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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 2

Cat. 8 · Painting

Still Life with Pears

Assigned title

Possibly Alec Fleming (attribution uncertain)

Date not recorded

Medium
Oil on primed board, unvarnished
Dimensions
35 cm × 30 cmAs recorded in the catalogue
Date
Date not recorded
Signature
No signature
Catalogue no.
Cat. 8
Source
Catalogue, entry 8
Status
Private collection
Enquiries regarding this work

Description

A still life of yellow pears with an oil and vinegar bottle on a covered table.

Commentary

Possibly painted in France. Alla prima. A confident hand, with strong post-impressionist influences, particularly Cézanne. Slight impasto and a fresh, vivid, unmixed palette; loose, vigorous brushstrokes, drawing with paint. Rapidly painted.

Attribution

Possibly Alec Fleming (attribution uncertain).

Unsigned. The only evidence connecting the work with Alec Fleming is the ‘A Fleming’ block-marker inscription on the reverse, which the catalogue’s introductory note says may denote ownership rather than authorship. The work is therefore not attributed to him on that basis.

Catalogue wording: “A Fleming [no signature]”

How attributions are worded

Signature and inscriptions

No signature

Verso

‘A Fleming’ in marker, in block letters. Some foxing.

  • Marker, block letters: ‘A Fleming’

The reverse is marked “A Fleming” in block capitals. Many boards in the collection carry this marking, and some of them are considered to be by Barbara Fleming. The marking may record ownership rather than authorship and is not treated here as evidence of attribution.

Condition

Good overall. Some slight flattening of the corners and a piercing hole at the centre top, possibly from an easel fixing.

Further works

Alec Fleming