Lemons and a pottery vase on a draped table

The quest for the perfect still life absorbed Peploe for the most of his life, almost to the point of obsession, as his brother-in-law, Frederick Porter recounted: 'All his still life[s] were carefully arranged and considered before he put them on canvas. When this was done - it often took several days to accomplish - he seemed to have absorbed everything necessary for transmitting them to canvas. The result was a canvas covered without any apparent effort. If a certain touch was wrong it was soon obliterated by the palette knife. The whole canvas had to be finished in one painting so as to preserve complete continuity. If, in his judgement, it was not right then the whole painting was scraped out and painted again' (see F.P. Porter, The Art of S.J. Peploe, New Alliance, VI, no. 6, 1945-1946, p. 7).