloth. Indeed, the present painting is a splendid bringing together of many of Cadell’s most celebrated props and motifs, as an interior with his elegant model May Easter at the centre of its composition. She and Bethia Hamilton Don Wauchope were Cadell’s most distinguished sitters. Miss Don Wauchope was in her seventies by the time the current painting was made and the younger Miss Easter’s distinctive red hair drew Cadell’s Colourist eye, as can be seen in Pink and Gold, which Lyon & Turnbull sold from Paisley Art Institute’s collection in 2024. His most successful images of her, as here, revel in the combination of her hair colour, fresh complexion, the shimmer of the golden turban and the transparency of its veil that he preferred to present her wearing. Cadell’s use of black is a pronounced and effective characteristic of his oeuvre, seen here in Miss Easter’s chic clothing and set off by the placement of a pink rose at the base of her neckline.Cadell’s modernity is clear in the bright red chair on which Miss Easter sits, one of several that appear as brilliant focal points in paintings such as The Studio, in the collection of Lillie Art Gallery, East Dunbartonshire (acc.no. MINAG:1984.13). Such was its visual impact that Peploe featured it in some of his post-First World War paintings at a time when the artists’ friendship was at its closest. The coffee set is the subject of works in its own right and elements of it appear in paintings such as Still Life (Grey Fan) in the National Galleries of Scotland (acc.no. GMA 1311), in which a be-ribboned fan can also be seen. A particular conceit of Cadell’s was to include a painting within a painting. In Interior: The Lady in Black this is represented by the bright blue rectangle at the lower right, positioned beside the blue and pink fabric seen to full effect in The Embroidered Cloak in Ferens Art Gallery, Hull (acc.no. KINCM:2005.4791). Throughout, Cadell’s expressive brushwork, which verges on the abstract is some passages, plays upon the canvas as he simplified form, teased the viewer with hints of description and used areas of brilliant colour to create rhythm across the image. Yet this energy is contained within the calm majesty of Miss Easter’s poise. She glances beyond the confines of the support to the studio beyond, part of which is visible in the mirror, revealing Cadell’s skilful manipulation of space.Interior: The Lady in Black is a tour de force example of Cadell’s painting, created at the height of his career. It epitomises why he is one of Scotland’s most revered artists and why his work is so highly sought after for private collections and so admired in public collections.
FRANCIS CAMPBELL BOILEAU CADELL R.S.A., R.S.W. (SCOTTISH 1883-1937) ON THE CANAL, VENICE Signed, titled and dated 1910, watercolour and pencil on paper 29cm x 22cm (11.5in x 8.5in) This is a study for the painting of the same name in the collection of the National Galleries of Scotland (acc.no.GMA 5518). It features the church of Santa Maria del Rosario, more commonly known as I Gesuati. Cadell created the present work whilst visiting Venice in 1910, during which he stayed in the nearby Calcina Hotel.
FRANCIS CAMPBELL BOILEAU CADELL R.S.A., R.S.W. (SCOTTISH 1883-1937) STAFFA AND RUM FROM IONA Signed, signed with initials, titled and inscribed ‘Absorbent ground. NEVER varnish’ verso, oil on board 36cm x 43.5cm (14.5in x 17.25in) Archibald .J. Crawford, LiverpoolMr & Mrs Ian CrawfordChristie's, Glasgow, Fine Scottish and Topographical Paintings and Drawings, 11 December 1986, lot 242, where purchased by the previous ownerChristie's, London, Modern British Art Day Sale, 13 December 2012, lot 264 from where acquired by the present owner This painting previously belonged to the biscuit manufacturer Archibald J. Crawford of Fernlea, Mossley Hill, Liverpool. He and his wife appear seven times between 1924 and 1926 in the Register of Pictures that F. C. B. Cadell compiled between 1907 and 1930 of works that he sold or gave away (Private Collection on loan to the National Galleries of Scotland Archive). They acquired nine works, all of Iona, where they holidayed and originally met the artist.
FRANCIS CAMPBELL BOILEAU CADELL R.S.A., R.S.W. (SCOTTISH 1883-1937) JEAN CADELL AMONG TREES Signed and dated '12, oil on board 45.5cm x 36.5cm (18in x 14in) Given by the Artist to Sir Patrick Ford (1880-1945) and thence by family descent to the present ownerLiterature:Tom Hewlett and Duncan Macmillan, F. C. B. Cadell: The Life and Works of a Scottish Colourist 1883-1937, Lund Humphries, Farnham, 2011, repr.col. p.36, fig.26 (as ‘Girl in White Dress and Hat - Sunlight Trees’) Jean Among Trees is a tender and elegant portrait of the Scottish Colourist F. C. B. Cadell’s younger sister, Jean Dunlop Cadell (1884-1967), who became a celebrated actress. Born just one year apart, the siblings enjoyed a close, life-long relationship, with Cadell becoming a father figure to Jean’s only child, John, following the early death of her husband. On the advice of the artist Arthur Melville, Cadell (known in the family as ‘Bunty’) moved to Paris in 1898, at the age of fifteen, to commence his artistic training. He was accompanied by Jean and their mother, Mary Hamilton Boileau, whilst their father, also named Francis, and younger brother Arthur remained in Edinburgh. Jean sat for her brother from an early age and in a letter to their father of 2 March 1900, Mary explained ‘He did a rough watercolour of Jean yesterday afternoon, and took it to show [Alphonse Mucha], who criticised it most favourably, and B. came home in great spirits.’ (F. C. B. Cadell Papers, National Galleries of Scotland Archive, GMA AL/15/1/31). Further correspondence reveals that Jean took French and German lessons whilst living in Paris. The family also lived together in Germany between 1906 and 1908, during which time Cadell studied at the Academie der Bildenden Künste in Munich.Jean Among Trees was painted whilst she and Cadell were staying at Dalserf, in the Scottish Lowlands. Jean is depicted standing under dappled sunlight, in a full-length summer dress and matching hat. Cadell’s bravura brushwork describes the picturesque scene, with points of details, such as those representing his sister’s facial features, giving way to expressive swathes in the foreground. As their great-niece, Selina Cadell, has recalled, Jean showed tremendous courage and independence by embarking on a career as an actor. Her parents did not believe it was a suitable pursuit for their daughter, but did permit her to appear in the then fashionable tableaux vivants. Family legend has it that she was approached after one such performance by the impresario George Alexander of London’s Theatre Royal Drury Lane, but did not follow up his offer of a job until her parents had died (Mary in 1907 and Francis in 1909). Cadell lent her the train fare to the English capital, she knocked on the theatre’s Stage Door and as a result worked there for two years. She is also believed to have travelled as a foot passenger, by herself, on a Russian cargo ship to Los Angeles in the 1930s, in order to meet W. C. Fields and suggest that she play Mrs Micawber in his forthcoming film of David Copperfield (1935); she got the part. She is, however, perhaps best known for her roles in the comedies made by Ealing Studios in London after the Second World War, most famously playing Mrs Campbell in Whisky Galore (1949). Cadell painted the present work in 1912, the year in which he was a co-founder of the Society of Eight exhibiting society, alongside John Lavery amongst others. Their friendship can be seen in the shared sympathetic approach to a beautiful female model seen in Jean Among Trees. The Society was underwritten by Cadell’s Edinburgh Academy school friend, Patrick Ford, who was one of his most important patrons and collectors. It has remained in Ford’s family to this day. Cadell went on to serve in the First Word War and to emerge in the 1920s as one of Scotland’s most important artists of the twentieth century. On his death in 1937, Jean and her son were the main beneficiaries of his will and Jean did much to secure his artistic legacy.We are grateful to the director and actor Selina Cadell, the artist and sitter’s great-niece, for her help with our research into this painting.
