S. J. PEPLOE’S STUDIO LIFE AT 150
Foreword S. J. Peploe (1871–1935)
Today the qualities of Samuel John Peploe: the early achievements, the timelessness of his mature oeuvre, the seriousness of his quest for the masterpiece, the direct expressionist appeal of his first modernist pictures, the subtle delivery of his emotionally laden palette, all identify a significant contributor to our cultural history; he is one of our greatest painters. To mark the passage of 150 years since the birth of S. J. Peploe we thought that a particular, more personal exhibition and publication would make a new contribution to his memory. His chronology is well-established, as is his transformation from a daring Edwardian portraitist and Impressionist landscape painter, into Scotland’s first Modernist. A fix on his chronology is derived from his studios, the creative loci which contributed to significant developments in his painting from the mid-nineties until his death in 1935. Each studio therefore receives prominence in a new illustrated chronology.
There follow several sections; firstly, Still Life, his best known and most successful subject, again chronologically ordered allowing insights into his mind and technical development at key moments. Then we look at his models, his paintings of Jeannie Blyth, Peggy Macrae and his wife Margaret. In a chapter called The Colourist we look at the brilliant Fauvist panels he made from 1907 to 1912, focussing in particular on Royan which leads to our chapter: Landscape, which became his main subject in his later career. Finally, we look at Drawing, vitally important to the artist in every phase, which is celebrated with a group of previously unseen works. We have borrowed several of Peploe’s greatest works and are enormously grateful to the owners for their generosity. Otherwise, thanks must be dispersed close to home: to the creative work of The Gallery and input from many professionals, curators and academics. Guy Peploe The Scottish Gallery
Self Portrait, c.1900 oil on canvas, 51 x 56 cm signed lower left Exhibited: S. J. Peploe, National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh, 2012 Provenance: Private collection, Edinburgh 5
