Flowers in a vase, still life

Denise Ferran (National Gallery of Ireland Exhibition Catalogue, Dublin, 1996, p. 242) comments on the present work, 'The naturalistically painted mauve tulips, with upright heads and strong leaf-shapes, add colour to the white, grey and black tones of The Daily Telegraph and Vogue Pattern Book on the pine tabletop. On the tabletop is a label from a painting inscribed with W.J. Leech's name at the top, as if it were printed text within the image. There is just a hint of Georges Braque in the decorative use of lettering and in the label which alludes to collage and trompe l'oeil. Leech was so particular about the surface quality of his canvases and his materials that he did not experiment with mixed media. He remained a traditional artist, using traditional materials.

This is a typical Leech composition, seen from a high viewpoint, the petal shapes becoming decorative pink and red arabesque forms, not simply pretty flowers in a vase. Hints of the lily heads in The Secret Garden and of Aloes near Les Martiques [see lot 20] are embodied in this study. There is also a suggestion of Duncan Grant's Tulips, 1911 (Southampton City Art Gallery), in the decorative handling of the tulip motif.'