FRANCIS CAMPBELL BOILEAU CADELL R.S.A., R.S.W. (SCOTTISH 1883-1937) THE WHITE SANDS, IONA Signed, oil on board 35.5cm x 43cm (14in x 17in) Aitken Dott, EdinburghChristie's, Glasgow, 11 December 1986, Fine Scottish and Topographical Paintings and Drawings, lot 239, where purchased by the previous ownerChristie's, London, Modern British Art Day Sale, 13 December 2012, lot 270 (as ‘The View of the White Sands, Iona’) where acquired by the present owner The White Sands, Iona is an idyllic view of the Hebridean island which inspired the Scottish Colourist F. C. B. Cadell for over twenty-years and is the subject of many of his most cherished works. It was painted before the First World War, during one of his first visits to Iona, which had found favour with a growing number of artists since the mid-nineteenth century. Amongst them were Cadell’s friends John Duncan and James Paterson, who were co-founders with him of the Society of Eight exhibiting society in 1912. He may also have been encouraged to venture there due to his friendship with Ivar Campbell, the nephew of the 9th Duke of Argyll, who owned the island. In turn, Cadell was to introduce his fellow Colourist, S. J. Peploe, to Iona in 1920 and they were both to return virtually every summer for the rest of their lives.Iona’s attractions are many and varied and had an immediate impact on Cadell. As Alice Strang has written:‘the ever-changing light conditions on Iona, the effect of sunshine on the shallow water along the beaches of dazzling white sand, the intensity and range of colour of the surrounding sea, sky and land, the complexity of its rock formations and wide range of views within and beyond the island, inspired Cadell time after time.’ (Alice Strang, F. C. B. Cadell, National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh, p.19).In contrast to his studio-based practice in Edinburgh, whilst on Iona Cadell favoured working outdoors. The White Sands, Iona encapsulates his joyful response to the beauty of his natural surroundings. He deftly captured machair, shoreline with geological features, blue sky and the view over to neighbouring Mull with distinct brushstrokes and a palette of creamy, richly-coloured oil paints, layered and blended ‘wet on wet’.Cadell’s Iona works proved popular and sold well not least in the Society of Eight’s annual exhibitions. Such is their importance that a room was dedicated to them in the major retrospective exhibition of his work held at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in 2011. Examples are held in numerous public collections, including those of the National Galleries of Scotland, Aberdeen Art Gallery, The Hunterian Art Gallery, University of Glasgow and The McManus: Dundee’s Art Gallery & Museum.
FRANCIS CAMPBELL BOILEAU CADELL, RSA (1883-1937) Haystacks and Cottage, Iona Watercolour, 16.5 x 24cm Signed lower left and inscribed to Ian McKenzie by the artist verso Provenance: Summer Two Day Fine Art & Antiques Auction, The Great Western Auctions Ltd, Glasgow, 17th June 2022, lot 1040
Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell RSA RSW, Scottish 1883-1937 - Street scene with man; watercolour and pencil on paper, signed and dated lower right 'F.C.B. Cadell '02' and inscribed with artist's name and address on the reverse of the backing board, 33.5 x 24 cm Provenance: Private Collection, purchased in 1934 from the exhibition below (according to the inscription on the reverse of the back board); with Pettigrew & Mail, Glasgow (by repute); Private Collection, purchased from the above before 2000 and thence by descent Exhibited: Shandwick Place, 'Society of Eight exhibition', January 1934 (according to the inscription on the reverse of the back board) Note: Cadell was one of the four central members of the Scottish Colourist group, along with Samuel Peploe (1871-1935), John Duncan Fergusson (1874-1961), and Leslie Hunter (1877-1931). He was best-known for his evocative, colourful depictions of the Scottish landscape, particularly the blue seas from the coasts of Iona, and his city views, including the present watercolour which depicts a quiet street scene. Cadell was a founding member of the Society of Eight alongside John Lavery and James Paterson. This was an artist-run exhibiting group in Edinburgh that started in 1912.
Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell, R.S.A. 1883 - 1937 Florian's Café, Venice signed F.C.B. Cadell, dated -10 and inscribed Venice. (lower right) oil on panel unframed: 45.5 by 36.5cm.; 18 by 14¼in. framed: 63 by 54cm.; 24¾ by 21¼in. Executed in 1910.
Property from the Collection of Seymour Stein Francis Boileau Cadell Scottish 1883 - 1937 Cytherea oil on panel panel: 21 ⅝ by 17 ¾ in.; 54.9 by 45.1 cm framed: 27 ¼ by 23 ⅝ in.; 69.2 by 60 cm
Property from the Collection of Seymour Stein Francis Boileau Cadell Scottish 1883 - 1937 The Calanque Family signed lower right: MR Cadell.; signed and inscribed on reverse: THE CALANQUE FAMILY by F.C.B. Cadell oil on canvas canvas: 13 ⅛ by 18 ¼ in.; 33.3 by 46.4 cm framed: 14 ⅞ by 20 ¼ in.; 37.8 by 51.4 cm
Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell RSA RSW (British, 1883-1937) Iona signed in pencil 'F.C.B. Cadell' (lower left) oil on panel 37 x 44.5cm (14 9/16 x 17 1/2in).
FRANCIS CAMPBELL BOILEAU CADELL R.S.A., R.S.W. (SCOTTISH 1883-1937) HALF-LENGTH PORTRAIT OF G.W. SERVICE ESQ. Signed, oil on canvas 102cm x 85cm (40in x 33.5in) Lyon & Turnbull, Scottish Paintings & Sculpture, 6 December 2018.
Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell, RSA RSW, Scottish 1883-1937 - Interior; watercolour on paper, signed lower left 'F.C.B. Cadell', 23 x 15 cm Provenance: with Aitken Dott & Son, Edinburgh, no.3548 (according to the label attached to the reverse of the frame); Private Collection and thence by descent Note: Cadell was one of the four central members of the Scottish Colourist group, along with Samuel Peploe (1871-1935), John Duncan Fergusson (1874-1961), and Leslie Hunter (1877-1931). He was best-known for his evocative, colourful depictions of the Scottish landscape, particularly the blue seas from the coasts of Iona. Alongside these landscape views, Cadell made a vital series of interior scenes, often depicting elegant female sitters in the fashions of the day. In the present work, he removes any figures, drawing out the atmosphere of the space alone, bringing it to life through his careful dashes of colour.
Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell RSA 1883 - 1937 Iona signed FCB Cadell- (lower left) oil on canvasboard unframed: 37.5 by 45cm.; 14¾ by 17¾in. framed: 49.5 by 47.5cm.; 19½ by 18¾in.
Property from an Impressive Private Collection Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell, R.S.A., R.S.W. 1883 - 1937 The Cheval Glass indistinctly signed (lower left); also signed F.C.B. Cadell and titled (on a label) oil on canvas 107 by 71.5cm.; 42 by 28in. framed: 125 by 89.5cm.; 49¼ by 35¼in. Executed circa 1915.
FRANCIS CAMPBELL BOILEAU CADELL R.S.A., R.S.W. (SCOTTISH 1883-1937) INTERIOR - SANTA MARIA DELLA SALUTE, VENICE Signed and indistinctly dated '10, oil on canvas 117cm x 91cm (46in x 36in) Acquired from the Artist by Sir Patrick Ford (1880-1945)Lyon & Turnbull, Edinburgh, Fine Paintings, 2 June 2011, lot 91 and thence by descent to the present ownerExhibited: Possibly The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh, Exhibition of Pictures of Venice &c.; by Mr F. C. B. Cadell, 16 - 26 November 1910, no.15 or no.38 (both 'Interior Santa Maria della Salute, Venice' and not for sale)Possibly Royal Glasgow Institute, Annual Exhibition, 1931, no.484 ('Sta Maria della Salute - Venice', £300) Possibly Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh, Annual Exhibition, 1932, no.285 ('Santa Maria della Salute, Venice')Possibly National Gallery of Scotland, F. C. B. Cadell 1883-1937, April 1942, no.176 ('Church Interior, 1910' lent by Sir Patrick J. Ford, Bart.) and tour to Glasgow Art Gallery, June 1942, no.87 ('Church Interior, 1910' lent by Sir Patrick J. Ford, Bart.)Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh, Festival Exhibition: S. J. Peploe R.S.A., F. C. B. Cadell R.S.A. and Leslie Hunter, 1949, no.107 (as ‘Church Interior’ and lent by the Trustees of the late Sir Patrick Ford, Bt., H.R.S.A.)City Art Centre, City of Edinburgh Museums & Galleries, long-loan 2015 - 2025 City Art Centre, Edinburgh, Scottish Art: People, Places, Ideas, May – September 2015City Art Centre, Edinburgh, Hidden Gems, October 2017 – May 2018City Art Centre, Edinburgh, The Italian Connection, September 2019 – August 2020Literature: Tom Hewlett, Cadell: The Life and Works of a Scottish Colourist 1883-1937, The Portland Gallery and Bourne Fine Art, London and Edinburgh,1988, p. 28, ill.p.29, pl.17.Tom Hewlett and Duncan Macmillan, F. C. B. Cadell: The Life and Works of a Scottish Colourist 1883-1937, Lund Humphries, Farnham, 2011, p.40, ill p.42, pl.31. Interior - Santa Maria della Salute, Venice is one of the most significant paintings to have resulted from the Scottish Colourist F. C. B. Cadell’s breakthrough trip to the Italian city in 1910. Financed by a cheque for £150 from his schoolfriend Patrick Ford, the beauty and splendour of Venice, whether experienced outside along its canals or within its piazzas, or inside its magnificent churches and palaces, had an immediate and dramatic effect upon Cadell’s practice. Built to commemorate Venice’s deliverance from the plague and consecrated in 1687, the ‘Basilica della Salute’ is one of the city’s most important architectural landmarks and stands at the entrance to the Grand Canal. For an artist with a pronounced interest in the genre of the interior, its soaring arches and columns, two domes, statuary, side chapels, altars, chandeliers and patterned marble floor provided rich subject matter. In the present painting a sense of scale is created by contrasting the seated and standing figures with their imposing surroundings. A swirl of brushstrokes suggests the highly-ornate flooring and particular attention is paid to highlights of red and gold in the décor, as the eye is lifted ever upwards to admire the capitals of the columns. Natural light flooding in from tiers of windows gleams upon stonework and metalwork, creating an atmosphere at once peaceful and impressive.Such was the attraction that Santa Maria della Salute had for Cadell that he also painted a small oil of its interior and one of its exterior, on modestly-sized boards which would have been easy to transport and use whilst working ‘en plein air’; the latter was one of three Venetian works presented to the National Galleries of Scotland in 2014 in Ford’s honour. In contrast, the canvas of the present work measures 46 x 36”, an imposing scale to match that of its subject and one that would have been created as a fully contemplated studio painting.This trio of works were three of the six that Ford received in return for his patronage, as recorded in the Register of Pictures Cadell compiled between 1907 and 1930, listing sales and gifts of works as well as his annual total income (on loan from a private collection to the National Galleries of Scotland). Interior – Santa Maria della Salute appears as ‘Oil (large)’, differentiated from ‘Interior of the Salute’ an ‘Oil (small)’. In the absence of contemporary illustrations, this had led to some confusion over the present work’s exhibition history though given its scale and significance it is more likely to have been selected for display than its diminutive sibling. Both are believed to have been included in Cadell’s solo show, Exhibition of Pictures of Venice, & c., mounted at The Scottish Gallery in Edinburgh in November 1910.Ford continued his generous support of Cadell’s career and appears frequently in the Register of Pictures. Moreover, he was the financial underwriter of the Society of Eight, the exhibiting society of which Cadell was a co-founder in 1912 and whose annual exhibitions provided the most significant and sustained showcase of the artist’s work for the rest of his life. Interior – Santa Maria della Salute was included in the milestone exhibition of work by Cadell, S. J. Peploe and Leslie Hunter that was mounted by the Royal Scottish Academy in 1949. It was the first group show of the artists now known as the Colourists (minus J. D. Fergusson) in a public as opposed to a private gallery and was the first time that the three artists were shown together in the country of their birth. 122 works were included, thirty-eight of which were by Cadell, of which four were lent by the Trustees of the late Sir Patrick Ford, Bt. following his death four years earlier. The Scotsman’s review of 22 August 1949 declared:‘The exhibition by Peploe, Cadell, and Hunter will certainly open the eyes of many visitors …[to]…these fine painters, the most individual and gifted of their generation in Scotland…Their different though inter-related work presents a peculiarly Scottish brand of…post-impressionism, and is of a quality that takes a worthy place in European art of the twentieth-century…This is an exhibition which will give great pleasure, and does full justice to one of the most attractive and important phases of Scottish painting.’
