White flowers in a painted jug

Matthew Smith painted still lifes throughout his life, employing a rich, vibrant palette and bold, sweeping brushwork. Writing in Vogue, 5 October 1928, his friend and admirer, Augustus John enthused: 'With a cataract of emotional sensibility, he casts upon the canvas a pageant of grandiose and voluptious form and sumptious colour, which are none the less controlled by an ordered design and a thoroughly learned command of technique. This makes him one of the most brilliant and individual figures in modern English painting' (see J. Rothenstein, Matthew Smith, Tate Gallery exhibition catalogue, London, 1953, p. 5).