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Review build — the catalogue is a working document and records are subject to continuing research.

Alec & Barbara FlemingPaintings, drawings and works on paper

Reference photograph, catalogue sheet 5

Cat. 19 · Study

Study Of A Man In A Blue Sweater

Assigned title

Attributed to Alec Fleming

Date not recorded

Medium
Oil on the smooth face of primed hardboard
Dimensions
51 cm × 61 cmAs recorded in the catalogue
Date
Date not recorded
Signature
Not recorded
Catalogue no.
Cat. 19* (asterisk explained under Verso)
Source
Catalogue, entry 19*
Status
Private collection
Enquiries regarding this work

Description

Head and torso of a black man in a blue roll neck sweater, against a grey background.

Commentary

An attractive composition in Alec Fleming’s mature style showing a typical head and torso pose, likely from life, The pallett, the visible bold flat brush work and slight impasto, especially in the deft handling of the skin tones, suggest this painting was completed around the same time as cat 17 and cat 18.

Attribution

Attributed to Alec Fleming.

Given to Alec Fleming in the catalogue.

Catalogue wording: “A Fleming”

How attributions are worded

Verso

A Fleming in block letters. Marker pen.

Catalogue no. 19* — 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.

Condition

Good. Slight flattening to bottom right corner. No disruption to paint surface.

Provenance and research

Research notes

  • The title is marked [assigned] in the catalogue.

Linked material

Related works

Further works

Alec Fleming