FRANCIS CAMPBELL BOILEAU CADELL R.S.A., R.S.W. (SCOTTISH 1883-1937) THE MACHAIR BAY, IONA (BAY AT THE BACK OF THE OCEAN) Signed lower left, signed with initials and inscribed verso, oil on board 37cm x 44.5cm (14.5in x 17.5in) Ewan Mundy Fine Art Ltd, Glasgow, from whom acquired by the present owner in 1999 Exhibited: Possibly Alex. Reid & Lefèvre Ltd, Glasgow, Exhibition of Paintings and Watercolour Drawings by F. C. B. Cadell, April 1927, no.25 ('The Machair Bay')Possibly The Society of Eight, Nineteenth Exhibition, The New Gallery, Edinburgh, 1931, no.103 ('The Machair Bay', £8 8/-) Possibly The Society of Eight, Twenty-Second Exhibition, The New Gallery, Edinburgh, 1934, no. 15 ('The Machair Bay, Iona', £12) Literature: Philip MacLeod Coupe, Paintings of Iona by F. C. B. Cadell and S. J. Peploe, privately published, 2014, repr.col p.201, pl.183 (as ‘Eilean nan Slat, Bay at the Back of the Ocean’) The Scottish Colourist F. C. B. Cadell’s love of the Hebridean island of Iona, as seen in The Machair Bay (Bay at the Back of the Ocean) was such that he painted there nearly every summer from his first visit in 1912 until at least 1933, except during the First World War.The outstanding natural beauty of the tiny island had attracted artists in growing numbers since the mid-nineteenth century, amongst them Cadell’s friends William Caldwell Crawford, John Duncan and James Paterson. He may also have decided to venture from the West coast of the mainland and across the Sound of Iona from neighbouring Mull due to his friendship with Ivar Campbell, whose uncle, the 9th Duke of Argyll, owned the island. In his turn, Cadell introduced his fellow Scottish Colourist S. J. Peploe to the enchantments of Iona in 1920 and he too returned regularly until the 1930s.In contrast to Peploe’s preference for the North End of the island, Cadell painted across Iona, from coastal views on the east and west, to the village and the Cathedral, to haystacks and croft buildings. The present painting depicts The Machair Bay on the west coast of Iona, which is also known as the ‘Bay at the Back of the Ocean’. As Philip MacLeod Coupe has identified, the vertical rock step at the right-hand edge of the painting is the end of Eilean Didil (see Philip MacLeod Coupe, Paintings of Iona by F. C. B. Cadell and S. J. Peploe, privately published, 2014, p.201).This work is a classic example of Cadell’s depiction of the pristine white sand, luminous blues of the sea, fertile vegetation and varied geology of Iona, all captured under the gentle Hebridean light of the area. The eye is led from the sandy foreshore rising through the composition to the high horizon line and sun-kissed sky. Cadell enjoyed working en plein air and The Machair Bay is painted on a standard sized and easy to transport board measuring 15 x 18”, on a white gesso ground. This absorbs paint allowing the artist to work quickly, an advantage when weather conditions could vary from one moment to another and necessitating the legend inscribed by Cadell in his favourite colour of blue paint on its reverse: ‘Absorbent Ground NEVER varnish’.As can be seen in the present work and as Jessica Christian and Charles Stiller have explained:‘Cadell was particularly attracted by the colours of Iona. He quite often interpreted them in daring and very personal combinations of bold and intense lime or mint greens, lemons, oranges, apricots, pink and purples, which in his hands could express Iona to perfection.’ (Jessica Christian and Charles Stiller, Iona Portrayed: The Island through Artists’ Eyes 1760-1960, The New Iona Press, Inverness, 2001, p.59).Cadell most often stayed in the cottage Cnoc cùil Phàil, overlooking the Sound half a mile north of the Cathedral. Whilst on Iona he regularly wore Highland dress and a tammy. He became a well-known and liked visitor, nicknamed ‘Himself’ and was happy to be watched whilst at work. Cadell exhibited his paintings and watercolours of Iona regularly and they remain as popular today as when they were created whilst the artist was ‘warmed by the sun, blown by the wind’, as he wrote in an unfinished poem of 1913 (Cadell papers, National Library of Scotland, Acc.11224).
FRANCIS CAMPBELL BOILEAU CADELL R.S.A., R.S.W. (SCOTTISH 1883-1937) GIRL IN AN INTERIOR Signed, oil on canvas laid down 28cm x 21cm (11in x 8.25in) James Hay Gauldie (1872-1956) and thence by descent to the present owners Girl in an Interior is an early example of the Scottish Colourist F. C. B. Cadell’s work and encompasses several strands that were to become celebrated within his practice. A standing female figure, possibly his sister Jean Dunlop Cadell (1884-1967) given her red hair, is positioned on the border of one space as it gives on to another. This compositional device was to be used to great effect when Cadell depicted items such as a Louis XV-style armchair on the threshold between the front and rear adjoining rooms in his home at 6 Ainslie Place in Edinburgh’s Georgian New Town during the 1920s.Elegant women portrayed in stylish interiors, often modelled by his childhood neighbour Bethia Hamilton Don Wauchope (1864-1944) and depicted in Cadell’s earlier studio at 130 George Street in the Scottish capital, brought him acclaim and success in the pre-First World War period. Girl in an Interior shows how the emerging artist’s confidence in the use of colour, here seen most effectively in the high-toned blue of the door to the figure’s left and the gestural application of paint with brushstroke and layers clearly visible, was growing. Cadell’s enjoyment of his material is clear in passages such as the expressive swipes of his brush in horizontal and diagonal motions in the lower right and upper central areas of the image. This kind of bravado was to develop into triumphant paintings including the Self-portrait of c.1914, now in the collection of the National Galleries of Scotland (acc.no.PG 3755).
Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell RSA RSW (British, 1883-1937) The Island of Rhum, from Iona signed 'FCB Cadell' (lower right), and inscribed and signed 'THE ISLAND OF RUM/by/F.C.B. Cadell' (verso) oil on panel 37 x 45cm (14 9/16 x 17 11/16in).
Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell RSA RSW (British, 1883-1937) Princes Street from Castle Street signed and dated 'F.C.B. Cadell - '08' (lower left) watercolour 41 x 36.8cm (16 1/8 x 14 1/2in).
Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell RSA RSW (British, 1883-1937) Child and man signed and dated 'F.C.B. Cadell/15' (lower left) conte and watercolour 33 x 26cm (13 x 10 1/4in).
