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Lot Essay
Cadell was the first of the Colourists to visit Iona, in the summer of 1912. Sailing with a friend around the Western Islands in Scotland, he was immediately captivated by the remote, beautiful island. For Cadell, Iona provided the perfect retreat from the tensions and pace of life in Edinburgh.
Iona’s rapidly changing light and climate particularly fascinated Cadell: ‘Prolonged periods of fine weather destroyed the very challenge on which Bunty thrived – to try and capture the sudden and dramatic changes in light, and therefore colour, of the island’s natural subject matter which ‘normal’ weather conditions brought. The sea could change from a dull grey to a brilliant aquamarine in seconds, but it was Bunty’s ability to retain these marvellous colours and tones for long enough to commit them to canvas, panel or paper that was the key to his most successful Iona paintings’ (T. Hewlett, Cadell, London, 1988, p. 81).
When Cadell returned to Iona in 1919, as quickly as he could following the war, he persuaded his friend S.J. Peploe to join him, thus beginning a decade which saw both artists make many visits to Iona and complete many hundreds of paintings of the island. The artists would often sit side-by-side painting an identical view, and whilst they quite naturally influenced each other they also brought to the same subject their different styles and approaches.
Cattle on the Shore, Iona belongs to this period. Cadell’s palette remains broadly the same as his pre-war Iona paintings, but his interest in structure becomes much more pronounced - the angularity of the rocks in the foreground contrast against the flat white sand and find the echo of their shape in the mountains beyond. The introduction of both the cattle and the human figure to this work make it exceptionally rare. Cadell probably painted more pictures of Iona than anything else, but they are almost always devoid of human and animal life. Painted with large brushstrokes reminiscent of Peploe, the present work illustrates Cadell’s ability to capture instantly this particular light and colour so unique to this vibrant Hebridean island.
Iona’s rapidly changing light and climate particularly fascinated Cadell: ‘Prolonged periods of fine weather destroyed the very challenge on which Bunty thrived – to try and capture the sudden and dramatic changes in light, and therefore colour, of the island’s natural subject matter which ‘normal’ weather conditions brought. The sea could change from a dull grey to a brilliant aquamarine in seconds, but it was Bunty’s ability to retain these marvellous colours and tones for long enough to commit them to canvas, panel or paper that was the key to his most successful Iona paintings’ (T. Hewlett, Cadell, London, 1988, p. 81).
When Cadell returned to Iona in 1919, as quickly as he could following the war, he persuaded his friend S.J. Peploe to join him, thus beginning a decade which saw both artists make many visits to Iona and complete many hundreds of paintings of the island. The artists would often sit side-by-side painting an identical view, and whilst they quite naturally influenced each other they also brought to the same subject their different styles and approaches.
Cattle on the Shore, Iona belongs to this period. Cadell’s palette remains broadly the same as his pre-war Iona paintings, but his interest in structure becomes much more pronounced - the angularity of the rocks in the foreground contrast against the flat white sand and find the echo of their shape in the mountains beyond. The introduction of both the cattle and the human figure to this work make it exceptionally rare. Cadell probably painted more pictures of Iona than anything else, but they are almost always devoid of human and animal life. Painted with large brushstrokes reminiscent of Peploe, the present work illustrates Cadell’s ability to capture instantly this particular light and colour so unique to this vibrant Hebridean island.