Still-life with a bowl of figs

Details

Vanessa Bell (1879-1961)
Still-life with a bowl of figs
signed with initials and dated 'VB 1953' (lower left) and signed again 'Vanessa Bell' (on the reverse)
oil on canvas
13 x 18 in. (33 x 45.7 cm.)

Provenance

with Adams Gallery, London, by 1957.
Private collection.
with David Messum Fine Art, London, by 1997.
Private collection, London.

Special notice

Artist's Resale Right ("Droit de Suite"). Artist's Resale Right Regulations 2006 apply to this lot, the buyer agrees to pay us an amount equal to the resale royalty provided for in those Regulations, and we undertake to the buyer to pay such amount to the artist's collection agent. VAT rate of 20% is payable on hammer price and buyer's premium

Lot Essay

This still-life is highly characteristic of Vanessa Bell’s later paintings, among which several still-lifes are her most notable achievements. The printed square or cloth belonged to a group of such textiles which Bell kept for backgrounds to still-lifes. The painting was almost certainly carried out at her home Charleston, where fig trees were (and are) a feature of the garden.

We are very grateful to Richard Shone for his assistance in preparing this catalogue entry.

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