70 years on, a fresh look at colourist Cadell

A MAJOR display of work by one of Scotland’s most important artists is to go on show for the first time in nearly 70 years.

Almost 80 paintings by Edinburgh-born Francis Cadell are to be exhibited at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in the capital.

The exhibition, which will feature celebrated works such as The White Room and The Orange Blind, is the first in a series of planned retrospectives devoted to the Scottish Colourists.

The group – comprising Samuel Peploe, John Duncan Fergusson, Leslie Hunter and Cadell – are credited with being the first to bring the intense colour of the French Fauve movement to Britain and combined Impressionism with a traditional Scottish style.

Cadell is renowned for his stylish depictions of Edinburgh New Town interiors, his vibrantly coloured still-lives and his evocative landscapes of the island of Iona.

The forthcoming show, the first solo exhibition of his work in a public gallery for almost seven decades, will include displays of a range of still-life objects depicted in his paintings, alongside archival material.

The artist died of cancer in Edinburgh in 1937, aged 54. A memorial exhibition was held at the Royal Scottish Academy the following year and a retrospective exhibition was mounted at the National Gallery of Scotland in 1942, which toured to Glasgow Art Gallery.

A spokesman for the Gallery of Modern Art said: “This exhibition is the first devoted to Cadell’s work in a public gallery since then, and its catalogue is the first monograph to be published on him for more than 20 years.

“The world record price for a painting by Cadell sold at auction was achieved last year [£553,000 for Florian’s Cafe In Venice], reflecting a growing interest in his work. Highly sought after by collectors and popular with the general public, his work is represented in many public collections throughout the UK.

“This exhibition and the accompanying catalogue provide a timely re-assessment of Cadell’s achievements.”

Cadell, whose sister was well-known actress Jean Cadell, was born in Edinburgh in 1883, the son of a surgeon, and was taught at the Edinburgh Academy before going on to study in Paris.

His painting career was interrupted by the First World War, when he served with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders and the Royal Scots.

He returned to painting following the conflict with a bold new style. But he found his paintings difficult to sell in his later career, mainly due to the economic conditions of the 1930s.

He was elected a member of the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour in 1935 and the RSA in 1936.

His paintings are now believed to be worth between £200,000 and £300,000. The record sale figure for one of Cadell’s artworks in Scotland was £400,000 for The Artist’s Room.

The exhibition will be complemented by a display of some of the objects depicted in Cadell’s paintings, including bowls, vases and a silver teapot, together with archival material such as letters and photographs.

The exhibition runs from 22 October to 18 March.