Travel Tip: Art and Archaeology in Scotland
The Scottish Colourist Series: SJ Peploe

Still lifes and landscapes of France and Scotland are on view in this retrospective of SJ Peploe, the second exhibition in the museum's Scottish Colourist series.

Samuel John Peploe (1871-1935) was the eldest and most successful of the four artists popularly known as The Scottish Colourists, along with FCB Cadell, JD Fergusson and GL Hunter. Peploe is considered by many to be the leader of the group and indeed it was his friendship with the others which bound the four together. Born in Edinburgh, Peploe lived in the Scottish capital all his life, apart from two years spent in Paris between 1910 and 1912.

Most celebrated for his still lifes, Peploe depicted a selection of props, including roses, tulips and coffee pots, placed in an infinite variety of combinations painted in his studio. These are in sharp contrast with the more spontaneous technique with which he created his French and Scottish landscapes, painted en plein air from 1896. At certain periods Peploe also painted figure studies of beauty and significance, including images of his wife and their two sons.

This important exhibition brings together more than 100 of Peploe’s most significant paintings from public and private collections around the world, including highlights such as the 1905 masterpiece, The Coffee Pot, early 1920s work, Red and Pink Roses, Oranges and Fan, and a selection of the original objects used within Peploe’s still life arrangements.