Circle of Francis Cadell (Scottish, 1883-1937) Model in an artist's interior Oil on canvas From the personal collection of Mandy-Rice Davies (1944-2014) Dimensions: (Frame) 29 in. (H) x 33.5 in. (W) (Canvas) 20.5 in. (H) x 25.5 in. (W)
FRANCIS CAMPBELL BOILEAU CADELL R.S.A., R.S.W. (SCOTTISH 1883-1937) STILL LIFE OF RANUNCULUS IN A BLUE AND WHITE VASE Signed, oil on board 44.5cm x 36cm (17.5in x 14in)
FRANCIS CAMPBELL BOILEAU CADELL R.S.A., R.S.W. (SCOTTISH 1883-1937) STILL LIFE WITH PINK ROSES IN A BLUE JUG Signed, inscribed ‘Roses’ verso, oil on board 37cm x 45cm (14.5in x 17.75in) Lyon & Turnbull, Fine Paintings, 1st December 2011, lot 195 where acquired by the present owner F. C. B. Cadell, like his fellow Scottish Colourist S. J. Peploe, was a master of the still life genre, as can be seen in Still Life with Pink Roses in a Blue Jug. Here, Cadell’s boldness of composition, bravura application of oil paint and combination of strong and subtle colours come together to create an image of dynamism and poise.Cadell lived – and liked to paint – a stylish lifestyle and his still lifes are full of suggested narratives centred on a celebration of beauty - often conveyed by way of attractive cut flowers in boldly coloured vessels - and on the enjoyment of sophisticated past-times, such as those which would necessitate a be-ribboned black fan.During the 1920s, Cadell’s practice progressed from the bright palette, tight technique and suppression of volume of the works made during his first years at 6 Ainslie Place in Edinburgh’s New Town at the start of the decade, to a broader, more expressive technique and a greater sense of volume as seen in the present painting. Close attention is paid to elements such as the flower heads, shown from two angles and whose radiating petals Cadell has depicted in gently graduated tones of pink. These are contrasted with the bold green of stem and leaf and are placed against dense black and blue. The strongly realised blue jug, completed with two dabbed brushstrokes to convey a reflection in its glazing, contrasts with the more freely depicted fan in front of which it is positioned. The fan’s ribbon winds its way down to the lower left corner of the composition and ends in deft, spare brushstrokes which are more suggestive than illustrative. Swathes of the white tablecloth are left empty, whilst certain passages verge on the abstract with a focus on paint application and strength of colour. Notions of depth and perspective are played with as only an artist of great skill, experience and confidence could achieve. Still Life with Pink Roses in a Blue Jug encompasses Cadell’s painterliness, his swagger and boldness, and his enduring appreciation of the beautiful.
FRANCIS CAMPBELL BOILEAU CADELL R.S.A., R.S.W. (SCOTTISH 1883-1937) THE BLUE JUG Signed, inscribed verso ‘Still life (the blue jug), Cadell, 6 Ainslie Place, Edinburgh’, oil on canvas 61cm x 51cm (24in x 20in) Joseph Kent Richardson (1877-1972)Portland Gallery, London where acquired by the present owner in 1994Exhibited:National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh, F. C. B. Cadell 1883-1937, April-May 1942 and tour to Glasgow Art Gallery (lent by Joseph Kent Richardson)Literature: Tom Hewlett, Cadell: The Life and Works of a Scottish Colourist 1883-1937, London 1988, illustrated p. 94, pl. 85 (as ‘The Red Chair’). It was with paintings like The Blue Jug that F. C. B. Cadell truly earned his status as a Scottish Colourist. Its brilliance of colour, not least in the red chair which is central to the overall image, the dynamism of its cropped and asymmetrical composition and its deft manipulation of perspective, all show him working at the height of his powers.Having made his name as an artist in pre-World War One Edinburgh, Cadell was de-mobilised from active service in the Spring of 1919. Shortly afterwards he moved to 6 Ainslie Place in Edinburgh’s New Town, a magnificent Georgian town house across the road from his childhood home at number twenty-two. The decoration and furnishing of his impressive new quarters became the subject of and inspiration for a new era in his work. As Alice Strang has explained:‘He painted his front door bright blue to annoy his neighbours…On the first floor, he repeated the lilac walls and the highly-polished black painted floorboards of his…[pre-war]…George Street studio. He added a brilliant lapis lazuli-coloured fire surround within the cream marble mantelpiece in the front drawing room. On the ground floor, walls and woodwork, including shutters, were painted in dark blue, green and brown above a light grey floor, whilst an impressive Robert Adam-style eagle overmantel partnered the black marble mantelpiece in the dining room. (Alice Strang, F. C. B. Cadell, National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh, 2011, p.39)A striking element of these dazzingly modern interiors was the red chair seen in the present work, one of at least three that Cadell painted in this manner which became prominent props in key works of the 1920s. Here we see him exploiting its linear potential to the full, having positioned it at an oblique angle to the canvas surface and setting it before a plain, black background, against which its wooden struts sing in contrast. The seat of the chair is used as a novel alternative to a tabletop on which to assemble some of the artist’s most effective still-life objects; the lilac and green fabric, draped over the chair’s back and seat, draws the viewer’s eye from upper centre to lower left of the image, whilst the trio of blue jug, orange and lemon forms a brilliantly coloured focal point. Depth, height and the space beyond the canvas are all realised or hinted at with great skill.As Alice Strang continues:‘The cropped composition, flat application of paint and use of increasingly brilliant colour in these …works were in contrast to Cadell’s pre-war interiors which are characterised by a looser handling…[and]…a cooler palette…After the war, Cadell was no longer attempting to capture images of fashionable society, but instead was concerned with an almost abstract concept of space and perspective. This marked change is thought to have been encouraged by Cadell’s new surroundings…[and]…by his close collaboration with Peploe immediately after the war.’ (op.cit., p.40) Given how closely Cadell and his friend and fellow Scottish Colourist, S. J. Peploe, were working during this period – and indeed living as Peploe’s home was some five minutes’ walk away from Ainslie Place in India Street – it is no surprise to see Peploe also enjoying the structural and colour potential of a red painted chair, as seen in contemporary works such as Still Life with Tulips and Oranges in the collection of Abbot Hall, Kendal. However, it was Cadell who really exploited the prop to the full, and paintings of his in public collections in which a red chair features prominently include Aspidistra and Bottle on Table and The Blue Fan in the National Galleries of Scotland, as well as Still Life and Rosechatel and Studio Interior in The Hunterian, University of Glasgow. It can be argued that Anne Redpath’s used of brightly painted chairs in her work of the 1940s, such as The Indian Rug (Red Slippers) (National Galleries of Scotland) and Still Life, the Orange Chair (The Fleming Collection) exemplifies the impact that Cadell’s boldness of the 1920s, as seen in The Blue Jug, had on the next generation of Scottish artists.
