MARY FEDDEN. RED AND BLACK. FOR SALE.

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Size: 8.5″ x 9″ / 21.5cm x 23cm

Size including frame: 15.75″ x 15.25″ / 40cm x 38.75cm)

Medium: Oil on board

Signed and dated: Fedden 1999

Framing: A fine black and gilded moulding frame

Provenance:  Purchased at The City Gallery, London (part of Thompson’s Gallery group) in 1999. Sold at auction at Lots Road Auctions, London in 2006 where purchased by a private collector, London

MARY FEDDEN. RED AND BLACK.

Mary Fedden was endlessly fascinated by the shape and form of everyday objects. At Durham Wharf (her home and studio in Hammersmith for nearly 70 years), Mary kept a large number of simple, seemingly random, items which she had collected, or had been given by friends and family, over the years. These objects were then used by Mary on a daily basis, precisely organised on a table top to create a carefully orchestrated still life.  The objects themselves had no symbolic meaning, they were simply the things she loved to paint.

Over the years Mary became best known for such bold, vivid still lifes and her joyous use of colour. This small oil painting, Red and Black, is a fine example of such works. It is a classic Fedden still life, with a fabulously zanny zigzag abstract in the background, behind a table carefully laid with some of her very favourite objects, including her stripped mug, a bunch of black grapes, a fig and a black and white pebble in the foreground!

Despite being a highly skilled draughtswomam, when painting, Mary never tried to necessarily produce an ‘accurate’ rendition of a particular object. She painted it as she wanted to see it, how it would fit best into her composition. For example, she might paint the ‘ace of diamonds’ in black, when of course it should be red (see maryfedden.co.uk/portfolio-view/mary-fedden-farndale-window-1994) and she frequently painted black lemons. In the case of this painting, she has chosen to paint the pear in the foreground in black, simply because that works better the overall composition. She was unique.

MARY FEDDEN. RED AND BLACK. Available for sale – please contact us for further details.