Still life with vermillion vase and yellow tile

Born in Aberdeen of Italian parents, Alberto Moccocco studied at Gray's School of Art from 1932 to 1938. Two travelling scholarships took him to France and Switzerland the following year. After the war he returned to Gray's to teach part-time, and in 1960 moved to Dundee to be Head of Painting at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art. After his retirement from this post in 1982 he concentrated on painting and travelling. He is best known for his vibrant still-lifes and brightly coloured Mediterranean beach scenes. Of the latter he commented, 'Because I'm of Italian origin and I react to the kind of lifestyle naturally, these subjects I've chosen to paint are the subjects which are near to my heart' (see V. Keller and C. Clark, Alberto Morrocco, Touring Exhibition Catalogue, Edinburgh, 1993, p. 59).