Landscape, Saint-Paul de Vence

John Maclauchlan Milne is often referred to as the fifth Scottish Colourist and indeed his work and life have strong connections to his better known contemporaries. It is his French work, however, which makes the clear link with Samuel John Peploe, G.L. Hunter and Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell. Maclauchlan Milne first painted a view from the village of St Paul de Vence in 1926, reflecting his deep engagement with the luminous landscapes of the South of France. In a letter dated to March 1955, Maclauchlan Milne referred to his good friend Leslie Hunter when recalling his time in St Paul. Hunter stayed at the now famous Auberge de la Colombe d’Or, where studio accommodation was made available for artists staying there. Maclauchlan Milne probably stayed there too and his painting ‘Colombe d’Or’ was later included in a studio exhibition in Dundee.

The present work has stayed within private hands since it was acquired in the 1930s by Adelaide Mary Boyd, whose brother, the prominent Dundee art collector, William Boyd, offered great patronage to Maclauchlan Milne. Boyd had been Joint Managing Director of James Keiller & Son, manufacturing Marmalade. His art collection was significant, acquiring works by Peploe, Vincent van Gogh, Édouard Vuillard, Hunter, André Dunoyer de Segonzac and various Maclauchlan Milnes.

We are very grateful to Maurice Millar for his assistance in cataloguing this lot. Millar has recently published a biography on John Maclauchlan Milne, The Missing Colourist, which is available directly from his website, www.themissingcolourist.co.uk.