FRANCIS CAMPBELL BOILEAU CADELL R.S.A., R.S.W. (SCOTTISH 1883-1937) IONA, NORTH SHORE Signed, inscribed ‘Absorbent Ground / Never varnish / G. W. Service Esq / Myrtle Park.’ on the reverse, oil on board 37cm x 45cm (14.5in x 17.5in) Acquired from the Artist by George W. Service, Glasgow, and thence by descent to the present owner. Iona, North Shore epitomises the inspiration Cadell found on the Hebridean island of Iona, as well as his friendship with the Glasgow shipowner George W. Service (1864-1940), who acquired the painting from the artist and from whom it has descended to the present owner.Cadell visited Iona for the first time in 1912 and returned regularly until at least 1933. Its gentle light, natural beauty and expansive views provided endless subject matter for his paint and watercolour brushes. He made the most of its ever-changing weather conditions and varying topography during trips that could last from between three and five months over the spring and summer. Initially he stayed at the St Columba Hotel, but later he rented various cottages, most frequently Cnoc cúil Phàil which is set looking over the Sound of Iona to Mull.Congenial outdoor working conditions and the company of friends such as fellow Scottish Colourist S. J. Peploe from 1920, resulted in joyous images of Iona’s natural environment, architectural features and the islanders’ way of life. Cadell was particularly drawn to the North End of the island, as seen in Iona, North Shore. It is a classic image of the island’s famed white sand beaches, through which varied rock formations emerge, the inviting blues and greens of the sea and the beckoning of island views beyond.As in the present painting, Cadell often worked on easily transportable boards measuring 15 x 18 inches. He came to adopt a technique deployed by his friend, the artist John Duncan, of using an absorbent white ground. As a result, many of Cadell’s Iona paintings carry the carefully inscribed legend on their reverse of ‘Absorbent Ground Never Varnish’; in this case, it is accompanied by the inscription ‘G. W. Service Esq Myrtle Park’, presumably applied by the artist when it was acquired by his longstanding patron.Cadell met Service during his first trip to Iona and he became one of his most significant supporters. As Alice Strang has explained: ‘The widowed Service came each year with his eight children and their nanny. They often rented the farmhouse at Traighmòr, although as it was not large enough to accommodate all of them his sons had to sleep in a tent on the grass at the front of the house. Service would don his tartan dress jacket for the night of his annual purchase of paintings by Cadell…He often bought several paintings at a time…which he hung in his homes in Glasgow and Dunbartonshire.’ (Alice Strang, F C B Cadell, National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh, 2011, pp.79-80)The importance of Service to Cadell is borne out by the frequency with which he appears in the artist’s ‘Register of Pictures’ (on loan from a private collection to the National Galleries of Scotland) between 1913 and 1930, which Cadell maintained to record works which he sold or gave away. As well as his Iona purchases, Service’s patronage extended to commissioning portraits of some of his children and acquisitions from exhibitions on the mainland, such as those mounted by the Society of Eight in Edinburgh. Service’s support sometimes formed the backbone of Cadell’s income, for example when he purchased fourteen works in 1921 for a total of £725, which was 40% of Cadell’s recorded total sales of £1,786 for the year. Service also helped to establish Cadell’s posthumous reputation, not least by lending three of his paintings to the landmark Exhibition of Scottish Art mounted at the Royal Academy of Arts in London in 1939.Iona paintings and watercolours by Cadell can be found in numerous public collections including those of the National Galleries of Scotland, Aberdeen Art Gallery, the Hunterian Art Gallery (University of Glasgow) and McManus Museum & Art Gallery, Dundee.
Property from a Distinguished British Collection Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell, R.S.A., R.S.W. 1883 - 1937 Studio Interior, 130 George Street signed FCB Cadell (lower left) oil on canvas unframed: 76.5 by 63.5cm.; 30 by 25in. framed: 101.5 by 89cm.; 40 by 35in. Executed circa 1910.
FRANCIS CAMPBELL BOILEAU CADELL (SCOTTISH 1883-1937)THE SPANISH LADYOil on canvasSigned and dated 1910 (lower left)152.5 x 102cm (60 x 40 in.)ProvenanceBourne Fine Art, London, 1986Sale, Christie's, Scotland, 11 December 1986, lot 226 (indistinctly dated)Compare with a similar picture of Lady Lavery, The Three Scottish Colourists T.J. Honeyman, Harris, 1977, pl. no. 12
Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell RSA RSW (British, 1883-1937) The House by the Sea, Sound of Iona signed 'F.C.B. Cadell' (lower left) oil on canvas, laid to board 37.5 x 44.5cm (14 3/4 x 17 1/2in).
Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell RSA RSW (British, 1883-1937) Iona signed 'F.C.B. Cadell' (lower left), titled, inscribed and signed 'IONA/by F.C.B. Cadell/Absorbent ground. NEVER varnish./F.C.B. Cadell' (verso) oil on panel 38.1 x 45cm (15 x 17 11/16in).
Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell RSA RSW (British, 1883-1937) Lunga from Iona signed in pencil 'F.C.B.Cadell' (lower left) watercolour 18 x 25.5cm (7 1/16 x 10 1/16in).
