Lot Essay
The pursuit of the perfect still life was one of Peploe's obsessions. In a letter dating from 1929 he wrote: 'There is so much in mere objects, flowers, leaves, jugs, what not - colours, forms, relation - I can never see mystery coming to an end'. Marigolds in a Jug is a superb example, featuring a composition with his favourite objects and flowers. The recently revealed reverse, until now hidden behind an old backboard, has a full sketch of a still-life with books and the plaster cast also seen in Still Life with Plaster Cast, circa 1931 (Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh). Peploe, the eldest of the four Scottish Colourists was also the only one who was able to make a decent living from his paintings, his carefully constructed studio still lifes and harmonious freely executed landscapes.