â—† FRANCIS CAMPBELL BOILEAU CADELL R.S.A., R.S.W. (SCOTTISH 1883-1937) THE STEADING, c.1927 Signed, oil on board

(37.5cm x 45cm (14.75in x 17.75in))

Provenance: Aitken Dott & Son Ltd, Edinburgh Christie's London, 16 March 1925, lot 123, sold for three guineas to 'Middleton' Christie's Scotland, 7 December 1989, lot 466 The Fine Art Society, London from whom acquired by the present owner in 2001 Exhibited: The Fine Art Society, London, The Scottish Colourists: Cadell, Fergusson, Hunter, Peploe, 19 June - 21 July 2000, no. 4 (repr. col.)

In contrast to his Edinburgh-based studio practice, Cadell also enjoyed working outdoors in locations around Scotland and France. The steading in this work is thought to be in the village of Auchnacraig on the east coast of Mull, which Cadell visited for the first time in 1927 on the way to Iona. The village and its surroundings appear in a series of at least four extant paintings (see Tom Hewlett and Duncan Macmillan, F. C. B. Cadell: The Life and Works of a Scottish Colourist 1883-1937, Lund Humphries, Farnham, 2011, p. 94). Duncan Macmillan has identified an engagement with the work of Paul Cézanne in Cadell's Auchnacraig tree landscapes, praising their 'free handling and also an interest in light that over-rides local colour' (op.cit., p. 181). This painting is viewed from a distance and through trees in an ambitious composition in which Cadell revels in the effects of sunshine and shadow across stonework and grass. Layers of paint, applied with visible, varying brushstrokes, build up sophisticated colour and tone combinations, as well as rhythmic surface texture. Dabs of yellow are particularly effective in conveying flower heads in the foreground, whilst Cadell's enjoyment of applying and manipulating his creamy paint is clear. The result successfully communicates the strength and warmth of light and the beauty of the sun-dappled scene depicted.