FRANCIS CAMPBELL BOILEAU CADELL R.S.A., R.S.W (SCOTTISH 1883-1937) PINK AND GOLD Signed, oil on canvas 102cm x 76cm (40in x 30in) Presented by Miss M. K. Muir McKean, 1932. The Scottish Colourist F C B Cadell’s Pink and Gold epitomises the celebration of feminine elegance and a sophisticated lifestyle for which he is renowned. Even its title is the essence of modernity, focussing on the high notes of colour within the image, namely his sitter’s headscarf, floral accessories and the gilt of the mirror in which they are reflected.Having trained in Paris and Munich, Cadell made his name in pre-World War One Edinburgh with paintings such as Reflections (Glasgow Life) and The Black Hat (Edinburgh Museums & Galleries). They featured fashionable ladies in the stylish interiors of the capital city’s New Town, often depicted in the artist’s own impressive studio at 130 George Street.Pink and Gold reveals how Cadell’s work developed following his move in 1920 to an imposing residence at nearby 6 Ainslie Place. He took great pains over the decoration and furnishing of his new quarters. The distinctive lilac of the painting’s background reveals it to have been created on the first floor, where front and back drawing-rooms were linked by double doors and he brought painted black floorboards up to a high polish. Cadell revelled in the original features of the house, such as the white marble mantelpiece glimpsed in Pink and Gold, its colour used to signify a feminine space in the vocabulary of Georgian architecture.During a landmark trip to Venice in 1910, Cadell’s imagination was captured by experiencing the city in mirror image in its watery surroundings. This led to an interest in reflections that became a defining characteristic of his work. Set to the centre-right of the background of Pink and Gold, the mirror reveals the space in front of the sitter, almost to where Cadell must have been positioned at his easel, its cropping also hinting at the room beyond. Furthermore, the device of the mirror allows Cadell to present his model in two poses, one looking directly at the viewer, the other seen in profile gazing beyond the realm of the canvas.The present painting also shows how Cadell’s practice progressed from the bright palette, tight technique and suppression of volume of the works made during his first years at Ainslie Place. Portrait of a Lady in Black (National Galleries of Scotland) defines this phase, which gave way to lower-toned works such as The Embroidered Cloak (Ferens Art Gallery) and then to the calmer atmosphere, more gentle palette and broader technique apparent in Pink and Gold. Cadell devoted decades to exploring an idealised portrayal of womanhood. Although his favoured model, Miss Bethia Hamilton Don Wauchope, sat for him for over fifteen years, his images of elegant, modish ladies – most often dressed in black, with carefully chosen luxurious accessories from broad-brimmed hats, glinting gold-hoop ear-rings and long white gloves – are not about the identity of a specific sitter. In Pink and Gold, Cadell contrasts his model’s fair complexion with the darkness of her outfit. The delicate defining of her facial features matches the treatment of the diaphanous nature of her headscarf as it falls over her back. In addition, freely-painted passages, such as the realisation of her be-gloved hands, verge on the abstract.Pink and Gold was presented to Paisley Art Institute (PAI) in 1932, by Miss Margaret Kathleen Muir MacKean (1879-1969) of Auchenlodment House, Elderslie and of the town’s soap then starch manufacturing family. They were leading citizens of Paisley, not least its artistic circles, with her uncle James Anderson Dunlop MacKean (1849-1932) becoming an Honorary President of the Institute. As a major collector, J. A. D. MacKean gave several important works to the PAI’s holdings, including George Henry’s The Banks of Allan Water: Spring, Autumn and Winter series (lots 76, 77 and 78).It is believed that Miss MacKean inherited Pink and Gold from her uncle, who died in the year of her gift. At the same time, her father William Muir MacKean gave Henry’s Beauty and the Beast to the PAI, whilst one of her other uncles, Major Norman MacKean, presented George Pirie’s The Hen Roost (lot 89); perhaps all three were given in memory of their recently deceased relative.Our thanks are due to Colin C. MacKean, Miss MacKean’s first cousin once removed and PAI’s current Treasurer, for his help with our research.
Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell R.S.A., R.S.W.(Scottish 1883-1937). Oil on Textured Paper Shoreline Iona. Signed F.C.B.Cadell lower right. Gilt framed under glass 64 x 50 cm.
Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell, RSA RSW, Scottish 1883-1937 - Old Houses, Inverkeithing; pencil and watercolour on paper, signed and dated lower right 'F.C.B. Cadell / 1902', bears old label inscribed attached to the reverse of the backing board 'Old Houses, Inverkeithing / £8 [?] 8 / F.C.B. Cadell / 22 Ainslie Pl', 34.4 x 24.3 cm Provenance: with Doig, Wilson, & Wheatley, Edinburgh (according to the label attached to the reverse of the frame); private collection Note: Cadell was one of the four central members of the Scottish Colourist group, along with Samuel Peploe (1871-1935), John Duncan Fergusson (1874-1961), and Leslie Hunter (1877-1931). He was best-known for his evocative, colourful depictions of the Scottish landscape, particularly the blue seas from the coasts of Iona, and his city views, including the present watercolour which depicts the historic town of Inverkeithing in Fife, nearly 10 miles northwest of Edinburgh. The first solo exhibition of Cadell's work was put on at Doig, Wilson, & Wheatley, Edinburgh, in 1908.
FRANCIS CAMPBELL BOILEAU CADELL R.S.A., R.S.W. (SCOTTISH 1883-1937) JACK AND TOMMY: THE HEALTH INSPECTION Signed with initials and dated '15, charcoal and watercolour 33cm x 25.5cm (13in x 10in) By direct descent from the Artist to the present owner The Health Inspection, A Couple in Conversation and Kilted Soldier and Lady come from Cadell’s celebrated Jack and Tommy series of works on paper of 1915, in which he captured aspects of life in the army and navy during his military training.Cadell joined the 9th Battalion, The Royal Scots in 1915 and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 5th Battalion of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders two years later. The only one of the four Scottish Colourists to see active service during World War One, he was posted to the French front, was wounded twice and was awarded the General Service and Victory medals. As Alice Strang has explained about the Jack and Tommy series:“About fifty were shown in the Society of Eight’s exhibition of 1916, whilst twenty were published by Grant Richards, London, in 1916 in a book entitled Jack and Tommy. These witty, quickly executed images, depicting solders and sailors on duty and on leave, had titles such as ‘Delicate Banter’, ‘Their Lordships’ and ‘Tommy and the Flapper’. The brisk, economic brush-and-ink technique of these drawings seems to have been based on illustrations Kees van Dongen made in the early 1900s, for journals such as L’assiette au beurre and Gil-Blas. Of the £100 Cadell made in sales from the exhibition, he donated almost half to the Scottish Branch of the Red Cross.” (Alice Strang, F. C. B. Cadell, National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh, 2011, p.35)When reviewing the 1916 exhibition, the critic of The Studio declared:“The novelty of the Society of Eight Exhibition in their galleries in Shandwick Place, was a series of clever cartoons of soldiers and sailors…These bold sketches, in which, with a minimum of line in black, with sometimes a dash of colour introduced, a marvellous completeness of effect is produced.’ (The Studio, vol.LXVII, 1916, p.59)Further works from the Jack and Tommy series are to be found in the collection of the National Galleries of Scotland.Our thanks are due to Kerry Watson, National Galleries of Scotland, for her help with our research.
FRANCIS CAMPBELL BOILEAU CADELL, R.S.A., R.S.W. (SCOTTISH 1883-1937) JACK AND TOMMY: KILTED SOLDIER AND LADY Signed with initials and dated '15, charcoal and watercolour 33cm x 26cm (13in x 10.25in) By direct descent from the Artist to the present owner The Health Inspection, A Couple in Conversation and Kilted Soldier and Lady come from Cadell’s celebrated Jack and Tommy series of works on paper of 1915, in which he captured aspects of life in the army and navy during his military training.Cadell joined the 9th Battalion, The Royal Scots in 1915 and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 5th Battalion of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders two years later. The only one of the four Scottish Colourists to see active service during World War One, he was posted to the French front, was wounded twice and was awarded the General Service and Victory medals. As Alice Strang has explained about the Jack and Tommy series:“About fifty were shown in the Society of Eight’s exhibition of 1916, whilst twenty were published by Grant Richards, London, in 1916 in a book entitled Jack and Tommy. These witty, quickly executed images, depicting solders and sailors on duty and on leave, had titles such as ‘Delicate Banter’, ‘Their Lordships’ and ‘Tommy and the Flapper’. The brisk, economic brush-and-ink technique of these drawings seems to have been based on illustrations Kees van Dongen made in the early 1900s, for journals such as L’assiette au beurre and Gil-Blas. Of the £100 Cadell made in sales from the exhibition, he donated almost half to the Scottish Branch of the Red Cross.” (Alice Strang, F. C. B. Cadell, National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh, 2011, p.35)When reviewing the 1916 exhibition, the critic of The Studio declared:“The novelty of the Society of Eight Exhibition in their galleries in Shandwick Place, was a series of clever cartoons of soldiers and sailors…These bold sketches, in which, with a minimum of line in black, with sometimes a dash of colour introduced, a marvellous completeness of effect is produced.’ (The Studio, vol.LXVII, 1916, p.59)Further works from the Jack and Tommy series are to be found in the collection of the National Galleries of Scotland.Our thanks are due to Kerry Watson, National Galleries of Scotland, for her help with our research.
