EDINBURGH.- An exceptional group of paintings by Scotland’s internationally renowned Scottish Colourists lead Bonhams annual Scottish Sale in Edinburgh on 12 and 13 April.

Prominent among them is Still Life of Carnations and Fruit by George Leslie Hunter (1877-1931). Estimated at £80,000-120,000, the painting was a gift from the artist to his physician and has been in the family ever since. This characteristic 1920s still life sees Hunter explore his favoured theme with a light, spontaneous touch. Flowers, fruit, jars, doors and blue curtains are recurring motifs, approached with his usual painterly panache, making Hunter one of the most recognisable Scottish painters of the period.

Works by Samuel Peploe (1871-1935) feature strongly in the sale and include Daffodils in a Glass Bowl estimated at £100,000-150,000 and Cassis (Rooftops) dated 1913 and estimated at £80,000-120,000. Cassis (Rooftops) was painted on a working trip to the South of France where Peploe and his family joined his fellow Colourist J. D. Fergusson who - like many early 20th painters - had been attracted by the light and vivid colours of the area. This was to become a favourite spot for the Colourists and George Hunter and the other member of the quartet, Francis Cadell, were frequent visitors in the 1920s.

Closer to home are two Peploe works, Kirkcudbright, estimated at £60,000-80,000 and Iona Abbey £40,000-60,000. Both places were significant in the painter’s life. He frequently visited the artist community based in Kirkcudbright in the years immediately before World War I and from 1920 until his death in 1935 he spent almost every summer on Iona attracted by the light and, no doubt, by the commercial success which his landscapes of the island enjoyed.
Bonhams head of Scottish Art, Chris Brickley, said, “The Scottish Colourists are always a highlight of the annual Scottish Sale but this year we have a particularly strong and attractive group of paintings which I expect to have wide appeal both in Scotland and elsewhere.”