A Box Of Figs

Assigned title

Attributed to Alec Fleming

Date not recorded

Medium: Oil on hard board
Dimensions: 40.5 cm × 40.5 cmAs recorded in the catalogue
Date: Date not recorded
Signature: No signature.
Catalogue no.: Cat. 13* (asterisk explained under Verso)
Source: Catalogue, entry 13*
Status: Private collection

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Description

A partially opened box of figs in paper on a table with wallpaper to the background.

Commentary

The significant impasto, limited tonality and accomplished paint handling, suggest later work by Alec Fleming. Particular attention has been paid to the subtle rendering of the patterned wallpaper. The muted umbers, greys and whites suggest a confident colourist.

Attribution

Attributed to Alec Fleming.

Given to Alec Fleming in the catalogue.

Catalogue wording: “Alec Fleming No signature”

How attributions are worded

Signature and inscriptions

No signature.

Verso

A Fleming in marker- block letters.

Catalogue no. 13* — The asterisk against this catalogue number refers to the catalogue introduction’s note on the “A Fleming” marking on the reverse of many boards, reproduced below. It flags the caveat; it is not itself evidence of authorship.

Source note, catalogue introduction

Many boards are marked “A Fleming” in marker pen, in block capitals, on the reverse. Some of these may be by Barbara Fleming.

It is unlikely that the same marker pen, in the same hand and in the same position on the board, would have been used over several decades. In places the marker is written over older paint marks, staining and scarring, which suggests a later application — potentially at a single date, to denote ownership rather than attribution, and probably by Alec Fleming.