FRANCIS CAMPBELL BOILEAU CADELL R.S.A., R.S.W. (SCOTTISH 1883-1937) JACK AND TOMMY: A COUPLE IN CONVERSATION Signed with initials and dated '15, pen and ink and watercolour 35cm x 25cm (13.75in x 9.875in) By direct descent from the Artist to the present owner The Health Inspection, A Couple in Conversation and Kilted Soldier and Lady come from Cadell’s celebrated Jack and Tommy series of works on paper of 1915, in which he captured aspects of life in the army and navy during his military training.Cadell joined the 9th Battalion, The Royal Scots in 1915 and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 5th Battalion of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders two years later. The only one of the four Scottish Colourists to see active service during World War One, he was posted to the French front, was wounded twice and was awarded the General Service and Victory medals. As Alice Strang has explained about the Jack and Tommy series:“About fifty were shown in the Society of Eight’s exhibition of 1916, whilst twenty were published by Grant Richards, London, in 1916 in a book entitled Jack and Tommy. These witty, quickly executed images, depicting solders and sailors on duty and on leave, had titles such as ‘Delicate Banter’, ‘Their Lordships’ and ‘Tommy and the Flapper’. The brisk, economic brush-and-ink technique of these drawings seems to have been based on illustrations Kees van Dongen made in the early 1900s, for journals such as L’assiette au beurre and Gil-Blas. Of the £100 Cadell made in sales from the exhibition, he donated almost half to the Scottish Branch of the Red Cross.” (Alice Strang, F. C. B. Cadell, National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh, 2011, p.35)When reviewing the 1916 exhibition, the critic of The Studio declared:“The novelty of the Society of Eight Exhibition in their galleries in Shandwick Place, was a series of clever cartoons of soldiers and sailors…These bold sketches, in which, with a minimum of line in black, with sometimes a dash of colour introduced, a marvellous completeness of effect is produced.’ (The Studio, vol.LXVII, 1916, p.59)Further works from the Jack and Tommy series are to be found in the collection of the National Galleries of Scotland.Our thanks are due to Kerry Watson, National Galleries of Scotland, for her help with our research.
FRANCIS CAMPBELL BOILEAU CADELL R.S.A., R.S.W. (SCOTTISH 1883-1937) THE EDGE OF THE WOOD Signed, oil on board 45cm x 37cm (17.75in x 14.5in) Alex. Reid & Lefevre, Glasgow Exhibited: Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh: F. C. B. Cadell, 22 October 2011-18 March 2012 Cadell painted landscapes throughout his career, including several of the wooded terrain around Auchnacraig in Mull in the late 1920s. This painting can be related to his friend and fellow Scottish Colourist S. J. Peploe’s studies of trees at Calvine, Perthshire which he made during the summer of 1933. It may also reveal an awareness of the work of the Canadian Group of Seven artists, who showed to great acclaim in the British Empire Exhibitions in Wembley in 1924 and 1925.
FRANCIS CAMPBELL BOILEAU CADELL R.S.A., R.S.W. (SCOTTISH 1883-1937) MULL FROM THE NORTH END OF IONA Signed and dated '14, oil on canvas board 38cm x 46cm (15in x 18in) Acquired from the Artist by George W. Service, Glasgow and thence by descent to the present owner Mull from the North End of Iona is a rare example of a pre-World War One painting of the Hebridean island which was to become a mainstay of inspiration for the rest of Cadell’s career. Furthermore, it was acquired from the artist by his great patron, the Glasgow ship-owner George W. Service and has not been exhibited in public since then.Cadell visited Iona, off the west coast of Scotland, for the first time in 1912. He returned in the summers of 1913 and 1914, before serving with the 9th Battalion, The Royal Scots and the 5th Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. As Alice Strang has explained:“The ever-changing light conditions on Iona, the effect of sunshine on the shallow water along the beaches of dazzling white sand, the intensity and range of colour of the surrounding sea, sky and land, the complexity of its rock formations and wide range of views within and beyond the island, inspired Cadell time after time and he returned to Iona most summers until about 1933.” (Alice Strang, F. C. B. Cadell, National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh, 2011, p.19).As seen in this painting, Cadell’s early Iona works were executed with glossy, creamy oil paint with freely applied and often short brushstrokes. The technique is more expressive than the more precisely realised images of the post-war years. To the fore are the subtle tones of pink and lilac which provided the foundation of Cadell’s distinctive palette, whatever the genre, and even informed the decorative scheme of his New Town studios in Edinburgh’s George Street and Ainslie Place. Touches of blues and greens express sunshine breaking through cloud, the differing depths of the sea and vegetation amongst rocks and sand. It was during these pre-war visits that Cadell fell in love with Iona. Whilst on active service, his friend and fellow Scottish Colourist S. J. Peploe wrote to him: “When the war is over I shall go to the Hebrides, recover some virtues I have lost. There is something marvellous about those western seas. Oh, Iona. We must all go together next summer.” (Letter from S. J. Peploe to F. C. B. Cadell of 2 August 1918, quoted in Strang, op.cit., p.77). Indeed, Cadell took Peploe there in 1920 and the latter also returned for regular summer visits for the rest of his life, often choosing to paint in the beautiful North End, as Cadell did in the current work.Cadell met George Service, who summered on Iona with his eight children and their nanny, during his first trip to the island in 1912. Service became one of Cadell’s greatest supporters and appears frequently in the artist’s Register of Pictures, which he maintained between 1907 and 1930 to record works which he sold or gave away and which is on long-term loan to the National Galleries of Scotland. As Strang continues:“Service would don his tartan dress jacket for the night of his annual purchase of paintings by Cadell…He often bought several paintings at a time, mainly, but not exclusively of Iona…which he hung in his homes in Glasgow and Dunbartonshire.” (Strang, ibid., pp.79-80) Mull from the North End of Iona has descended directly from Service to the present owner.
Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell RSA RSW (British, 1883-1937) Ben Cruachan across the Sound of Mull signed 'F.C.B.Cadell' (lower right), inscribed and initialled 'Absorbent Ground - never varnish - F.C.B.C.' (verso) oil on panel 38 x 45cm (14 15/16 x 17 11/16in).
