(British/South African, 1897-1982)

Afternoon, unsigned, oil on canvas, 36-1/2 x 48-7/8 in.; 17th century plate frame with central and corner decoration, 45-1/4 x 58-1/8 in.

Edward Wolfe was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. He immigrated at the age of nineteen to London and in 1917 and began studying at the Regents Street Polytechnic and the Slade School of Art. He was affiliated with the Bloomsbury Group, a group of associated English writers, intellectuals, philosophers and artists, who wielded creative, political and philosophical influence in England in the early 20th century. Wolfe was invited by Roger Fry to join the Omega Workshop where he decorated furniture. His experiences in these circles led him to a deep appreciation of the work of Henri Matisse, whom he befriended. His paintings were largely influenced by his work and he would champion abstract impressionism in England as a result.
Bryan Robertson writes in The Arts Council, Retrospective Exhibition, 1967, ‘Wolfe does more than convey his own delight in the world, notably in still-life; he spells it out slowly and lovingly with such supercharged gusto and excited imagination that a prosaic subject is transformed, as a painting, into an "object de luxe".’
Exhibited: London Artists' Association (labels verso); Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (labels verso)

lined with clear lining, horizontal drip accretion, grime, two paint voids with some retouch and consolidated; frame with warping, pest damage and age related wear